THK WKATHKR.: On Wednesday, oovrchut lo partly cloudy weather will prevail, preceded ljr rain nnd snow.
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Seml-Wcckly Founded
1908, ' jj
Weekly Founded, 1844 J
j c jc tc jc jc
w13ie County Organ
V.
of the
3LICAN PARTY
SI wt o jx & j j
67th YEAR.
HONESDALE, WAYNE CO., PA., WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 19, 1910.
NO. 5
fins
NUJKOKPLl
Says Charges of Favoritism
Are Baseless.
WILL VYELCOME INVESTIGATION.
House of Representatives Commit
tee Will Inquire at Once Into
Official Acts as Land Com
missioner. Washington, Jan. 18. In reply to the
specific charges of extravagance and
favoritism In the land oillce and mis
use of appropriations made by Repre
sentative Hitchcock of Nebraska be
fore the house committee on expendi
tures In the interior department Sec
retary Ballinger said today:
"The charges are baseless, and I
welcome the fullest Investigation by
congress.
"It Is true that Judge "Wright was
demoted while 1 was commissioner of
public lands, but not to make room for
my nephew, Jack Ballinger. Judge
Wright was demoted for lnelllclency,
to be frank about It. The reduction
took place at the time the board of
law review was being organized, and
Judge Gray took the place on that
board he otherwise would have held.
"Jack Balllnger was placed In the
excepted class by President Roose
velt at the request of Secretary Gar
Held that ho might act as my secre
tary. He remained In the service after
I left in March. I had nothing to do
with his appointment as an inspector.
That appointment was made after I
had left He remained In the service
three Mouths after I resigned."
Secretary IJallinger also branded as
"ridiculously false" the charge "of the
erection of a certain large brick chim
ney for a land office at considerable
expense" and showed that it relates
to the construction of a new stack for
the .heating apparatus for the interior
department buildings In "Washington.
lie also said that the attack on Chief
of Field Service Schwartz was "an un
warranted assault upon an efficient
government officer."
As a result of the testimony given
by Mr. Hitchcock the committee of
the house will at once begin ..i in
vestigatlon independent of that to be
conducted by a joint committee of
congress. "Witnesses will be summon
ed from the interior department.
One of the charges against Secre
tary Ballinger made by Mr. Hitchcock
related to the employment of the sec
retary's nephew, Jack IJallinger, while
Mr. Ballinger was commissioner of the
land office. Mr. Hitchcock charged
that Mr. liallinger demoted Judge
Wright, one of the law clerks, from
a $2,000 position to a $1,400 position in
order to make room for his nephew.
He also charged that when Mr. Hal
linger was ready to retire as land
commissioner and after Jack liallin
ger had announced that he would re
tire at the same time and go to Seat
tle to practice law the position of spe
cial inspector of offices was created In
order that young liallinger might re
turn home at the expense of the gov
ernment nnd continue to draw pay.
He resigned his position, Mr. Hitch
cock says, two weeks after he had
reached Seattle.
Mr. Hitchcock also charged that sal
aries were being Increased and new
positions created in the Interior de
partment without authority of law
and that many of the field agents are
utterly unqualified to do the work for
which they were appointed.
Chairman McGuire announced that
the charges made by Mr. Hitchcock
were specific enough to warrant his
committee to make a searching inves
tigation of tlio expenditures in the de
partment and said that the investiga
tion would be begun at once.
MRS. HARRIMAN BUYS A BANK
She Owns a Majority of the Stock of
the Night and Day.
New York, Jan. 18. Mrs. 15. H. Hur
lima n has acquired a stock majority
of the Night and Day bank nnd will
interest herself in the conduct of Its
affairs, becoming the first woman of
this city personally to own a financial
Institution.
12. H. Harrlmau always held a sub
stantial Interest in the Night nnd Day
bank, but it never amounted to con
trol. The a .-isltlon of Efficient ad
ditional shares to give an actual stock
majority lias been of recent date. The
stock was bought privately from the
estato of Charles T. Harney.
While Mrs. Harriman's interest In
tho bank will be active, it will not
necessarily result in tho taking away
of all discretion from the management
Friends of Mrs. Hard man say that
the stories recounting her laborious
application to and personal superin
tendence of at! details relating to the
management of the Hurrlman estate
are exaggerated.
