AMERICANS ATTACKED, AND CORTLAND CENTRAL SCHOOL GRADUATION

 

Gen. Antonio Luna.

Emilio Aguinaldo.

Cortland Evening Standard, Saturday, June 17, 1899.

AMERICANS ATTACKED.

Five Thousand Rebels Open Fire on the Americans.

WARM RECEPTION MET WITH.

After Some Revere Fighting the Filipinos Were Repulsed With a Loss of Seventy-five Killed and Many Wounded—The American Loss Fourteen.

   MANILA, June 17.—After cutting the railroad and telegraph at Apalit, seven miles south, for the purpose of severing connection, the rebels attacked General MacArthur's lines at San Fernando at 4:30 in the morning. They met with an unexpectedly warm reception and were repulsed with a loss of 75 killed, 30 prisoners and many wounded.

   The rebel force, estimated to have numbered 5,000 men, advanced stealthily from the jungle north of the city and then divided with the evident purpose of surrounding the Americans. The outposts of the Ohio regiment discovered the enemy and retired to their lines, where the entire division awaited in an entrenched position. The Iowa regiment and the Kansas regiment received the first shock of the attack. Reserving their fire until the enemy was within 600 yards, the first volley of the Americans hit the rebels, who returned the fire wildly, the rest of their line failing to advance. The Americans, who thoroughly enjoyed the novelty of the situation awaiting an attack sallied forth and the insurgents thereupon turned and fled into the jungle. Our loss was 14 men wounded and the majority of them are only slightly hurt.

   General Funston's brigade of Kansans and Montanas and General Hale's brigade, the Seventeenth regiment and the Iowa regiment, constituted the force engaged.

   Aguinaldo is reported to have personally conducted the attack and preparations were made for several days to bring forward troops from Candaba, and others from Dagupan were transported by rail.

   Along the front of the Kansas regiment 39 rebel dead were counted.

   The first news of the Filipino advance was reported by a telegraph operator who was sent to the bridge at Apalit to ascertain the cause of a break in one of the wires. He was compelled to beat a hasty retreat under fire.

   A Spanish officer who has been a prisoner in the hands of the rebels and who was released by Aguinaldo, has come through our lines to Manila. He claims to have been a witness of the assassination of General Luna. According to his story, the relations between the two Filipino leaders have been strained to the breaking point because of Luna's attempts to assume control of affairs and the final rupture was forced by Aguinaldo issuing secret orders to the provincial governments.

   Luna thereupon sent to Aguinaldo demanding copies of the documents and Aguinaldo replied curtly that Luna was a general of the army and that the civil government did not concern him. Luna, on opening the reply at his headquarters in the presence of his officers, exclaimed hotly: "He will be dead tomorrow."

   One officer, who was friendly to Aguinaldo, hastened to warn him and Aguinaldo called together 20 trusted soldiers, townsmen of his, and stationed them around his house with instructions to kill any one attempting to enter, regardless of rank. Luna appeared the next day and saw Aguinaldo at the window.

   A member of the guard said: "Aguinaldo has gone to inspect the troops." Luna then exclaimed: "You are a liar," drew his revolver, struck the guard and tried to force an entrance into the house. Before he could use his revolver one of the guards bayoneted him, another shot him in the back and others stabbed him. In all he had 20 wounds. Luna's aide de camp was killed in the same way.

   The Spaniard's story has not entirely dispelled the doubts of Luna's death and bets that he is alive are freely made at the clubs. Some people think Aguinaldo has taken pains to send the Spaniard here with his story for the furtherance of some diplomatic scheme while others suspect Aguinaldo has been assassinated by Luna's men.

   The hostile natives of Cebu are more menacing. Mail advices say hostilities against the Americans have begun there.

   Colonel Hamer, the American commander, has asked for reinforcements and four companies of the Tennessee regiment have been sent to him from Iloilo. The Nebraska regiment has been ordered to sail for home early next week.

 

PAGE TWO—EDITORIALS.

   ◘ The Spanish war may not, as Mr. Howells declares, have produced any stirring literature, but no one can deny that it has produced an after crop of superb schemes. The latest is put forth by Major McClave, who proposes that the country shall buy the 11 miles of Palisades on the Hudson and erect thereon a monument to Admiral Dewey opposite the tomb of Grant and connect the two by means of a monster bridge. It is somewhat remarkable that whenever New York gets hold of a scheme of this size it immediately proposes to make the country pay for it.

   ◘ It is encouraging to state that the New York State College of Forestry has succeeded in planting the first 50 acres of burned lands with valuable tree growths. The college expects to plant every year at least 500 acres. This is the first encouraging step toward reclaiming the losses caused by fires.

   ◘ The English scientists have attempted to snub Signor Marconi, the inventor of the wireless telegraph. The Royal society has refused to recognize him because, it says, he is trying to make money with his invention. So there is the same kind of split in the scientific world that there is in the religious world, simply because men are born radicals and conservatives.

