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| Clarence S. Darrow. |
Cortland Evening Standard, Saturday, February 14, 1903.
OPEN HEARING CLOSED.
Commission to Meet in Washington Thursday.
DECISION ABOUT END OF MONTH.
Mr. Darrow Concluded His Argument. Greeted With Long Applause—Paid a Tribute to the Union Which Had Organized So Many Men Into a Homogeneous Mass.
Philadelphia, Feb. 14.—The anthracite coal strike commission, after being in public session for more than three months, closed its open hearings with an all-day argument by Clarence S. Darrow in behalf of the miners.
It will meet in secret in Washington next Thursday and begin the consideration of its award. The announcement is expected the end of this month. If an increase in wages is determined upon, it will date from the first of last November.
Mr. Darrow took up the entire time of both houses—five and one-half hours. He touched upon almost every phase of the strike, and when he closed he was greeted with long applause which Chairman Gray did not suppress. President Mitchell was in court all day.
In the afternoon session Mr. Darrow again took up the question of violence. He said there could be no great strike without occasional violence and that it was a wonder, as the operators had insolently and cruelly rejected the requests of the men, that there was not more violence among the latter.
He paid a tribute to foreigners in the coal regions, saying that they were warm hearted, emotional, sympathetic, religious people.
He spoke of the strict adherence of the operators to the dead letter of the law, and the moral law of humanity, and remarked that if "each of our captains of industry would respect his fellow man, the bitter war just ended would not have occurred and those who lost their lives in that struggle would be alive today." Conflicts between capital and labor will continue, he said, until these captains of industry respect their fellow men.
Mr. Darrow then spoke of evictions, and in strong language pictured the eviction of a sick wife and of a blind woman 100 years old, which he said exceeded in cruelty and violence anything done by the miners.
Brigadier General Gabin, who commanded one brigade of the state troops in the field during the strike, was severely criticized and condemned by Mr. Darrow for his infamous "shoot to kill" order.
Boycott an Ancient Weapon.
Turning to the boycott, Mr. Darrow said there was one illustrious example at least in the United States of the boycott and that was in the American revolution. "There is not one specific act that is charged to the mine workers," he said, "but what was charged to the patriots whom we teach our children to love and venerate. You and I may sit here and judge men by the dead letter of the law. We may say that this act is right and that act is wrong, but up there sits the living God and he judges the acts of men by another standard than ours. The boycott is an ancient weapon; it is respectable when the operators use it, but not respectable when we use it."
Speaking of so-called "scabs," he said that some times they were good men, often they acted from necessity, but they were traitors to their class. They are men, he continued, who are used by the capitalists to destroy the rights and aspirations and the hopes of the workingmen. Continuing Mr. Darrow arraigned "scabs" most severely, saying that they would be despised, mistrusted, hated and reviled by all men who love liberty and who love their follow men and who have the point of view of the organized laboring man.
Regarding the demand for eight-hours a day, Mr. Darrow said it was a demand for the right of the individual to have a better life, a fuller life, and a completer life, and that the eight-hour day was here in many industries. He said the commission was charged with one of the greatest responsibilities that ever devolved on any commission or body of men since history began, and if it is wise and broad, if it will build for the future and for that which is highest for men and grandest and best for the human race, it will be one of the milestones in the progress of the world.
Tribute to the Organization.
Mr. Darrow then spoke of the merits of the miners' union, and of the question of the incorporation of labor unions.
He paid a tribute to the organization which had welded 147,000 men who speak 20 different languages, of all degrees of intelligence, and all degrees of moral character, into homogeneous mass.
In closing he said: "This contest is one of the important contests that have marked the progress of human liberty since the world began—one force pointing one way, another force the other. Every advantage the human race has won has been at fearful cost. Every contest has been won by struggle. Some men must die that others may live. It has come to these poor miners to bear this cross, not for themselves—but that the human race may be lifted to a higher and broader plane than it has ever known before.''