CONFESSES GI2L'3 MURDER.
Coachman Schermerhorn Admits Guilt
When Mother Visit Him.
Poughkeopsle, N. Y., Jan. 18. Frank
Scliermcrhorn, the coachman, has con
fessed the murder of Miss Sarah Bry
mer, tho nurse, in Barnes Compton's
houso at Millbrook. He made the
confession in Vnssar hospital in the
presence, of his mother nnd sister.
Scliermcrhorn has been In the hos
pital since last Thursday night, when
lie cut his throat whllo the officers
were seeking him. When ho saw his
mother he blurted out: "Oh, I did It!
I will tell!"
Mrs. Schermerhorn swooned, falling
on the floor. Undersherlff Hornbeck
picked her up, nnd then whllo nurses
cared for her Hornbeck wrote down
the prisoner's statement, which Scher
merhorn signed.
The confession was given to District
Attorney Mack, who gavo out the sub
stance ns follows:
"Schermerhorn pleaded Intoxication
for his crime. He declnred at the
outset that lie had no intention to kill
or injure Miss Brymer. no told of
taking the maids, Alice Dutchcr and
Mary Fnrrell, for a sleigh rido the
evening before the murder. He drank
considerable beer and whisky and says
he was so drunk that lie remembers
Indistinctly tho subsequent events.
"With regard to the silverware tak
en from the Compton house Schermer
horn says he remembers putting it into
the stove in ills house and then plac
ing the charred and bent pieces in the
chimney Hue.
"He says he has no recollection of
blackening his face before entering
the Compton house."
THEATER MAN ON TRIAL.
Pleads That He Killed Wife While
Momentarily Insane.
Wllkesbarre. I'a., Jan. 18. George
L. Marion of Now York, a theatrical I
man. is on trial here before Judge '
Lynch charged witli the murder of ids
wife in the office of the chief of po-1
lic.e. I
Marion's wife ran away from Biairs
town, N. J., where they were living,
with James L. Brooks and came to)
tills city, where Brooks deserted her. 1
Marion traced her to th. city, and ,
the two met In the office of Chief of.
Police Grant Long.
They greeted each other affectionate
ly, and then Marlon asked the chief ,
to leave them alone for a few min
utes. The chief left the office, and
Marlon killed his wife. He said he '
also intended to kill himself, but lost
his courage.
The defense Is that he was Jealous
and that when his wife refused to re
turn with him he became momentarily
insane.
Theatrical friends all over the coun
try have subscribed to a fund for his '
defense. ,
MILLS LEFT $50,000,000.
All Except $400,000 Goes to Banker's
Son and Daughter.
New York, Jan. IS. Tho will of Da
rius Ogden Mills, which disposes of
an estate of $50,000,000, contains less
than 500 words. It leaves $100,000 to
public Institutions and gives the rest
of the estate to the two children, Og
den Mills and Mrs. Whitelaw Held.
The public bequests are as follows:
Metropolitan Museum of Art, $100,
000; American Museum of Natural
History, $100,000; Homo For Incura
bles lu the city of New York, $100,
000; Botanical gardens In the Bronx,
$50,000; American Geographical soci
ety, $25,000, and the American Red
Cross, $25,000.
The two children are to share equal
ly in the estate, and they nre named
as executors. Iu case of tho death of
Mrs. Reid her husband Is to act.
SETH BULLOCK RENOMINATED.
President Taft Keeps His Promise to
Colonel Roosevelt.
Washington Jan. 18. Captain Seth
liullock of Dcadwood, hero of tho
plains nnd intimate friend of Colonel
Roosevelt, has been renominated for
another four year term as United
States marshal for the district of
South Dakota. Tho fact that the
South Dakota senators, Gamble and
Crawford, were opposed to tho ap
pointment of Captain Bullock, had no
weight with tho president.
Some months ago Mr. Taft promised
Colonel Roosevelt that if his old
friend Seth wanted to hold his Job as
mnrshal ho would lie recommissloned.
GEN. SIOEL'S WIDOW DIES,
Grandmother of Slain Girl Was Never
Told of Elsie's Fate.
