Explosions Precede Puzzling Fires Which Cause Heavy Damage in Three Cities HARRISBURG SfSKb TELEGRAPH T V Y Y\7 LAAA V i\C>. O-t SINGLE COPIES a CENTS. CITY'S BUSINESS MEN OFF ON TRIP TO BOOST CAPITAL AND BIG HIGHWAY Chamber of Commerce An nual Trade Excursion Be gins With Stops at Marys ville, Duncannon, New port, Mifflin, Lewistown, Mt. Union and Huntingdon GREAT RECEPTION AT ALTOOM IS PLANNED Meet Leading Commercial and Manufacturing Men Throughout Western Cen tral Pennsylvania; De veloping Closer Relations Between Neighboring Com munities OBTAIN NATIONAL RECOGNITION FOR WILLIAM PENN WAY InriinnftpnllM, Ind M Feb. 15. E. M. C. 4frlen. clinlrmnii William Penn lllithuny Committee. Committee to-day deolded to nrlupt William I'ciui 11 in h way with eonneetloOM from It mil in 14 to New \ ork nml HnrrKlMiru to WnNltlriKtoii, MM plnnne«l nt Wiifwhliiutnii confer euro. Ilnp«* you will complete or- Kanlsntlon PeiinNylvanln Dlvlitlon nt enrly date. l'lonse ndvlne other eommunltleN luterented. Will write more fully upon return home next week. A. W. Hendernon, Mecretnry I*lke*N Peak Oeenn to Oeeiin Highway \«- Moelntlon. The teleffrnm whfleh Mr. Africa re ceived. WHU rend to the llflrrlshiirff ( hamher of Commerce dclejcntlon upon ItM arrival at Huntingdon lute till* ntfornnoii nn a MirprlMo for the vlftllorn on their trade trip. * (From n Staff Correspondent.) Lewistown, Pa.. Feb. 16. —Safely, happily and enthusiastically—not to say musically, strenuously and orator ically—the HarrisburK Chamber of Commerce trade excursion which sail ed from Harrisburg early this morn ing via the main line of A. E. Buch anan'* Pennsylvania railroad for Al toona, Williamsport and sundry inter vening points, is navigating the his toric Juniata valley. The trip thus far has been in the nature of an in formal inspection from the car win dow of the route of the William Penn highway, which traverses the Juniata from HarrisburK all the way, nearly, to Altoona. All along the way the ex cursionists heard echoes of this pro ject. The towns visited are enthusi astic for it and there is not one of [Continued on Page «.] Sir Rider Haggard to Investigate Chances For Empire Building After War London, Feb. 16. Sir Rider Hag gard has left England on a trip around the world, with a mission from the Hoyal Colonial Institute to investi gate the chances for empire building after the war. His plan, backed by the institute and its important officials, including Lord Curzon, is to prevent the emigra tion to foreign countries of soldiers and their families after the war and to direct steady streams of these war veterans to the British colonies South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, Canada and the many Insular colonies —thus recruiting the population with a sturdy and intelligent class and holding them within the British em pire. It is the latest phase of the im perial movement which seeks to bind together the mother country and the oversea dominions into a vast con federacy. The effect of the movement would of course be to keep war emigrants from going to the United States or South American countries where the status as imperial citizens would eventually be lost. j THE WEATHER For Hiirriftbiirg and vicinity: I'nlr to-iilf;ht null ThnrNday; illKhlly warmer nlth lowest temperature nliout a." deicreex. For Knxtern reiinn.vl, iinln: Fair to night and I'hurNila.v; nliichtly warmer to-nlclit; light to mod erate Mouthwent wlndn. River The Suniiuehnnnn river and nil It* brnnclien will fnll NIOWI.V or fe ninln nenrly »tnt lonnry. lee con dition* will probably not .limine materially In the next few iln>*. A *lnt»e of nhoot 4.4 feet In inillen ed for Hnrrltihurcc Thurndny morning. General Condition* An iiniixuMl feature of the neathet thin morning IN the ahuenre of precipitation. no meinuralile nnimint being reported from liny Mint lon in the lolled State*. The only precipitation reported l> .12 of ruin from Kamloopa, llrltlnh Columbia, i here linn been a nenernl nnd in mont illntTlrtK decided deereaite In prrxMure ilnrluK the lant <nent>-rotir linurn ax a remilt of the MouthenMterly movement of a dlnturhnnce tbnt nppenred Tne»- •'« > morning over \lhertu nnil la now central north or the l.nke Region. Tempefnture: « a. in., 22. Sun: Mine*, 6:!>7 a. m.s net*, 5:41 p. m. Moon: Fnll numn. February IS, 0:211 n. m. Klver Stage: 4.0 feet above low water mark. Yesterday'* Weather Tllcbext temperature, 2». I.owext tempprnturr, K. Menu temperature, IN. Normal temperature, 30. YOUNGSTERS ATTENDING CITY'S CONTINUATION SCHOOL iHimFl t ,■■ t r-. ; \U • _J?w * £ ■? i HH, " ""V W P*. NK - XT E~ST _ *^.'