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| William P. Frye. |
Cortland Evening Standard, Saturday, Jan. 18, 1902.
COMMITTEE IN FAVOR.
Will Report on the Ship Subsidy Bill.
SENATOR FRYE MAKES REPORT.
The Purpose of the Bill to Establish Maritime Independence of the United States—Ship Building to Keep Pace With Other Industries—To Be Accomplished In Ten Years.
Washington, Jan. 18.—The senate committee on commerce yesterday authorized a favorable report of Senator Frye's ship subsidy bill. The report will be made by Senator Frye.
The Democratic members of the committee voted against reporting the bill. They also voted solidly for a motion offered by Senator Mallory to strike out the general subsidy provision of the bill. The committee made several amendments to the bill. The most important were: Allowing mail carrying vessels under the bill to be either iron or steel, instead of steel only as originally provided, and another reducing to 1,000 gross registered tons the vessels receiving a bounty under the bill.
The report prepared by Senator Frye was read to the committee. It says that the purpose of the bill is to establish the maritime supremacy of the United States in trade with Asia and in the gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean sea; to establish securely trade between the United States and South America and to give the United States a respectable representation on the North Atlantic. The claim is made that all these results will be accomplished within 10 years. The report also asserts that the bill will so extend ship building as to transfer from abroad to the United States the center of that industry, as the centers of other industries recently have been transferred and also that it will give to the United States a measure of maritime independence corresponding to her industrial and agricultural independence.
Ninth Infantry to Come Home.
Washington, Jan. 18.—Orders have been prepared at the war department for the return to United States of the 9th infantry, which played such a gallant part in the siege of Pekin and has seen so much fighting in the Philippines. These troops will be brought to San Francisco as soon as the necessary arrangements can be effected, but it is hardly likely the movement will begin for several weeks yet.
INSURGENTS SURRENDER
And Take the Oath of Allegiance the Following Day.
WASHINGTON, Jan. 18.—The war department was advised this afternoon of the surrender of 365 insurgents to Brigadier General James F. Wade at Cebu in the Philippines on Jan. 14. On Jan. 15 they took the oath of allegiance at Tanglibaran, Bohol.
State Hospital.
Albany, Jan. 18.—The board of trustees of the state hospital for the care of persons suffering from incipient tuberculosis will be held in the Hotel Ten Eyck next Wednesday, when plans for the hospital buildings to be erected on the site at Raybrook, between Lake Placid and Saranac in the Adirondacks region, will be passed on, and probably approved. The Board has been in existence two years and thus far the only work accomplished was the selection of a site for the proposed hospital. It is understood now that there will be no further delay and that the trustees expect that the hospital buildings will be erected and ready for occupancy by next fall.
Senator George A. Davis of Buffalo, who has introduced all the measures in relation to the hospital for consumptives, speaking of the project, says: "There is a sufficient amount of money now at the disposal of the commission for the work to be begun and I do not expect to introduce any measure this session in relation to the proposed sanitarium. Two bills were introduced. The first bill appropriated $50,000 and the measure introduced by me last year appropriated $100,000. These sums have been practically untouched and the commission may well go ahead with its work. Later on, however, there will have to be a regular annual appropriation for the maintenance of the hospital.
PAGE FOUR—EDITORIAL.
Congestion of Freight.
From various parts of the country come reports of congestion in freight traffic, which seriously affects both the producer and the consumer. The facilities of the carrying companies are insufficient to move the products of the west to the markets of the east and to return the merchandise of the east to the consumers in the west, at least with that celerity which business economy demands. All over the United States freight is offered in volume greatly exceeding the ability of the railroads to handle it.
The congestion of grain at Buffalo, for instance, represents some 25,000,000 bushels of wheat in elevator or on its way to that point, with an eastern movement of only about 1,000,000 bushels a day. With the closing of one of the principal outlets, the Erie canal, and the arrival of wheat at Buffalo many times faster than the railroads can forward it to the seaboard, the elevators are being taxed to their utmost capacity. Besides the losses incident to this delay there are elevator storage charges to be paid, and it is pretty certain that in the dual analysis at least these charges will not be paid by the carrying companies. Ultimately they must come out of the producer or the consumer.
