r euers i rami! iue mm AND DEFEAT THEM. They Alio Prevent Ihe British From Capturing a Fort Altar t Hard Fight Kinv berly Still Besieged. Commandant Swart, of the Boers, re- Jorts from tlie laager at Alowyns, that e had an engagement on Friday, De cember 32, with Kaffirs in the neighbor hood of Dcrdorpoort. The Kaffirs oc cupied a strongly fortified ridge and ere well prepared for the attack. Af ter heavy fighting the blithers captured the Kaffir position, losing three killed and five wounded. Commandant Snyman reported as fol lows from Molopo: "On Monday morning the enemy (the British) from Mafcking attacked one of our forts in force with cannon, Maxims and an armored train and so persistently that there was fighting on tlie wans ot the fort: but we have retained our fort. The British loss is reported as fifty five." The other commandoes report all quiet," with the exception oi the usual bombardment of I.adysmilh. Before dawn Friday, detachment of the mounted forces, with artillery and light infantry, moved out in a westerly direction, Boer artillery from Kam perdain opened fire at (Utoskopje, the Kimhcrlcy fort replying with twenty shells. The Hritish force rcconnoitcrcd out posts along Lazaretto ridge, the Doer patrols retreating. Having accomplish ed this, anil having discovered Boer re inforcements approaching from Wim bledon ridge, Col. Chamicr, with the Royal artillery, exchanged a dozen shells as soon as the runs could be lim bered up. Some 500 Boers poured in a heavy fire from their earthworks, the British finally retiring with the loss of one horse. The movement showed that the Boers were still keeping their guns in the vi cinity of Kimbcrly and are able to sum mon reinforcements rapidly. It also showed their proncness to vacate a position immediately when weaker than the opposing force. The London war office is issuing lists of further deaths and wounded as well as accounts of sickness. The most seri ou report of the last class is that horse sicY less has broken out in both British and Boer camps in Natal. Four hun dred British cavalry horses, it is said, have already been shot owing to the oc currence of glanders. The disease is likely to spread with much greater rap idity among the British horses than among the hardy Boer ponies, and this may mean a considerable prolongation of the campaign. A disoatch from Chicvclcy. dated Tuesday, December 10, says: "The British naval guns have destroyed the Colcnse foot bridge, thus preventing the Boers holding any position south of the Tugela river. The enemy are taking up fresh positions on the eastern side nearer the British camp. "The British position at Frcre is be ing strengthened. The Tugela river is rising and there is a prospect of heavy rains. "A two-hur bombardment of Lady smith has been heard. According to reliable native reports, the Boers had 200 killed in the fight at Colcnso." The news that the Colcnso foot bridge lias been destroyed, seems to show that Gen, Buller is more anxious to keep the tnemy at bay than to attempt a further advance. Despite the severity of the censorship, liints are being continually received of the serious spread of Dutch disaffection In both the Qucenstown district of Cape Colony and Natal. A correspondent of the Daily Mail at Pictcrmaritzburg says: "The extent of Dutch disaffection should make the imperial authorities realize the magnitude of the task be fore them." Gen. Buller will pursue the campaign In Natal. The other generals will try to hold their own until the arrival of Gen. Roberts and Kitchener. Fever and dysentery are reported to be more effective in reducing the strength of the British at Ladysmith than are the weapons of the Boers. On December 22 the British lost 24 men in an engagement near Ladysmith. Gen. Joubcrt has recovered from his illness and is again in command of the Boer forces. British prisoners captured in the Tu gela river battle have arrived at Preto ria. German authorities in Damarland, on the west coast of Africa have put a stop to Boer recruiting, which had been go ing on quictlv, It is said that Krugcr will settle with Great Britain for an indemnity of $100, 000,000 and the cession of Natal and Northern Cape Colony. SHARED IN THE EARNINGS. Central Trust Company Adds 40 Per Cent lo Its Employes' Wages. Of the Christmas gifts