BRITAIN TAKES ACTION, BOXER REVOLT IS SPREADING, LAND OR LAKE PITCH ASPHALT, BOY BULLY, AND TREE CATERPILLARS DISLODGED BY BAND MUSIC

 

Dowager Empress Ci Xi.

Cortland Evening Standard, Friday, June 8, 1900.

BRITAIN TAKES ACTION.

About to Force Passage From Tien Tsin to Pekin.

GENERAL NIEH DEFEATS BOXERS.

Claims to Have Killed 500—Empress Dowager Orders Army to Protect the Railroad—Revolt is Spreading and Boxers Are Arming Rapidly.

   LONDON, June 8.—A special dispatch from Shanghai, dated yesterday, says the Dowager Empress has ordered General Neih Si Chung, with 3,000 men to protect the railroad at Pekin.

   A severe fight, it is added, has occurred with the Boxers whose ranks include many soldiers from other generals' commands. When the battle ended 200 dead were left on the field.

   The dispatch goes on to say: "One hundred and eighty British marines with a machine gun are about to force a passage from Tien Tsin to Pekin. Altogether about 900 British have been landed from the fleet, a greater number than have landed from the combined vessels of the other powers. This evidence of Great Britain's intention to assert her position strongly gives great satisfaction here."

 

REVOLT IS SPREADING.

Boxers Are Arming to Meet Force With Force—General Nieh's Victory.

   LONDON, June 8.—The situation in China, as measured by abundant unofficial telegrams, continues full of interesting possibilities, but apparently it has not grown worse during the last 24 hours, although the favorite adjectives of London and continental commentators are "perilous," "grave," and "dangerous."

   The naval commanders in Chinese waters have received identical instructions as to procedure, the question of an emergency being left to their discretion. No fear is entertained for the safety of the legislation at Pekin. European residents, however, are escaping from the capital to the coast. Pekin is still under control, according to a dispatch to The Morning Post dated yesterday, but in a very excited state. A thousand foreign guards were garrisoning the legation houses.

   Six hundred international troops are at Tien Tsin with six guns. A dispatch to The Daily Mail from Shanghai, dated June 7, takes a gloomy view of things, which are pictured as going from bad to worse. The correspondent says:

   The authorities are displaying palpably guilty supineness in dealing with the Boxers and the powers are more and more taking matters into their own hands. The Boxer revolt is spreading and is rapidly changing its character. The Boxers are getting arms, preparing to meet force with force.

   "There has been no communication between Pekin and Tien Tsin since Tuesday, although one miserable halfhearted attempt has been made by Chinese soldiery to reach the capital. The troops were fired upon and the train had to come back. Another station has been burned on the line."

   A news agency dispatch from Tien Tsin dated yesterday says:

   "The Boxers are still raiding and pillaging over a wide area. They have wrecked and burned the stations at Long Fong and Langoo.. It has been definitely ascertained that Mme. Astier and Messrs. Ossent and Cades have been murdered. General Nieh claims to have defeated the Boxers, killing 500.

 

Imperial Decree Favors Boxers.

   LONDON, June 8.—The Pekin correspondent of The Times, telegraphing yesterday says:

   "An imperial decree has been issued, but it is of the same evasive character as the preceding one. Throughout, it is apologetic in tone, and virtually gives justification to the Boxers for their recent anti-foreign and anti-Christian outbreaks. The edict repeats the accusation against native Christians, who "joined the church for their own base ends" and refers to the "Boxers" as "a brotherhood" and not rebels.

   "It avoids all reference to the murders of missionaries or of native Christians, and implies that the destruction of the railway, and missionaries' property is due to lawless characters who have joined the Boxers to profit by the disturbances. It blames the officials, orders that the lawless shall be punished, and condemns the Chi-Li soldiers for assisting the disturbances. Nevertheless, its character on the whole is quite satisfactory.

   "The Tsung Li Yamen undertake that railway communication shall be restored by Sunday. They have protested against the arrival of more British guards."

 

Edwin Hurd Conger.

PAGE TWO—EDITORIALS.

