EASTERN WAR CLOUDS AND THE GILLETTE SKIRT CO.

Yashima.

Cortland Evening Standard, Wednesday, December 29, 1897.

EASTERN WAR CLOUDS.

Japan's Fleet Equipped and Eager For the Fray.

WILL BACK ENGLAND'S DEMANDS.

Will Surely Oppose the Russian Occupation of Port Arthur—British Forces

Return From Khyber Pass—Panama Canal Comes to Light Again.

   LONDON, Dec. 29.—A special dispatch from Shanghai says: It is reported that a Japanese fleet of over 30 warships is waiting near Goto island, outside Nagaski, fully equipped for war and only awaiting instructions. This includes the Yashima and the Fuji, two of the finest vessels in the Japanese navy, and the Chen-Yuen, that was captured from China.

   The Japanese fleet, it is understood, is acting in close touch with the British squadron under Vice Admiral Sir Alexander Buller, commander-in-chief of the China station. Japan will certainly oppose a permanent Russian occupation of Port Arthur.

   The sudden dissolution of the Japanese diet was owing to the war spirit.

It is expected that the Japanese fleet will attempt to prevent the landing of reinforcements from Odessa for the protection of the Russian transasiatic railway in Manchuria.

COMPLETELY PACIFIED.

British Forces Return Victorious From Khyber Pass—Operations Suspended.

   LONDON, Dec. 39.—A dispatch from Peshawar says: The British columns have returned from Khyber pass, after punishing, with slight opposition, the Zakka-Khels in the Bazar valley. Military operations on the frontier are now concluded. Every Afridi and Orakzai valley has been visited. It now appears that the enemy's loss has been more severe than was at first believed and out of all proportion to its possible fighting strength. Their trade with our centers for the necessaries of life has been closed and their autumn tillage prevented. The complete submission of the Orakzais is now accomplished.

Panama Canal Looms Up Again.

   PARIS, Dec. 29.—At the half-yearly meeting of the Panama Canal company a report was read, holding out the prospect of some definite scheme being submitted toward the end of next year. The report mentions the United States Nicaraguan commission and promises full facilities and a hearty welcome to the commissioners when they visit the Panama works. It expresses the conviction that the United States congress and the American people will eventually accept the Panama scheme.

Japanese Ministry Resignation.

   WASHINGTON, Dec. 29.—The Japanese minister has not yet been advised of the resignation of the entire cabinet, and he feels that while the resignations may have been tendered, the emperor will not accept them until it becomes apparent that an entirely new cabinet under Marquis Ito can be framed. Ito has been in private life much of the time since his notable achievements during the China-Japan war and it is not believed he is ready to return to the cabinet. He is strong with all parties, however, and has the people behind him so that he may again assume the premiership if the emergencies demand it.

Walter Wellman.

PLENTY ON THE YUKON.

Evidence That the Miners Need Not Suffer For Food.

THE WHALERS WELL SUPPLIED.

Walter Wellman's Advices Indicate That the Proposed Government Relief Expeditions Are Wholly Unnecessary—Statehood For Alaska Is Not Far Off.

   WASHINGTON, Dec. 29.—(Special.)—According to the best information obtainable here, those American citizens who are spending the winter in the far north, and for whose relief Uncle Sam is moving with characteristic energy and generosity, have probably had a pretty good holiday season after all, and are not in danger of starvation. In these dispatches I have repeatedly pointed out a probability that both the whalers at Point Barrow, in the Arctic sea, and the miners along the Yukon are able to take care of themselves. Now comes evidence in support of this theory. Two men who recently returned from Dawson say there is no danger of starvation among the minors. Although coffee and sugar may run out, there is food enough in the country of one sort or another to last till the opening of navigation in the summer. As there are 1,000 tons of provisions at Fort Yukon—the highest point the steamers were able to get last fall on account of low water—it is inconceivable that any of the miners should starve, for it is no difficult matter for them to travel the 200 or 300 miles between their camps and the Fort Yukon supply station. Americans who venture into the goldfields are not the men to sit down and starve when there is plenty within reach by means of a snowshoe journey of two or three weeks.

   Still no one will criticize congress or the energetic secretary of war for desiring to make assurance doubly sure by sending in a relief expedition. If new supplies are not actually needed, no harm will be done, at any rate, and the forwarding of these relief trains will afford the world a lesson in the watchful care which Uncle Sam exercises over his citizens, wherever they may be.

Relief Expedition Unnecessary.

