VOL.XXVII. ANOTHER DIG DAM BURSTS. FORTY I.IVES I.OST AMI 1111.1.10NS OF PROPERTY DESTROYED. A Wall of Water Fifty Feet Hlgli Over whelms Everything a* It Pours Down a Narrow Valley—The Dam Was Iluilt For Water Storage, and Cost Ht300,000. In addition to what we published yes terday concerning tlie bursting of the res ervoir in Arizona, the following lias teen received ftom Prcscott, Ariz.: The tine large storage dam built across Ilassavampa river by the Walnut Grove Water Storage Company two years ago at a cost of $300,000, gave way yesterday morning under great pressure ola heavy flood, and swept everything before it. Forty persons arc known to have lost their lives. As the town ot Wickenburg, thirty miles below the dam, was on the stream, great fears arc entertained for the safety of that town, hut as there is no tel egraphic communication, no news has yet been obtainable of its fate. The service dam of the company, fifteen miies below the reservoirs, and fifteen miles of flume, just approaching completion, were also swept away, although the company lias spent over 800,000 on the enterprise of steering the water. The hydraulic mining machine had arrived and they expected to commence operations next week. The dam which held the waters back was 110 feet long at the base and 400 feet at the top. It was 110 feet thick at the base and ten feet at the top, forming a lake three miles in length by three-fourths •fa mile wide, and 110 feet deep. Lieut. Brodie, in charge of the work, was absent at Plioeuix superintending the shipment of the machinery to the works, and was saved. Among those known to have been drowned are : J. Haines, wife and four children, 11. Boone and daughters, John Silby, Joseph Reynolds, Mrs. McCarthy, S. McMillcr. Not the Blighest doubt hail been enter tained of the safety of the dam, and numerous houses had bo-.. ceded by miners at various places along the course of the stream. These were uplifted by the raging waters as though they had been corks, and floated down stream until they were dashed to pieces. The first intimation of the appalling disaster was a sound resembling thunder, and at the same instant a perpendicular wall of water fully fifty feet high came rush ing down the narrow valley with almost incredible speed. Fortunately there were but comparatively tew people living near thebottom of the hillsides, and of these a large number were warned by the awful sound and escaped to higher ground. The valley widens above Wickcnburg, and much of the town lies upon the low lauds close to lue course of the stream, and it is almost certain that the vast body of water which rushed out of the reser voir has carried away many houses at that place. It is believed here that fully as many people were drowned there as immediately below the dam. The ruined dam is cut from the top almost to the bot tom, as though a section had been dragged out and the water above is only a few feet deep. Heavy rains have fallen for several days, and on Friday niglit it was appa rent that the water in the lake was ap proaching the danger line. The rain continued throughout the night, and early yesterday morning the water rose to the top of the dam and cut a small pas sage near the centre, which rapidly wid ened and deepened as the water poured over it, until in less than twenty minutes the little stream hnd become a roaring cataract. The storage company is blamed for not having provided a sufficient outlet for the water in time of danger. The only way of letting off water was through tbe flume, and this afforded jjno appreci able relief. This is the first of the great stor age reservoirs projected in the territory and it is believed to-day's disaster will operate to discourage the construction of similar dams. No further news has yet reached here of the loss of life or the damage caused by the break of the Walnut Grove dam. Arthur Allen, formerly in tbe enter prise, and John McDonald, owner of tbe Blue Dick mine, have just returned from the Dozoris Divide, fourteen miles south of the town, from where a view of the darn could be bad. Wasli Waterway could be plainly seen with their powerful glasses high upon the side of the cliff, while the break in tbe stone work of tbe dam was also plainly seen. The break in the dam is sloped to the eastward, leaving the impression that the main break was on tbe east side. There can be no accurate estimate of the loss of life yet or of property, but the latter wil[ reach into tbe millions, while the loss of life, will, without doubt,be great, as many of the families were living near the stream in the narrow canons. As the wires are now down near Prescott Junction, it is hardly probable that any additional in formation will be received to-nigbt. SAN FRANCISCO, February 24.