The Chinese Situation.

   The situation in China is becoming very serious, and the inability or unwillingness of the Pekin government, as conducted by the Dowager Empress, to put down the uprising of the Boxers is inviting foreign intervention with the probable dismemberment of the empire as the ultimate result. Mr. Conger, our minister at Pekin, reports that outside of that city the murders and persecutions incident to the anti-foreign agitation of the Boxers seem to be on the increase. The Puo-Ting-Fu railway has been temporarily abandoned, and work on the Pekin & Hong Kow line has been stopped. All foreigners connected with these roads have been forced to flee. Even traffic between Pekin and Tien Tsin has been suspended. The Chinese troops show no energy in attacking the Boxers.

   A party of mounted Russian cossacks, that started in search of foreigners who fled from Pao-Ting-Fu, had a fight with the Boxers. The latter were given a taste of what will happen in case of an intervention war that would have a sobering effect on less fanatical agitators. The Boxers lost heavily in killed and wounded, while the Russian casualties were only two wounded.

   A significant indication of the anti-foreign feeling or the Pekin government, and therefore its unwillingness to deal in a summary manner with the  Boxer uprising, is its attempted arrest of prominent natives who are connected with various commercial enterprises conducted by foreigners. This evident sympathy with the murderous bands that are attacking missionaries and other foreigners is rapidly bringing affairs in China to a crisis. If the Pekin government refuses much longer to take effective measures for the suppression of the Boxers and insuring full protection to persons of all nationalities, the various foreign governments whose citizens are being murdered and persecuted will be forced to exercise armed intervention. Should operations of any considerable extent and duration be found necessary, the dismemberment of China would be the logical consequence.

 

Judge S. S. Knox.

LAND OR LAKE PITCH.

RENEWAL OF THE ASPHALT QUESTION AS IT AFFECTS GROTON-AVE., CORTLAND, N. Y.

Cross Fire Between Representatives of the Warner Quinlan and the Warren-Scharf Companies, as to Relative Merits of Asphalts—Board of Public Works Decided in Favor of Land Pitch—Injunctions to be Served.

   "The first matter to come before the board to-night is the Groton-ave. paving," said Chairman Knox last night as he called to order the meeting of the board of public works, and from that time till about 10 o'clock when the board went into executive session, the representatives of the two companies, the Warner-Quinlan Co. and the Warren-Scharf Co., parried back and forth; the first endeavoring to show that land pitch brought from Trinidad is as good as the article that the other company brings from the same region, which is known as lake pitch. This, the Warren-Scharf company strenuously claimed to be superior to the land pitch, and on these points the two companies exchanged hot shots. Mr. Thomas E. Courtney was acting as Mr. Warner's advisor.

   The sparring match last night was a renewal of the Warren-Scharf company's attack a week ago upon the quality of pitch used by the company to which the contract was let, claiming that their bid for paving Groton-ave. was lower than the other when the quality of the materials was taken into consideration. After a preliminary as to which side should open the argument, Mr. Warren repeated in substance the statements made a week ago in order that some representatives of the other company, who were not at the other meeting, might know how far matters had gone. Mr. Warren again repeated his claim that their company had the lowest bid, and that they were legally and properly entitled to the contract. He brought up the matter of the Troy paving and stated that the asphalt in that city made of land pitch was worthless. Mr. Geo. W. Lawson of Syracuse, a representative of the Warren-Quinlan Co., said that they were allowed to bid for contracts in Troy, and that the fault of the Troy paving was not in the kind of pitch used, but in the construction. By reports he showed that there is no difference in land and lake pitch, each having practically the same chemical values. Each has to be refined and the pitch secured is as nearly identical as nature makes anything.

   He explained that Pitch lake, from which both the lake and the land pitch have their origin, is situated in the island of Trinidad, about one and one-fourth miles from the sea and many feet above it. There was pitch all the way down the slope from the lake to the sea, even down to the water's edge and out into the sea. This was an overflow from the lake and the material is identical with it.