After the long applause had subsided, Chairman Gray, on behalf of the commission, said: "It is due to counsel and those who represented both sides, that l should say that we leave you with a feeling on our part of regret that the long association which has been so pleasant to us is about to be broken. It speaks well for counsel on both sides that no unpleasant episode has occurred—nothing that should mar the situation in which reasonable men and citizens of a great country find themselves in mutually endeavoring to arrive at just conclusions and a just verdict in a great controversy.
"The work is now ours, and I know that we have your best wishes that we may have a safe and a righteous deliverance."
PROTOCOLS ALL SIGNED.
Venezuela Gains the Immediate Raising of Blockade.
RETURN OF CAPTURED VESSELS.
As a Guarantee Mr. Bowen Pledges 30 Per Cent of Customs Receipts of Two Ports—The Hague Tribunal to Decide Whether Allies Shall Have Preference Over Other Creditors.
Washington, Feb. 14.—Herbert W Bowen, Venezuela's representative in the Venezuela peace negotiations at Washington, last night signed with each of the allies' representatives here a protocol providing for the immediate raising of the Venezuelan blockade and for the reference of the question of preferential treatment of the claims of the allies against Venezuela to The Hague arbitration tribunal.
The final formalities occurred at the British embassy. At 11:30 o'clock Hembert Dering, first secretary of the British embassy, announced to the press that the British protocol had just been signed and that signatures of the Italian and German protocols would follow in the order named.
The Italian protocol was signed at 11:30 and the German protocol at 12:10 o'clock, the presence of Baron Sternberg at the White House musicale delaying a final close to the negotiations until after midnight.
The British protocol was in English, the Italian in Italian and German and the German in German and English. Mr. Bowen signed in duplicate for Venezuela, Sir Michael Herbert for Great Britain, Signor Mayor des Planches for Italy and Baron Spec Von Sternberg for Germany.
Immediately on signing of the last protocol cables were dispatched to London, Berlin and Rome announcing the fact. It is expected that the commanders of the blockading fleet within the next 24 hours will receive their orders to withdraw their vessels at once.
Immediate Raising of Blockade.
By the provisions of these preliminary protocols, which have required more than three weeks of constant negotiations, Venezuela gains the immediate raising of a blockade from which she has been suffering for some weeks and the return of all her vessels, war and merchant, which have been captured by the allied fleet.
Great Britain, Germany and Italy received advance payments of £5,500 each, Great Britain receiving her payment on the signature of the protocol and Germany and Italy within 30 and 60 days from date.
Germany in addition will receive five monthly payments until the full amount paid her in advance aggregates $340,000.
As a guaranty for the satisfaction of their claims, Mr. Bowen pledges the allies a share with the other creditor nations in 30 per cent of the customs receipts of the two ports of La Guaira and Porto Cabello.
This percentage will be set aside beginning March 1 and retained in the Venezuelan treasury until The Hague tribunal shall decide whether it shall be distributed without preference among the claimant nations of whether the allied powers of Great Britain, Germany and Italy shall receive preferential payments.
Italy Gains Concessions.
Italy, by her protocol, gains immediate payment of her first class claims without further adjudication, as soon as the joint commission at Caracas shall have passed on the remainder of her claims,
In round numbers the adjudicated Italian claims amount to $560,000, from which will be subtracted the $27,500 to be paid her 60 days from the signature of her first protocol. The Italian ambassador also has secured for his government the insertion in his protocol of an agreement that Venezuela will insert in her treaty with Italy the favored nation clause possessed by the other nations.
Great Britain has left her protocol unchanged since it was approved by the London foreign office some days ago.
It is stipulated by the protocols that the claims of the creditor nations shall be adjudicated by joint commissions to consist in each instance of a Venezuelan, a representative of the claimant power and, in case of disagreement, an umpire to be named by the president of the United States.
The protocols in providing for reference of the question of preferential treatment to The Hague do not state in detail the methods of procedure by which the case is to be laid before that tribunal. This will be done in a second set of protocols, the preparation of which will begin at once, It is provided, however, that not Venezuela alone but all the other creditor nations shall be permitted to appear with her before the tribunal in opposition to the allies for preferential payment.
