Cortland Evening Standard, Monday, February 25, 1901.
BOERS IN FULL FLIGHT.
Dewet's Forces Scattered by Colonel Plumer.
FRENCH DRIVES ALL BEFORE HIM.
Burghers to Number of 5,000 Retreating in Disorganized Parties—Dewet Escaped Across Orange River In Boat With Only a Few Followers.
CAPE TOWN, Feb. 25.—Colonel Plumer engaged General Dewet Saturday near Bisselfontein on the south bank of the Orange river, capturing a gun and a pompom and taking 50 prisoners. The Boers were scattered and are being pursued by Colonel Plumer.
It is reported that General Dewet escaped to the opposite bank in a boat and is now fleeing with a handful of followers.
It is reported from a Boer source at Zeerust that General Delarey has been captured.
LONDON, Feb. 25.—The war office has received the following dispatch from Lord Kitchener:
"Middleburg, Transvaal, Feb. 24.—French reports from Piet Retief, Feb. 22, that the result of the columns sweeping the country east is that the Boers are retreating in scattered and disorganized parties to the number of some 5,000 in front of him.
"Amsterdam and Piet Retief have been occupied, and troops are protecting the Swazi frontier. French will push on but is much hampered by the continuous heavy rains.
"Summary of total losses inflicted upon the enemy up to Feb. 16: 292 Boers known to have been killed and wounded in action, 86 taken prisoners, 183 surrendered. One 15-pounder gun, 462 rifles, 160,000 rounds of small ammunition, 350 horses, 70 mules, 3,530 trek oxen, 18,700 cattle, 155,400 sheep and 1,070 wagons and carts captured.
"Our casualties: Five officers and 41 men killed and four officers and 100 men wounded. I regret to say that Major Howard, a very gallant officer of the Canadian scouts, was killed Feb. 17. Plumer reports that Colonel Owan captured Dewet's 15-pounder and pompom Feb. 23, as well as 53 prisoners and a quantity of ammunition.
"We had no casualties. Enemy in full retreat and dispersing, being vigorously pursued.
"Dewet's attempt to invade Cape Colony has evidently completely failed."
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| Gen. Christiaan de Wet. |
BOER ROUT COMPLETE.
Colonel Owen's Cavalry Captured Enemy's Artillery.
LONDON, Feb. 25.—A correspondent of The Daily Mail with Henniker's column, wiring Saturday, says:
"General Dewet was routed yesterday by Colonel Plumer, with whom were Colonels Henniker, Craddock. Jeffreys and Grabbe. This success was preceded by a series of desperate attempts on the part of the Boers to escape from the water belt of the Orange and the Brak rivers.
"Dewet, after unsuccessfully attempting to cross the Brak at Clip Drift and the Orange at Read's drift and Marks' drift, moved along the bank of the Orange with one gun and one pompom and langered opposite Kameel drift. At dawn Colonel Plumer left Weigevenden, 22 miles west of the Boer camp, and moved northeast.
"At Zuurgat he attacked the enemy, taking 46 prisoners. The pursuit was continued during the afternoon, the Boers moving toward Hopetown. Toward evening the leading troops sighted the enemy, who had langered [sic] beyond gun range. Colonel Owen charged the spot where the Boer artillery was supposed to be and captured the whole of it. The enemy fled, leaving their horses ready saddled and their cooking pots full. According to the latest reports only 400 Boers recrossed to the north side of the river. The Orange is greatly swollen."
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| Mrs. Carrie Nation. |
CLAIMS SHE IS DAMAGED
Because a Proprietor Named a Popular Drink After Her.