   That land pitch was cheaper than lake pitch was news to Mr. Lamson. It had the same market value as lake pitch, about $85 per ton. In reply to a question as to who the members of the Warner-Quinlan firm are, Mr. Lamson stated that Mr. Quinlan was formerly a florist in Syracuse. He entered the asphalt business seven years ago and had been eminently successful, in fact he had been so successful that a rival concern had offered him $10,000 a year for ten years to manage its business. As to Mr. Warner he had been in the business for seven years and was moreover able to meet any obligation they had made in Cortland, as he was worth about $5,000,000. Reference was made to the paving on South Salina-st. in Syracuse and Mr. Lamson stated that the street was paved with land asphalt and not lake asphalt as the other company had claimed. This brought a protest from Mr. Warren and he denied that they had made such a claim.

   Mr. Edward Joy also spoke in behalf of the Warner-Quinlan Co. and answered questions that the board asked. Dr. E. M. Santee presented a petition to the board signed by residents of Groton-ave. and asking that lake asphalt be used on the street. This Dr. Santee said he had not presented to all the property-holders of the street, but so far as he had, all but two had signed their names. These two were not opposed, but were willing to leave the matter to the board, thinking that they were entirely competent to act. To this, his honor dryly asked if the presenter of the petition agreed with these two men, to which the doctor made answer that the petition was presented merely to show the wishes of the people on the street.

   After making sure that every one had had his say, Judge Knox declared the case closed, and the board went into executive session. In this it was unanimously decided to give the contract to the lowest bidders, the Warner-Quinlan Co., on proposition one, which calls for stone curbing and gutters. The bid under which the contract was given was $25,570.

   The matter has raised no little feeling on the street and one resident claims that he will serve an injunction on the company as soon as it begins operations.

 

Adverse Circumstances.

   It appears that there were other elements than was at first known that entered into the ball game at Troy yesterday in which Cortland was defeated 24 to 10. We are informed that but 200 admissions were paid, yet a gang of whoopers 800 strong got in some way and won the game for Troy by riding wheels in front of a fielder while after a ball, and otherwise making interferences. The mob was ready to do violence at any time.

 

A DASTARDLY TRICK.

Threw a Little Boy from a Bridge Into the River Below.

   Yesterday afternoon while returning from school Walker Miller, the 8-year old son of George M. Miller who lives on Locust-ave., was made the victim of a dastardly trick of an older boy. The larger boy, whose name at present is unknown to the parties interested, but whose face is perfectly familiar to little Walker as well as to others in the vicinity, is nearly every day fishing from the stone bridge next the Wickwire flour mills on Clinton-ave., and nearly every afternoon while Walker was crossing the bridge on his return from school has taken occasion to waylay and hector the little fellow who is quite small for his age in the most exasperating fashion.

   Yesterday afternoon the big boy caught the smaller one and threw him over the stone parapet into the river about twelve feet below. It is a wonder that no serious results occurred. Had the water been deeper, as it is in earlier spring he would have been drowned, as he cannot swim. Had it been more shallow as it is later in the summer he would have struck on the stony bottom and been badly hurt or killed outright. Fortunately the water which was about up to his shoulders broke the force of the fall in part and he was able to get upon his feet and reach the shore while the big boy jeered at him from the top of the bridge. The little fellow was frightened nearly out of his senses, and somewhat hurt besides, but not seriously so.

   His parents are justly indignant at the outrage, and Mr. Miller has set out to learn the identity of the little bully. When found, as he surely will be, he can count on having to reckon with a pretty angry father.

 

BREVITIES.

   —The Normal baseball team will cross bats with a team in Spencer to-morrow.

   —New display advertisements to-day are—Stowell & Co., Adornment sale, page 7; Mitchell & Strowbridge, Meats, page 5.

   —A farmer in Coventry, Chenango county, was this week thrown from a heavy roller upon which he was riding while rolling a piece of land and had his neck broken. He died instantly.

   —The seniors of the Chorale Workers of the Presbyterian church will meet in the chapel at 7:30 o'clock this evening for a short service. All are requested to bring their wheels at the meeting will adjourn from the chapel to the Wickwire cottage.