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| Captain William Saxton. |
WAR REMINISCENCES.
By Captain Saxton of the I57th Regiment, N. Y., Vols.
THE BATTLE OF BULL RUN.
General Patterson's Disobedience Left a Door Wide Open for Johnston—Well Laid Plans Frustrated—Defeat of the Union Army, but Heavy Loss for Confederates as Well.
Chapter 5.
To the Editor of The Standard:
The first battle of Bull Run was fought on Sunday, July 21. Part of McDowell's force began to move on Tuesday, the 16th and on the 17th his whole army was in motion. The Union forces advanced in different lines along the parallel with, and about four miles north of the Orange and Alexandria railroad, the advance regiments reaching Fairfax courthouse, 12 miles from the Potomac on the 17th. On the 18th they arrived at Centerville, 10 miles farther. A reconnaissance was made along the road leading from Centerville to Manassas. About 4 miles south of Centerville is Blackburn ford across Bull Run and Manassas is about 4 miles south of this ford. They encountered some of Longstreet's rebel forces there and had quite a little engagement, losing about 100 men in killed and wounded.
Bull Run is a decent mill stream rising northwest of Washington in the Bull Run mountains, running southeast through the Bull Run battlefield and flowing into the Occoquan and then into the Potomac some distance below Alexandria. It has generally a narrow, wooded valley, with bluffs on either side. It is crossed by several fords. Beginning southwest of Centerville, 7 or 8 miles, the Orange and Alexandria railroad crosses it at Union Mills. A mile or so above that is McLane's ford, then a couple of miles still further above and south of Centerville is Blackburn's ford, already spoken of on the way to Manassas. A mile above is Mitchell's ford and a couple of miles farther up, 4 miles west of Centerville on the Warrenton Pike, is the stone bridge and 3 or 4 miles above that, northwest of Centerville, is the Sudley Springs ford.
The 19th and 20th were occupied mostly by McDowell in becoming better acquainted with the country around, and developing the enemy's position. He found all the fords strongly guarded except the Sudley Springs ford and concluded the main army of the confederates was around Manassas. So he planned his battle accordingly. He would make a strong demonstration at these fords, but his main attack would be on the enemy's left flank. He would march a considerable force to Sudley Springs ford, cross Bull Run there, and turn down its right bank and force the enemy back on his center till the stone bridge was uncovered, then his other forces could cross over and the united army would drive the enemy from the field.
A detachment was to be sent to destroy the railroad at Gainesville so that Johnston could not join Beauregard if he succeeded in whipping Patterson, but most of Johnston's army, unknown to McDowell, had already passed Gainesville and was with Beauregard at Manassas.
Divisions of Union Army.
McDowell's army had been previously divided into five divisions commanded as follows: The first by Brig. Gen. Tyler, second by Col. David Hunter, third by Col. Heintzelman, fourth by Brig. Gen. Runyon, fifth by Col. Miles. The first division, Tyler's, was to lead off down the Warrenton Pike and demonstrate at stone bridge. The fourth division, Runyon's, was back of Centerville 7 miles guarding our trains, and they were to march to Centerville and then down the Manassas road and protect Blackburn's ford. The fifth division was held in reserve on the ridge around Centerville. The second and third divisions, Hunter's and Heintzelman's, were to do the flank movement. The movement was to commence at 2:30 Sunday morning, the 21st.
First Gun Fired.
Promptly on time Tyler's division moved out on the Warrenton Pike toward the stone bridge and at 6:30 the signal gun was fired, the time when the attack was to commence. He paraded his troops, planted a battery, shelled the bridge and made quite a bluster.