 

Cortland House, corner Main Street and Groton Avenue, Cortland, N. Y.

A DELIGHTFUL RECEPTION

Given at the Cortland House by Superintendent and Mrs. F. E. Smith.

   Superintendent F. E. Smith of the public schools arranged a very delightful reception which was held at the Cortland House last evening immediately following the Central school graduating exercises at the Opera House. The reception was given to the members of the board of education and their wives, the teachers in the schools and the members of the graduating class.

   The reception committee consisted of Superintendent and Mrs. Smith, Hon. and Mrs. A. A. Carley representing the board, Miss McCulloch and Miss Galusha representing the teachers and Miss Jones representing the graduating class. Sixty-one guests were present, including Deputy Superintendent Ainsworth, and Dr. and Mrs. F. J. Cheney. A short and pleasant social season was passed in the beautiful parlors and halls, and a little later the doors of the diningroom were thrown open. The guests found their places at the tables by means of name cards placed beside the plates. The tables were arranged in the form of a five pointed star, and each bore a large bouquet of pink and white peonies. The menu was one of the choicest of the choice always found at this popular hotel. Mr. and Mrs. Dorr C. Smith of the Cortland House did everything possible for the pleasure of their guests, and the many expressions of commendation showed that they had succeeded in a most admirable manner.

 

THE DELPHIC FRATERNITY.

Forty-Seven Charter Members Taken from the Old Y. M. D. C.

   The Young Men's Debating club of the Cortland Normal school has passed out of existence as an organization and in its place is the Epsilon chapter of the Delphic fraternity. The transformation occurred last night when forty-seven charter members of the new chapter were initiated. This fraternity now has five chapters, all in Normal schools. The Alpha chapter is at Geneseo, the Beta chapter at Oneonta, the Gamma chapter at Mansfield, Pa., the Delta chapter at Jamaica and the Epsilon chapter at Cortland. Other chapters were represented last night at the initiation as follows: Alpha, Dr. James M. Milne; Beta, Frank G. Ingalls and J. C. Naylor.

   The meeting of the Y. M. D. C. last night was a very full one, and H. A. Oday, R. L. Davis, R. P. Higgins and T. J. Gleason of the alumni, and T. R. Tracey and W. H. Smith of the under graduates now out of school were also present with the club. Nothing was undertaken last night except to initiate the charter members. This was done by the representatives of the Oneonta chapter. Dr. Milne then addressed the young men. His words though brief were excellent and timely. He exhorted them to increase the brotherhood idea, to cultivate happiness and to be manly.

   At the close of the meeting the Delphics and the Corlonors, nearly a hundred in all, went out upon a serenading trip about town and spent an hour very pleasantly.

   The Y. M. D. C. which last night passed out of existence was the oldest society in the Normal, having been founded in 1847 in the old Cortlandville academy. Under the provision of its becoming a chapter of the Delphic fraternity it retains its old constitution unchanged, so that the traditions, ideals and policy of the society will be the same as formerly.

 

Ferdinand E. Smith.

THE CENTRAL SCHOOL.

SEVEN YOUNG LADIES AND EIGHT YOUNG MEN GRADUATED.

Fine Exercises at the Opera House Last Night—An Admirable Address by Deputy Superintendent Ainsworth Who Touched Upon Vital State Educational Questions.

   The closing exercises of the Central school were held in the Opera House last night, and were in many respects more pleasing than those in previous years. The house was completely filled with friends of the school and of the seven young ladies and eight young men who received their diplomas.

   Upon the platform were seated the members of the board of education, Superintendent Smith and the teachers in the village schools, the speaker of the evening, and Rev. W. Jasper Howell, the new pastor of the First Baptist church, who offered the opening prayer and pronounced the benediction. The members of the graduating class and of the chorus which sang sat in the parquet. The program as published in The STANDARD yesterday was carried out in full, the music of a high order being furnished by Darby's orchestra. The singing of the chorus under the direction of Miss Mabel C. Whitcomb was of a high degree of excellence.

   Superintendent Smith introduced the speaker of the evening, Hon. Danforth E. Ainsworth, deputy superintendent of public instruction. Mr. Ainsworth's address was one of the finest ever delivered upon a similar occasion [in] Cortland. It was timely and up-to-date. The greater part of it was upon a purely educational theme, but it was presented in such a clear and tactful manner that it could not help hold the closest attention of those who perhaps heretofore have not been especially interested or well informed in regard to the proposed changes in our state school system, and its effect upon all will be to deepen the interest and to cause them to follow carefully all that is in the future said and done in relation to those changes.