BINGHAMTON, N. Y., Feb. 25.—Mrs. Carrie Nation has demanded the abolishment of the "Carrie Nation" cocktail, the invention of R. C. Willes, a cafe proprietor of this city and Scranton, and will institute a suit for $10,000 damages for the use of her name in advertising a cocktail. A few days ago Willes conceived the idea of christening a new drink the ''Carrie Nation cocktail." He advertised it extensively and it became popular. A temperance advocate sent Mrs. Nation a paper containing the advertisement, which from the contents of a letter received by Mayor Moir of Scranton, evidently aroused her indignation to the smashing point and it was well for Willes that a thousand miles intervened between her and his cafes. She wrote a firm of Scranton attorneys, saying that she would bring action for $10,000 damages.
A GIGANTIC TORCH
Two Hundred Feet High and Burning at a Tremendous Rate.
CAMERON, W.Va., Feb.25.—Half enough gas to supply the city of Pittsburg, with all its fuel consuming factories, is escaping into the air at the W. J. Bryan gas well, 9 miles east of here. It is burning in an enormous torch that reaches 200 feet in the air, with a roar that shakes the earth and can be heard for miles around. The well is the biggest that has been struck for years, and is said by experts to be a greater producer of gas than the famous big Moses. It is estimated that there is a pressure of 4,000 pounds to the square foot and that it is discharging 50,000 feet of gas a day.
REV. J. BARTON FRENCH.
Death of the Former Pastor of the Memorial Baptist Church.
Rev. J. Barton French, the first pastor of the Memorial Baptist church of Cortland, died of cerebral hemorrhage at 1:45 o'clock Sunday morning, Feb. 24, at the home of his daughter Mrs. William Berkhard, 1507 South State-st., Syracuse.
Mr. French was taken ill on Thursday afternoon in the New York Central station, as previously noted in these columns, having become greatly excited over having missed a connection. The illness was of the nature of apoplexy or paralysis. He was removed to his daughter's home, where Mrs. French had just preceded him, having come with him to Syracuse to visit their daughter, while he was going on to Rome to make an address that night.
Mr. French was born near Baldwinsville, May 26, 1840. He soon after moved with his family to Ovid, Mich., where he attended school. When a young man he returned to Elmira and after enlisting in the army, married Miss Sarah Allison of that place. He served in the army until the civil war closed.
He returned to Elmira with his wife, then moved to Michigan and later returned to Avoca, Steuben county, where be practiced his trade, shoemaking, and studied for the ministry.
He was ordained a Baptist minister about 1872. His first pastorate was at Howard, where he was ordained. He afterward went to Richfield and Troy, Pa. While at Troy he sustained a stroke of paralysis. After recovering he started building a church, which was destroyed by fire before it was completed.
After the fire he moved to Homer, where he was pastor of the Baptist church tor two and one-half years. He then went to Trumansburg, where he stayed six years. Then he went to Syracuse and supplied the Olivet Baptist church before accepting the pastorate. He was also pastor of the Immanuel Baptist church of that city.
Four years ago he accepted a call to Cortland, and returned to Trumansburg a year ago last June.
Mr. French was deputy grand master of the I. O. O. F. and according to custom would have been made grand master next summer if he had lived. He held the office of grand chaplain for four years, the longest term in the history of the order. He was elected grand warden in 1899, and was elected to his present office in 1900. He is a member of Onondaga lodge No. 79 and Cynosure lodge of Syracuse.
His wife and daughter are his only relatives.
The funeral will be held at 2:30 o'clock Thursday afternoon at the Central Baptist church in Syracuse. The body may be viewed from 12 until 2 o'clock that afternoon at the church.
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| Benjamin B. Odell. |
PAGE FOUR—EDITORIALS.
Why Taxes are High.