—Engi neer Luther Wagner to-day gave a re porter some details of tbe construction of he dam, which show that this disaster, JOHNSTOWN, CAMBRIA COUNTY. PA., FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 28,1890. like that at Johnstown, was due to the oarlessncss ami meanness of the corpora tion that built it. lie was called in to ve- port on the dam gbout a year and a half ago. It was to have been faced with stone fourteen feet thick at the base and four feet at top, filled willi loose rock, and made water tight with wood sheath ing. It was about half done wtien Wagner inspected it, and ho found the stone had been filled iu carelessly and was high in the centre, making the structure un stable. The junction of the sheathing and bed reck was intended to be secured by a thick layer of Portland cement, but ibis work was not well done,because of the cost of getting the cement to the works, the company paying $2,000 freight on SI,OOO worth of cement. Thus a dangerous crevice was formed at the base of the dam, and the leakage was heavy, being forty-one inches, with seventy feet of water in the dam. The lumber used was also full of knot holes. Wagner advised the discharge of the con tractors and engineer, as lie regarded them as worthless, but this was not done. The company, however, acting 011 his advice cut a large waste away and strengthened the weak places. Wagner warned them that the dam would be un safe unless some of the work was gone over and rectified, but they didn't listen to him. A GREAT llllslNliSS HOUSE. How the Miimmotli Commercial Establish men! of'.lolio Thomas & Hons Has Ile \eloped from a Very Humble Begin ning. It will be twenty-five years next April since Mr. John Thomas began business in a story and a half wooden building on a part of the site now occupied by his mammoth business establishment, front ing from 240 to 24S Main street, and ex tending back one hundred and fifty feet to the alley. The whole of this large building has lately been tboiouglily ren ovated and remodeled, each of the three floors being in one immense room. They form the largest rooms in the city, giving altogether over one-half an acre of floor surface. The building as remodeled is complete in every detail. On the first floor are the Dry Goods, Boot and Shoe, Grocery, and Feed Departments, in all of which is to be found a complete stock in their respective lines. A member of the linn is now in the cast purchasing what they consider will be the most complete stock of fancy and dry good? outside of the very largest cities. On the second 11 lor are the Car pet, Clothing, Hat and Furnishing De partments. The stock of carpets is simply imn use, and more are still on the way lo re. A great assortment of clothing occupies the whole rear of the second story. The whole of the third story is used for storing surplus stock, including, trunks, valises, carpets, and almost anything mentiouable. The whole establishment is equipped with every desirable improvement, in eluding the Barr cash delivery with ten stations, elevators, and every other mod ern appliance. The large plate glass display windows are mueli admired and afford a good op portunity for the artistic window decor ator to exhibit his taste, and at the same time to give a suggestion to the passers by of wbat is to be found inside. Considering the humble beginning, tbe development and the present state of the business built up by Mr. Thomas and his sons, it is certainly a great illustration of what close application and good business methods are able to do. The building in which Mr. Thomas first started in busi ness scarcely occupied as much floor space as the sky light in the present establishment, which is the largest gen eral store under one management be tween Philadelphia and Pittsburgh. Tlie Cambria City Itridge. The old rickety bridge that serves as the only means of wagon communication with Cambria City looks worse than ever, since the last high water. The roadway pursues a very tortuous course and the supports look to be anything but safe, ft is to be hoped that a new structure will replace the old shaky temporary one be fore long, or we may learn of some acci dent, and then will come the " I told you so." New Sewer in Cumbria. The bid of Ilenry Roberts to put in 140 feet of sewer on Second avenue, Cambria borough, from the alley between Chestnut and Broad streets to the lutter street at seventy-five cents per foot has been ac cepted by the authorities of that borough. Work will be commenced at once. Many of tbe sewers in that borough, the offi cers say, are in a very bad con dition and will have to be repaired before 'ong. Planted Potatoes on February stl. J. llays, Sr., of Birmingham township, Chester county, Pa., planted a patch of potatoes on February sth, and if the seed does not die from influenza or be blown to New Jersey by the March winds, he expects a crop of new potatoes by April Ist. TO HE TRIED FOR MCItDEn. Ai.di-ew UrlHinrtz to be Tried for llu- Mur der of Albert lllgiek. r:i<l to i hr Johnstown Drmocrnt. EIIKNSBUIKI, PA., February 25.