   After one or two good stories Mr. Ainsworth proceeded to refer to Cortland as an educational center with its great Normal school from which radiates an influence that permeates every home in this vicinity. As showing the enormity of the educational institution in New York state, the speaker said that a round total of $40,000,000 is expended for schools in this state annually, and $1 out of every $4 of public taxation goes to the support of the public schools. The immense standing armies of other nations is replaced in our country by the red schoolhouses. The vital force of our citizenship is the product of our public schools. In 1795 occurred the first state appropriation for public schools, the amount being $100,000, and it is an interesting fact that that sum created a higher tax rate than does three and one-half millions now. It was then a common school system, not a free school system nor a compulsory system, for those thoughts had not yet been born. The department of public instruction has been in existence since 1812. In 1853 union free schools and the Regents of the university were established.

   Mr. Ainsworth proceeded from this into the discussion of the proposition to place the Regents and department under one head and system, stoutly supporting the plan. The department of public instruction has control of the licensing of the 30,000 teachers in the 12,800 schools of the state, to say nothing of the city schools. There are 523 union free schools which are under the supervision of the Regents but in those same schools the department has control of licensing teachers and of the expenditure of public money.  It is simply the old question of "Shall the tail wag the dog?"

   Friends of the Regents have complained that the department had become political in character, and politics would enter the schools if the whole management were placed under its charge; but that under the Regents politics could not enter. He had supposed that Regent Chauncey M. Depew was a politician; that Regents Whitelaw Reid, Carroll E. Smith, Charles E. Pitch and others were classed in the category of politicians. In the department of public instruction, Republican superintendents have appointed Democrats to subordinate positions, and vice versa.

   At present the state has two departments appropriating money, and inspecting schools, and neither knows what the other is doing. The position of the department of public instruction is that the whole system of the state should be under one single head; public and private schools should be entirely separate. Let the Regents manage the entrance into the professions. The more open and more free the public schools, the better. A higher grade of education is required to-day than yesterday, and a higher grade will be required to-morrow than to-day.

   Mr. Ainsworth closed his address with words of an appropriate character directed toward the members of the graduating class. At the close of the address, the graduates and members of the chorus went upon the stage and sang the class song, after the presentation of diplomas by Superintendent Smith.

 

A ROADRACE.

Possibility That One May Be Run to Little York—Others May Follow.

   It is understood that the Y. M. C. A. athletic department has under consideration the question of a 15-mile roadrace to be run off in the near future. The course would naturally be the old one to Little York and back, start and finish to be at the Cortland House. The race would necessarily be a handicap affair.

   There are many new riders in town who delight in "plugging" out over the road and who think too that they can ride some. Some would dislike to go into a regular scheduled race and yet they will get a hold of different fellows night after night and just try to "pull their leg" a little on the "q-t" to see what kind of stuff they are made of. Now it is no more than just that such should have a chance to do it right and run up against other aspirants for road honors.

   And there are too a number of the old wheelmen who used to "do it" and they are not so old either as to consider themselves back numbers, although perhaps they have seen better days. Some of these perhaps are willing to rest upon their laurels and let the young blood go ahead and try to make as good time as they did, and yet some of them would still jump into the thing again and work hard to keep on top. It would be very interesting to see these two classes—the old riders and the younger ones—come together, and to that end all interested would do well to speak to A. R. Mosher so that he may go ahead and make definite arrangements and procure suitable prizes. The talk is to run off the first race on Friday, June 23. That doesn't give any time for training, but one is in as good shape as another and besides no one knows who is good it has been so long since Cortland has had anything in that line.

   This roadrace, if pulled off,  is said to be a preliminary to a race meet held on the Fourth of July; such to include five bicycle races as well as the regular list of track and field events.

 

BREVITIES.

   —New display advertisements to-day are—Baker & Angell, Ladies' shoes, page 7.

   —Two carloads of children belonging to the mission bands of the Presbyterian church went to the park this morning at 10 o'clock and have been enjoying their annual picnic.

   —Cortland made a good bunch of arrests Saturday of unbadged bicyclists found riding on its sidepath. Binghamton before she is much older will probably be giving the recorder plenty of work on the same line.—Binghamton Chronicle.

   —Superintendent Pearce of the Electric Light company is crowding the work of setting the poles and stringing the wires for the eleven new lights that are expected to shine as soon as the present period of corporation moonlight shall have been completed.

 

Renewing Old Friendships.

   Mr. Franklyn E. Edwards of New York is spending a few days in Cortland renewing old friendships. It is fourteen years since Mr. Edwards moved from this place and the greater part of the time has been spent in Tonawanda and Buffalo. A year ago he entered the Cornell university medical college in New York City. He expects to spend one more year there and then go to Vienna for his third year. His older sister, Miss Katharine M. Edwards, is now associate professor of Greek at Wellesley college, and his younger sister, Mrs. Franklin Sheble, is residing in Philadelphia, her husband having died there of appendicitis April 20 last.