Now York, Jan. 18. Mrs. Elsie Si
gel, widow of General Franz Slgel,
died at the home of her daughter in
this city.
Just before tho end caino Mrs. Slgel
called her children to her bedside and
Bald, "Live well, remember, live well."
Mrs. Slgel was never told of the
death of EMe Slgel, her granddaugh
ter, who was murdered by Leon Ling,
a Chjnaman, but tho family believe
that she probably knew something
about it, nlthougb KUlo's name was
uorer mentioned.
British Unionists Gannot
Get a Majority. '
LORD CHARLES BERESF0RD WINS
Asquitb. and His Allies May Have
a Working Plurality Without
the Irish Nationalist
Members.
London, Jan. 18. The result of the
parliamentary elections thus far make
It clear that, despite the Unionist
gains of twenty-nine seats, the Lib
erals, with their allies, will certainly
have a majority of 100 or more.
The result tends also to show that
the Liberals may secure a small work
ing majority with the aid of their La
bor nnd Socialist allies while disre
garding the Nationalists.
The strength of the rival parties In
the new parliament thus far is as fol
lows: Liberals, 70; Laborites, 10; Na
tionalists, 13. This gives the govern,
nient coalition u total of 105 as op
posed to 02 for tho Unionists. As one.
third of the members are now chosen,
a ministerial majority of fully 100
seems assured.
The popular vote again siiows the
unfortunate position of the Unionists.
The latter polled a total of 008,000
LORD CHARLES BERESFORD.
votes against 517,000 for the Liberals,,
Laborites, Nationalists and Socialists
combined, and yet the Unionists won
only forty-eight seats while their op
ponents captured fifty-six.
The most notable Unionist gain was
at Portsmouth, where Lord Charles
Bcresford and ills colleague, Falle,
routed the Laborite candidates. Bcres
ford polled 10,777 votes, while the Lib
erals, who carried the district In 1000,
polled then only 10,500. Fnlle polled
15,502.
All the members of the ministry so
far voted for retained their seats, but
the majorities in every ense fell. John
Rurns dropped from n majority of
1,000 to 555 at Rattcrsea. He polled
1.155 votes more than he did in 1000,
hut ids opponent had 2,108 more sup
porters than he had four years ago.
Augustine Rlrrell's majority at North
Rristol fell from 2,012 to 1,310, while
his total poll was reduced.
North Camberwoll gave MacNamara
fewer votes nnd u majority of only
1.0S2 compared with 2,817 at tho last
election. Masterman's majority at
Westhnm fell from 1,741 to 700. Hob
house In East Rristol polled 1,131 few
er than in the last contest and suffer
ed n reduction iu ids majority.
Arthur J. Balfour, the former Con
servative premier, holds his London
seat. His colleague, Sir Frederick
Ranbury, was also elected. Tho Lib
erals fought au uphill fight, polling but
4,023 ugalnst a gross Unionist vote of
35,201).
Walter II. Long, a former miulster
In a Conservative cabinet, won in tho
Strand division of Loudon by a ma
jority of 3,213 compared with 2,081
four years ago.
On tho Liberal side Captain Donald
Forbes, brother of the Earl of Gran
nrd, who married Miss Ileatrico Mills
of New York, failed to capturo West
Marylebonc.
Major Archer Shee, whoso wlfo was
a Miss Pell of New York, won at East
Finsbury.
The Liberals also won back the con
stituency of Haggeraton, which was
represented by the non. It. Guinness,
Unionist, he being defeated by II. G.
Chancelier.
Tho naval question had a great effect
In the dockyard ports. Portsmouth
gave the Unionists two gains, Admiral
Lord cuurles Ueresford and B. Q.
Bnlle, both being elected by" liugo
votes, 10,777 nnd 15,5012 respectively.
Seven Irish Nationalists were re
turned without opposition John 12.
Itcdmond, the Irish Nationalist leader,
from Wntcrford City; Edmund Huvl
land Burke, from Tullamore division
nf King's county, nnd the candidates
from Hoscommon, Tlpperary (south
livlsion), WIcklow east, Donegnl north
and Wexford north. From the mid
Armagh division, north Ireland, a Un
ionist was returned unopposed.