— When it was known here yesterday tunt Albert Digick had died at the county almshouse of tils wounds, Coroner P. McGougli summoned a jury and with District At torney O'Connor and several others went out to view the remains. Dr. F. C. Jones, physician for the County Home was also one of the party, as was defend ant iu tlic case —Andrew Urbanelz. When the Coroner's party arrived at the Almshouse they found the body of Dig ek prepared for burial. Urbanelz viewed it and looked f<;r the wound, lint when it was exposed lie declined lo look at it When the jury had viewed Hie body they adjourned to meet liiis morning at 10 o'clock in 'lie Arbitration room of the Court House. At the appointed hour litis morning the Coroner's jut V assembled and the pris oner was brought in. I. Lilly, Steward of the Almshouse was Ilie first witness ex amined. Being sworn, he testified as follows : I am Steward of the Cambria county Alms bouse. 1 bad under my stewardship s Hungarian named Albert Dlgiek. lie was brougUt there on llie lTth of the present month, 110 was very weak and bad awo and In Ills left broatt. He remained there, gradually sinking and becoming weaker until thecal, when be died. Dr. Jones was sworn and gave I his tes timony : 1 am a physician and inside In Ebensburg. I am the physician at the county Almshouse. 1 was called there on Monday, the 17lh ot the present month, and found Albert Dlgiek suffer ing from a wound In the left breast, which bad apparently been made by a blunt instrument. The wound was round In form,ai d was about an Inch and a halt in depth. The Instrument that made the wound had penetrated the left lung. I visited the patient the following day and found him weaker - and apparently suffering. 1 was sent for on the a3d, and when I arrived I fouud him dj lng. A secondary hemorrhage had set In perhaps a half hour before I arrived, and be con tinued to bleed till dead. The hemorrhage was the direct result of the wound and caused his death. The prisoner, who is able to speak only broken English then innde a statement to the effect that Digick boarded with him in Mincrsville, and on the evening of the trouble lie proposed to Urbanetz cer tain things concerning the latter's sister which lie very forcibly resented, saying that lie (Digick) was writing to a girl in the old country. This Digick admitted and then went out. He soon returned with another Hun and when the two came into the house of Urbanetz, lie asked Digick : "Do you intend to marry my sister?" " No, but I've brought an othet fellow to look at her," replied Digick. Words passed between them and Urbanetz urges that Digick called him a name that he could not stand. " Much drink," said he, " I had hot poker in my band, was going to light my pipe, and I either put it at him or he run against it, much excited. Sec you again." The jury then considered the case and delivered the opinion that Albert Digick came to bis death from a wound mada by a red hot poker in the hands of Andrew Urbanetz, and recommended that lie be held to answer for the crime. The jury was then discharged. The case now rests with the Distrist Attorney, and will come up at the regular March term of court if the case can be got ready A HORRIBLK DEATH. A Man's Body Cut in Twain on the Kailroad Near Lilly—lt in Burled at tlie Summit. About 6 o'clock on Monday evening the mutilated body of a man was found about half a mile west of Lilly's Station. It was cut in two about the middle. Mr. T. B. Speedy, of this city, who found the body, was wnlking from Smith's Sid ing to Lilly. When he arrived at the lat ter place he notified the railroad author ities there, who had the remains brought to that place. Yesterday the remains were interred at the Summit. No one at Lilly knew the man, but on one of his arms the Initials " K. P." were printed. No letters or other means of identification were to he found on his person. Yesterday it was learned that about two and one-half months ago a stranger named ltobert Parrell came along and obtained employment at Bridge No. 0. On Monday he drew his pay and started eastward, saying to some that he was going home to Philadelphia. None of the men who worked with him, or his employers know anything about where Parrell is from. They say that the man found dead at Lilly is undoubtedly Far rell. It is hoped that some of his rela tives or friends may learn of his fate. County Comralmiioner. Mr. John Kirby, of Coneraaugh bor ough, announces himself to-day as a can didate for the Democratic nomination of County Commissioner. Mr. Kirby is one of the best known citizens in this com munity, and has made an acceptable and accommodating Commissioner. His knowledge of the value of property, and bis experience in that office make him a strong candidate. His high character as a citizen, and steadiest adherance to Dem ocratic principles are well Jknown. If I nominated lie would be elected by a large majority. HENRY