   One of the readers of your paper, who has just returned from Alaska, writes me a most interesting letter. He says he is familiar with the conditions which exist up there, and that there is no need of a relief expedition either for the miners or the whalers. He points out that at Dawson, which is in Canadian territory, there is a sort of governor general, with autocratic powers, in the person of Major Walsh. Up to date be has made no report to the Dominion government of starvation or danger in the Yukon region, which he would be very likely to do if there was any peril.

   My correspondent writes:

   "I have recently returned from the Mackenzie river, and the Hudson Bay company had information from the traders on the lower river in November that the whaling fleet were gathered, as usual, at Herschel island and were so well supplied with provisions as to be in a position to trade with the natives at prices against which the overland traders could not compete. If this was the case, surely the whalers do not require aid by a tugboat (which will never reach them) or by a reindeer caravan from St. Michael's (which, in my opinion, will never get as far as Point Barrow). As for the Yukon miners and the effort to relieve them by reindeer from Lapland, I believe the steamers will be able to get up the river to Dawson before the reindeer trains cover half the trail from Dyea to the goldfields."

Interest in the Arctic.

 

   It is considered not at all improbable that in a few years Alaska will be admitted as a state. Next year 200,000 or 300,000 people are expected to rush to the goldfields. Some will go to stake out claims, others to trade and speculate, and the latter are pretty sure to make the most money. If the Alaska gold deposits are as rich and widespread as they appear to be, then the future of that territory is a bright one. It is likely to soon have a population of a quarter of a million souls, and this will be in part a permanent population unless the gold plays out. Those who are familiar with the territory say the greatest gold discoveries are yet to be made, and after the pan mining era then comes the use of machinery. This latter will go on for many years. So we may expect to see Alaska a state before long, and here in Washington we shall soon have the pleasure of interviewing "the senator from Alaska."

Permanent Improvements.

   Although it is true the richest gold diggings are now on Canadian soil, it is said by men who have traveled through the region that in the future the most promising and most permanent mining industries, those which employ machinery for extracting the precious metal, are likely to be on the American side of the boundary line. Already it is pretty certain there will be a railroad into Dawson City by next fall, and a telegraph line is to be run in early in the summer. With a great fleet of steamboats upon the rivers, a railroad, a telegraph line and many newspapers, Alaska will soon begin to hold her head proudly and demand admission to the sisterhood of states.

   WALTER WELLMAN.

N. H. Gillette, first photo, top. Operators and sewing machines in Wells' building, second photo, top. New factory building, bottom photo.

THE GILLETTE SKIRT CO.

A BOOMING INDUSTRY ENLARGING ITS BUSINESS.

Now One Year Old—Review of the Year—Nothing Succeeds Like Success—More Machines to be Added—The Offices Crowded off the Working Floor, Now Located Down Stairs.

   The Gillette Skirt company, which has proved to be one of the booming industries of Cortland, is just a year old. It is a living exemplification of the old maxim that nothing succeeds like success. When it commenced operation a year ago it started six machines. From the outset it was evident that the management had struck a popular chord and that an article was being produced which appealed to the feminine eye, to a woman's sense of comfort and which possessed excellent wearing qualities. The demand for the Paris skirts was immediate, and it has proved to be continuous and growing.

   Scarcely had the first skirts been put upon the market before the call for them became such that it was needful to increase the number of machines in operation and the number of operatives until the quarters in the McFarlan building had reached their limit. Then a second set of operatives was employed and the machines buzzed far into the night. In March the factory was moved to the commodious Wells building, where the entire third floor was secured and where the number of [sewing] machines was increased to forty-one.

   Even with the force then possible of employment it has part of the time been necessary to run over time in order to keep up with orders. Still the demand continues to increase and it is with difficulty that the company can furnish the skirts fast enough. A number of new machines are soon to be added to the factory and in preparation for the placing of them several changes have been required in the arrangement.

   The offices have been crowded from the third floor down to the second, where a fine suite of rooms has been obtained in the northeast corner of the building. The private office of Mr. N. H. Gillette, the president and manager of the company, is at the center of the building overlooking Clinton-ave. The general business office and the reception rooms are in the corner of the building and along the east side and are splendidly lighted. All are to be nicely finished and furnished, and will be equipped with the most convenient and practical working furniture.

   The old offices on the third floor have been utilized for a stockroom and the removal of stock from its former position has made it possible to secure room for the additional machines. Ten new skilled hands have been added in the last month, and more will be needed with the arrival of the new machines.