The effort of Governor Odell to reduce the expenses of the state government is meeting with the approval of the taxpayers all over the state, the only exceptions being the individuals whose positions are taken away by the course of consolidation and unification. The wonder is how the taxes ever came to be so high. The Buffalo Express has been looking into this phase of the matter and finds that the expenses of the legislature alone have more than doubled since 1891. The Express says: In 1900 they amounted to $1,101,581.96, against $506,964.30 in 1891. Part of this increase arises from additional membership provided for by a new constitution, but the additional members would be a very expensive luxury indeed if they could be charged with responsibility for all of the enormous increase. As a matter of fact, the figures show that the increase in cost of compensation to members and officers during the ten years was but $86,716.04, while the remainder of the increase is grouped under miscellaneous expenses, $208,029.01, and legislative printing, $299,872.01. Can any reasonable excuse be offered for this great increase in miscellaneous expenses and in printing?
The expenses of the attorney general's office have increased from $53,836.85 in 1891 to $172,835.47 in 1900; those of the Regents from $15,549.55 in 1891 to $66,136.47 in 1900; banking department, from $27,703.70 in 1891 to $91,816.88 in 1900; insurance department, from $78,737.07 in 1891 to $187,252.82 in 1900; railroad commission from $67,606.66 in 1891 to $81,118.64 in 1900; civil service commission, from $15,875.15 in 1891 to $40,988.87 in 1900.
These increases represent in the main steady and generally small advances from year to year. There is hardly an instance of expenses in one year being less than the year before. Yet the total shows an advance of more than $1,000,000 in annual expenditures for carrying on the legislature and these few branches of the state government, and the officials who were spending the public money back in 1891, when Hill was governor and Sheehan was the legislative leader, by no means afforded a model of economy. It is hardly possible to escape the conclusion that the greater part of this $1,000,000 increase is mere wasteful extravagance.
◘ The Tennessee senate has rejected the bill allowing women to practice law and has also refused to permit women to become notaries public. This is rather ungallant, but perhaps a majority of the legislators are lawyers who object to further competition.
◘ A member of the New York "Four Hundred" practices law in minor criminal courts "Just for fun." As most of his clients are sentenced to various terms of imprisonment it would seem that they are not getting much fun out of it.
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| D. L. & W. R. R. train moving southbound along the Tioughnioga river near Blodgett Mills, N. Y. On the right side of this photo is "the narrows," hidden across the river, currently Route 11. |
TO WIDEN THE NARROWS.
Effort to Get the County Prisoners at Work There.
A number of residents of the towns of Cortlandville, Virgil, Freetown and Marathon whose business takes them north and south along the whole or a part of stretch of road known as "The Narrows" between Messengerville and Blodgett Mills, are interesting themselves in the project of getting the road widened. It is about 6 miles between the two places above named and for two-thirds of this distance there are sections, probably aggregating 2 miles if they were joined together consecutively, where the road is so narrow that it is impossible for teams to meet. The valley is narrow at this point and the road follows the winding of the hills, in many places having a steep hill above to the east and the river below to the west.
Part of the way the road is down to the river and part of the way it is high above it with a steep embankment leading from within a few inches of the carriage track down to the water below. There are frequent springs coming out of the bank above the road where the water flows over the road. In winter ice forms in the road at these places, making it difficult and almost dangerous to get across these ice patches without the sleigh slewing and going over the bank. Much of the way the road is wooded so that in the windings of the track it is impossible to see an approaching team at any great distance. There is constant embarrassment in meeting teams and sometimes they have to be backed up for a considerable distance before a place can be found where they can pass each other.
In the past generation there was one man who used to go through the narrows almost daily and who said that he always used to "yell like thunder" and "drive like lightning" when he came to one of the narrow places so that people approaching could know he was coming and stop at a convenient meeting point.
With this thought in mind citizens in the vicinity are now making an effort to get the road widened. They are led to do this in the knowledge that the prisoners in the county jail are going to be set at work in the spring and in the hope that the sheriff may put them at work at this place. Of course it is a matter of indifference to the sheriff where they work, as he merely has to see that they do work and that they are properly guarded, and he would be likely to accede to any reasonable request.