With only about one-half a normal corn crop to move, which is an important element in freight traffic, the railroads are fully 60,000 cars and 5,000 locomotives behind their immediate requirements. What their position would be if they had the full corn crop, or an additional 1,300,000,000 bushels, to transport and how general traffic would suffer from further congestion of all avenues of transportation can readily be seen. As serious as is the effect of the shortage of the corn crop, with its resultant advance in the cost of nearly all foodstuffs, it is vastly less detrimental to the prosperity of the country than the prevailing freight congestion, retarding not only the movement of the crops, but the distribution of general merchandise.
Instead of devoting themselves to schemes of merger, consolidation, stock-watering and speculative manipulation the railroad magnates might well give attention to the movement of the commerce of the country which, it is supposed, is the main object for which railroads are chartered and given special privileges.
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| Charles Grandison Maybury. |
OLD DAYS IN SOLON.
UNCLE ZAL MARTIN, THE FAMOUS STONE WALL BUILDER.
Some of his Peculiarities Recalled—His Brother, Serril Martin—The Burlingham Family—A Big Story of Wood Cutting.
To the Editor of The Standard:
SIR—I spoke of two brothers in my last letter who were pioneers in Solon, N. Y. I have two more in mind who were also early settlers. They were Serril and Zalmon Martin. The last named generally went by the name of Uncle Zal. He owned only a few acres on the main road just west of the corners, where he lived for many years. He was a great worker and always seemed most happy when he was very busy. Farmers in the early days built dry stone walls for fences, especially along the highways, and Uncle Zal was expert in that line of work. The fields usually were prolific with stone which were brought to the surface every time they were ploughed, and when a field was seeded down from a cultivated one, the father would set the boys in the family to picking up the stones and putting them in piles, and in the fall after the hay crop was taken off the stone piles were drawn to the place where a stone fence or wall was to be built. The writer remembers a lad who was put to work with a younger brother one sunny afternoon in April, by their father, to pick up stone. They worked for an hour or two, when the elder said to the younger, these stones are too hot to be handled this afternoon. So they yumped their yob for the balance of the afternoon [sic].
Uncle Zal would commence his little farm work early in the season and when his own was finished he was ready to help the first farmer who called for his services and his labor always found a ready market, for he knew nothing of an eight or ten hour law as the measure of a day's work. One of his neighbors said he had occasion to be on the road at 3 o'clock one morning in summer. It was quite dark and he heard an unusual sound on the opposite side of the stone wall, where on investigating, he discovers uncle Zal mowing, putting in his best licks, and on a day's work at that. He ever seemed to like to work and was always good natured in performing his task. Only one time did I ever remember of his being out of humor. He worked for John Wheeler, the proprietor of the hotel at the Corners, for several years. It was in haying one season. Mr. Martin came to his work early as usual, took his scythe and set in to mow across the meadow flat, reaching down to the fence bordering the swamp beyond. This fence was built of slabs, one end resting on the ground, the other end running up diagonally and resting in the angle of a couple of stakes driven into the ground. This construction was repeated. Stakes were set often enough to hold the fence upright with occasional strips nailed to the slabs between, presenting at the top a saw tooth or jagged sky line. Uncle Zal began to feel the want of some breakfast. He dropped his scythe and went up to the tavern, whence from the large number of guests to be served, his breakfast had been long delayed. He went to the proprietor to inquire for his morning meal when he was assured that it would soon be ready. The old man was quite impatient and said, "I have mowed down to the Rip Gut fence and back twice this morning and I should think breakfast ought to have been ready a long time ago.''
If a neighbor had a dry stone wall to be laid for a house or barn foundation, he was the man called to perform that work. There was not a person in town who could do as much labor along the lines with which he was familiar as Zalmon Martin. He was a great lover of pumpkin pie and it was told that he once said he wished he was in the middle of a pumpkin pie as big as Lake Erie, and the only way out was to eat out. He had two daughters and one son. Eliza was the wife of Ford Totman. Jenette married Septimus, a son of Maj. Rice. William married and moved to Chautauqua county, N. Y., as did his sister Mrs. Rice, after the death of her husband.
Serril Martin owned the farm on the main road, where Captain Peck lived during his last years, between Solon Corners and McGrawville. He had three boys: Simmons, Ralph and Giles. Simmons has owned and lived on a farm near East Freetown for several years past. I think he has a number of children living. Serril Martin and General Hatheway (pdf) were engaged in a vexatious lawsuit for several years over the shearing of the tails of some of Martin's horses, Martin claiming that a young son of the general's did the deed. It was in the county court for some years. A large amount of money was spent by each. The writer does not remember how it was finally settled, but without profit to either party.