Hunter's and Heintzelman's divisions followed Tyler until they crossed Cub Run, then they turned to the right and started for Sudley Springs ford, but Tyler's men had not all gotten out of the road, the distance to Sudley Springs was considerably further than was expected and the leading brigades made such slow progress that it was 9:30 before the advance reached the ford. Here they rested for half an hour to get water and for the rear of the column to close up, and it was 10 o'clock before they crossed over. They had learned that there was quite a force in front of them, and from the heights where they rested they could see a large column of the enemy moving up from Manassas to intercept their line of march. After crossing at the ford they threw out skirmishers and deployed, Hunter's division on the right and Heintzelman's on the left supported by Rickett's and Griffin's batteries. They moved south on the right bank of the stream, soon struck the enemy in force and became hotly engaged. They pressed on doubling the enemy back until they struck the Warrenton Pike. Here the rebels were reinforced by troops under Gen. Joe Johnston himself. There was some confusion caused on account of some of our regiments being dressed in a gray uniform similar to the rebels and one rebel regiment under such a mistake was permitted to approach near enough to kill nearly all the horses of Rickett's battery before our men realized they were confederates. Col. (afterward Gen.) Sherman of Tyler's division threw his brigade across Bull Run above stone bridge, and the united forces drove the enemy away from the Pike, thus uncovering the stone bridge. Gen. Tyler sent other troops across and they pushed the enemy back until the advance was checked by rebel batteries behind entrenchments on the heights above the road.
It was now 3 o'clock in the afternoon, the enemy was in retreat, which continued till they reached the Robinson house, where Hampton's legion were drawn up, and under the heroic efforts of Gen. Bee they made a stand. Here is where Gen. Bee exclaimed to his troops "See Jackson's brigade, they are standing like a stone wall," and Stonewall Jackson was his name thereafter.
Rebels Reinforced.
The rebels had been receiving reinforcements all day and just at this juncture the remaining brigade of Johnston's army arrived on the field. They had come on the cars to Gainesville unloading there at noon.
The Union troops had been up since 2 o'clock in the morning, had marched a long distance and been fighting since 10 o'clock in that hot southern sun of that July day, and were about exhausted. Many had been killed and wounded. The wounded and stragglers were stringing back to the rear. Our ranks were greatly thinned. The fresh brigade of Johnston's army came on with a rush and the "rebel yell" and struck the union forces on the right flank. About the same time some rebel cavalry charged down the Sudley road, our forces gave way and fell back to [the pike], then across the pike. The enemy pressed them hard, and soon our army was in full retreat. The retreat became a rout and the rout became a panic. They rushed across Bull Run, a lot of our baggage wagons and ambulances became tangled up on the bridge across Cub Run, a shell overturned a wagon which completely blocked the road. The teamsters cut the traces, mounted their horses and fled. The cry that the "black horse cavalry" was coming, added still further to the fright, and the disorganized mass poured through the reserves around Centerville and did not stop till they reached the fortifications around Washington. The rear guard stayed at Centerville till after midnight and then took up the march back to the Potomac.
The rebels were so badly whipped that they made no serious demonstrations against our line in front of Centerville and soon retired to the position they occupied in the morning.
The Forces Engaged.
The forces actually engaged in this battle were about equally divided, about 20,000 on a side. Had Gen. Patterson not disobeyed orders and opened a wide door for Johnston to reinforce Beauregard the result of the battle in all probability would have been a Union victory.
The Union side lost 481 killed, 1,011 wounded and 1,216 missing.
Gen. Beauregard reported his loss to be 269 killed, 1,483 wounded and does not mention the prisoners of which we took quite a number.
I have not attempted any description of the part taken by other troops at and below Blackburn's ford and other parts of the field. The North felt terribly chagrined and discouraged by this disastrous defeat, but it taught them the lesson they had to learn that the South could not be subdued by a display of arms. They were a brave people and were fighters the same as we, their Northern brothers, were.
W. S.
To Locate In Homer, N. Y.
Dr. G. A. Tompkins, who has been devoting several months to post graduate work in special lines in dentistry, has returned to Cortland and is soon to move his office to Homer where he will permanently locate.
ANOTHER CARRIER SECURED.
Great Increase in Mails at the Cortland Postoffice.
After an effort of about two months Postmaster Brown has succeeded in getting authority from the postoffice department to add another carrier to the force in this city, making eight in all. Adelbert Jennison, who has been the first substitute on the list, has been put on regularly and will enter upon his duties March 2.
This other carrier will not mean more frequent deliveries, but a shortening of the routes of all the other carriers and a complete rearrangement of the present routes. This is made necessary by the great increase in the mails in recent weeks. First-class matter has increased, but the great increase is in magazines and that class of matter. It is said that this class of mail has almost doubled in the last year. For instance, about a thousand copies of the Delineator are now received at the Cortland Office, and each copy weighs l 1/2 pounds. One of the carriers who was interviewed has sixty-eight on his route, others have as many or more. Each carrier on certain days starts out on the first delivery in the morning with two big sacks brimming full, one on each shoulder, the two weighing about 80 pounds. Quite a load for a man to carry. On magazines day it is utterly impossible to deliver all that arrive on the first trip after arrival. They have to be taken along an the installment plan as rapidly as possible.
The quantity of periodical literature taken is a fair standard of judgment of the prosperity of a place. In hard times people cut down on magazines. From the evidence it would appear that Cortland is enjoying a season of unusual prosperity.
A COMMUNICATION
In Reply to "Taxpayer" Communication from Truxton.
Truxton, N. Y., Feb. 14, 1903.
To the Editor of The Standard:
Sir—I am invited by last night's issue of your valuable paper to account for my stewardship as supervisor of this town particularly for the past year or two and generally for the whole of the time that I have held that office. My first impulse upon reading the article was totally to ignore it, as its authors have not had manhood enough or honesty enough to let their name or names appear in print. I have held the office of supervisor in this town for nine years and never supposed that my honesty in that capacity could very well be questioned when, during the whole of that time, I have never handled one hundred dollars of town money, school fund, local fund, highway fund or any other money coming to the town of Truxton, the same having always been paid into bank and paid out in checks, which can easily be traced by any man who has sufficient intelligence and a little education. All of this business has been done through Muller & Sons' bank of this place and I now ask, not the originators of this article, but honest taxpayers to confer with these gentlemen and also with Mr. William Atchinson, their cashier, who is a candidate for town clerk on the Republican ticket, and an honest man, and who, with the assistance of Messrs. Muller can furnish them with the actual facts and not political fiction. I did not ask for the office of supervisor this year and did not desire nomination, and there were only two reasons why I accepted such nomination.
The first was that I had hoped to succeed in refunding the town bonds, which, if refunded at 3 1/2 per cent, would have saved overburdened taxpayers between $500 and $600 per year, and l even hoped that we might get them down to 3 per cent., which would mean $1,100 saved.
Second. I would not refuse a nomination which was urged upon me by my friends who, for many years back, have stood by me even though I knew that there were one or two traitors in the camp who had been pampered and fed by the party until their claws had become so long that they required trimming, and who, after having had their claws trimmed by me in order to save the town, were watching the chance to pounce upon me.
Hoping my explanation will satisfy even "Taxpayer," if he is honest, I am respectfully yours,
John O'Donnell, Supervisor.
BREVITIES.
—Mr. Robert Bushby is locating his offices in rooms six and seven of the Burgess block.
—New display advertisements today are—W. W. Bennett, Enameled ware, page 5; Chas. P. Brown, Paints, etc., page 4.
—H. L. Bronson sold today his house and lot at 6 Graham-ave. to Nelson E. and Lena May Bugbee. Consideration $2,500.
—The residence of J. J. Moore, 148 Homer-ave., has been connected with the Home Telephone exchange. Its number is 792.
—A meeting of the executive committee of the First Baptist Sunday school will be held Monday evening at the home of Mr. E. M. Mansur, 40 Lincoln-ave.
—The graduating class of the Oneonta Normal school numbers twenty-five at the mid year, but following the general custom of the Normal schools no commencement exercises will be held till June.
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