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| Frank Moss. |
Cortland Evening Standard, Wednesday, June 14, 1899.
TIRESOME TESTIMONY.
Nothing Sensational Developed by the Mazet Investigating Committee.
NEW YORK, June 14.—Only two lines of inquiry that were in anywise important were discussed at the session of the Mazet investigating committee and after a day of more or less tiresome testimony the sitting was adjourned.
The main testimony was that produced by the inquiry into the methods of the tax department. Mr. Moss fired question after question at Tax Commissioner William T. Grell to find out whether the oil, sugar or the tobacco combination were paying their share of the taxes on personal property held by the trustees.
Mr. Grell suggested that perhaps their personal property had already been taxed in the property of the corporation and not as personal property in the hands of trustees as separate properties.
Mr. Moss told him to find out and report later.
The witness was then fronted with the official record of the Standard Oil total gross assets. The amount was $27,000,000, sworn to by the company. Of this sum $17,000,000 was personal property; the real estate was $10,000,000. Mr. Moss showed that the assessment on the company's personal property was only $600,000. He asked the witness to explain this, but Mr. Grell failed to do so. He figured at length and got the personal estate down as low as $1,500,000, but could not get it down to the $600,000 assessment.
Mr. Moss read the return made by the American Sugar Refining company. It showed that the company's principal office was in New Jersey and that it had an office in Wall street. The office equipment in Wall street was scheduled at $20,000 and the cash on hand at less than $608,000. No other assets were reported.
The report of the American Tobacco company showed that it carried notes and accounts valued at $132,339.
While he was dealing with the tax matters, Mr. Moss tried to find out from several witnesses what were the annual fees of Lawrence Delmour, mayor's marshal, for the collection of delinquent taxes; if they reached $50,000 a year. About all that was elicited was that Mr. Delmour was out of town.
Somewhat startling was the testimony of Thomas M. Mullrey, who stated that he had been told after Mayor Van Wyck's election that if he would go to Lakewood with $10,000 he could be appointed commissioner of charities. Mr. Mullrey said he did not believe the statement at the time and declined to name the man who made it.
Final Hearing Heard.
ALBANY, June 14.—The state railroad commission gave a further hearing on the application of the Syracuse, Skaneateles and Moravia Railway company for authority to construct its road. The company proposes to build an electric line, 40 miles long, to connect the three places named in the title of the company. The company's application has been pending for a long time and several hearings have been given upon it, there having been strong opposition to it developed from the New York Central and other roads. This, the final hearing, was given the opposition and the commission then took the application under consideration.
Railroads Consolidate.
ALBANY, June 14.—There was filed with the secretary of state a certificate of merger of the Kinderhook and Hudson railway with the Hudson Light and Power Railroad company.
PAGE TWO—EDITORIALS.
◘ It is announced that W. F. Halstead has tendered his resignation as second vice-president and general manager of the Delaware, Lackawanna & Western railroad, which has been accepted, to take effect July 1. This is the most marked change in the administration of the Lackawanna since the installation of Mr. Truesdale as president. Mr. Halstead has been in the employ of the road since its organization. He entered its employ as a teamster and worked his way up through various grades of responsibility to the position he now resigns. In the course of his progress Mr. Halstead was for a time superintendent of the Utica division. He was thought to be the probable successor of Mr. Sloan in the presidency, but it is said he refused to consider the proposition. Mr. Halstead is a little more than 60 years of age.
◘ The newspapers of California are taking their own fun out of their recent legislators who passed a law providing that every printed statement which tends to impugn the character of anybody or hold him up to ridicule must be signed by the writer's true name. The way in which the San Francisco papers go round about this law and at the same time chuckle over their disobedience is hilarious in the extreme. One or two of the papers have made the whole thing ridiculous by putting fictitious names to every paragraph in their columns and others, refusing to regard the law at all, call loudly on the officers of the law to punish them. All this shows very clearly that in this country public opinion snaps its fingers at unjust or ridiculous laws. Up to the present time nobody has been prosecuted.