The parties who are agitating this scheme state that the steps necessary to bring this about is to secure a petition in each of the towns where the work is desired and get this petition signed by twenty taxpayers. This petition is presented to the town board of that town and if favorably acted upon by the town board is then presented to the sheriff and to the committee of the board of supervisors having the work in charge. They agree between themselves where the men shall be employed.
There is no doubt in the minds of any one who has occasion to drive through the narrows that this road ought to be widened. It is particularly bad if two loaded teams come together, or if ladies are driving one or both of the teams or if the meeting occurs in the night. This would surely be a first class place to put the prisoners at work upon if there is no objection to the idea from every other point of view. It will at least bear careful examination and all will be glad if the road can be improved.
COMMERCIAL CARBON.
Practical and Instructive Paper Given Before Science Club Saturday Night.
Dr. F. D. Reese gave a very instructive and practical paper upon commercial carbon before the Science club last Saturday night. The doctor presented specimens containing carbon, and charts illustrating the various carbon formations. He first pointed out that carbon is of great interest on account of its importance and abundance as an element. It is prevalent in all organic life and in its fossil remains. In the air it exists as carbon dioxide, and all life depends upon it. It is found in peat, coal, graphite, petroleum, asphaltum, and all kinds of lime-stone, chalk, marble and coral carbon, he said, had been gathered by nature from the atmosphere and waters and had been stored in the mother earth in quantities sufficient to supply jewels and warmth to the rich and the poor as they demand.
There are three distinct allotropic modifications of carbon: namely, the diamond, graphite and amorphous carbon. The first two given, he said, are crystalline, while the third modification has many sub-varities. The diamond was first studied. This, the doctor said, is a rare form of carbon and it is pure or nearly pure carbon. It was first distinguished from quartz in 1772 by Lovoisier who burned it. Nature's method of changing carbon into diamond is practically unknown, but it is supposed that at some period of the earth's history, heat and pressure have accomplished the crystallization of carbon into this beautiful refractor of the sun's rays. Experiments have proved that this crystallization could be performed under great heat and pressure. The diamond fields of not are in India, Borneo, Brazil and South Africa,
Graphite was then studied. The speaker stated that this substance is supposed to be of vegetable origin, as it is generally found in beds that are continuations of anthracite coal beds. It is mined very extensively in Ticonderoga, N. Y., where over a million pounds are produced yearly. Graphite is largely used in the manufacture of blocking as a lubricant and for covering iron shot and powder to prevent their rusting or becoming oxidized.
Amorphus carbon includes the more common forms of carbon. Charcoal is included in this, and the speaker graphically illustrated the manufacture of this product. Coal was said to be the most important product in the list of carbons and a faithful review of its formation was given.
Dr. Reese's paper showed careful study and preparation and it was listened to with deep interest by the members of the Science club. Dr. G. H. Smith gave a review of the paper given two weeks ago by Mr. W. H. Clark on the graphophone.
DIAMOND ANNIVERSARY.
Mr. and Mrs. B. S. Conger Married Sixty Years Ago To-day.
Sixty years ago to-day Mr. and Mrs. Beman S. Conger of 15 Grant-st. were married, and this afternoon the anniversary of that event is being celebrated at their pleasant home by the assembling of a small company of near relatives and friends. To a comparatively few couples is it allotted to see the coming of their golden anniversary, but a much smaller number is privileged to observe the diamond anniversary, and when both arrive at that event in such good health as Mr. and Mrs. Conger and find themselves so comfortably situated in every respect and when so little of sorrow and trouble and annoyance but on the other hand so much of joy and comfort and happiness has filled their lives throughout the whole sixty years, they indeed have good reason to feel that they have been blessed above their fellows.
Sixty years ago this afternoon the ceremony was performed by Rev. Alba Gross, pastor of the Baptist church at Freetown, at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Silas Hammond in that town which made Beman S. Conger and Fanny L. Saxton one for life. Mr. and Mrs. Hammond were the parents of Mr. S. S. Hammond of Freetown and of Dr. Lydia A. Strowbridge of Cortland and the bride was Mrs. Hammond's younger sister. Four people are present to-day at the anniversary who witnessed the ceremony sixty years ago: Mr. Damon Conger and Mrs. Esther Palmer of Cortland, brother and sister of Mr. Conger, and Mr. S. S. Hammond and Dr. L. A. Strowbridge, nephew and niece of Mrs. Conger.