—■ ! " I *N—t . ■ 1 - AdL i 1 * ♦«* w i— - r •■' -• -- Mi *V §p& .. '|jaPw Here are Just a few of the youngsters attending the city continuation school at 424 Forster street. The little fel lows—workmen, all of them —go to school one day each week and plug afte- the elusive dollar the other five and ! sometimes six. Messenger boys, lads from the textile mills and little codgers from stores and other busy marts are included in the group above. LATEST DRAFT OF LUSITANIA NOTE IS ACCEPTABLE Von Bernstorff Presents Agree ment to Lansing; Believed Satisfactory END OF CASE IS NEAR Slight Changes Made by Both Sides; Will Not Hold Up Settlement Washington, Feb. 16. Count Von' Bernstorff, the German ambassador to-day presented to Secretary Lansing| the latest draft of the Lusitania agree- | ment embodying the chances sug-! gested by the American government! and also one change suggested by Ber- I lin. The Indications were that the agreement in its present form prob [Continued on Pace 4.] NINE FORTS OF TURK STRONGHOLD TAKEN BY RUSS 80,(100 Men Are Locked Up in Erzerum, Chief City of Armenia While Prance and Flanders are the fields of military activity that just now command chief attention, the j operations of the Russians in their' Caucasus campaign are developing j notable points of interest. The new! dispatches from Petrograd's an- j nouncement of the capture of nine of j the forts of the Turkish stronghold; of Erzerum. chief city of Turkish j Arm enia. I-ate last month the Turks were driven back to the Erzerum defenses | and there have been reports that 80,-1 000 men were locked up in the city i with not more than two weeks' pro visions. Reinforcements however, | [Continued on Paso 12.] Schooner Strikes Steamer in Fog, Falls Off, Then Disappears; Boy Missing By Associated Press New York, Feb. 16 -—The steamer Yumuri arrived here to-day from Mascoris, San Domingo, and reported having been in collision with an un known schooner at 4.10 a. m. yester day morning. The collection occur red 140 miles southeast of the Five Fathoms bank lightship off the en trance to Delaware bay, in very foggy weather. The schooner struck the Yumuri in the port bow, fell off and struck her a second time. After the passengers had been quieted It was found that a mess boy, who was sleeping In the forecastle, was missing, and a I'olan der, a fireman, badly injured. The Yumuri remained in the Vicinity for nearly two hours, but was unable to find the schooner. REVERSES I,A\\ OF 2185 B. C. Kansas Court Rejects Babylon Act and <Jives Child $2,000,000 Special to the Telegraph Jefferson City. Mo., Feb. 16.-—The Supreme court declared void a Baby lonian law of 2185 B. C., which pro vided that the child of an adopted-j person had no rights as an heir after the death of the parents. Eouis Bernero. not quite 11 years of age, was held by the court to be the heir to property said to be worth about 12,000,000. MARYE RESIGNS Petrograd, Feb. 16.—George T. Marye, the American ambassador has resigned, giving ill health as his rea son. , HARRISBURG, PA., WEDNESDAY EVENING, FEBRUARY 16, 1916. WILSON POLICIES | ARE MERCILESSLY! ASSAILED BY ROOT Weakness and Irresolution I Leading Country Along Road to War, He Says ROOTS NAME PROPOSED Endorsed For Presidency, but Later Motion Is Defeated; Laud Whitman By Associated I'ress New York. Feh. J 6.—ln a speech | bristling with withering reference to \ s the diplomacy of the Wilson adminis- •, tration and branding the government ' as brave in words and irresolute In i | action, Ellhu Root last night declared 1 | that "America has been blindly stum- ' 1 tiling along, the road that, continued, i will lead to war." I Then he continued: "Our diplomacy t [Continued on Page 5.] KOTUR'S FATE IS NOW IN HANDS OF DAUPHIN JURORS ; Trial of Steelton Foreigner For Murder of Fellow Coun tryman Ends The question of whether or not Ni kolo Kotur shall pay on the electric j chair the lav « penalty for stamping j out the life of Joseph Backic, a fellow | countryman, is in the hands of a Dau i phin county jury to determine. | Kotur, who has been on trial for i I the murder that stirred Steelton s for- ! I eign quarter on the night of December J 22, retained the same rather indiffer [ Continued on Page 4,] Torpedo Co. Manager , Is Blown to Bits When Nitroglycerine Goes Up By Associated Press j Cleveland, Ohio, Feb. 16.