Tito Laborites were hard hit by
ihelr defeat at Woolwich. Crooks,
vho is one of their foremost cham
pions, had hastened home from a trip
to Australia to vote and had strong
hopes that his party would carry the
day. They were defeated, however, in
a constituency which lias been re
garded as strongly Laborite. It com
prises the many workers In the arse
nal, yet they turned Crooks down nnd
elected a Unionist, Major Adam, by
8,715 to 8,420 votes for Crooks.
Lord Hamilton carried the South
Kensington district, which was held
in the last parliament by Earl Percy,
who died recently in an obscure hotel
in Paris.
FEDERATION CHEERS PINCHOT
Ovation to Deposed Chief Forester,
Who Talks on Conservation.
Washington, Jan. 18. The chief fea
ture of the proceedings of the Nation
al Civic federations conference on uni
form laws was the ovation accorded
to Glfford Pinchot, who was recently
removed by President Taft as govern
ment forester for insubordination
growing out of the bo called Ballinger
Piueliot controversy.
When introduced by. Judge Parker,
Mr. Pinchot was vigorously applaud
ed, and those delegates sitting along
the aisles arose and warmly shook his i
hand. When he ascended the Plat-
form the delegates left their seats and
crowded around him, shaking his hand
and cheering him. It was some time
before order was restored and before
Mr. Pinchot was able to proceed.
iMr. Pinchot spoke on conservation,
ije stated that it was the "plain duty
Qf all the friends of conservation to
Sink their dluereuces. He said In part:
i'The policies now grouped under-tUe
name of conservation are of various
ages. Some, like forest preservation,
have been advocated by Americans for
more than a hundred years, borne,
like the control of water power mo
nopoly iu tho common interest.
are
younger than the present century
All
of them today are in the valley of de-
icislon. We have come at last to the
point of action.
And we must cither
go forward or fall back. Hero Is a
mighty field for uniform nctiou and
l, i . .1,, ,.,
, for co-operation between the states
I themselves and between them and the
nation.
"Tiie president urges that the meas
ures ho recommends shall lie taken up
and disposed of promptly without
awaiting the investigation which has
been determined upon. I echo his de
hlre." WRECK OFF ATLANTIC CITY.
Harold Binney's Yacht Mist Abandon
ed by Owner and Crew.
Atlantic City, N. J., Juu. IS. Daring
the monster breakers to reach the
shore after their yacht had been
caught by the southeast gale and driv
en within a few hundred yards of the
surf, Harold Blimey of New York,
with Mr. and Mrs. W. L. Darnell and
their two-year-old daughter, abandon
ed the Binney yacht Mist directly off
tills city and readied the end of the
ocean pier.
Five men of the crew left aboard
the yacht were taken off the vessel by
government life savers In the new
power lifeboat, and the abandoned
yacht ran aground on the beach.
Mr. Kinney said lie was bound for
Newport News and had encountered
stormy weather since he put out from
Sandy Hook.
Tho Mist was built by N. G. Herre
sliolt at Bristol, R. i in 1001 and was
originally owned by E. Do V. Morrell
of Philadelphia.
PASTOR KILLS HIMSELF.
He Wore Himself Out Preaching
Against the Rich.
Pittsburg, Jan. 18. The Rev. Paul
Axtell, pastor of the First Presbyte
rian church of Sewlckley, committed
suicide by shooting himself In the
heart witli a revolver In a barn at the
home of his father, the Rev. J. S.
Axtell, pastor of the Lebanon Presby
terian church.
Mr. Axtell, who was a graduate of
Princeton of the class of 1000, was
considered one of tho most brilliant
young ministers who ever preached In
tho vicinity of Pittsburg. His sermons
attracted crowds to tho Sewlckley
church, and he handled the rich with
out gloves.
When he broke down about six
weeks ago after preaching a remark
able sermon against men of great
wealth his relatives arranged to send
him away on a long trip. He was to
go to the Pacific coast for the winter,
M TT MET
New York Legislature Seeks
to Dissolve Combine.
FEDERAL CO-OPERATION ASKED
Cardinal Gibbons Declares That
Food Prices Have Risen Be
yond Reason, and Condi
tions Cannot Continue.
Albany, N. Y., Jan. 18. Two resolu
tions which aim to bring about a re
duction in the cost of food supplies
have been introduced In the assembly.
One by Assemblyman Murray of New
York requests the attorney general of
the United States and the attorney
general of New York to institute pro
ceedings dissolving the meat trust and
putting au end to that monopoly. The
other, offered by Democratic Leader
Frisbie, provides for n legislative com
mittee to Investigate the reasons for
the increased cost of living and to rec
ommend remedial legislation.
Tiie Murray bill, which seeks to
bring about the criminal prosecution
of the men responsible for the monop
oly in meat, follows:
Whereas, The retail prices of meats are
higher than at any time in the history of
the United States, which prices do not
lesult from economic laws and are out of
all proportion to tho ability of the groat
mass of wage earners In the city of New
York to pay said excessive prices for this
necessity oi me; ami
Whereas, The recent statement of Swift
i & Co. for the year 1309 shows a net prollt
of 14 per cent on $C0,(W0,O00 of stocks and
. Its assets were Increased nearly $12,uOO,000
after paying Interest on bonds; and,
Whereas, It appears In tho public press '
I that swift ii Co. and the National iJacK
lnfi company by agreement are about to
control all the supply, packing, provision
and beef companies engaged In the sale
i of meats to the retail trade In the city
i of New York and that tho National Pack
ills' eompanj la about to acquire every ro
I tali butcher store in the city of New York
I desired by such trust; and,
Whereas, Said monopoly is in restraint
of trade and in violation of tho antitrust
laws of the I'nlted States and the state
- : ""i?8'1"01 S
i vuri. therefore, be it
l Resolved, That the legislature of the state
of New York requests the attorney gencr-
"L"' r".f.'a, i"? 'it" tT in.
n,,irB ln.Q tha existence of such mononoly
or contemplated monopoly and to bring ,
such actions or proceedings as may be
necessary to dissolve, restrain and pre-
I vem sa, monopoly and to plosecuta
criminally all those concerned In such
conspiracy as In such cases mado and
provided by federal and state statutes.
Leaders of both parties in the legis
lature nre lu favor of the passage of
the resolutions.
Cardinal Gibbons Welcomes Movement i
Baltimore. Jan. IS. Cardinal Gib
bons in an interview here said he
would heartily welcome any move
ment which would tend to reduce the
cost of living and predicted that cor-;
rective steps would have to be takeu
In regard to the soaring prices of com
modules. He declared that his own
experience has demonstrated to him
that prices of food products have ad
vanced to figures that are "beyond all
reason."
"For a long time I have noticed that
prices of supplies of all kinds seemed
gradually to be getting higher and
higher," the cardinal said, "but I do
not know just what causes the ad
vance iu prices. Of one thing I am
certain, prices of necessaries have
gone beyond wages that is, wages
linve not increased in proportion to
the Increased cost of living.
"Something must be wrong with the
economic conditions in the country
when wages and salaries remain un
changed while food continues to In
crease In price."
"Do you believe the trusts are re
sponsible for the Increase?" was asked.
"As to that I am not prepared to
say," replied the cardinal. "Some
thing evidently is wrong when many
of the commonest necessaries in foods
are priced at such enormous figures."
Tiie cardinal was asked If he in
dorsed the movement started in Wash
ington by the Antlfood Trust league
to boycott throughout the
United
States any article of food which Is too
high Iu price.
"I haven't gone far euough into the
subject to express an opinion on tho
new organization," ho replied, "but
something of the kind, It seems to me,
would have the result which the con
sumers seek to accomplish.
"Most of tho prices for food prod
ucts are clearly out of all reason, nnd
one thing Is certain, the people cannot
go on paying such prices when they
are not earning any larger incomes.
"I heartily indorse any movement
which wUl tend to reduce tho cost of
living for most of the people of this
country.
"There is no doubt that some kind
of corrective steps will have to be
taken In regard to the present high
prices."
Pledged to Abstain From Meat.
Cleveland, O., Jan. 18. Already more
than 7,000 workmen In Cleveland's In
dustrial plants, representing more
than 30,000 consumers, have signed
the pledge to boycott meat for thirty
days. The movement lias spread to
the districts in which office men,
clerks nnd employers drawing higher
wages than the shop men live.
In SteubcnvlIIe, where 300 families
have been on strike since Saturday
morning, two meat markets hare
closed. That the boycott will take la
other foodstuffs with meat Is frcehr
predicted here.
WESTEL UNION WINS.
U. S. Supr" ..curt Declares Kansas
Tau I. Unconstitutional.
Washmi . . Jan. lb.-Thc Push tar
law of Kju s;is. under which that
state exacted a charter fee based on
the capital stock of a foreign corpora
tion as a prerequisite to receive per
mission to do business In the state,
has been lieid by the supreme court
to be void as far as the Western
Union Telegraph company was con
cerned. The bench was divided lu tills opin
ion, however, the majority, consisting
of Justices Harlan, Brewer, D".y and
Moody, holding that the tax -violated
the constitution in that it placed a
burden on interstate commerce by
taxing property outside Its borders.
In this result Justice White also
concurred on the ground that the law
was confiscatory, while Chief Justice
Fuller and Justices Holmes and Mc
Kenna dissented, because they held
the law came within the power of the
state to name the conditions under
which a foreign corporation might do
business within the state.
The Push law required the tele
graph conlpany to pay -$20,100 fees
based on its capital stock of $100,-000,000.
CZARINA CRITICALLY ILL.
Empress
of Russia Has Prolonged
Lapse of Consciousness.
St. Petersburg, .Tan. 18. The czarina
of Russia has had a serious relapse
sluce returning to St. Petersburg- and
is alarmingly 111.
She suffered an acute attack of hys-
! teria, followed by a prolonged lapse of
. ,.nilKnniiiir.!i 'Plir snoMillstu lmv
i
hfon KiiniinnniMl. Including Dr. Bekto-
i tererr. a leading authority on mental
diseases.
Her majesty.
it is stated, rallied
early today, but one of the specialists
I remains in attendance at the imperial
i palace. Tho Russian newspapers are
forbidden to publish anything concern-
ins the royal family, and as no bulle
tins have been issued the nntlon re
mains in ignorance of the illness of
the empress.
NEW COMET DISCOVERED.
South African Astronomer Reports His
Find to Harvard.
Cambridge. Mass., Jan. IS. The
Harvard college observatory lias re
ceived a cable dispatch from the Kiel
observatory announcing that a new
comet, visible to the naked eye, has.
been discovered by
a South African
observer. The dispatch says: "Comet
A was observed by Innes at Johannes
burg in right nscensiou 19 hours Cfl
minutes 2S secouds and declination
minus 25 degrees 0 minutes 21 sec
onds. "The comet has an hourly motion In
right nseenslon of plus 41 seconds ot
time and declination of plus 0 minutes
4 seconds of arc."
CALLS THEM JACKASSES.
Georgia Legislator Expresses His Con
tempt For Colleagues.
Atlanta, Ha., Jan. IS. Dr. George
Brown, n member of the Georgia leg
islature, in a public address here lik
ened his colleagues to a lot of Jack
asses. Dr. Brown was addressing a tuber
culosis convention on the possibility
of getting state aid for prevention of
tuberculosis. He said:
"I have the misfortune to be a mem
ber of the Georgia legislature, and I
have the profoundest contempt for that
body.
"If you had a drove of Kentucky
jackasses In the capitol rid offered a
prize for the one that, being prodded.
could kick the longest you would have
a fair idea of the mental attitude of
the legislature of Georgia. They will
do nothing."
AMBASSADOR NABUC0 DEAD.
He Expires Suddenly at the Brazilian
Embassy of Apoplexy.
Washington, Jau. 18. Senor Joa
quln Nabuco, Brazilian ambassador
to the United States and ono of tha
roost prominent Latin-American diplo
mats, died suddenly at the embassy in
this city of apoplexy.
President Taft was one of the first
to call at the embassy to express con
dolence. Accompanied by Captain A.
W. Butt, his military aid, the presi
dent rode to tho embassy in one of th
White House automobiles.