All of these sixty years with the exception of a single year have been passed in Cortland county, and then they lived in Tompkins county. Since 1865 they have lived in Cortland village, first on Locust-ave., and later on Grant-st. Two children were born to them, Mrs. S. L. Palmer of Cortland and Edmund Conger, who died when 7 years old.
Ten years ago the golden anniversary was observed, this being at that time the third golden wedding in rapid succession in the Conger family, but neither of the other two couples lived together to see their sixtieth, though Mrs. Palmer, Mr. Conger's sister, is one of the parties concerned, but her husband died several years ago. Ten years ago fifty friends met to observe the occasion, and then five were present who were at the wedding: Mr. Daman Conger, Mrs. Esther Palmer, Dr. Lydia. A. Strowbridge, who are here to-day, and also Mr. Henry H. Saxton of Whitney Point and Mrs. Joanna Jackson of Triangle, brother and sister of Mrs. Conger.
Ten years ago Rev. Geo. H. Brigham, in behalf of the friends assembled, presented Mr. Conger with a gold headed cane and Mrs. Conger with a gold ring. To-day again Mr. Brigham was pressed into service as spokesman and he presented Mr. and Mrs. Conger with a handsome Morris chair.
At 4 o'clock this afternoon a sumptuous dinner was served under the direction of Mrs. S. L. Palmer, the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Conger, and the following sat down to the tables: Mr. and Mrs. B. S. Conger, the groom and bride of sixty years ago; Mr. Damon Conger, Mrs. Esther Palmer, Mr. S. S. Hammond of Freetown and Dr. L. A. Strowbridge, who were the guests of honor, having been present at the wedding; Rev. and Mrs. G. H. Brigham, Rev. W. J. Howell, Hon. and Mrs. A. A. Carley, Mr. and Mrs. G. W. Bradford, Mrs. Janette Collins, Mr. and Mrs. F. W. Collins, Mrs. Jennie Lownsberry, Mr. and Mrs. W. F. Dates, Mr. and Mrs. C. S. Strowbridge, Miss Lola E. Strowbridge, Mr. and Mrs. S. L. Palmer, the latter being the only daughter, and Mr. Edmond C. Alger, the only grandson of Mr. and Mrs. Conger.
BREVITIES.
—Measles are prevalent in the city and in the surrounding county among the children.
—A regular meeting of the Royal Arcanum will be held Tuesday evening at G. A. R. hall at 7:30 o'clock.
—Silas E. Totten of Marathon, formerly of Cortland, died at his late home on Sunday morning. Funeral will be held at the house on Wednesday afternoon at 3:30.
—A list of subscribers to the Home Telephone company supplementary to the list of Feb. 20, has just been published and contains the names of forty more subscribers in Cortland and of forty-five subscribers in Homer.
—A lady who has just returned from New York says there is no snow to amount to anything to be seen south of Binghamton, not even in climbing over Mt. Pocono, but from Binghamton north to Cortland the snow kept growing deeper and deeper.
—New display advertisements to-day are—W. J. Perkins, Baking powder, page 7; Palmer & Co., Bicycles, page 2; Burgess, Clothing, page 8; E. M. Mansur, Groceries, page 2; Hudson Crockery Co., Crockery, page 5; Warren, Tanner & Co., Dry goods, page 6.
—Yesterday was probably the coldest morning of the season in Cortland. The government thermometer on the Normal school grounds registered 24 degrees below zero between 5 and 6 o'clock, but it was a quick drop during the last half of the night and the mercury lost no time after the sun was up in climbing up again.
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