bestowed by employers to employees in New York, those given by the Central Trust Com parfy were the largest ever known. They were presented with an extra 40 per cent, of their respective annual salaries. One of the officers of the company whose salary is $5,000 a year received as his gift $2,000. Another whose sal ary is $3,000 a vear got $(,200. Of fice boys on the 40 per cent, basis drew as much as $100. There are 35 attaches to the Central Trust Company's office; their annual salaries aggregating $46,200, and 40 per cent of this represents the total amount of $18,480. The plan of paying it men a certain percentage on their salaries each year has been practiced by the company for several years, beginning with 10 per cent, and increasing as earn ings of the company became larger. The Maine Dead Buried. On the windy heights of Arlington cemetery, at Washington, the Maine 4ead, brought from Havana, by the bat tle ship Texas, were Thursday laid away in their final resting places with simple religious services and the impressive honors of war in presence of the Presi dent, members of his cabinet, officers of the army and navy and other repre- .anfiliiia. nt fttiit Bnvrnttinnl A aKI. aet officer, surveyed the flag-draped collins belore the ceremonies began, said: 'The lives of those men cost Spain her colonies. LATEST NEWS NOTES. Roland Reed, the rector, Is seriously ill. The trust has advanced the price of pasteboard $2.50 per ton. The Boston common council has con gratulated Krugcr on his victories. William Boynton Gale, a famous law yer, of Boston, died last Wednesday. Alderman George Hill, of Milwaukee, committed suicide by shooting himself. Ex-president Cleveland is confined to his home at Princeton, N. J., Buttering from gout. The Salvation Army fed 3,500 poor at Cincinnati on Christmas day and 2,000 at Pittsburg. Dr. Thomas O'Callaghan. of Jersey City, died suddenly while making a pro fessional call. A statue of Vice President Hobart will be erected at Patcrson, N. J., at a cost of $15,000. Supplies for F.nglish troops in the Transvaal are being placed aboard ves sels in New York harbor. C.ov. rintrrce. of Michigan, is reviv ing his scheme of removing the capitol from Lansing to Detroit. Sentiment favors Milwaukee. Wis., as the place for holding the next Demo cratic National Convention. Frenchmen in Canada are being stir red up against Fngland, their sympa thies tending toward the Boers. The Panama . Canal Company, of America, with an authorized capital of $30,000,000, was incorporated here. Carrie and Olivia Stokes, of New Haven, Conn., have offered $500,000 to a!c for a new administration building, All the stores in Havana closed at 10 o'clock Christmas morning, and the rest of the day was devoted to conviviality. Irishmen rn Chicago held a meeting Saturday night and discussed plans for raising a fund with which to aid the Boers. The course of the rock was from the town and no lives have been reported lost, although considerable property was destroyed. Cecil B. Leach, a telegraph operator, was found dead in his room at Pitts burg a few days ago. Escaping gas caused death. Henry Miner, aged II. killed his brother Jesse, aged six, with a hatchet at Broughton, 111., last Friday. They had uuarrelcd. The Produce Exchange Trust Com pany, which suspended in New York last week announces that it will pay de positors in full. Emily Hilda Blake a servant, aged 2J. was hanged at Brandon. Manitoba, fur the murder of Mr3. Lane, her mis tress, on July 5 last. James J. Cavanaugh, of Watcrtown, Mass., celebrated his 100th birthday last Wednesday. He saw Napoleon after the battle of Waterloo. The vinegar and yeast factory, of Spiclmann Brothers Company, on North avenue, Chicago, was almost to tally destroyed by fire. Loss. $100,000. The British steamer Starlight, from Philadelphia to London on December 24, collided with and sank the schooner Hying roam. No lives were lost. A semi-fluid petroleum will be tried on the steamers of the Hamburg-Amer ican Packet Company. It economizes space and reduces the number of fire men. Fire destroyed the dry roods estab lishmcnt of Gcorre Dewald & Com pany and the store of M. F. Kaag, at Fort Wayne, lnd. Loss, $200000; in surance, $135,000. At Jacksonville, Fla., Peter Holbcrt, an electrician, shot his wife and then turned the