GEORGE: CI.UH. ' Tim Republican Club Not Ready For Taut Discussion Yet—Other Matters Ills- VIINHCD, The Ilenry George Club held their reg ular business meeting at their rooms in Ilantly's building Wednesday niglit.Chair ' man Goo. ('. Gibbs called the meeting to i order, and Richard Eyre, Secretary, after . reading the minutes of last meeting, pre sented a number of matters for the con sideration of the Club. The Treasurer's report allowed a de ficiency, occasioned by the expenses inci dent to the lecture of Ilenry George, but as all bills had been met by Mr. Moxham, the treasurer was instructed lo pay over the balance on hand to him, and as Mr. Moxham had volunteered to pay any de ficiency, the account was considered dosed. The secretary announced that the rent of the room, which was now $lB per month, would be raised to S2O on April Ist. A. request from the Democratic Society for the use of the rooms provoked quite a discussion. Several members objected to allowing the rooms to be used by any promiscuous gathering, but it was ex plained that this wns a select society which would meet only for interchange of views and instruction on the differ ence of the primal principles of the two great parties of to-day ; and the objec tions were withdrawn. Mr. Alf. fleslop, however, insisted in charging them $lO a month rent, which by most of the mem bers was considered extortionate. Me ac knowledged that he was a Repulican and said his political predilections possibly had something to do with his feeling in the matter. After naively acknowledging that he held many principles in common with the Democrats he did not further press the point. The members of the club however said that they would look upon the matter in the same light whether it was a Republican or Demo cratic club, just so the rooms were to be used for the instruction of tlic people. Enlightenment was what tlicy wanted. It was finally agreed to give the Demo cratic Society the use of the rooms for their regular Thursday evening meetings, and not more than two special meetings a month at a rental of $5 a month. The Secretary stated that he had yet received no response from the Republi can Club in answer to his request for a date for the poposed discussion, lie was in hopes however to yet hear from them. At the request of Secretary Stephenson of the Henry George Club of Philadel phia, the Secretary was ordered to com municate with tlie Legislative Commit tee which is charged with the duty of recommending needed changes in the tax laws of the State The opinion was ex pressed however that nothing of value to the single tax idea would likely be accom plished by this committee. At 9:45 the meeting adjourned. WHAT A MOUSE CAN DO. A Fire in Cambria City Caused by One That Played With a Match. Wednesday near the hour of noon a Are broke out in the upper story of the house of Charles McClafferty, at the corner of Broad street and Third avenue, Cambria. A saloon is kept by Sir. McClafferty in one room of the house, which contains four rooms and was erected since the flood, He had been up street and when he returned to the house, lie asked hi** daughter, who was sewing at a dress, whether she had put any patches in the fire, there being a smell of burning rags in the house. Mrs. McClafferty had also noticed a peculiar oder when she was up stairs a few minutes before, and also thought the same oder was discernible down stairs. The remark of the old gentleman aroused the suspicion that there was fire in the house. To investigate the matter the statr door was opened, and at once a great volume of smoke rolled down. An alarm was given and in a few minutes a bucuet brigade hail extinguish ed the fire, which, it was found, had de stroyed a dresser and badly charred one corner and about half of the ceiling of the room. It had also got to the attic, and only a few minutes more of a start would have given the Humes complete possession of the whole upper story. The fire originated in one corner of the room back of the dressing bureau. No one was in the room at the time, nor had there been any one around with a light since the night before. Some matches were lying loose on the dresser, and it is thought that some of them had dropped down behind it and were carried by mice into the wall, whera a hole was found,and that in so doing a match had become ignited. Mrs. McClafferty was badly scorched about the head and face in attempting to remove a drawer containg some money and other valuables from the dresser. Most of the furniture was injured by be ing removed hurridiy and by the water. There was no insurance on the injured property. Mr. McClafferty's house was swept away by the flood, and the new one came ' nearly being destroyed by fire. i ♦ i ' Another cold wave is promised. THE UUTV ON STKKI, HAILS llow Our Hail Manufacturer* Look t'pon flic Proposition to Kcriuce tlie Only to £IO Per Tou. At present the duty ou steel