FAMINE IN RUSSIA.
Half the Population Starving—Not a Child Born This Year Now Alive.
LONDON, June 14.—While famine is now threatening the southern provinces of Russia, the correspondent of The Times at St. Petersburg writes that the condition of the seven provinces of East European Russia is worse than it was during the famine of 1891 and 1892.
Quite half of the population of 11,000,000, he says, are undergoing terrible sufferings, starvation and disease; and the authorities everywhere appear incapable and unprepared to deal with the calamity. Money is squandered in absurdly high pay to relief agents, and owing to the high prices which the government charges for seed corn, no encouragement is given to the peasants to till the ground. It is unnecessary to quote the harrowing details received from the relief agents. These could add nothing to the stern significance of the statement made by a Russian authority in the district in the government of Kazan, that not one child born there this year is now alive.
Carrie Jones Pleads Guilty.
NEW YORK, June 14.—Carrie Jones pleaded guilty in the criminal branch of the supreme court to the indictment for kidnapping Marian Clark. She was remanded to the Tombs.
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| Gypsy Moth Caterpillars. |
PREVENT 30,000,000 CATERPILLARS.
What the School Children of Norwich Have Set About to Do.
The Norwich Sun says:
The teachers of our schools have recently been explaining to their pupils the necessity of killing the caterpillars that infest the trees this spring. The pupils in one of the ward schools killed 76,025 in one day.
Each of the tent caterpillars has capacity for laying 200 eggs, which will hatch out next year into 200 more caterpillars. The caterpillars will go into the chrysalis state within the next week, and therefore attention should be given them immediately.
By computation it has been shown that if each of the school children in our village would kill 100 worms apiece there would be prevented next year a total of 30,000,000 caterpillars.
On the other hand, suppose there is nothing done at the present time, what is the outlook for the shade trees next year? There will be noticed on many of the trees, bushes, fences and other places at the present time the white cocoon of the caterpillar already spun. This should certainly be destroyed in the same manner as the caterpillar itself, and its destruction will be just as effective towards next year's relief as the destruction of the caterpillar.
Up in the Catskill mountains, where the caterpillars have been very destructive to maple and apple trees, a novel and effective way to fight the pests has been discovered.
A woman blowing a horn under a maple tree was surprised to see the caterpillars fall to the ground by the hundreds and continue to do so at each succeeding blast. She told her story, and the noise cure was immediately adopted by her neighbors. Horns and drums and conch shells were brought into play. Caterpillars by the bushel dropped to the earth and were gathered up and destroyed.
Conch shell seems most effective, though a well beaten bass drum does good work. Although rather late, the caterpillars having almost eaten the foliage from the trees, it is believed many orchards threatened with destruction may yet be saved.
SERIOUS CHARGE PREFERRED.
Geo. Green Alleged to Have Inhumanly Treated a Dog.
George Green was arrested last night by Constable J. E. Edwards on the charge of cruelty to animals. It is alleged that last Wednesday he obtained from Harry Crombie a black and white dog, giving some other name than his own; that he informed Crombie that he had a human and easy way of killing the dog with chloroform, and that he would take this dog and dispose of him. It is further claimed that he took the dog to the Tioughnioga river, tied a stone and rope to his neck, and threw him in the river, hauling him out again, and repeated the same. The further allegation is made that the dog was left lying on the bank bleeding at the nose, and trembling, with the stone and rope still tied to him.
This morning in police court Green pleaded not guilty to the charge of cruelty to animals, and the case was adjourned until to-morrow morning.
Late this afternoon Green changed his former plea to one of guilty and paid a fine of $5.
Wedded at St. Mary's.