weapon on himself, inflict ing wounds from which he died. Mr. Holbcrt will recover. The army transports Centennial and Newport, which arrived :t San Francis co Thursday, from Manila via Hono lulu, bring the startling news that the bubonic plague ts raging in Honolulu. The check rein of a runaway horse caught in the extended arm of a wooden Indian in New York last luesday and prevented the animal from dashing through the windows ol a cigar store. Five years ago, through an accident, John Burkctt, of Franklin, Pa., lost his voice. Last Saturday he stumbled, which so enraged him that he began to curse and was astonished to hear his own voice again, lie now talks as well as ever. Two years ago $80,000 in notes were stolen from Robert McBee, of Knox ville, Tcnn., by pickpockets. Monday morning he received an express package from Lexington, Ky., containing all the papers with a "merry Christmas" card enclosed. Frank S. Monnett, Attorney-General of Ohio, was prevented from addressing an audience in Cooper Union, at New york, last week. He was to talk on "Trusts," but as some of the Standard Oil people support the hall, the engage mcnt was canceled. The celebrated Pinnacle Rock which overhung Cumberland Gap, Tenn., and was a noted point 01 intcteSt, fell from its lofty height last Wednesday. The town was awakened as if by an earth quake as the immense mass, weighing hundreds 01 tons, came tumbling down REPULSED THE REBELS. Filipinos Attack a Garrison But Are Routed by Amerioant. Gen. Santa Ana. with a force of in surgents estimated at 300, attacked the American garrison at Subig, Philippine Islands, last Wednesday. A body marines were sent from Olongapo to reinforce the garrison and the Filipinos were driven back, several being killod I here were no casualties an the Ameri can side. A company of the Forty- sixth volunteers infantry, together with a contingent of marines, has been sent from Manila to reinforce the Subig gar rison still turther. Col. J. Franklin Bell, of the Thirty- sixth lnlantry, encountered 150 HI101 nos Thursday, near Alaminos, province ol lambales, and killed, wounded captured twenty-eight of them. Our troops also obtained possession of number of rifles and a Quantity of am munition. One American was wounded, Finally Tortured and Killed. A horrible wholesale murder has just been committed in usick, near Kalisch Poland. Nine members of the family of a wealthy landed proprietor, named- Kowalski, were killed after frightful tor ture, The house was robbed of every tnina valuable. I BRIBING STOPPED. Ho Insists on Civil Marriages Which Permit Protestants and Non-Chrlstlans lo Wed Americans Win a Battle. The adjutant-general at Washington as received a copy of an order, recent ly issued by Gen. Otis, aiming at the suppression of bribery, which, it Is re ported, has been extensively practiced in the I'hilipmnes. Oen. Utis says tne Ccrsistence of these reports, touching oth the military and civil service in the islands, has forced him to the conclu sion that there may be some foundation tor the general charge, lie cautions all commanding officers, heads of de partments and others in authority to probe to the bottom any such reports that may reach them and announces that all offences of this nature will be suppressed with a strong hand. Otis has issued a decree authorizing the celebration of civil marriages in .the hihnpines. He cabled Secretary Root to that effect to-day and the Secretary promptly approved the action. Here tofore all marriages were celebrated by the Catholic Church so that Protestants and non-Christians were prohibited from marrying. The decree does not interfere with the Catholics, who may be married according to their own rites, Col. Lockett. with a force of 2,500, ncluding artillery, attacked Thursday morning a stroni force of insurgents entrenched in the mountains near Mon talban, about five miles northeast of San Mateo. The enemy were complete ly routed, the Americans pursuing them through the hills, amid which they fled in evcrv direction. Four Americans were wounded, The Filipino loss was large, resulting from a heavy infantry and artillery fire for three hours into the trenches. It is supposed th t the insurgents were those who were driven out of San Mateo on the day Gen. Lawton was killed. They numbered probably 1,000. A