   The trade now touches almost the entire United States and is constantly widening out to cover the territory more completely and more thoroughly. It also includes parts of several foreign countries. The styles now in process of manufacture have proved very popular, but the management is constantly alert to keep up to date. Several new styles are soon to be added. A new feature will be a short flannel underskirt made in soft colors and in stripes and prettily trimmed with lace.

   The pronounced success of this company has led others in other localities outside of Cortland county to believe that there was nothing to do to make a like success but to make skirts of some kind, and several unsuccessful attempts to follow the example of the Gillette Skirt Co. have been made by new concerns during the past year. Though this company is but a year old, its success goes far back of that in point of time. Mr. Gillette, the manager, has been in this line of business for twenty years and over, and his long experience has led him to judge accurately what the ladies want in the skirt line and how to satisfy them in every particular. It has enabled him also to decide as to material, and as to all points of manufacture, and his large acquaintance with the trade has made it possible for him to put his manufactured goods on the market in the best manner and at the minimum of expense, for all manufacturers know that at the present time every margin must be cut close by reason of the large competition, and that it is not a question of how much a man or company can make, but how much he can save in the details that marks the measure of his success.

   The STANDARD has already mentioned the fact that the increasing business has made it needful for Mr. Gillette to move his residence from the suburb in McGrawville to Cortland itself, where he can be nearer his office, and that he is now located at 20 West Court-st. It is a cause for the village to congratulate itself, not only that it numbers among its industries such a well established and flourishing concern at the Gillette Skirt Co., but that it also includes among its residents Mr. and Mrs. Gillette, who were prominent in social and literary circles in their former home in Brooklyn, and who have come to be recognized for their genuine worth during their shorter residence in this county.

Frank Young Better.

   Frank Young, the 12-year-old son of Mr. and Mrs. Wilford Young of Truxton, who was accidently shot by his older brother Fred on Christmas day, is rapidly recovering and is reported as able to sit up. The injuries were not as serious as at first reported.

SECURED A PATENT.

Mrs. A. D. V. Mills has Invented a Home Laundry Bucket.

   Mrs. A. D. V. Mills was yesterday notified that a patent had been granted her on a home laundry bucket. It is a galvanized iron pail of about sixteen quarts capacity with one side flat and sloping. The sloping aide is corrugated forming a washboard. It is just the thing for doing small laundry work, as it combines washtub, washboard and water pail, and is of convenient size for use, and can be placed on the stove for heating water and is fitted for a thousand and one uses well known to every housewife. These pails are to be manufactured in Cortland and will be on sale on and after Jan. 1 at the store of F. D. Smith. The selling price will be $1.

Gave a Whist Party.

   Miss Jane Humes gave a very pleasant whist party last evening at her home, 57 Greenbush-st. Very nice refreshments were served. The lady's prize, a handsome vase, was won by Miss Grace Dunbar, and Mr. Louis Hulbert won the gentleman's prize, a beautiful silver drinking cup. The guests were Misses Grace Mead, Cora Wells, Elizabeth G. McGraw, May Duffey, Grace Dunbar, Louise Wallace, Bessie Benedict, Mabel Fitzgerald, Anna Winchell and Mabel Brewer, and Messrs. Charles S. Mead, Charles W. Barker, Hubert R. Maine, Charles C. Wickwire, Harry Wickwire, Earl Newton, William T. Yale, Louis Hulbert and G. Harry Garrison.

BREVITIES.

   —A mothers' meeting (north) will be held Thursday, Dec. 30, at 3 o'clock at the home of Mrs. Bentley, 22 Woodruff-st.

   —The new iron bridge over the Tioughnioga river at Rickard-st. is complete with the exception of a few plank, which will be laid in a day or two.

   —Mrs. F. D. Smith and Mrs. W. R. Cole delightfully entertained a small company of friends last night at a very elegant 6 o'clock tea and during a social evening that followed.

   —The next party in the winter series under the auspices of the St. Vitus club will be held In Taylor hall Friday night, New Year's eve. McDermott's orchestra will furnish the music.

   —A Maryland man choked to death on a piece of Christmas turkey. So far as known this is the first death on account of the Turk in Maryland or any other state in the Union.—Binghamton Herald.

   —Taylor hall is to-day in the hands of the decorators in preparation for the third annual ball of the Ancient Order of Hibernians, which is to be held there this evening. The supper is to be served in Empire hall. McDermott's orchestra will furnish the music.

   —The Lehigh Valley freighthouse at Geneva and five freight cars, two of which were loaded with furniture, were wholly destroyed by fire yesterday morning. The house was full of valuable freight. Building and contents were valued at $5,000, covered by insurance. The origin of the fire is unknown.