   —Miss Cornelia L. Brown entertained about twenty-five ladies at a thimble bee at her home, 15 Reynolds-ave., yesterday afternoon. A most elegant tea was served, and each of the guests was presented with a dainty hand painted souvenir.

   —The New York Herald of June 3 published six portraits in different positions of Earl Gulick, the boy soprano, who appears in Cortland at the music festival next week. The Herald says "his phenomenal voice is one of the musical wonders of the day."

   —An Ithaca wheelman was knocked down by a double team while riding on the pavement in that city Wednesday night, was kicked in the head by one of the horses, two wheels of the carriage in which were four grown persons passed over his head and still he was all right save a slight cut on the scalp from the horse's shoe, but his wheel was a wreck. Talk about hard-headed Ithacans!

   —Caterpillars are very numerous in apple orchards in this vicinity and a number of men with spraying outfits find employment in exterminating them. They charge five cents per tree and it is usually found necessary to spray each tree thrice during the season.—Ithaca Journal. Wouldn't some energetic young man do well to start such a scheme here? He could earn good wages, and farmers would rather pay that price than to lose their fruit or be at the trouble and expense to provide themselves with an outfit.

 

WORMS AND THE BAND.

When the Band Plays the Worms Come Down—Query, Why?

   There is a story of Daniel Brown, the famous hunter, and a bear, that when the bear saw that Daniel had him treed and was ready to turn his artillery upon him he shouted "Don't shoot, I'll come down."

   Mr. C. F. Brown is telling a story today that seems to be almost like that one. He was in Syracuse last night and with friends went down to Onondaga Valley to the swell Hotel Candee for supper. While eating at one of the tables out on the lawn Mr. Brown got to talking with the proprietor about these tent caterpillars and remarked upon the absence of them. The hotel man said, "yes, there are very few in sight today and so far this evening, but you should have seen them last night. The band plays here each evening and had not played two pieces last night before the worms began dropping from the trees like rain. The ground was covered with them. We will notice how it is to-night."

   Sure enough the band soon began to play and within five minutes down came the worms. People began to get out from under the trees, to escape the shower of them. It seemed as though none could have been left on the trees.

   Now the query is, why was this so? Was it because the music was so fine that it attracted them, or was it so bad that the worms said at once "don't play more, we'll come down," or was it the vibration of the air produced by the wind instruments that brought them down.

   A lady who went to the Cortland park the other night at the time of a band concert noted something of the same in the falling of worms. It is really an honest question as to what is the explanation of this.

 

SCOTT, N. Y.

   SCOTT, June 6.—Mr. Arthur Purchase of Borodino visited friends in town recently.

   Mr. Lovinus Tinkham and wife were in Syracuse a few days ago visiting friends and attending some business matters.

   About one hundred-fifty boxes of cheese were sold to Mr. Wells of Cortland, and delivered on Tuesday of this week.

   Mrs. Lecurtus Palmer of Georgetown is a guest in the family of H. E. J. Potter and will visit other relatives.

   Quite a great many foreigners have been in town attending the meetings which have been held with the S. D. B. church.

   The Central association of the Seven Day Baptist churches of Central New York convened with the S. D. B. church of Scott last week on Thursday. The sessions held until Sunday evening, when they closed with sermon delivered by Rev. Boothe C. Davis, president of Alfred university. The attendance by foreign delegates was quite large both of ministers and lay members. Some of the ministers present were M. G. Stillman of West Virginia. O. D. Shurman of Connecticut, S. W. Maxson of Wisconsin, O. U. Whitfred of Rhode Island, Boothe C. Davis of Alfred university, N. Y., A. H. Lewis of Plainfield, N. J., besides the ministers of the association representing some fifteen churches. The attendance was large, and their deliberations were harmonious.

   Mrs. Maud Langdon of Scott Road was a guest of Mrs. Lucien Barber on Wednesday.

   The fabulous price which is reported to have been offered for ginseng has created quite a sensation, as there are a few beds of it cultivated in this vicinity but as no sales have been made the price has not materialized.