—Charles j Baker, local manager for the Wash ington Torpedo Company, of Washing ton, Pa., was blown to bits to-day | when he entered the company's store' house in Olmstead Falls, a suburb, to get a load of nitroglycerin. Three minutes after he went into the building 800 quart of the explo sive blew up. The automobile in which to carry the explosive and which stood in front of the storehouse was destroyed. The building was re duced to splinters. Chased From House by Wife; Hit With Brick by Loving Stepson After his mother had chased his stepfather from the house at 3 o'clock this morning, Arthur Brown, colored, , aged 17, followed his stepfather, W. C. Schildt, to work, and hurled a brick , at him. Mrs. Schildt and her son are now , 'n jail charged with assault and bat tery. They will be given a hearing this evening before Alderman Bolton. MAY FIGHT FIIiIXG OF BOM) If decisive action in the "Hard- 1 scrabble" case is taken by the prop-1 erty owners in that section other than I except and appeal from the viewers' ! report, it will not be begun until the! city attempts to file its bond to cover the condemnation according to counsel j for the residents to-day. It was in-j timated that an injunction to restrain the tiling of the bond might be asked or that the filing of the bond might be I questioned. JAMES. THE AUTHOR, 11,1, By Associated Press Eondon, Feb. 16.— The illness of Henry James, the author, Is so serious that even a temporary Improvement , in his condition is not expected. PREPARATION FOR DEFENSE KEYNOTE OF REPUBLICANS New York State Convention Endorses Whitman's Administration WILSON IS DENOUNCED Decry Mexican Policy as In constant and Irresponsible Interference By Associated Press New York. Feb. 16. —The Republi can State convention to-day unani mously adopted a platform intended as a keynote for the Republican na tional campaign, endorsed the Whit man State administration and named United States Senator James W. Wads worth, Jr., Governor Charles S. Whit man. Frederick Tanner, chairman of the State committee, and State Sena tor Elon R. Brown, Republican leader [Continued on Page 12.] ANCIENT BAGDAD HAD NOTHING ON j TOWN OF HERSHEY Magic Wand of Chocolate King Causes City of Wonders to Spring Up Special to the Telegraph Hershey, Pa., Feb. 16.—Within the next year or two, probably a little longer, building operations which will have a total valuation of several mil lions of dollars will be started here. The whole movement is along lines (mapped out by M. S. Hershey, the I "chocolate king," to make farm land , of twelve or fourteen years ago a city j brimful of places of interest. | Included in the mammoth opera [Continued on Page 7. ] National Preparedness to Be Theme of Meeting | Congressman A. S. Kreider. F. A. Godcharles. of Milton, E. J. Poole, of I Heading, and William P. Messlnger, of Philadelphia, will be the principal speakers at the patriotic mass meet ign to be held in the Teohnral High school auditorium, February 24. Plans are being made for the event, by the j Patriotic Observance Association, composed of patriotic socioties in the city. National preparedness will be the principal subject of the addresses and the meeting has been planned for the purpose of discussing this problem. A complete vocal and instrumental program will be given at the same time, followed by an illustrated lec ture by James Evans. Men, women and children, will be admitted free but by ticket only. These will be dis tributed within the next few days. Youth Forges Checks on His Sister's Name Hay Stephens, aged 17, .103 South Seventeenth street, charged with forg ing his sister's name on checks l'rom $2 to $lO. was arrested yesterday by city detectives. Stephens admitted that he had forged the checks and told the officers that if they had come for him fifteen minutes later he would have been on a train for the West. According to information which the j polioe liave, Stephens forged Miss |Jean Stephens' name to a number of [checks, but all of them have not been ; located, it is believed. In this number | were two for two dollars, one for five I dollars and one for ten dollars on the 1 East End Bank. Other checks on | department and jewelry stores, were 1 forged by the boy, according to the police. Stephens will probably be given a hearing before Alderman Bol ton at the police station to-morrow. KIM.KO IV FALL By Associated Press Corry, Pa., Feb. 16. W. W. Ing ham, of New York, superintendent of surveyors of the Erie railroad, was killed here yesterday when he fell 60 feet from a railroad trestle. PUZZLING FI SERIES OF EX CAUSE $6,000,000 LOSS THINK PLOTTERS STARTED FIRE IN AMERICAN CLUB * , Scries of Explosions Precede Toronto Blaze Which Kills One and Hurts Two By Associated Press Toronto, Ont., Feb. 16.—One man j was killed and two others were in j jured in a fire which early to-day wrecked the six-story structure which ! was the home of the American Club. Several explosions were heard while j the fire was burning, but according to j latest information received by the po | lice there were no detonations before the flames, of unknown origin, were I discovered. Early reports, as yet un | confirmed, were that the blaze was the | result of an alien military plot, the 1 American Club having recently been | the scene of demonstrations in favor of the entente allies. Texan Suffocated A man believed to have been P. P j Hurston, of Dallas, Texas, was found ! suffocated just inside a window on the third iloor. Edward Johnston, night watchman of the Mechanics Bank, \ next door to the American Club, was | dangerously injured when he was ■ struck by a chimney which fell into the street. Captain Asa Mlnard, of the Ninety-seventh Battalion of the American Lesion, was slightly burned while making his escape. The interior of the building was de stroyed and the roof fell in. The walls are Intact. The property loss was placed at $50,000. Big Barn and 15 Cars Burned at Waynesboro By Associated Press Waynesboro, Pa., Feb. 16.—Fifteen cars were destroyed last night when | the big car barn of the Chambersburg, Greencastle and Waynesboro Street Railway Company was burned about 9.30 o'clock. The company owned nineteen cars and traffic will be greatly restricted until new cars are received. The track of the road is not of stand ard gauge and the cars must be specially built. The loss is estimated at $50,000. Miners Are Deadlocked Over Wage Demands By Associated Press Mobile, Ala., Feb. 16.—Another ef fort was made to-day by the operators [ j and miners of the central competitive | bituminous coal fields to reach an agreement on the demand of the United Mine Workers asking pay on the mine run basis. The subcommit tee to which all miners' demands were referred is deadlocked over that propo sition. Hope has not been abandoned that > an agreement will be effected here, s One rumor is that if Western Penn- I sylvania operators will not agree to • the mine run system, the operators of . Ohio. Indiana and Illinois will draw up ! a three-state agreement and let West- ern Pennsylvania negotiate a separate I wage scale. r PITTSBURGH BANK TO PAY ■ | By Associated Press I Pittsburgh, Pa., Feb. 16. The Pittsburgh Bank for Savings which was closed by the State Department lof Banking last December will pay 1 the first dividend to depositors next r j month, according to an announcement >' by G. H. Getty, the receiver. He said ithe dividend would amount to at least • I 40 per cent. f! . f I CIVIL ENGINEER KILLS SELF ' ! By Associated Press j Philadelphia, Feb. 16. Charles 9 Mills, said by his associates to have , been one of the most capable civil engineers in the country, committed i suicide on a lonely road last night. He shot, himself with a revolver he had .. just purchased an 1 his body was j found by u soldier from Fort Mfflin, i where a detachment of troops is lo cated. Mr. Mills, who was 53 years ] old, served as consulting engineer on , construction of the Brooklyn subway • until he broke down from overwork. ! 500 LEPERS AT LARGE MAY CAUSE EPIDEMIC Wasliinorton, D. C., Feb. 16. —More than 500 lepers at large in the United States constitute a serious menace and proper steps for segregation are im ! perative, in the opinion of physicians, nurses and others who testified before the Senate health committee yesterday in support of a bill to establish a " national leprosarium. The witnesses, who had made eacten . sive researches, agreed that the 300 persons under treatment in the coun ' try's three state or municipal leper . asylums are less than one-third of the total of those afflicted. They declared > the disease is rapidly spreading and ' the danger of a serious epidemic is ' real. ' ADMIRAL GR \NT ASKS FOR 186 V. S. SUBMARINES ' Wnshington, D. C., Feb. , 16. —Al- -1 though R«ar Admiral Albert W, Grant. ! who is in charge of the submarines of 1 the American fleet, estimates that 1 there should be at least 186 under water bontß in the American fleet, he told the House naval affairs committee yesterday that there are but 27 sub marines now in fit condition and that only five of these are in waters of con tinental United. States. Admiral Grant said that the first hase for submarines south of New Lon don should be at the western end of ( the Philadelphia navy yard. 14 PAGES CITY EDITION PUZZLING FIRE SWEEPS HEART OF FALL RIVER Many Business Houses, Hotels, and Apartments Destroyed in $2,000,000 Blaze By Associated I'rcss Fall River, Mass., Feb. 16.—Esti mates made by owners of property and proprietors of stores in the section of the business district swept by fire early to-day indicated that the total loss would be approximately $2,000,000. A score of buildings, including an apartment hotel and several of the largest retail stores in the city, were destroyed and many others were badly damaged. There was no loss of life and, although there were many nar row escapes, no one was Injured. A determined stand made by the firemen in the rear of a long line of burning buildings kept the flames from spreading to a congested tenement house district. Residents of these [Continued oil Page 6.] Believed to Have Lost Life in Fatal Attempt to Save Milliner From Flames By Associated Press Midland, Mich., Feb. 16.—One per son was burned to death and another Is said to be missing and damage esti mated at $150,000 was caused by a fire which destroyed a block of Mid land's business district early to-day. Miss Delia Taylor, a milliner, es caped from her rooming place, but later attempted to save some of her belongings and perished. It is ru mored that a man who rushed into the building and tried to rescue her also lost his life. The post office, a general store and jewelry and shoe stores were 1 among the buildings burned. 4 • I CREW OF BARGE WASHED OVERBOARD Philadelphia, Feb. 16.—The tug Eastern arrived at • Norfolk, Va., to-day and reported that it had been compelled ] during a heavy storm to abandon the Philadelphia-owne ■ barge, Maurice R. Shaw, with a cargo of lumber from Jack sonville for New York. At the time the barge was aboui j forty miles off the Carolina coast and the crew of three or I four men had been washed overboard and lost. LUSITANIA DRAFT BELIEVED ACCEPTABLE \ Washington, Feb. 16.—Count Von Bernstorff, the Ge j man ambassador, to-day presente d to Secretary the * latest draft of the Lusitania agreement embodying th- j changes suggested by the American government and al 1 one change suggested by Berlin. The indications were that the agreement in its present form would be acceptable to i the United States RUSS CLAIM CAPTURE OF ERZERUM , London, Feb. 16. Reuter's Petrograd correspondent | telegraphs that Erzerum been captured by the Russians. i THRESHERMEN ELECT Harrisburg.—These officers were this afternoon elected by the Pennsylvania Threshermen and Farmers' Protective ' Association: President, H. H. Brubaker, Rohrerstown; vice-president, W. B. Crawford, Indiana county; secretasy- ® treasurer, J A. Rose, Harrisburg; executive committee, George A. DeChant, Harrisburg, chairman; J. W. Corl, State College; S. U. Keppel, Westmoreland; E. J. Moore, i Elwyn, Chester county; C. C. Morrow, Pittsburgh; H. W. Hartley, Northeast Erie; George F. Sellers, Gap, Lancaster t county; Ira M. Hart, Mechanicsburg; E. F. Straubach, Ortania, Adams county; W. F. Hovetter, Harisburg; L. B. f Sexton, Rome, Bradford county; J. H. Bixel, Lycoming county. t POSTPONE WILLARD-MORAN BOUT Chicago, Feb. 16. Jess Willard declared to-day that the proposed bout with Frank Moran, of Pittsburgh, must j be postponed for at least two weeks from the date originally ® set. March 8. j MAKKIAGL UCLNSES , «• John Solomon Graham, oily, and Sylvia Kllaahrth I'lpea, l'enbrook. 1 Howard David Hnrkanur and M. Ile«*lc Hooper, city. Henry Fetterholf, Tower City, and Edna May liens, \\ llllnnmtown. |J TWO BIG LINERS WITH MUNITIONS BURNED AT N. Y. Gasoline For Russia Spreads $3,000,000 Conflagration; Starts on Dock i ' By Associated Press New York, Feb. 16.—The steam ships Bolton Castle and Pacific, and a 900-foot pier belonging to the New York Dock Company at the foot of Pioneer street, Brooklyn, were de stroyed early to-day by the most dis astrous fire on the Brooklyn water front in years. Another steamer, the Pallazia, was damaged, about 25 scows 'and lighters were partly burned. The loss is estimated at considerably mora than $3,000,000. The origin of the fire is unknown but suspicions that it was incendiary; [Contimicd on Page 6.] Investigating Fire Which Destroys Cargo of Sugar on British Ship at Phila. By Associated Press Philadelphia. Feb. 16.—Investiga tion is being made to-day by city au thorities, officials of the Earn Bine Steamship Company and the British consulate to determine whether the fire which damaged the sugar cargo of the British steamship Dalton at a wharf here last night, was of incen diary origin. The loss is placed at SIOO,OOO. The fact that the fire started in two sections of the hold is regarded as suspicious. Officials of the steamship company point out that the fire was the sixth to occur on Hritish steamers loaded with sugar within the last month. The Dalton was to convey the sugar to West Hartlepool, England, for tho British government.
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers