DROVE GERMANS AWAY k Veaeiuelan Bombardment That Turned Out a Failure. DNLV THREE MEN WERE WOUNDED. feather Skilled Fori Sin Carlos. Which Com aaoaaaads the Entrance lo Maracaibo, and Alter aa Hoar'a Excbaoge ol Shot and Shell, Retired The Commandant Claims He Forced the Warship to Retire. Maracaibo, Venezuela (By Cable). The German cruiser Panther shelled Fort San Carlos, at the entrance to Lake Maracaibo, for one hour. The fort re turned the fire with four guns. The I'anther withdrew in the direction ol Cu racao. Fort San Carlos is 22 miles from Maracaibo. and commands the entrance i f the lake or inner bay. The correspondent here has received 1he following letter from General Bello, the commander of the fort : "Sunday afternoon at 12..10 Fort San Carlos was attacked and shelled, without any provocation on o-.ir part, without previous notification or the delivering of n ultimatum, by the German cruiser Panther, which tried to force an entrance. After a fight lasting an hour, during which the fort used only four guns, the Panther was obliged to abandon the fight and retreated in the direction of Curacao. The fort has suffered no damage, and finly three men were wounded'.' There have been popular demonstra tions 011 the streets here as a result of the shelling of the fort. SURPRISE IN WASHINGTON. Aaaiher Attack 00 Veneiuelani Wai Not Expected. Washington ( Special ) .Official Wash ington received the news of the bom-, bardment of Fort San Carlos by the German cruiser Panther with the great est astonishment. No one in official circles would com ment on it. and Secretary Hay. who just returned home from New York, had not learned the details of the engage ment. Count Quadt, a charge of the German Embassy, is still in New York, and inquiries at the Embassy brought 110 information on the subject. It has been supposed here that noth ing more than a peaceful blockade "would be maintained after the agree ment of all parties concerned to submit the case to The Hague tribunal. The bombardment of Puerto Cabcllo. before an agreement of any kind Mas reached, and because of an attack on English tailors by Venezuelans, created less surprise. Bid GUN IS F RED. New 15-Inch Rille, Largest lo America, Does Well-20-Mlle Range. New York (Special). The most powerful gun ever built in America, a huge 16-inch coast-defense rifle, was successfully tested at the Government proving ground, Sandy Hook. It was fired three times in the pres ence of several hundred army officers, a few civilians and Congressman Gil lette, of Massachusetts, who was in vited as a member of the House of Representatives Appropriations Com mittee. Genera! Crozier said the tests show ed the gun was an absolute success and proved that 16-inch guns could be furnished whenever the country wanted them. The gun cost $100,000. It was said that it undoubtedly would be mounted sit Sanday Hook. General ( j'jticr said that while its range at i:.- nicest ele vation was about 20 m-.'.i 11 could be used to hit objects a. .1 distance of only four or five miles. Olnr-ts :urther away could not be seen. General Crozier made a speech just before the f.rst shot was fired in which lie said the gun was planned sixteen years ago. and was authorized by Con gress to ascertain if guns of that size could be bmit when needed. He warned 1bo: present that the weapon might burst, ti the charge of smokeless pow der was by far the largest ever fired. The gun was the greatest step in ad vance yet taken in ordnance. READ HIS OWN MESSAQ2. Cot. La Follclle, of Wisconsin, Urges Legis lature to Pass Anti-Trust Act Madison, Wis. (Special). Both houses of the Wisconsin legislature met in joint session at 2 o'clock, when the Governor's message was read. Governor LaFolIctte read the message in person. He devoted much space to matters pertaining to railway taxation ! ana trie control ol Ireiglu rates :n Wis consin. On the subject of trusts, the Gover nor said: "I desire to emphasize for your attention the importance 01 pro viding most specifically the form and manner for enforcement of such laws as you may enact for the prevention of illegal combinations within the State, to restrain the operations in this State by such combinations organized else where, and for the punishment of vio lators of such laws. The Governor strongly urged the enactment of a law against the paid lob fcyist. 47U Perish at Aodlao. St. Petersburg (By Cab'.e). The of ficial figures show that 4714 persons lost their lives and that 3.1,1 1 2 houses mere destroyed as a result of the re cent earthquakes at Andijan, Russian Turkestan. Conditions ol Arbitration. Berlin (By Cable). In the negotia tions which are about to begin at Wash ington, Great Britain and Germany, as the result of further correspondence, aire quite determine.! that the irre ducible condition of arbitration is that President Castro shall pay or give col lateral security for the sums already specified. T he jwcrs will not consent 1o raising the blockade until Venezuela complies with this unalterable condi tion. The allies place the responsibility iot further delay upon Venezuela. Mok it lie Flvj Carload of Coal. Toledo, Ohio (Special). A mob in cluding over aoo men, women, boys and girls seized five carloads of soft coal -which had jntt arrived in the Wheeling td Lake Erie Railroad yards, consign ed to the National .Malleable Caitino Company and local oil men. There was sto attempt to slop the wholesale seiz surc, neither the police, nor the officials l the railway or casting company tak ing hand in the affair. The lucl u carried oft in wagons, sleighs, soap . hoses, buckets and baskets, and nothing fct the Wk was left in any car. THE LATEST NEWS IN SHORT ORDER. Domestic The delayed steamer St. Louis, of the American Line, arrived nt New York and the passengers landed thor oughly indignant at the company. During the voyange an indignation meeting was held and resolutions passed denouncing the company for sending them across the ocean on a crippled ship. Five sailors belonging to thc'Minne apolis, at League Island Navy Yard, had a dangerous ride on a floating cake of ice in the Delaware River. Their rescue was very dramatic. The Hanover National Bank moved into its new building and S65.000.000 was carried safely through the crowd ed streets of New York. The Ohio Society of New York gave a banquet to Secretary Hay. Many of the diplomats from Washington at tended. Mrs. James R. Booth, wife of a prominent Philadelphia attorney, com mitted suicide at a hotel in Atlantic City. In his testimony in New York before the Interstate Commerce Commission Mr. August Belmont, former president of the Louisville and Nashville Road, did not know that John W. Gates had secured possession of a majority of the stock of the road until he was actually in control. At Riverhead, L. I., Louis A. Disbrow was acquitted of the charge of killing Clarence Foster at Good Ground on the night of June 9. The verdict was reach ed by the jury after brief dcliberati mi. In a speech before the National Live stock Association in Kansas City Hon. W. M. Springer raid that the incorpora tion of the Beef Trust had been pre vented by the power of public opinion. The will of Dr. Bushrod James, of Philadelphia, makes provision for estab lishing a free hospital in that city for the treatment of diseases of the eye and ear. Testimony was given at the Glenn court-martial in Manila of horrible tor tures inflicted upon American prisoners by the Filipinos in Samar. Two hundred shoccuttcrs are on a strike at Lynn. Mass., because of alleged grievances. Their strike affects 3,000 hands in the factories. The overdue steamer St. Louis was sighted off Nantucket Shoals slowly steaming toward New York. Because of the coal famine there is great suffering among the sick at Sche nectady, N. Y. Sentences of two years and six months were imposed at Freehold, X. J., on Dr. Hendricks and former Jus tice of the Peace Stanton for conspir acy to secure possession of the estate of the late H. M. Bennett. President Spencer, of the Southern Railway, gave testimony in New York before the Interstate Commerce Com mission in the merger case of the Lou isville and Nashville and the Atlantic Coast Line. Deeds transferring six coal mines in the vicinity of Springfield, III., to an Eastern syndicate were filed for record, the consideration being about $1,000, 000. The executive committee of the Board of Home Missions of the Reformed Church of the United States of America is in session in Pittsburg. Six Americans who served in the Columiban Army and who returned to San Francisco report rough experi ence. Mrs .Caroline Churchill Miller, wife of former United States Senator War- j ner Miller, died in New York. Foreign. John Redmond, M. P., in an address at Edinburgh, said he believed a mea sure would soon be adopted that would settle the Irish land question and heal the wounds of centuries. The Russian note in reply to that of Great Britain on the sugar convention says she considers the lattcr's-contentions as an interference with her do mestic legislation. The members of the American Em bassy and a number of French offi cials attended the banquet of the American Chamber of Commerce in Paris. The 'Sultan's troops had an unimpor tant conflict with the Pretender's forces in Morocco. The French Chamber of Deputies, after a lively debate, supported the policy of Premier Combes in enforcing his or der to priests in Brittainy forbidding the use of the Breton dialect in prtaching and catechising. Capt. Alder Nicholls confessed in St. Johns, N. F.. that he cast away the schooner Bessie Dodd for the insurant money, and imaJicatcd Mr. Jarrett, who shipped the cargo of fish she was carry ing. T he German Reichstag adopted a res olution asking the government to de nounce treaties with countries where the most-favored-nation clause was inju rious to German interests. Ten thousand dollars has been sub scribed for the prosecution of Whitaker Wright and others involved in the fail ure of the London and Globe Finance Corporation. Premier Coloman de Szell announced to the Hungarian Parliament the in creased duties provided by the new Austria-Hungary ausgleich. The official figures show that 4,714 persons lost their lives in the recent earthquake disaster at Andijan, Russian 1 ttrkestan. Dr. Jean Charcot announced in Pans the plans for an Arctic expedition which is to be exclttMvelv French. Crown Prince Frederick Wilhelm of Germany arrived at St. Petersburg on a visit to the Czar. A Rusian torpedo boat traversed the Dardanelles with the sanction of the Sul tan. The Berlin socialist paper, the Vor- waerts, publishes the story of an at tempt by the political police to bribe an employe of the paper to betray tile secrets of the office. Financial Price of cut nails advanced 5 cents on 1000 pounds. Lchiyh Valley is earning IS per cent, on its $40,000,000 capital stock. The Gould group of stocks is the eas iest of manipulation on the list) They are in excellent control. It is reported that the United States Steel Company will buy the Eastern Steel Company's plant at Pottsville. Country banks are pouring nv.ney in to Philadelphia and New York at rap idly as it (lowed the other way six weeks ago. New York Central will establish s staff of operating officials at Buffalo sim ilar to those of the Pennsylvania at Buf falo. The American Barrel Comouny, some, limes called the "Hogshead T rust." has cut down its capital from $JO,ooo,ocp to $5,coo.coo. 1 Michigan Central fell 46 point one day this week. It is one of the chief Vanderbilt roads. There is little or no market for the stock. ' A meeting of the stockholders' of the Standard Chain Company, of Pittsburg, will be held on February 17 to vote on a proposition to reduce the stock -.from $3.cco,too to $i,co,cco. EXPLOSION ON BATTLESHIP Six Men Are Killed and Several Wounded. Others MAGNIFICENT DISCIPLINE SHOWN. The Accident Occurred on ths Massachusetts While off Cultbra Island Engaged In Target Practice Explosion Was Due lo Accidental Discharge of Percussion Prim While Breech of Qua Was Open. San Juan, Porto Rico (Special). Six men were killed and four others were wounded, two of them probably fatally, by the explosion of a powder charge of an 8-inch gun on board the United States battleship Massachusetts while at target practice off Culebra Island. The explosion occurred in the star board after 8-inch turret, shortly before noon, and was due to the accidental dis charge of a percussion primer while the breech of the gun was open. The full charge exploded in the turret and killed or injured all the crew of the gun, num bering nine men. Ensign Ward K. Wort man, who was in charge of the turret, escaped injury, though he was standing near the scene of the explosion. Magnificent discipline was immediately shown by the officers and crew of the bi tttcship. Capt. Harry Lee, command ing the marine guard of the vessel, and Ensign Clarence A. Abclc immediately flooded the turret with water and Lieut. Charles F. Hughes and Gunner Kuhl wein went below to the magazine, pick ing up powder charges, and prevented further explosion, while Lieut. William C. Cole and Gun Captain Soneman en tered the turret and withdrew the charge from the other gun, whose breech waj open. The survivors of the gun's crew when rescued were burned, mutilated and nearly dead. One man whose clothing was on fire, jumped overboard. In less than a minute after the explos ion three streams of water were pouring into the turret, preventing the charge in the other eight-inch gun from exploding. A funeral service for the men who met their death was held on board the Mas sachusets, Chaplain Wright officiating. Afterwards a procession was formed on shore and proceeded try the military cemetery of Porto Rico, where the inter ment took place. The regimental band of the garrison of Porto Rico took part in the ceremony. Admiral Higginson and the officers of the Massachusetts were at the graveside, where military honors, and also Masonic honor for one of the dead, were rendered. EDITOR SHOT IN COLD BLOOD. N. 0. Gomales Wounded By Lieutenant Gover nor Tillman. Columbia, S. C. (Special). Mr. N. C. Gonzales, editor of the State and widely known throughout The South, is at the Columbia Hospital in a critical condition as the result of a pistol wound inflicted by Mr. James H. Tillman, lieutenant-governor of South Carolina. The shooting occurred on Main street, just at the intersection of Gcrvais street, in full view of the State Capitol. It was an awful tragedy, in broad day light, on the most frequented street and comer in Columbia. It was just a fev moments before 2 o clock when the cry was passed along the streets that "Jim Tillman had shot N. G. Gonzales." The announcement went like a thrill through all Columbia, and there was a rush towards the scene of the tragedy to learn the facts and the condition of the distinguished editor. The office of the State is on the same block as the scene of the shooting, and it took only a few moments for a throng to assem ble in front of the newspaper building. The excitement and the indignation on the streets was intense. MAYOR SENT TO PENITENTIARY. Wllh Other Officials of Brooklyn, IIL, Was Guilty of Malfeasance. Brooklyn, 111. (Special). The trial of Fred F. Vandcrburg, Mayor; Wil liam D. West, City Clerk, and John Strycklin, Commissioner of Streets of Brooklyn, charged with malfeasance in office and a conspiracy to defraud the city by carrying dummies on Strycklin's payroll, which has been on in the St. Clair County Circuit Court for the last four days, came to an end when the jury returned a verdict, find ing all three men guilty. Vandcrbu'g was given two years in the Penitentiary and a fine of -$500; Strycklin received one year and was fined $.250, and the punishment of West was left with the Court. Steward Swept Overboard. New York (Special). The Cunard Liner Lucania arrived from Liverpool and Queenstown and anchored in quar antine at midnight. The Lucania had a very stormy passage with