Mr. Richard Dwyer and Miss Katherine Connors, both of Cortland, were married at St. Mary's church at 9 o'clock this morning before a large number of invited guests. Rev. J. J. McLoughlin, the pastor of the church officiated. The bridesmaid was Miss Elizabeth Riley, and the best man Mr. James Dwyer. Following the marriage a reception was given at the home of the groom's brother, Daniel Dwyer, on Crandall-st. Mr. and Mrs. Dwyer left on the 12:46 train for a trip of a week to Niagara Falls and other places, and upon their return will reside at 56 Hubbard-st.
Solid Rubber Tires.
Applied to carriage wheels old or new, 3/4, 7/8, 1, 1 1/8 inch in stock and applied at once. Telephone call 48-D. Homer Wagon Co., Homer, N. Y., west side D. L. & W. [paid adv.]
RAIN AT A CIRCUS.
A Seam Parted and the Audience was Drenched.
The Syracuse Post says: The several thousand square feet of canvas covering the Wallace Bros.' three-ringed circus had an opportunity to show what it was made of last night. The heavens seemed to pour their wrath upon it and the several thousand people who hovered beneath it like frightened chicks under the protecting wings of their hen mother, wondered if it ever rained so hard before.
It was fortunate for the circus management that the immense volume of water remained in the clouds as long as it did for it was not until the big throng of people got nicely seated and the customary parade was about to start around the big ring that the water began to come.
People at first wondered what was the strange noise that seemed to come from everywhere. The fall of rain upon a big canvas, mingled with the roaring of wild beasts, the playing of a brass band and the shouts of a multitude of peanut and popcorn venders was one to which they were not accustomed.
But the explanation soon came. The whole interior seemed to be sprayed with a fine mist. Those who had umbrellas immediately put them up and as many as could crowded beneath them. Then the rain began to fall harder, then harder still until it seemed that the whole place must be inundated.
While things were in this condition there was an unearthly scream in the most thickly seated portion of the reserved seat section. The tent above had formed itself into a large sized tank and a seam had parted, precipitating the immense quantity of water upon those below.
There was a wild scramble to get out of that immediate locality, but there were a good many who were drenched and lots of excitement prevailed. Women became frightened and wished they were somewhere else; small children clung to their protectors and their cries mingled with the general confusion. Similar scenes prevailed, too, in other parts of the big tent.
It was at this stage of the game that the band started a popular air and despite the downpour the procession started. It was a strange sight to see the white robed goddess seated upon the back of the big elephant riding about the circus ring with a big black umbrella held firmly in her hands.
BREVITIES.
—Excelsior Hook & Ladder Co. and Water Witch Steamer & Hose Co. will each hold regular meetings this evening.
—A grange social will be held at the home of Mr. and Mrs. H. M. Phillips, on Rickard-st., Tuesday night, by the local grange and a general invitation is extended.
—It is reported to-day that "Lieut." R. H. Miller at the head of a fair sized company of "warriors" gave a hurdy gurdy serenade to a number of friends last evening.
—The Cortland Union Beekeepers' association will hold its spring meeting and basket picnic at the residence of B. R. Knapp on the road leading from Cortland to East Homer on Saturday, June 24.
—New display advertisements to-day are—The Model Clothing Co., Summer goods, page 4; Baker & Angell, Do you see the point? page 6; J. R. Baker & Sons, Comfort the sick, page 7; W. W. Bennett, Bicycles, page 6.
—Invitations arc out for the wedding of Mr. Seymour P. Bloomfield of Johnstown, N. Y., formerly of Cortland, and Miss Minnie F. Cleary, which will occur at St. Mary's Catholic church on Monday morning, June 19, at 8:30 o'clock.
—A heavily loaded wagon from Virgil driven this afternoon by Mr. D. E. Stillman, the cheese maker, with rare discrimination chose the place on Main-st. exactly in front of McGraw & Son's wagon shop for a forward wheel to go down in a state of general collapse. It took but a few minutes for a new wheel to be put on and Mr. Stillman proceeded on his way rejoicing.
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