rails is sl7 per ton. The Ways and Means Commit tee will likely recommend to Congress that the duty he reduced to $lO per ton. Various papers have been gathering opin ions from leading railtnakcrs all over the country as to whether tlie; duty proposed was sufHclent protection against English rails. The interviews with our local steel men are given herewith • Mr. A. ;J. Moxham, President of the Johnson Company, which make entirely steel rails, said : " I believe the only thing that will benefit our country is absolutely free trade. We will soon Hrul out that if we once had free trade we would be shipping rails to England." Mr. Max M. Suppcs, Superintendent of the rolling mill of the Johnson Company, said : " I have been looking much into the matter lately, but 1 don't think there are many rails coming over from Eng. land now. *1 don't know whether (lie $lO rale would benefit our country or not." TIIB I.ADOR IN A TON OF KAILS. Mr. John Fulton, General Manager of the Cambria Iron Company, which makes thousands of tons every month said : " The price of steel rails in this country and England at the present time is about the same, but this is abnormal and cannot be relied upon as permanent. The latest quotations of steel rails at Philadelphia for heavy sections, put them at SBS per ton at the mill. There are intimations of even lower figures but they are not to be relied upon. In England at the same time the quotations for heavy sections was £7.10, or about $35.25. In arranging a schedule or tariff that will answer for times when the market is flush or slack, we have to ascertain the labor in a ton of rails. That would consist in the mining of the ere and coal and making coke at fur nace and mill operation, and then the pro portion would simply be the difference in wages in the two countries. In England they have strong advantages in assscm bling material. Labor here and labor In England bring considered, the difference is about forty to fifty per cent, increase here over the Euglish labor. That is all the protection we need or ask for. Whether $lO u ton is sufficient duty as a protection against English rails or not de pends upon the difference in labor be tween the two countries, and the relative a 1 vantages in assembling the material. " The advantages which England lias over us in the latter respect is not usually taken into consideration. Wc are opera ting on a broad continent, involving long freight charges, while England is an island in the sea inheriting a much cheaper ocean transport. She reaches out to Spain for ores and gets them very cheap there, and lias large fields of coal for coke making at home. " At the present time there is a boom in rails in England, consequently, under these conditions the market is not in its normal conditiou, and it would not be air to reason from this that the, relative cost of production at rails would continue as at present. Wise statesmanship would establish a tariff to meet the average dif ference of labor and assembling material in the two countries. Whether $lO a ton will be sufficient to cover this difference, is a question that is fairly open to discus sion." For the Legislature. In this tiaper to-day Jacob Zimmerman, Esq., announces himself as a candidate for the office of member of the Legisla ture, subject to the action of the Demo cratic primary election. Mr. Zimmerman has grown to manhood in this place, and is known to all our citizens. For years he has successfully practiced law, and, like many of our citizens, lost most of his ac cumulations in the great flood of May 31, 1889. After that great disaster, however, with his accustomed enery and ability, lie resumed his professional business, and in terested himself in public affairs. He was born and raised a Democrat, and lias always been found in the ranks of that great historic party. His experience as a lawyer and his knowledge of the wants of the citizens of this county would make him a valuable representative of the people at Harrisburg. He deserves fav orable consideration at the hands of the Democracy of Cambria county. If nom iaated lie would be elected by a large ma jority. For AHHembly— Fd. T. McNeelis, Esq. In our column of political announce ments will be found the name of Ed. T. McNeclis, Esq., who announces himself as an aspirant for legislative honors. Mr. McNeelis was born and brought up in this city. He received his education in the public scools, continuing bis studies after he had begun to do for himself by working in the mills. He studied Mechan ics, but through the labor agitation here several years ago bo lost bis position. He then applied himself to the study of law and was duly admitted to the Bar. He has a large acquaintance all over the county, and his name would give strength to the ticket. NO 45. OIMM{K\SEU KANSAS KAKMKIW, His).op Funk I.njrt Down Some Point# for Thein to Think About. A dispatch from Kansas City, Mo., says : In