dozen lines of insurgent trenches covered the steep trail through the hills and likewise the valley below, along which the Americans passed. The main attacking partv consisted of the Forty-sixth volunteer infantry, a troon of cavalry and artillery. Col. Lockett commanding in person. The rest of the command operated from re mote points in an endeavor to carry out Col. Lockett's olan of throwing his lines around the tnemy and thus tut ting off retreat. The nature of the mountainous country made it impracti cable to execute this movement success fully. IRISHMEN STIRRED. Members ol the Clan-na-Gael Talk of Invading Canada, There is a general movement among the Irish citizens in Philadelphia to aid the Boers in tl .ir war with England. A call was sent out for a special assess ment on every member of the Ancient Order of Hibernians of which there are 25,000 in the city. A return of $25,000 is expected, which will help to swell the general fund of $1,000,000, which Irish organizations throughout the country seek to raise. Relative lo the attitude of the Irish revolutionary societies toward Great Britain, the tevening rost, of New York, quotes an officer of the Clanna Gacl as saying: England can only be made to feel by physical .force, and we're now going to give her some Boer treatment We did intend going out and sinking that first expedition from Canada to South Africa, but thought it bctttcr to wait a little. We can mobilize our men with out much difficulty for an attack upon Canada, and we are fairly well armed as well as the United States troops in the Spanish war. We have lots of Springfield rifles and are handy with the bayonet. "No decision has been arrived at vet. Everything will depend on the immedi ate future. We have either regiments or companies all over the United States, and are fairly well drilled, and a great many of our men are in the militia. "The Ancient Order of Hibernians has really nothing to do nvith this. It numbers about 250,000 and a maioritv ot us members belong to our organiza tion. All its.olliccrs do, and so, of course, it will act with us. We have lots of men in the regular army camps or clubs in every post and even if they were sent against us to stop us on the border, they would either march across Rith us or give us blank cartridges. "If it is decided to attack Canada we shall do all in our power to keep mat ters so secret as not to embarrass the government until we are actually on the border. The French population in Can ada would be with us, and there are numbers of our own countrymen ready to welcome us. Canada would be an easy mark. We would have the Canadi an loyalists on the run in a week." SAD NEWS AWAITS HER. Girl on the Way lo Manila to Meet Her Lover Who Is Dead. In the list of dead forwarded bv Gen Otis Mondav is the name of Henry C. Merriam. of Company G. Sixth Infan try, of typhoid fever. This is the vounir man to whom Miss Bessie Kay of fan hault, Minn., was to have been married, She left with her mother for Manila in November and is now on her way. Merriam was a graduate of the class of 97 at Shattuck and was very popu lar. When the war was declared against Spain he enlisted in Battery H, Sixth artillery, ror high executive ability displayed in Manila Gen. Otis recommended him for promotion. He was the son of Capt. Merriam, a re tired army officer residing in Washing ton. Miss Kay will not arrive 11. Ma nila for more than a week. AT THE NATIONAL CAPITAL- ueneral oiibert s. carpenter was placed on the retired list after 30 years 01 active service. A boom to give Cornelius Bliss the second place on the ticket with iicKm ley has developed in New York. Gen. Wood, of Cuba, is investigating the prisons of the island and finds Span ish methods still in vogue. Prisoners are detained 5 months without trial, and are compelled to sleep uprn the bare noors. REVIEW OF TRADE, Failures for the Year Run Up Into the Millions Although Small Comparatively. R. G. Dun & Co.'s weekly review of trade reports as follows for last week: No correct renort of failures in 1800 can be made until the year has closed. A collapse of speculation in copper stocks has swollen the aggregate at Boston alone over $18,000,000 within a few days, and mipnt yet add to the record. The failures thus far reported are fewer than in any year since 18X3 and