The Burlinghams were another family of early pioneers. Those remembered were James, George, Charles, Phillip and Hopkins, who was generally called Hop by his old friends. He was said to have been the most renowned axeman in the town or vicinity. The writer has heard his mother say that he worked one day for my father, chopping wood at the house from what they used to call a drag—logs cut in long lengths. She said he cut, split and piled seven cords of wood in one day. I used to think it was a big story, but could not doubt the source from whence it came. He was known throughout the town as the great chopper. Charles married Emily Peck. I think she was the only daughter in Capt. Peck's family. He was a man of great physical strength, always a man of sound health. All the boys were farmers and all robust men. My father told me of a young man, a son of George Burlingham, named Prosper, calling on him one evening to advise with him as an old friend—for he had gotten into some little difficulty, and had made up his mind to go West at once. Finally when he got up to shake his hand and say good by, he says, "Mr. Maybury, tomorrow night at this time the little wheels will be rolling under me." Meaning that he would be on his journey West. The postmaster at McGraw, B. T. Burłingham, the writer supposes to be a son, or grandson, of one of the brothers named.
C. G. M., Winona, Minn., Jan. 16, 1902.
WILL CONTEST IMMINENT.
Nephew of Robert Purvis Asks to Have the Probate Revoked.
A petition has been filed at the surrogate's office by Andrew W. Purvis of the town of Dryden, Tompkins Co., through his attorneys, Messrs. Kellogg & Van Hoesen of this city, asking that the probate of the will of Robert Purvis, deceased, be revoked. Citations have been issued, returnable March 24.
The petition states that the petitioner is a nephew of the late Robert Purvis, and the solicitations of the petitioner are based upon the alleged unsoundness of mind, memory and understanding of, the maker of the will at the time it was made. The petition also states that the alleged last will and testament and codicils thereto were not freely and voluntarily made and executed as such by the said Robert Purvis, but were obtained, and the alleged execution of such by the said Robert Purvis was produced by fraud, circumvention and undue influence, practiced against and upon him by the children of James Lumsden, deceased, who are the principal legatees therein named, or by some one or more of them, or by some other person or persons at present unknown to the petitioner. The children of James Lumsden, of whom the petitioners spoke, live at Wyndham and Drummond, South Land, New Zealand.
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| Maxson & Starin's coal yards and trestle would look like Seager's coal yards. |
DOWN A STEEP INCLINE.
Engine and Loaded Cars Trying to Plunge into New Station.
As a switch engine was being used to push two loaded coal cars up the trestle into Maxson & Starin's coal dump yesterday, the brakes became ineffective and engine, cars and all started in a mad race down the incline. The tracks that were formerly used to run from the main line of the Lackawanna to the coal dumps have been cut off at the north end by the erection of the new passenger station directly over these tracks. The cars were therefore brought to the coal dump switch through another switch near the pump station. The track, however, that led to the new depot was still intact, and down this and toward the new station the cars shot with accelerated speed. Fortunately, indeed, the snow and ice on Railroad-st. had not been cleared from off the tracks, and this slackened the speed of the cars and finally threw the engine off the rails. Had the tracks been clear of snow the engine and cars would have struck the new station with disastrous effect; as the brakes were little better than useless on the slippery tracks.
BREVETIES.
—New display advertisements today are—Glann & Clark, Shoes, page 6.
—C. W. Townsend has just placed an up-to-date shooting gallery in connection with his bowling alleys.
—There will be a meeting of the board of directors of the Y. M. C. A. Monday night at 8 o'clock at the association parlor.
—McGraw is soon to have a local exchange of the Home Telephone Co., and rural lines will also be extended out from that village.
—A "come-and-bring-your-work" party is the latest thing in Auburn in the way of social functions. Doubtless it is much after the likeness of the thimble bee in Cortland.
—The men's meeting at the Y. M. C. A. tomorrow afternoon at 4 o'clock will be conducted by the religious work committee of the association. All men interested in this department are requested to be present.
—Rev. Dr. J. H. Race, president of Grant university of Chattanooga, Tenn., has accepted the re-call to the Centenary M. E. church of Binghamton and will return to the pastorate of that church when Rev. Dr. W. H. Pearce goes to Philadelphia in the spring.
—There is a movement on foot to change the hands on dummy clocks used as signs by jewelers to 3:55 the hour at which President McKinley was assassinated. For more than thirty years these clocks have pointed to 8:18 the hour that President Lincoln was shot.
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