a Lenten pastoral letter to he read in all the churches of the diocese of Leavenworth, Kun., Bishop Funk, of the Roman Catholic Church, referring to the Farmers' Alliance movement, caused by the agriculture depression, says : " We may say that surrounded by a bountiful crop as we are, many of our people are sutteriug and aro in misery, uncertain what they should do in the future. The complaints come not only from the laboring classes in cities who are without work, but especially from the country districts, from the farming popu lation, which feels that matters can not be as they are for an indeduite number of years or they would leave their house and home. Owing to the peculiar state of our country, every one suffers when the farm ing population is in distress. Thoughtful persons are well aware that the present grievances of the farmers are but too true. It seems that almost every industry in our country is protected in order to amass riches in the hands of the few by which the many will have lo suffer. The only classes not protectet arc those that would seem to need it most —the laboring men and the farming population. The Bishop reviews the constitution of the Farmers' Alliance, and holds that no Catholic can join the order because it is secret and because it virtually lias a re ligion and a chaplain of its own. This latter poiut he discussed at length and de clares that if the Alliance will drop its religious aspect Catholics can join it and work for the good of the farming classes, TNK U Kir LINK PKOPKRTr. It iii Ottered for Sale Finally—ltishop Piie lan'H Stateim-m. The Pittsburgh Timet is authority for the statement that Sister Alphor.se, ex Superioress of the Ursul.ne Convent Pittsburgh, in behalf of the French Sis ters, through a real estate agent, offered the couvrnt property for sale on Tuesday. The property conststs of fourteen acres of ground with the convent built thereon. There were formerly six of the French Bisters. They claimed SOO,OOO under it decree ordering that the amount le paid them, SIO,OOO to cnch one. Bis ter Gouzague, who died at Dixmont last wei k, was one of their number. The five remaining Sisters now claim that her SIO,OOO share should be divided among them. The attorney for the Ft ench Sis ters stated on Tuesday that an arrange ment had been contemplated by which the property was to be mortgaged for the SOO,OOO to allow the Sisters to return to France, but that the Bishop had not sanctioned the arrangement. Bishop Phelan stated to a I'imta repre sentative : "I do not wish to meddle in tire matter at all. I will not prevent the sisters from selling the property if they want to do this. It is incorrect that I objected to the placing of a mortgage on the property. All I said was, who will pay this mortgage back '! If the Sisters can sell the ground let them procoed to do it." The Sisters, headed by Sister Gertrude, present Superioress, yesterday, through one of its attorneys, expressed herself willing to sell niue acres of the land, but not the Convent. A Salem Township Horror. Through the Grecnsburg Argun we learn of a most distressing occurrence that took place 011 the McLaughlin farm, near Trees' mill. Salem township, West moiepmd couiity, Sunday evening. Ed ward Black, son of James Blnck, started on horseback, on the evening named, to a distant part of the farm to drive home the cows. Soon afterwards the horse, riderless, came galloping back, and Mr. Black started out at once to find his son, knowing that some calamity had befallen him. The young man, who is twenty three years of age and an only sou, was discovered in a horrible condition and en tirely unconscious. One eye had been forced from its socket and lay out on lus cheek, and his nose and face were crushed in, presenting a ghastly picture to the horrified father, who was almost overcome by the awful sight. Alone, and as tenderly as possible, he conveyed his unfortunate son to his home, where three physicians were in almost constant attendance upon him. He never regained consciousness and died on Monday even 2 ing The belief is that the young man was thrown from his seat in the saddle, and his foot catching in the stirrup, he was dragged, kicked and trampled upon by the frightened animal. Mr. Black for merly resided near Irwin, and two years ago removed to the farm where he now resides. "Thirty Yearn of Labor." The above is the title of T. V. Pow derly's great work, in which a history of the attempt to form organizations ol workingmen for tlio discussion of polit ical, social and economic questions is traced. It is in fact a history of labor from 1859 to 1889. It is illustrated with a portrait ot the author and choicest gems of art. Mr. M. P. Kearney, of Lilly bor ough, is agent for Cambria county, and is now canvassing for the book in this city. Every man, especially every workingman, should buy a copy.
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