smaller in amount of commercial liabilities than in any year since 1881. The aggregate of defaulted liabilities is $120,100,000, but nearly two-thirds of the banking liabilities were added with in a few davs. the aggregate reaching about $30,000,000. The commercial lia bilities have been about $89,200,000, though exact returns for a few recent failures arc not yet obtainable. No oth er year except 1881 with defaulted lia bilities of $81,155,032, and 1880, with $65,752,000, have failures been so small since the agency commenced quarterly returns in 18-5. The average of liabili ties per failure is less than $0,500, the smallest in any year of the twenty-five, & gratifying evidence that commercial lia bilities are further removed than usual from the point of danger. The speculative troubles come be cause the volume of legitimate business and the unprecedented distribution of profits, interest and dividends made it no longer possible to carry some stocks on borrowed money. Prosperity itself placed a check on speculative ventures. The industries arc closing the most extraordinary year of their history; Long established branches have under gone a veritable reconstruction, vastly increasing their capacity, while new in dustries, which scarcely existed a year or two ago, have enlisted a vast capital, altered modes of business and of pro duction in almost every direction and improved conditions for the future al most beyond calculation. Electrical de velopments in light, heat and power, in making cataract work, performing won ders in production of materials and providing transportation all over the land, deserve special attention. For such reconstruction, the increase in demand for iron and steel products is the great feature of the year. hen 4IS.733 tons unsold, and 243.516 pro duced weekly, January 1, hindered by severe weather so that the output March I, dropped 15.000 tons, but expanding in every month afterward, the industry is now producing about 300,000 tons weekly and unsold stocks are reduced to 122,033 tons, and yet orders unfullcd will require from six to nine months' work from most of the establishments. Prices have not changed the past week, though demand for some products im proved a little. The average of prices closes 110.5 per cent higher than Janu ary 1 for pig, and 102.8 per cent higher lor products. Industries which depend on individual consumption, have gained less, though more than population. Consumption of cotton has been larger than ever, with an average advance of 29.5 per cent in prices of goods, though cotton was for a time 32 per cent, and is now 20 per cent., higher than January 1. Wool has been raised by speculation 35 per cent but has been very largely consumed with great demand for goods, which have advanced but 17 per cent. Stocks now held arc said to be 157.3Q8.87Q Counds. Of boots and shoes, the East as shipped 400,000 cases or 9 per cent. more than last year and 27yi per cent, more than in 1892, but prices have ad vanced only about 11 per cent, since January 1. In all these products trade snows a continuing strong demand, al though quiet in the holiday week. A GRATEFUL PEOPLE. Already a Fund of $15,000 Has Been Col'ec' od for Gen. Lawlon's Widow. The total subscription to the Lawton fund up to noon of Christmas day was $14,329.55. It is not at all improbable that the fund will eventually reach the proportion of $50,000. The original in tention was to raise only a fund suf ficient to pay off the mortgage of about $5,000 on the Lawton homestead at Kcdlands, Cal., but the generous re sponse to the appeal encourages the committee to believe enough money will be subscribed beyond that sum to place Mrs. Lawton and her children above want for the rest of their lives. Secretary Root and Adjutant-General Corbin sent personal appeals to about 150 bankers and business men in New York, with the result of a large increase in the fund. Among those who have promised subscriptions are: William K. Vander bilt, $1,000; J. Ticrpont Morgan,- $1, 000; C. P. Huntington, $1,000; Thomas F. Ryan, of New York, $1,000, and Miss Helen Gould, $500. The commit tee expects to receive at least ten sub scriptions of $1,000 each. JOINING THE BOERS. Many Applications Received at the Orange Free State Consulate. The offices of the Orange Free Slate consulate in New York arc visited every day by a large number of men who want to go to the Transvaal and join the Boer army. Bv Charles D. Pierce, the Consul of the Free State, they are refer red to Dr. Hendrik Mullcr, the Orange Free State Minister at The Haue. Be fore starting for Holland, however, many of them visited George W. Van Sicklen at his office in Broadway. Most of the men who apply to Mr. Pierce, to judge by appearances, are rough men, with little or no money, belonging to the laboring class. But there are not a few that are educated Mr. Pierce said frankly that he was referring these men to Dr. Muller, who, he added, saw that they arrived in the Transvaal. When asked how it was pos sible to get the men into the Transvaal at the present time, he said they were taken into the country by way of Dela goa Bay. Score of Sailors Drowned. The weather bureau official at Hat terat, N. G, reports that the British steamship Ariosto, Capt. Barnes, from Galveston to Norfolk, for coal, thence to Hamburg, loaded with cotton, corn, wheat and meal, is stranded on Ocra coke beach, six miles south of the Hat teras. The steamship carried a crew of thirty men. Twenty-one men abandoned the steamer and took to the boats soon af ter she stranded. The boats were wreck ed in the heavy seas and the entire twenty-one were drowned. MSiHIPIBOPll CARNEGIE'S GIFTS, More Than 15,000,000 Expended by the Iron King In Advancing Wages, Establishing Libraries, and Endowing Colleges. Within a year Andrew Carnegie has given, or pledged himself to give, up wards of $5,000,000, A considerable part of this wealth has gone out in the shape of voluntary advances in wages to the workingmcn of his great com pany. The advances to the common, day, and tonnage laborers made last April aggregates for the year nearly $1,500,000 to the thousands of men con cerned. This was an advance of 12.4 per cent. On last Friday notices went up in the mills announcing another ad vance, which will dispense close to $1, 000,000 to the men. This advance was over 7 per cent. Personal charities of Mr. Carnegie within the year just closing amount to about $3,000,000. The great wealth of the steel king is being, to a considerable extent, diverted to the benefit of public institutions of learning and to public and private charity at a rate, showing the full intent of the philanthropists ot fulfilling his pledge, made a great while ago, to leave little of his riches to be dispensed by will. The year closing has been one of tremendous benefactions by Mr. Carnegie, who is known to have given away more than $5,000,000 in the twelve months, and if the full sums of his gifts were known this amount would be increased to a considerable amount The waac advances, dispensing about $2.500,o(X for a year, arc regarded with tne most general favor. Among ins other gifts were the following: Library and art galleries, Pittsburg, $1,750,000; public library, Washington, D. C. $25o,otX): UiAingham. Ala., Uni versity, $250,000: Polytechnic library, Louisville, Ky., $125,000; Dunfermline, Scotland. $100,000: Public library, At lanta, da.. $100,000: State college, Belle fonte. Pa.. $100,000: Public library. Lin coln, Neb., $75,000; Public library, Fort Worth, Tex., $50,000; Public library, Oakland, Cal., $50,000; Stevens institute, lloboken, N. 1., S,o.ooo; x.A.l. wom en's club, Denison, Tex., $17,000; Zoo logical gardens. New York, $5,000. Ol these gifts the conditional ones arc quite sure to be fulfilled, and there arc a num ber of other offers, amounting to per haps another $1,000,000. GOVERNMENT HAS NO REMEDY. The Greed for Weallh Causes the Stringency in the Money Market Mr. Roberts, director of the mint, wa3 asked recently as to whether the pres ent momentary stringency, in his opin ion, signifies an actual scarcity of money to meet the present requirements of trade. He said: "No possible supply of money can prevent stock exchange panics or peri ods of momentary stringency, because speculation and rising prices will ab sorb any possible increase until the pressure for ready cash is just as great upon the new plane as it was upon the old. The cry for more money is as un appeasable as the demand for more wealth. A new supply, instead of satis fying the demand, stimulates it. Men want money to buy things with good things that they think are going higher. Given easy money in the banks, and have bankers encouraging borrowers. As a result, stocks go up, and as they go up more people want to buv and so the demand for money increases. You can't furnish money fast enough to meet the demand of ajl who would like to borrow while prices are going up. nor could all the gold and silver mines in the world together keep prices going up forever. A BLIND MURDERER. Civil War Veteran Strangles His Wile to Dcalh F. B. Livingston, a blind man, aged 56 years, choked his wife, Rosic Liv ingston, to death the other morning at their home in Baltimore, 'i lie first knowledge the police had of the crime was when Livingston walked into the Southwestern police station. Livings ton gave his name and address and told a very circumstantial story ot tne km ing. Livingston claimed that his wife tried to smother him with a feather bed but that he succeeded in choking her and nut her body 111 the bathtub. Livingston was locked up and the po lice went to the house, where they found the nude body of the woman in the bathtub as Livingston had said. Both rooms gave evidence of a struggle, Jealousy is thought to have been the motive for the crime. The man is a Civil War veteran, having lost his eye sight bv a shell in the battle of Fair Oaks. He had a pension of $72 a month. ' Coached by Foreign Officers. The Daily News' Cape Town corres pondent, under date of December 20, says: "I learn from Afrikander Bund sources, hitherto singularly well inform ed, that 8,000 European olticers, men skilled in modem military tactics and particularly artillery, are in Pretoria as a reserve. "Undoubtedly the enemy's tactics at Colcnso and Magerslontcin were direct cd bv men of this class, as these tac tics were quite unknown to Boer Gen erals. CABLE FLASHES. Lord Salisbury, the English premier, will resign at the close of the Transvaal war. The British war office has accepted the offer of a squadron of Canadian rough riders. Twenty-two million natives in India are suffering from famine. An absence of rain is the cause. Kins Carlos, of Portugal, Thursday, gave an audience to the new United States minister, John N. Irwin. Trof. Benjamin D. Woodward, as sistant United States commissioner gen eral to the Paris exposition, has taken official possession of the spaces allot ted to the United Mates. Scholars In Switzerland are agitated concerning the date of the end of the nineteenth century. Some contend that it will begin with 1900, while the author ities of the Cantonal Protestant church have decided that 1901 starts the cen tury. DEAD NUMBER EIGHTEEN. Terrible Result of a Gas Explosion la a Mlno Near Brownsville, Pa. Over thirty men were entombed aliv in the Brazncll mine near Brownsville, l a., Saturday morning, bv a terrific gas explosion. The mine is operated by the Stockdale Coal Company, and is situ ated on the Redstone branch of the Pittsburg, Virginia and Charleston rail road. Fifteen dead bodies have been taken from the mines. All have been identi fied. The names are as follows: Henry Hagar, stable boss; Samuel Meesc, stable boss; William Thomas, eager, leaves wife and four children: Peter Aros, digger, single; Michael Ro--J bat, digger; Martin Martsic; Albert' 1 Mcese, trapper boy; George Kovasn; Joseph Hotshat, married, wife in Eu rope; Joseph Magyar; Andy Rapship; John I'akclca; Michael Perabeck; An drew Pcrabeck; George Vosylko. The search for the entombed miners continued through all Saturday night, one set of men after another taking turns at the difficult work. The force of the explosion, it was found, was so great that heavy timbers, 15 or 20 loaded coal wagons and other material were driven into the lower end of the shaft till the debris was 16 feet deep. This had all to be cleared away before the cage could be lowered to the bottom. Sunday 15 persons were drawn tip alive by bucket and rope. The first one was Albert Mcese. a 13-year-old, but af ter giving one or two gasps he was dead. The other 14 were deathly "sick " " J and several had to be carried' to their homes. Notwithstanding the assertions mine officials that the examination of of the mine Saturday morning showed itf to be almost clear from gas and in theii judgment safe, the fact develops thaj there was gas in the mine of such vol- - . . 1 1 s . .. a nine as 10 uc oangeroiis. wnc miner says the mine was not safe to be entered with an open lamp. Another reports that some weeks ago a fall occurred in one of the entries. It was timbered up, but gas accumulated above the timbers to such a degree as to make it danger ous and was not driven out, as the fan was a small one, not sufficient to do the necessary work. Arrangements were made, it is said, to place a larger fan at the ton of the main shaft, but this work had not yet been done. It was the intention of the company to this week commence the work of construct ing h slope in order to get more air into the mine and provide means of escape. 1 hrce dead bodies were removed irom the mine on Tuesday, making the loss of life thus far eighteen. The searchers say that there are a half-dozen corpses 111 sight 111 the pit. The bath tub combine, with a capi tal of $7,500,000 is ready for business. Lant. Jacob I. Vandergrilt. a wcaitny resident of Pittsburg, died last Wednes day. Another body was taken irom tne mine last Wednesday, make a total of 19 dead recovered thus lar. MADE IDLE BY STRIKES. A Hundred Thousand French Workers Affeol ed by the Demands ol Coal Miners. At a meeting of 2,500 miners held Tuesday in St. Eticnne, near Paris, a resolution was adopted in favor of de claring a general strike in the coal basin of the Loire. A sympathy movement involving w.ooo men is feared. The prosperity of the coa trade led the min ers to demand an increase ui wages, shorter hours and a formal recognition of the Miners' Federation by the com pany. The latter made an offer of S per cent, increase, but this was refused. Twelve thousand five hundred lace workers are on strike in St. Eticnne for higher wages. Their idleness involves that of 35,000 other dependent work men, making with the miners, if the coal strike spreads, as is expected, nearly 100,000. Moreover, a number of fac tories and works will soon be compell ed to close, owing to the coal shortage. . AN OPEN GRATE DID IT. Two Girls Burned to Death Whlla Enoylng Thoir Presents. Dr. William Reese, of Federal, near Pittsburg, reported the details of a Christmas tragedy at that place to the coroner, of Pittsburg, last Wednesday. Elizabeth Hahm, aged 4,. and Anna Banks, aged 0. were the victims. They were playmates and neighbors. Their fathers were miners. A Christmas tree loaded with presents had been left by Santa Claus in each home. There was an exchange of visits during the morn ing, each visiting the other and enjoy ing the gifts received. After dinner, and at the same hour, both girls, while dancing around in childish glee, caught fire from the open grate. The little Hahm girl died within an hour, while the Banks child lived until yesterday afternoon. The parents of each were painfully burned while trying to save the children. Son Kills His Father. Charles Hefner, aged 40, a butcher, was killed at his home in a New York tenement Tuesday by his son, Harry, 18 years old. Mrs. Hefner gave her son an album and a writing desk as Christ mas gifts. The father, who, it is said, . had been drinking heavily lately, was displeased when he saw the presents and he proceeded to tear up the album and smash the desk. The sou interfered and a fight ensued. The boy finally picked up a carving knife and stabbed bis father in the neck, severing the jug lar vein. Hefner fell dead and his son placed under arrest. Earthquake Damaqes a Clly. A severe earthquake shock was felt over a large portion of Southern Cali fornia Tuesday morning, the undula tions lasting about twelve seconds. The entire center of the shock appeared to have been at San Jacinto, a small town -in Riverside county. The business por tion of San Jacmlo consists of two blocks of two-story buildings, some of which are built of brick. Ten or 15 buildings were damaged, chimneys be ing toppled over and walls cracked and shaken. The total damage at San fa cinto and Heinit, a small town nearby, is estimated at $50.000. Enqlsh Subj eta Warned. The privy counril of Great Britain held a meeting at Windsor castle Wed nesday, at which Queen Victoria pro claimed a warning to all British sub jects not to assist the inhabitants of the Transvaal or the Orange free state, or to sell or transport merchandise thereto under ocnallv. xs
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers