APPROACHING
A CRISIS.
Venezuelan
Question Assuming an Acute Phase.
THE
REPUBLIC QUIETLY ARMING.
American
Syndicate, Too, Determined to Assert Its Rights Under the Concession—Venezuela
Preparing to Resist Aggression of Great Britain.
NEW YORK, Oct. 19.—That the Venezuelan
question is assuming rapidly an acute stage with the possibility of war, was
made evident by interesting disclosures conveyed authoritatively in New York.
For years the dispute respecting the boundary line in Venezuela between that
country and Great Britain has dragged along in tedious diplomatic intercourse.
The Venezuelan government, it is learned, has been quietly supplying itself
with modern armament.
Among other supplies 10 improved Maxim guns
have been ordered from Europe. It is true General Crespo, president of
Venezuela, did not order them directly. It is doubtful whether the British firm
that manufactured them knew their destination. They were ordered from this
country with instructions to be sent to an exporting house in New York. Whether
the guns have already arrived from England has not been made clear.
These facts bear out the supposition that
Venezuela is determined to resist British aggression to the last and prove that
the citizens of the United States who hold the concessions in Venezuela are
resolved to assert their rights immediately.
What the British will do when a large force
of American workingmen proceed to develop the territory claimed by them is the
very latest interesting problem and one which carries with it grave results.
William N. Safford, counsel for the Orinoco
company—the American syndicate which controls the Venezuelan concessions—made
plain the position now being assumed by the Orinoco company.
"The company," he said,
"proposes to work its concessions without delay. It will send prospectors
along the line of the Imataca mountains, whose foothills are supposed to be
ample in gold mines.
"That territory is of course in the
company's concessions and has always been marked so on the map. But now that there
is a prospect of gold there Great Britain steps in and claims it.
"Arrangements are being made to send our
men there to develop the company's concessions, not with any intent to start a
controversy, but to assert the company's rights. Besides the mines there are
other properties in the concessions awaiting development.
"Great Britain refers to the Schomburk line,
but the fact is she has gone beyond that. This line is purely imaginary. Sir
Robert Schomburk visited Venezuela in 1840 and, starting at Point Barema, merely
drew a line southward on the map. It is susceptible of proof that he never
surveyed the land at all. The Venezuelan government has conclusive evidence that
he made no survey.
"In 1850 Great Britain asserted that it
had no intention to occupy or usurp disputed territory, nor could it brook any aggression,
etc. The inference was that a neutral attitude was to be maintained. So matters
went until 1885. In that year rich gold fields, now yielding $4,000,000 a year,
were discovered west of the Schomburk line between the Guaima and Paraman rivers.
"They are known as the Barema gold
fields and are 50 to 60 miles west of the Schomburk line. Nevertheless, Great Britain
promptly stepped in and claimed that territory. And so she has gone on since,
claiming land wherever gold has been discovered.
"The Orinoco company claims those gold
fields as being in its concession, and proposes to stand up for its perfectly
clear title to them."
Just what Great Britain covets is made plain
by the following facts:
A land grant including over 14.000,000 acres
of the richest land in the world was conceded to C. C. Fitzgerald by the
government of Venezuela on Sept. 22. 1883. The concessions came later into the
possession of the Manoa company, composed of American capitalists.
A few weeks ago the Manoa company held a
meeting in the Astor House in New York city. The meeting was for the purpose of
turning over the lease of the concessions to the Orinoco company. This last
corporation was organized recently under the laws of the state of Washington. It
will issue $25,000,000 worth of bonds to develop the concessions. Among the men
prominent in the Orinoco company are Donald Grant, the millionaire of Faribault,
Minn., and John A. Bowman of St. Paul. There are a number of other American
stockholders less conspicuous.
On June 18 last President Crespo reaffirmed
the lease held by the Manoa company.
The lands covered by the lease hold a
practically inexhaustible deposit of asphalt, vast gold and other mineral
fields and mahogany forests.
BOSTON, Oct. 19.—In her official trip
between Cape Ann and Boone island, a distance of 31 knots, the battleship
Indiana made an average speed of 15.31 knots for four hours. This is 6 1-100
knots above the speed required by the government, and as there was a premium
offered of $25,000 for every
quarter knot made over 15, the Cramps [Philadelphia shipyard] will receive
$50,000 as a bonus in excess of the contract price offered.
CHICAGO'S
QUEER CLUB.
It Is
Composed of Colored Men Who Have White Wives.
Chicago, which prides itself on originality
in all things, has a social organization which certainly takes the palm for
novelty. It is the Manasia club and is composed of colored men who are the
husbands of white women. It is a fundamental rule of the society that every
candidate for membership must clearly establish the fact that he is lawfully
married.
The club now contains a total membership of
72, or 36 husbands and their wives. This is exclusive of those members who are
in arrears in their dues and who are classed as "nonfinancial
members."
"Two causes have practically compelled
the respectable colored men who are the husbands of wives not of their own race
to come together in an organized social body," said one of the members of
the club. "One cause is the unfortunate fact that there are colored men,
as well as those of every nationality, whose lives are a reproach, and it is
generally admitted that in the world of social shame the 'color line' cuts but
little figure. Membership in this society is a badge of the legality, legitimacy
and respectability of the relationship existing between the men and women who,
as husbands and wives, compose the club.
"Now, as to the other cause which
compelled the formation of the club. It may be easily taken for granted that
the white woman who marries a colored man is thereafter cut off from all White
society and that she is ever after debarred from the enjoyment of all her old
associations. The exceptions to this are so rare that they only go to prove the
rule.
"The colored man who marries a white
woman is instantly and completely cut off from all colored society, for society
of every sort is ruled by the women who compose it. Colored society is no
exception to this rule. Perhaps it is but natural for a colored woman to feel
that the man of her own race who marries a white woman publishes the fact that
he considers women of his own blood less desirable companions for life.
Jealousy and resentment are aroused, and a white wife is, as a result, wholly
shut out from all social enjoyment or intercourse. She cannot appear on the
street with her husband and becomes a practical prisoner in her own home. The
husband of course shares the same conditions, and as a result they must find
all their life in each other. This tends to make good husbands and good wives
of them, but it sometimes seems very hard and cruel.
"To provide those who found themselves
surrounded by these circumstances with a little social life, which is a
necessity to the average human being, this club was organized."
The club meets twice a month. One ball is
given each year, which is usually a very creditable affair. During the season
five or six parties of a less pretentions character are given at the homes of
different members. These are interspersed with literary and musical
entertainments, the "talent" for these occasions being furnished exclusively
by the club.
The membership roll includes 11 American
women; wives of Irish birth rank next in number, followed by those of German
nativity. There is but one woman of Scandinavian blood in the club.
Philip S. Jones, president of the club, was
born under the cloud of slavery 36 years ago in Charlottesville, Va. His
profession is that of a trained nurse. While nursing a prominent citizen of
Chicago through a long illness he became acquainted with a German girl who was
an attaché of the same household. In the course of long months of constant
association they grew to be warm friends and were ultimately married. Mrs.
Jones speaks English, French and Italian in addition to her native tongue.
PAGE
TWO—EDITORIALS.
Democratic
Testimony.
When Republicans present facts and figures
showing that our present tariff for deficit is not simply failing to provide
for the actual necessities of the government but is also paralyzing many of our
home industries and furnishing work for foreign labor and profit to foreign
manufacturers, the figures are challenged and the facts denied by Democratic
authorities and both are denounced as "Republican lies,"
"calamity howls," etc., etc. They can hardly, however, discredit the
official statements of one of their well known leaders whose official duties
compel him to state the truth.
Most Democrats have probably heard of
Patrick A. Collins, He has been one of the most prominent of Massachusetts
Democrats for a good many years. Soon after Mr. Cleveland was inaugurated he
was appointed consul general of the United States at London. Information
furnished by him can hardly be called a Republican lie. In consular reports for
June there are published, under the signature of Patrick A, Collins, statistics
obtained from official sources of the exports from the different consular districts
of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland to the United States for the
quarter ending on Dec. 31, 1894. This was the first full quarter under the
Wilson law, but it did not include the period immediately following the taking
effect of that act, when goods that had been held up waiting for its lower
duties were rushed into our market. Yet the total exports for that quarter were
$43,536,555, against $24,641,082 for the corresponding quarter of 1893. The gain
was $19,075,472 or only about $5,000,000 less than the total exports in the
last quarter of the preceding year.
◘ Mrs. Alva S. Vanderbilt has proved herself
a victorious society leader. She is dashing and attractive, and she possesses
the first requisite for leadership of any kind, she is utterly without fear.
She divorced herself a year ago from W. K.
The Vanderbilts were ungracious enough to set the whole weight of
the family influence dead against her. "Society" wondered, it did,
whether society would ever receive Mrs. Alva Vanderbilt again. The question now
to be asked is whether Mrs. Vanderbilt will receive society, at least that
pusillanimous portion of it which tried to down her merely because she was a
divorced woman, although she had every reason to secure a divorce if she wanted
one. In one year Mrs. Alva, unaided and alone, has made the Newport season the
most brilliant ever known, has herself given the most splendid entertainments
of the season and secured a duke for a son-in-law. The other Vanderbilts may
well turn green with envy.
◘ The new cruiser Brooklyn is 400.50 feet
long, 64.68 feet wide and draws 24 feet water. She is a steel armored cruiser,
built like the New York, but is slightly larger than that vessel. She has twin
screws, four vertical triple expansion engines and seven boilers, and it is
expected that she will travel 24 miles an hour. If she does she will do well.
She will bristle all over with those rapid fire guns for the want of which the
Chinese were whipped by the Japs in every sea fight. Her largest guns will be
eight inch breech-loading cannon, of which there will be eight. She will have,
moreover, five torpedo tubes, one in the bow and two on each side, and will
carry 561 men.
◘ The Yankee has got into Korea first.
Uhnsan, the district in which the American citizen James R. Morse got his gold
mining franchise, belongs to the royal family of Korea. The hermit kingdom
cannot remain a hermit any longer.
A
FORTUNATE ESCAPE
From
Death—Fell Between the Cars of a Moving Train.
Mr. Charles Amey is a brakeman on the
through freight which passes Cortland going south on the D., L. & W. at
2:30 o'clock A. M. His home is in Syracuse. This morning, just after the train
passed the Ithaca junction, Brakeman Amey was on top of the cars straightening
the bell cord when he slipped and fell between two cars of the moving train.
His right foot became caught in the coupling and he fell over head first.
With his hands he caught hold of the brake
rod and rode two miles in this perilous position before he could succeed in
uncoupling the air hose. As soon as he did this all the brakes became set fast
and the train came to a standstill. The trainmen were attracted by his cries
for help and when they reached him [they] found him lying on the tracks exhausted, but
conscious. He was placed in the caboose and carried to Blodgett Mills where the
train was sidetracked and the engine and caboose returned to Cortland. A cot
was secured at the station and at Grant-st. he was taken from the caboose and
carried to the hospital.
Drs. Dana and Didama were called. They found
that the right ankle was dislocated and one of the bones of the leg broken just
above the ankle. The limb was quite badly bruised otherwise. He is doing well
this afternoon.
It Has a
Fine Band.
Lovers of good music will be given a rare
treat, free of charge, when the superb concert band connected with C. B.
Jefferson, Klaw & Erlanger's "Country Circus" visits Cortland
next Tuesday. This company has always carried a fine street band, but this
season it has been increased to nearly double the number of pieces, and
strengthened by the acquisition of several of the best soloists in the country,
notably Mr. Frank Thompson, late cornet soloist with Sousa's and the Marine
bands; Mr. Harry Roche, the noted piccolo artist, with the famous "Black
Hussar" band; and Mr. Raymond Rjel, a very fine euphonium player, who has
also been connected with a number of the leading concert bands of the country.
This first-class musical organization, under
the leadership of Prof. Fred E. Butters, will give a parade and concert at noon
on the day of arrival, and at 7 o'clock in the evening in front of the Opera
House. There will be solos and duets by the artists above mentioned, as well as
both classic and popular selections by the entire band. Also solos between the
acts of "The Country Circus,"
so that all who attend will be continually entertained.
The "Country Circus" orchestra is
a feature not to be missed.
Police
Court.
Two more arrests were made this morning for
alleged violation of the excise laws. They were John H. Howard and Frank Bates.
The date of the trial of the former has not yet been set. The latter has been
set down for Oct. 26 at 10 A. M. before Police Justice Bull. Both of these are
criminal actions brought in behalf of The People.
Ed Huguenin has also been arrested [and]
charged with assault. The complainant is Jacob Frink. His case will be tried
Oct. 23.
Don't
''Scratch" Your Ballot.
It is a very natural thing for a voter to
draw a line through the name of a candidate he does not like. If this is done
with the new ballot, it is held as a "marked" ballot and will be
thrown out entire. No "scratched" ballots of any kind will be
counted. Every voter should familiarize himself with the ballot before election
day arrives, to ensure a vote which will be counted.
A
BIRTHDAY SURPRISE.
Fifty
Friends Visit Mr. William Bell Last Evening.
Mr. William Bell, who lives on the Kellogg
farm about three miles west of the village, last night received a surprise
visit from fifty of his friends. He was 37 years old yesterday and as a
reminder of the occasion the friends left a nice set of diningroom chairs.
Daniels' orchestra of four pieces was present and dancing was the order of the
evening. The company included Mr. and Mrs. D. A. Burhans, Mr. and Mrs. Henry
Young, Mr. and Mrs. J. M. Miller, Mr. and Mrs. Henry Burnham, Mr. and Mrs.
Marvin Wadsworth, Mr. and Mrs. Bert Dickinson, Mr. and Mrs. John Osbeck, Mr.
and Mrs. Frank Sears, Mr. and Mrs. Philip Niver, Mr. and Mrs. J. R. Hathaway,
Mr. and Mrs. George Miller, Mr. and Mrs. George Pierce, Mrs. Ann Young, Misses
Lena Pierce, Nellie Pierce, Hattie and Lizzie Burnham, Lillie Miller, Jessie
Miller, Jennie Miller, Neva Seacord, Bertha Randall, Mary Story, Blanche Rose,
and Messrs. Ed Henry, Thomas Hennessey, John Young, Bert Root, Fred Root, Frank
Mott, Ernest Woodward, Arthur Knapp, Delmer Rowe, E. Moore, Ralph Burnham,
Thomas Ryan, Fred Rindge, Will Harvey, John Harvey and Dell Antisdel.
HOMER
DEPARTMENT.
Gleanings
of News From Our Twin Village.
Henry Crofoot of Preble was in town this
morning.
Mrs. G. A. Brockway joined a party of Cortland
friends and spent the day in Syracuse.
Mrs. G. D. Daniels, Mrs. L. H. Heberd and Miss
Cora Heberd also went to Syracuse this morning.
James Dougherty of Cortland was in town this
morning attending to legal business.
H. C. Hemmingway opened his candy store in
the Riggs block this morning. He has a fine line of fresh homemade delicacies which
form a very tempting display.
Miss Addie Hull, who has been visiting friends
in Springfield, Mass., arrived home last evening.
Mrs. Benj. Johnson of Albany, who has been
visiting her sister, Mrs. P. C. Kingsbury, left town for her home this morning.
Mrs. Palmer returned to her home in Syracuse
this morning. She has been the guest of her brother, Mr. W. H. Darby, for a fortnight past.
Herbert Callery, who was released from the
Cortland jail this morning after serving a thirty day's sentence, was immediately
rearrested by Officer Jones. The arrest was made on complaint of Lee Son, the
Chinese laundryman, who charged the boy with assault in the third degree. Callery
pleaded not guilty and the ease was adjourned until Monday at 9 A. M. Callery
was committed to the Cortland jail to await trial.
BURGLARY
AT MCLEAN.
Jewelry
and Watches Taken From Galloup's Store.
The dry goods and jewelry store of E. G.
Galloup of McLean was entered by burglars last night and about $200 worth of
jewelry, a dozen gold rings and fourteen silver and gold watches were taken. Entrance
to the store was effected by breaking out of a glass in the door and prying off
the catches of the door with a chisel. A quantity of cigars and the contents of
the money drawer was taken. The safe which contained quite an amount of cash
and several diamond rings and some new watches were not molested.
A small fire was discovered by Mr. Jay Mason
at about 4 o'clock this morning in the McLean foundry. The fire was well
started and had burned a hole in the floor, but was extinguished by a few pails
of water. The cause of the fire is unknown.
BREVITIES.
It is easy enough to be pleasant
While life flows by like a song,
But the man worthwhile is the one who will smile
When everything goes dead wrong.
For the test of the heart is trouble,
And it always comes with years,
And the smile that is worth the praises on
earth,
Is the smile that shines through tears.
—Ella
Wheeler Wilcox.
—Register to-night.
—If you are not registered you cannot vote.
—The Central school football team is playing
against the Homer team at Homer this afternoon.
—All young men desirous of taking a course
in Bible study are requested to meet in the Y. M. C. A. parlors to-night at 8
o'clock.
—Cornell has a Canadian club, which has
become a permanent organization. The club is composed of Canadians who are
students of Cornell.
—The jury in the case of The People against
E. D. Huguenin, charged with assault in the third degree, rendered a verdict of
no cause of action.
—A concert by the Cortland City band was
given at the park from 2 to 4 o'clock this afternoon and was well attended by a
large number of people who took this last opportunity for an afternoon over
there.
—Many of our weekly exchanges are favoring
the suggestion that every farmer put his name on his barn. It is a good idea.
Interest will be redoubled in a drive over a ride [sic] you are not entirely familiar
with where you know many of the people but do not know their places of
residence.
—The executive committee of the Choral club
has completed the cast of "Pinafore" by assigning the part of Buttercup
to Mrs. F. A. Mangang. Mrs. Mangang possesses a voice of pleasing quality. She
recently moved to Ithaca from Cortland and has had considerable experience in
amateur operatic work.—Ithaca Journal.
—Thursday morning at chapel exercises at the
Normal school, the matter of organizing a guild, for the purpose of the visitation
of the ill students and of providing a nurse and care for those in need, was
discussed, and it was decided to organize one at once. Each student will be
asked to pay into the treasury 25 cents per term, to defray all expenses.—Oneonta
Star.
Another
Communication from Mr. Dunston.
To the
Editor of the Standard:
SIR—It is not my intention to use your
hospitable columns for carrying on a wordy war, but Mr. H. M. Kellogg's letter
of the 17th inst. calls for notice. Mr. Kellogg writes as railroad
commissioner, and words from him should carry weight. The bulk of his letter is
an able plea for the steam road, and he takes his stand squarely and openly on
that issue.
Mr. Kellogg implies that the Erie &
Central New York railroad is distinctly identified with Cortland, and calls it ''our
steam road." He states that the Erie & Central New York road has cost
the town of Cortlandville $400,000. No such claim as this can be made on behalf
of the Traction company—and presumably the town is glad of it, too. The only
claim of this kind that can be made for it is the acceptance of "free
franchises," and even that is put forth in a dubious light. But it is hard
to see the Traction company disowned; why not "our" Traction company?
Its name implies it.
Has not the Traction company done, and does
it not seem likely to do, as much for the village of Cortland as the steam
road? Let the people remember that while they had to subscribe $400,000 to the
steam road, which money mainly went out of the town, they were not
called upon for a cent on account of the Traction company, the money for which
has been brought into the town. The people paid their money for the good
of the town and in order that passengers and freight might be moved eastward.
Is ii not an insult to their intelligence to assume, because their object has
now been at least partially obtained by another road, they should object
because that road has cost them nothing at all?
But Mr. Kellogg misquotes me when he says,
"In view of the plain statement made by Mr. Dunston at this late date,
that the company has the right and intends to exercise it of
hauling both freight cars and coal cars over the road as now laid, through the
residence as well as the principal business streets of our town, if they
shall choose to do so." Mr. Kellogg will find in your issue of
the 12th inst.
these words: "We are firmly convinced of our right under the railroad law
of the state to carry freight. We are willing, in return for the granting of the
franchise now asked, to relinquish our right to carry freight over any and all
of our tracks situated west of the D., L. & W. R. R., reserving only the right
to haul freight which we may at any time require, for our own consumption."
No comment is necessary.
Does it seem credible that Mr. Bundy did not
discover that the Traction company was preparing to haul freight until "engaged
in laying his iron, and building his bridges?"
Railroad Commissioner Clark knew it. President
Tisdale of the Erie & Central New York railroad knew it, and it follows that
this information was withheld from Mr. Bundy, or that he did not take the
trouble to look the matter up, or that he was well aware of the facts of the
case. Which alternative will Mr. Kellogg choose?
Mr. Kellogg has been informed that Ithaca
and Cortland of all cities (?) of this state are alone permitted to use
"T" rails upon their surface roads. The Street
Railway Journal for October, 1895, gives the names of thirty-two roads using
this rail—fourteen of them exclusively—not counting either Ithaca or Cortland. But
Mr. Kellogg uses heavier shot than this—he gives figures which appeal to the
pockets of your tax paying readers.
Here are some more figures. The difference in
running time between the Cortland House and the river by present route is fully
10 minutes longer than by the new route sought. The average daily number of
passengers, both ways, has been 2,130, which number multiplied by 10 minutes
and 365 days makes an annual total of 129,575 hours; and if time is money, must
be worth at least 12 1/2 cents an hour, at which rate the annual loss to the community—not
to the Traction company—will be $16,000, and evolved increase as time went on.
The annual interest on Mr. Kellogg's $400,000 is but $24 000 and steadily
decreasing.
Are the people willing to be taxed another
$16,000 annually in order to prevent McGrawville freight being hauled over 500
feet of Elm-st.? Do they wish to see the Traction company hampered in handling its
McGrawville freight after having bought private right of way over half its
route in order to facilitate the same?
Arguments of common sense, fair play and
legal rights having been used before the village board, so far, without result,
the solid business men of the village have spoken by means of a petition to the
board, and—this is the amusing part of it—Mr. Kellogg thinks they have been
misled! They are of age, ask them.
Yours truly,
R. E. DUNSTON.
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