strong westerly gales and high, dangerous, confused seas. On Monday, January 12, an enormous sea boarded the steamer and flooded the saloon deck on the portside. The tre mendous body of water filled up the decks and swept overlioard the deck steward, Frank d lardy : knocked a pas senger down, and tumbled him about so violently that he was badly cut about the head. All efforts to save the deck steward was rendered futile by the tem pestuous condition of the weather. Consular Service Bill ' By a vole of 7 to 6 the House Commit tee on Foreign Affairs decided to re port favorably the bill introduced by Representative Adams providing for tile reorganization 01 tuusuiar cr vice, Willi moaincauons. Claims Powers is Inuoceob Louisville, Ky. (Special). The Cou rier-Journal's staff correspondent at Frankfort, Ky., says that J. R. Mat thews, First Assistant Secretary of State under Caleb Powers, made an open statement there in the presence of witnesses, that five men were re sponsible for the murder of Governor Gocbcl. there may oe otners, lie c.-iid. "but I am satisfied that these men conspired to kill Goebel. Caleb Pow ers was my chief. L believed him inno cent then, and I do to this moment." Taft May Succeed Root Washington (Special). According to present plans, it is said to be likely that Secretary of War Root will resign next Jv.ne or July and that Judge William H. Taft, Governor of the Philippines, will be asked by the President to take the place. The passage of the militia bill and the probable passage of the general staff bill, two measures in which Mr. Knot has been greatly inter ested, mark the finish of the work he ov.tlined when he berneS'1creijrv of War. Mr. Root wiw to .is law practice. WITH THE NATIONAL LAWMAKERS. Mouse of Representative! Refuses to Author lie an Insurance Bureau, At the end of a struggle, which pro longed the session until after 6 o'clock, the House wassed the substitute for the Senate bill to establish a Depart ment of Commerce and Labor. The vote stood 137 to 40. All the Repub licans and 29 Democrats voted for the bill. In committee of the whole the Dem ocrats and a sprinkling of Republicans, led by Mr. John B. Corliss, struck out the part of the bill providing for a Bureau of Insurance. Py a piece of farliamentary strategy Mr. William P. fepburn, chairman of the Interstate Commerce Committee, sought to have this provision restored, but the oppo sition stood fast and he was overcome. The Democrats then attempted to re commit the bill, with instructions to report back a separate bill for the cre ation of a Department of Labor, but the motion was lost. The only other substantial amendment was one to au thorize the President to transfer the Interstate Commerce Commission to the new department. Coal From Canada and Elsewhere Can Be Imported Free of Duty. For one year all coal will be imported practically free of duty, and for all time hereafter anthracite coal is on the free list. The House passed the bill granting for one year a rebate of the full duty on all coal imported into the United States, and when the bill reached the Senate that body added an amendment before adopting the bill, by which anthracite coal shall be forever on the free list. Both the prompt action of Mr. Aldrich in accepting the House bill and his con cession to Mr. Vest, who has been mak ing his fight for free coal, created an agreeable surprise. There was no hard and fast defination of just what shall be regarded as anthracite coal, so that it is quite possible that after the period of the rebate expires all coal not showing 92 per cent, of carbon will again be held as dutiable under the Dingley law. But for the next 12 months coal is practically on the free list, ai d it is not impossible that if the American coal mines suc ceed in eking out an existence during that period, in spite of foreign competi tion, that Senator Aldrich and his col leagues will hesitate before they oppose a motion to keep coal on the free list permanently. Would Punish as Extortionists. A bill was introduced by Represen tative John C. Bell providing that any producer, dealer, transporter, agent or other person in any territory of the United States who shall join with any other person or persons for the pur pose of raising the price of any ar ticle of food or fuel, or its carriage and handling, shall be guilty of extortion. A maximum penalty of $5,000 fine or imprisonment for one year is provided. Minions for Naval Academy. The Naval Affairs Committee of the House adopted by an almost unanimous vote. Mr. , Mudd's proposition to ap propriate an additional $2,000,000 for the United States Naval Academy at Annapolis. Mr. Mudd made a 'strong argument in favor of the increase, which, he said, was required to meet the increased cost of building materials and to make the Academy what it should be, the grandest and best of its kind in the world." This increase will raise the total amount appropriated for the Acad emy tO $10,000,000. For 25 More Battleships. Representative Joy of Missouri intro duced a concurrent resolution directing the House Committee on Naval Affairs to prepare a bill for the construction of 25 additional battle-ships, at a cost of not. more than 53,000,000 each. .Mr. Joy said : tth yroo.ooo.ooo in our 1 reasury. wc certainly are able to build a navy which will make it absolutely certain that wc can enforce the Monroe doc trine. Contagion Among Live Stock. Senator Warren, from the Commit tee on Agriculture, reported the House bill increasing the powers ol the sec retary of Agriculture in the prevention of the increase of contagious diseases among live stock. The committee rec ommends the adoption of an amend ment to the bill making violation of the provisions of the proposed law a misdemeanor punishable by hue and imprisonment. Larger Postofflce at Lynchburg. Representative Carter Glass has in troduced a bill, carrying an appropria tion of $60,000, for the enlargement of the postoffice building at Lynchburg, Va. there is under consideration a proposition to dispose of the postoffice building to the city and to erect a new Federal building, but this has not yet taken definite shape. Statues ol Eminent Tetans. Senator Culberson presented to the Senate a recommendation from Gov ernor Sayers, of Texas, tendering to the United States statues of Gen. Sam Houston and Stephen F. Austin, to be placed in Statuary Hall at the Capitol, to represent the State of Texas. Investigation of Mining Interests. An amendment to the sundry civil appropriation bill appropriating $100. 000 for the investigation of the mining interests of the country by the Geo logical Survey was introduced by Sen ator Perkins. In the Departments. The Statehood Bill, the Immieration Bill and the Cuban Reciprocity Treaty will demand? the attention of the Sen ate. The flagship Mayflower, with Ad miral Dewey and his fleet staff aboard, arrived at the Washington Navy Yard from Culebra. President Roosevelt will make an extended trip through the West in the spring. He will spend most of his time hunting in the wild regions of Colorado and Montana. The latest accident bulletin, just is sued by the Interstate Commerce Commission, shows that for the quar ter ended September 30, 1902, 263 per sons were killed and 2.613 injured in train accidents, while the total number of railroad casualties was 845 killed and 11.163 injured. The House Naval Committee acted favorably upon construction of three large battleships and one cruiser. The Pennsylvania, the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western and the Le high Valley Railroad Companies have filed with the Commerce Com mission statements that recent advances in freight rates are merely restorations of old rate. The regular order, the Department of Commerce Bill, was displaced and the House proceeded to the consideration of private claims bills. Because of a difference is to the amount of rental the negotiations with Colombia for right of way for the in teroeeanic canal arc off. The Agricultural Appropriation Bill caHs for $0,000,000. A BIG DEALK RUMORED The Pennsylvania, It Is Said, Will Get the New York Central. ALL RAILROAD EXPERTS CREDIT IT. Wall Street Brokers Inclined to Doubt Sig nificance of Recent Big Moves by A. J. Cassatt Pennsylvania Railroad Mileage East and West of Pltlsbnrg Is 8,058, snd New York Central Is 10,387. New York (Special). Wall street docs not fully credit a story revived that the Pennsylvania is to absorb the New York Central railroad system. Neither does it fully credit the rumor that the Pennsylvania will in a few weeks be i.i control of the New York, New Haven and Hartford. With practical railroad men outside Wall street, who are watching Presi dent A. J. Cassatt's big moves in the development of the Pennsylvania sys tem, these rumors find more credence. They profess confidence that Mr. Cas satt's next coup will see the Pennsyl vania in Boston and that the acquisi tion of '.he New York Central will be accomplished in time, though possibly not for a year or more. These men regard it as a logical de velopment of the Pennsylvania system that it should reach the Atlantic not only at New York and Montauk Point, but at the New England metropolis as well. They feel sure that sooner or later the New York Central will be come part of the system. It is taken as somewhat confirming these rumors that the Pennsylvania is about to increase its capital stock so largely. "It is a pretty idea in this day of in teresting combinations," said a finan cial expert. "There is a standing pol icy of harmony which neither party will disturb. When the Pennsylvania has completed its improvements in this city some kind of a working agreement may be made with the Central, to say the least. "It would he a gigantic undertaking for any company to gather together the scattered stock of the Central and the large holdings of the Vanderbilts and perfect a satisfactory absorption of them." "The New York Central and the Penn sylvania," said another broker, "are working on well-defined plans in this city, each to intrench itself more se curely and to perpetuate its identity. The statement that the Vanderbilt fam ily would not be averse to parting with the management of their great system seems to me to be erroneous. Their in born love of railroad affairs would never permit of the passing of the Cen tral interests from their hands." Bearing out the harmony idea between the two roads is a dispatch from Phila delphia today in which officers of the Pennsylvania call the reports from De troit of trouble between the Central and Pennsylvania pure nonsense. It adds that the interests of both roads are too great and too varied to permit of a wrangle between them. CRUELTIES OF FILIPINOS. Several American Sympathizers Were Buried Alive. Maila (By Cable). Six officers who served in the Island of Samar testi fied before the court-martial which is trying Major Edwin F. Glenn, of the Fifth Iniantry, on the charge of unlaw fully killing seven prisoners of war in Samar. The witnesses mostly detailed the enemy's acts of barbarity, such as burying persons alive, mutilating live and dead persons and torturing and murdering prisoners and natives in sym pathy with the Americans. The defense produced an order of General Lucban, directing the use of poison against Americans. The court admitted as evidence the captured report revealing additional features of the plot which led to the Balangiga massacre. The witnesses agreed that the policy of Brigadier General Jacob H. Smith was necessary and that it ended the in surrection in Samar. Captain Smith testified that the friendly natives who were refugees in the mountains .in his district petitioned to be allowed to return to the town and promised to support the Amcj-icans. Captain Swaine, said the witness, told General Smith they would die of star vation if left in the mountains, and Gen eral Smith, the witness added, said, "Lc: them die. The sooner they are dead the sooner we shall have peace." No Chewing Oum, No Work. St. Louis (Special). Because of an order issued by their foreman that they must refrain from chewing gum during working hours, 65 girls, employed as band wrappers for the Samuel Cupplcs Envelope Company, went on a strike and refuse to return unless the decree is withdrawn. The foreman says there is no objection to the girls chewing gum during the noon hour, but there is ob jection during working hours, 107 Deaths from Plague. Mazatlan, Mcx. (Special. There have been 107 deaths from thjs plague since January 1. The deaths on January IS numbered seven, and many new cases are reported. Most of the ladies of the higher class have left the city, and hardly any women are seen on the streets. Trade is reduced to the lowest possible point. Great disappointment is felt in the non arrival of scrum on the steamer from Guayamas. Identified as "Buch" Clark. Chicago (Special). The second of the robbers who held up a Burling ton train near Marcus, III., on August 5 and murdered one of their compan ions to prevent betrayal, was positively identified at the Pinkerton office as Thomas Clark, known as "Butch" Clark, one of the most daring and no torious criminals in the country. By members of the train crew Clark is recognized as the one who placed the pistol at the head of the wounded ban dit and blew out his brains. McKialey Memorial. Washington, D. C. (Special). Col. I. C. Bonner, president to the McKirfley Memorial Association, of Toledo, O., extencYd an invitation to the President to mem' th nnvciling of the McKinley memorial, which was erected by the citizens of Toledo. The date ol the un veiling has not teen fixed, but will be na-red to suit the convenience of the President should he be able to be pres ent. The probability is that it will be about the time the President starts on, his western trip in the spring. T'.,t President told Colonel Bonner that he would he slitd 10 attend the iinveilinir GERMANY MAKES DENIAL Is Not Trying to Buy the Panama Csnal Note Sent to V. S. s Berlin (By Cable). The German government has sent a note to the United States relative to the report that Germany is seeking to acquire Co lombia's interests in the Panama Canal Company, affirming that the report is uuerly baseless, and, it is undefstood, expressing the opinion that Germany's commerce would be benefited by the construction of the caual by (he United States. Washington (Special). It is learned at the State Department that Ambas sador Tower has received from the German Foreign Office an unequivocal denial of the statement that found some currency a few days ago to the effect that the German government was endeavoring to secure control of the Panama Canal franchise. The Ambas sador's advice did not credit the Ger man government with any feeling for or against the canal enterprise, but it is gathered that the state of the public mind in Berlin, certainly in commercial circles, is favorable to American con struction because of the benefits ex pected to accrue to German shipping engaged in trade on the Pacific ana on the west coast of South America. It is said at. the State Department that there is no change in the status of the negotiations with Colombia re specting the canal. Great impatience is exhibited at the delays and failure of Colombia to accept the terms held out, and pressure is being brought to bear to hasten a conclusion, so that the President, before adjournment of the present Congress, may have ac quired control of either the Panama or the Nicaragua routes, and be in a po sition to begin the work of construc tion. To Oct Loan From Sellgmans. Willcmstad, Curacoa (By Cable). United States .Minister Bowen is em powered, it is rumored, to close with a New York syndicate represented by J. & W. Scligman & Co. for a loan to Venezuela of $25,000,000. The money thus raised is to be used to pay off all foreign claims. The Venezuelan gov ernment will guarantee the loan with import duties. Hotel Quests In Pantc Chicago (Special). Fire which b'okc out at an early hour here destroyed a large manufacturing block at Canal and Madison streets, causing a loss esti mated at $100,000, and caused a panic among the guests of the Grand Cen tral Hotel adjoining. For a time it was feared that the hotel would be destroy ed, and many inmates fled in scant at tire into the street. He Became a Human Torch. - Franklin, Pa. (Special). During a shortage of coal the Eclipse Oil Works has been compelled to use oil fuel. While firing the boilers F. J. Peters' clothes became saturated with oil, and later, when he opened the furnace door, the flames leaped through the door and set fire to his clothes, burning him so badly that he died. Forgotten In a Fire. Williamsport, Pa. (Special). Mrs. Daniel Rowland was burned to death and her husband was fatally injured by leaping from a third-story window at Berwick, Pa. A fire started from an explosion in a drug store on the first floor, and the firemen did not know anyone lived on the third floor until Rowland jumped from the window. His wife was found dead in her bed room. Daring Escape of Convicts. . Bay Minettc, Ala. (Special). Frank Edwards, a member of the Miner-Duncan gang, of Birmingham; Clint Mob ley and Gilbert Allen, a one-armed ne gro, all convicts, made a daring escape from the Hand Lumber Company's stockade at Dc Live. -Edwards secur ed a pistol and going to one of the guards commanded him to hold up his hands. They began firing together, the guard receiving two slight wounds. Edwards then made a dash for a loco motive standing near, where Moblcy was ready at the throttle. With a good start they went through the line, to the end of he switch and then took to the woods. Feared Blindness, Died. Philadelphia (Special). Made des perate by the knowledge that he would go blind if he followed his trade as a tailor and unable to get work at any thing else, Max Horn committed sui cide by swallowing carbolic acid in hi: room in this city. He was dead when the door of his room was forced at noon, and an empty bottle, labeled car bolic acid, lying by his side explained the cause. On the table was a note, written in Hebrew, which was conclud ed with the sentence: "Good-by tc the world." Horn was abont 28 yean old. He came from. New York four months ago. Twelve Killed In. Explosion. Naninio, B. C. (Special). A terrific explosion occurred at the Hamiltor Powder Company's works, Departure Bay. George Simonetta, James Ful forte and 10 Chinamen were killed Only one body that of a Chinaman was recovered. The others wen blown to fragments. Guncotton in t storage house exploded first, the con cussion starting other explosions in a drying house 400 fen away.w-here th chief loss of life occurred. The grotinc" was excavated to a depth of six feet where the building stood. The build ing was blown into kindling wood and scattered, with fragmcnls of human flesh, over several acres. Spark Fell In Powder Keg. TitUburg (Special) John Mulgrez a Slav miner, and his wife, living ai Sturgeon Station, near McDonald, Pa. were fatally injured and their hous wrecked by an explosion of a keg o' gunpowder. Mulgrez was filling a car when a spark from the kitchen stov fell into the keg. In the exploaior which followed Mulgrez was blriwt through a window and his wife wai h'jrlcd 12 feet against a wall. Botr were burned from head to foot and wil die. The house took fire and was bad ly damaged. Yales Assets, $Md6,7i New Haven, -Conn. (Special). Tin annual report of the treasurer of thi Yale Corporation for the fiscal year ended July 31, 1902, shows that tht permanent funds of the university wen increased during the year by the sun of $156,836 and the building funds b $403,118. The university also received gifts which have -added $25,123 to itt income. The consolidated statement of special and general funds and asset shows a total ol $6,806,752. The uni versity income fell $17,091 behind ex penses, the latter amounting to $706,- THE KEYSTONE STATE. Kwi Happening of Interest 0atbere4 From All Source, Pennsylvania patents: Edwin E. Ar nold, Pittsburg, valve for gas engines; Adoniram J. Campbell, Media, sad iron; William C. Coffin, Pittsburg, blast fur nace; Charles A. Conn, Pittsburg, oil .filter; William P. Flint, Pittsburg, ig niter apparatus for gas engines; Andrew W. Graham, Bradford, surgical splint; William S. Halsey, Pittsburg, means for transmitting fluid under pressure; Mar shall W. Hanks, Pittsburg, treating f (lowers for direct current electric amps ; Washington D. Keys," Kittan ning, apparatus for annealing glass; John H. King and E. M. Wolf, Beaver Falls, mill for rolling seamless tubing; Harry M. McColl, Pittsburg, starting valve for explosive engines; Lemel Pat terson, Warren, sash lock ; John C Reed, Allegheny, mold emptying apparatus; frank Siegrist, Coopcrsburg, attachment for rocking chairs; John A. Titzel, .Franklin, electric motor or generator; William G. Waring, Tyrone, extracting zinc, producing pure white pigment, mak ing pure hydrogen sulfide from furnace gase.4. While a 10-nionth-old child of Harry McKinley, at Burnhani, was creeping about the floor on January 6 it was heard to utter a scream. The mother could find nothing wrong with the child, but he continued to give evidence of Buf feting until Saturday morning when the mother saw a small black spot on one of the child's hips. This proved to be a knot on the end of a black thread. When the mother tried to remove the thread she found it was of considerable length. S'.ic became frightened and called in neighbor. The two women, after much difficulty, succeeded in getting out a long thread with a needle attached, which had evidently entered the child's flesh and worked its way into the body until its progress was stopped by the knot on the end of the thread. Orders have, been issued by the United States Steel Corporation to fesume work at the Sharon steel plant. ( The Allcntown County Commissioners' fixed the rate for county tax at 1.8 mills. In 1900 the rate was 3 mills. Going into the cellar of his furniture store at Lock Haven, H. E. Pursley shot himself in the head and died a few hours later. Eleven boys and three junk dealers were arrested in Shamokin in connec tion with numerous thefts of iron from the Shamokin Wagon Works. Five additional free rural mail deliv ery routes will be placed in operation on February 2, having the York Post Office) as their distribution center. At the annual meeting of the Yardley Pastime Club, Irwin Aaron was elected president, Edward V. Comly secretary, and Thomas S. Cadwalladcr treasurer. Samuel Lcith, of Rittersville, 19 years aid. has been arrested, charged with at tempting to shoot his father when tha latter desired to visit his wife, from whom he is separated. Shortly after eating dinner, the five members of the family of Harry Spade, ni Shamokin, became violently ill. but a phj sician afforded relief. It is supposed they ate poisoned food. The Stone Masons in Bethlehem, through their union, have demanded ol their employers a reduction of the work inrr day to nine hours and an increase of wiigcs to 30 cents an hour. While alone with her infant at her home in Roxbury, Mrs. John Nicklas was burned to death. The family of George Rocmer, ol Plummer, numbering ten persons, were poisoned, a can of poison having fallen l.ur. bi'ckwhcat that was used to make cakes for the family. Several men and women charged with rioting at Lykcns and Wiconisco dur ing the late anthracite coal strike pleaded guilty in the Dauphin County Court. Sentence was suspended. A verdict for $2000 was awarded in court at Reading against the city in favor of John Fri' for injuries sus tained in falling through a hole in the pavement.' The Auburn Bolt and Nut Works, In Av.burn and West Brunswick Town fliip, in which State Senator Quail was interested, passed into possession of Philadelphia and Wilmington capitalists who ' have organized . the Delaware Seamlcis Tube Company. ; The Harrisburg Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution lm elected Mrs. R. J. Haldeman and Miss Caroline Pearson delegates to the national convention, to be held next month in Washington. Miss Mary Cal der, Miss Jennings and Mrs. C. A. Rah-tc- are the alternates. Clarence McCoy and William Guter-:-.:an, of Columbia, who are awaiting .rial for the murder of Trackwalker Jacob II. Bostic, at Bainbridge, on December 13, were token into court on a habeas corpus proceeding, but Judge Landis dismissed the writ and remand ed the men to jail to sRind tiial. Presiding Elder H. S. Gable, of Leb anon; Conference Treasurer I. B. Haatc, of Myerstown. and Rev. R. R. Butter wick, of Palmyra, representing the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference of the United Brethren Church, purchas ed the property of the United Brethren Camp Meeting Association, ;of Mb Lebanon. Store clerks of Norristown have or ganized to secure shorter hours. They tavor closing every evening at 6 o'clock, except Saturdays. The officers chosen are: President. George Clem iner: vice-president, William Hansell; recording secretary, Emily Shainlain; corresponding secretary. Ella Wheeler; treasurer, Anna M. Quinn. At the meeting of the Yorktown Chapter. Daughters of the American Revolution, a. resolution was adopted rcii'.-.tsting all the clergymen of ork to observe Washington's Birthday, 'hich this year comes on Sunday, by oreaching patriotic sermons and also that they ask their congregations to ris; while singing or listening to pa triotic hymns. . Council of Dunker churches ordered a Snyder county preacher to answer charges of violating the tenets of ths ert by shooting a robber. In the trial of ex-County Treasurer Thompson, at York, his counsel charged 1 he District Attorney with forcing the Grand Jury to render a true hill. Two robber. forced their way into the house of a Lancaster family, one guard ing the husband while the other orders the wife to secure a sum of money known to be in the house. The husband crawls stealthily out of bed in the dark and succeeds in giving an alarm, where upon the robbers fled. In a rear-end collision between the news express train on the Northern CiMilrr.l Railway and a freight train, near SeilzlandJ the locomotive ol the passenger train' wa I demolished and two f 1 tight cars were destroyed. One of the freight cars, loaded with tur pentine, caught fire. ' Engineer Rohr laugh and Fireman Miller, of (he pas sender train, jumped and were slightly injured. , Because he disinisted banks, John F'irdy. of Honeybrook, deposited his r.toncy in nn old shoe. Next morning when Purdy arose he found the shot, together with $200 and a boarder, miss ing. if
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers