Cortland
Evening Standard, Wednesday, September 14, 1898.
CUBAN
CLASH IMMINENT.
Independence
Party Now Threaten Serious Trouble.
MEETINGS
OF PROTEST HELD.
They
Deem the Establishing of an American Protectorate as an Encroachment Upon
Their Rights—Look With Suspicion Upon Robert F. Porter's Mission to Havana.
HAVANA, Sept. 14.—The presence of Robert F.
Porter, who is in Havana on a special commission from the United States
government to study the financial and economic aspects of the situation, is
regarded with suspicion by the party of Free Cuba as indicating the
establishment of an American policy of guardianship. Mr Porter is preparing a
revision of the Cuban tariff, which will probably be protective of Cuban
industries, and is acquainting himself with every detail of local taxation. In
this work he is assisted by a capable staff. For the present his efforts are
only preliminary, as, until after the definite settlement of peace, it will be
impossible to establish the new regime. But his efforts and inquiries, taken
together with the announcement that American troops will be sent later to
occupy the island—which had hitherto been doubted by many—have had the effect
of provoking protests from the more rabid Cubans, who are holding meetings and adopting
resolutions against "encroachment upon our rights as citizens of the free
and independent republic of Cuba by the establishment of an American protectorate."
Commenting editorially upon these
developments, La Lucha says: "It is easy to foresee a clash between
the two tendencies, the two forces on the political horizon of Cuba—the
sentimental independent party and the party of practical annexationists. On one
hand stands the Cuban sentiment which has struggled for freedom for three
years; on the other is arrayed every material interest in the island, which
looks first and foremost for the greatest and strongest guarantee, not only
that order shall be preserved, but that there will be a future development and
increase in these very interests.
"It is too early yet to predict with
which party the victory will lie; but the leaders of the National Cuban party
should not allow themselves to be carried away by the natural exaltation and
fiery temperament of their race. They should proceed with tact and discretion
at this juncture, for otherwise, annexation may become an accomplished fact far
sooner than is expected. The leaders should act with prudence and furnish an
example of strength and stability. Such conduct in them may result in time in
adding to the ranks of the Cuban national party a large proportion of those who
now advocate annexation and in carrying with them the great landed and industrial
interests of the island."
These two problems, independence and
annexation, are the chief topics discussed; and the idea of an American
protectorate, with military occupation, is nowhere favorably considered.
Everywhere it is recognized that the choice is between independence and annexation.
ELECTION
IN CUBA.
Republican
Government Preparing to Elect a President.
HAVANA. Sept. 14.—Next month at the
headquarters of the so-called Cuban republican government at Curitas, province
of Puerto Principe, representatives of the different corps of the Cuban army
will proceed to a presidential election and a definite constitution of the
government. Each army corps will send eight delegates, making a total of 48
electors. There are two separate and distinct tendencies in the Cuban army, one
strongly supporting the present government and the other favoring General
Maximo Gomez.
Already four presidential nomination tickets
are in the field. On the first are the names of Bartolome Masso for president
and Mendez Capote for vice president; on the second, the names of Mendez Capote
for the first place and Jose Miguel Gomez for the second; on the third are Jose
Miguel Gomez and Pedro Bentacourt and on the fourth Calixto Garcia and Jose
Miguel Gomez.
General Gomez is still encamped on the
Narcissa estate at Yuguajay, Santa Clara province.
 |
Maximo Gomez.
|
ECHOES OF
THE WAR.
Military
Notes and Items about the Recent Conflict.
General Maximo Gomez, the insurgent
commander-in-chief, has tendered his resignation of the command of the Cuban
army to the Cuban government at Camaguay. He objects to the Cuban government's
yielding the control of the affairs of the island to the Americans.
It is believed that the principal reason why
the Spaniards are so slow in arranging for the evacuation of Cuba and Porto
Rico is that by delaying action they reap the benefits of the custom duties,
which right now are very large on account of the long blockade.
Generals Cebreco, Castillo, Pedro, Perez and
other Cuban insurgent leaders have turned over their commands to General
Lawton. General Perez has 8,000 men in the vicinity of Guantanamo which he will
disband this week by order of General Castillo.
Colonel Hood's regiment, which has been doing
garrison duty' in Santiago, will this week be relieved by the Fifth regulars,
the volunteers going to a camp
yet to be selected on the San Luis railroad.
The number of sick among troops in Porto
Rico, 1,886; about 18 per cent; 177
typhoid, 447 malaria, 1,262 other diseases. There has been two deaths from
yellow fever at Ponce.
The muster out of Camp Meade is almost
completed and General Graham expects to have his corps soon organized for
service in Cuba.
Camp Thomas at Chickamauga is almost
deserted, there being only one regiment there, the Sixth United States
volunteers.
 |
Luigi Lucheni.
|
THE
ASSASSIN INTERVIEWED.
Says He Was the Executor of the
Oppressed—Conscious of his Guilt.
NEW YORK, Sept. 14.—A dispatch to The World
from Geneva says: The World correspondent has seen and interviewed the assassin
Lucchesi.
Instead of a sullen Prendergast, who killed
Carter Harrison of Chicago, or a defiant
Vaillant, who threw the bomb in the French chamber of deputies, there was
brought upon the scene in the antechamber of the palace of justice a smirking wretch,
effusive, garrulous and beaming.
Lucchesi is small and gaunt but athletic with
blue eyes, a reddish mustache and dirty brown hair, cut short and unparted. He
smiled and tittered as he talked, cheerfully answering all of the correspondent's
questions. His demeanor suggested an unhinged mind, but his replies indicated a
clear and full consciousness of his crime, in which he gloried.
In answer to a query Lucchesi said: "I
killed the empress because I am an anarchist. We have not, we eat not, we drink
not; therefore we must make the rich and powerful think about us. I have simply
executed a mission."
"Why did you select the empress? Why
not have killed a real ruler—a king or a president?"
"Destiny placed her in my way," he
answered simply and with apparent truthfulness. "I was not looking for her
life in particular. She was here and I struck her. She was one of the
oppressors."
"Had you any accomplices?"
"My accomplices are all those who
suffer. I am the executor of the oppressed."
"Would you prefer life imprisonment in
Geneva or death in Austria if you had the choice?" he was then asked.
A look of annoyance passed over his face as
he answered: "As you wish." Then he made a sign as if cutting off his
head and added: "I should prefer the French way."
Lucchesi declined to answer further
questions and the interview ended.
Judge Leche asked Lucchesi: "Where were
you on Aug. 30 when the empress arrived at Territel?"
"I was employed in building the
postoffice," he answered.
"Did you strike the empress with your
left hand?"
"Certainly not; I always use my right
hand, and I dealt this blow with my right hand." This with an ugly
grimace, and then be bent down and showed how he dealt the blow.
The judge next asked: "If you had been
able, would you have murdered King Humbert or Crispi?"
"Humbert? Oh, yes, with pleasure. But
not Crispi; Crispi is a thief; he stole half a million lire. I should have
taken more in his place. I take my hat off to thieves; I would never murder a
thief."
Here the assassin laughed aloud. Then he
said to the judge: "I asked for cigars. Shall I get them?"
"We will see," said the judge as
he ordered him back to prison.
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Main Street, Cortland, N. Y.
|
THE NEW
PAVEMENT.
Some of
the Specifications —Stone Crusher at Work.
But few people in Cortland realize the power
and authority vested in Engineer Henry C. Allen, who has charge of the paving
on Main-st , as a court of last resort to settle without appeal all questions arising
between the village and the contractors.
The specifications and contract make Mr.
Allen arbitrator in all matters of difference between the two parties and his
decision is final and conclusive.
Clause B of the contract and specifications for
paving reads as follows: "To prevent all disputes and
litigations, it is further agreed by and between the parties to this contract
that the engineer shall be referee and arbitrator in all cases
to decide upon the amount, quality, acceptableness and fitness of the several
kinds of work and materials which are to be paid for under this contract, and
upon all questions which may arise relative to the fulfillment of the contract on
the part of the contractor, and to decide all differences, disputes,
controversies and questions that may arise at any time under this contract, and
all such questions that may at any time arise are hereby expressly referred to
and submitted to said engineer as sole referee and arbitrator and his decision
on all such matters shall be final and conclusive on all the parties hereto;
and his estimates and decisions shall be final and conclusive and such estimate
and decision in case any question shall arise shall be a condition precedent to
the right of said contractor to receive any money under this agreement; and
also that said engineer by himself or by his assistant or inspectors acting for
him, shall inspect the material to be furnished and the work to be done under
this agreement to see that the same strictly correspond with the specifications
hereinafter set forth."
In consequence of this full and unlimited
authority it is evident that if Main-st. is not paved with the best of material
and in the best possible manner no one will be in fault but Engineer Allen.
That gentleman has a long and well established reputation for knowing what good
paving and good work is and for holding men up to their work. In fact, because
of this characteristic he has earned the name in Syracuse, his home, of
"Straight Line" Allen, and it is safe to believe that Cortland will
have a first-class piece of work done here.
The contractor, the Warren-Scharff Asphalt
Paving company, is storing its cement under the coal dump at John C. Seager's
yard near the Lehigh Valley station, and it is taken from there as fast as
needed. Portland cement made in Germany is used in the concrete foundation for
the brick pavement in the railroad strip. Rosendale cement from Rosendale, Ulster
county, will be used in the concrete foundation for the asphalt pavement. The
concrete foundation for the railroad strip is 9 inches in depth, while that for
the asphalt pavement is 6 inches. The proportion of parts for each foundation is
the same, that is, one part cement, two parts sand and four parts broken atone.
There is quite a difference between the two brands of cement. The Rosendale
cement test for fineness requires that 90 per cent shall pass through a
sieve of 2,500 meshes per square inch, and 90 per cent of the Portland cement
must pass through a sieve of 10,000 meshes per square inch. Sufficient water to
mix the sand and cement to the consistency of good mortar for masonry is used
in mixing each foundation.
The broken stone used on the street is in
irregular shapes, varying from one to two inches in diameter. The engineer's
estimate places the amount of broken stone needed at 500 cubic yards. The
paving company crushes and uses the cobblestones from Main-st., and pays the village
10 cents per wagon load of 27 cubic feet for them. But the cobblestones from
the street form only a small portion of the amount required, so the paving company
purchased at Perryville enough crushed stone to make up the deficiency. The
purchase was made through J. C. Seager of Cortland, who has the stone unloaded
from the cars in his coal pockets from which the teams get it through the shutes
the same as coal wagons are loaded with coal.
The Main-st. cobblestones are crushed in a
Crusher set up by the company near the Lehigh Valley station. The crusher runs
by steam power, the engine being located a few feet away. The top of the crusher
is reached by a wooden bridge up which the stones are drawn in wagons and after
unloading, the team and wagon goes down the bridge on the opposite side. Five
men keep busy shoveling the stones into the hopper of the crusher, and the stones
are crushed by a revolving cylinder inside the wall of the crusher. The size of
the broken product can be regulated, something as the fineness of coffee from a
coffee mill is regulated. As the broken stone comes from the mouth of the
crusher, it is caught in buckets attached to a carrier similar to a straw
carrier connected with a threshing machine. At the top of the carrier standard
these buckets empty their contents into a hollow cylinder, which is all the
time revolving. The cylinder is full of round holes of three sizes in three
sections of the cylinder. The holes in the first section of the cylinder are
half an inch in diameter, those in the second section one inch in diameter, and
those in the third section two inches in diameter. The different sizes of stone
of course fall through the revolving cylinder, and into pockets on boxes underneath,
and are let out into the wagons the same as coal from a coal pocket. The stone
is then delivered on the street for mixture in the foundation for the pavement.
After the foundation is mixed, laid and properly
tamped down, the specifications require that it shall be allowed to set for not
less than five days if foundation for brick, and not less than ten days if for
asphalt before walking over or working upon is to be allowed. Before the brick
portion of the pavement is laid, a one half inch layer of clean, coarse, sharp
sand is to be spread on the foundation, and the brick laid upon it on edge. When
laid, the brick pavement will be rolled, and the joints filled with a grout composed
of one part of first-class Portland cement and one part of coarse sand.
On top of the foundation for the asphalt
pavement is to be laid what is called a "binder" course, one inch in
thickness, composed of broken stone of such a size as will pass through a one inch
ring, and an asphaltic cement. The pavement mixture itself, two inches in
thickness, is then to be spread.
The north section of North Main-st. between
East Main-st. and Arthur-ave. is now nearly ready for concrete. A 5-ton steam
roller yesterday rolled that part east of the railroad strip, and this afternoon
was working on the west side. The concrete mixing gang on the railroad strip
passed Lincoln-ave., and the curb-makers are rapidly approaching the Cortland House.
Yesterday they laid nearly 500 feet of curb and gutter.
TROUBLE
AT ITHACA.
Renwick
Park Fenced in—Street Railroad Company Shut Out.
The Ithaca Journal of Tuesday devoted over
two columns to an account of trouble that has arisen between Mr. H. Bergholtz,
owner of Renwick park, and the Ithaca Street Railway Co. The difficulty grew
out of a lawsuit between the two parties, and now Mr. Bergholtz has put a fence
around the park and shut the public entirely out. The railroad is not
interfered with and cars can run to the end of the line, but there is no use in
carrying passengers there as they can't get off. In consequence the Tioga-st. cars
now stop at Percy baseball field.
Mr. Bergholtz said to a Journal reporter
that he had practically waited till the
end of the park season before assuming his right to shut up the park, so that
the railroad company would not have much further use for the park this season.
He says he may plant onions in the park next spring.
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Cortland Normal School.
|
THE
NORMAL OPENED.
MANY NEW
STUDENTS IN All DEPARTMENTS.
Intermediate
and Primary Departments Crowded—Advance in Scholarship all Along the Line and
Its Consequences—New Seats in Normal Hall—The Kindergarten.
The Cortland Normal school reopened this
morning for its sixtieth term under most favorable auspices. There was an unusually
large number of new students, 112 presenting credentials upon which they
expected to gain admission. In the old days of entrance examinations where all
new students were expected to appear the first day, even then this would have
been a large number, but since the admission has come to be more and more by
credentials gained as a result of previous work or examinations, until the
present time when there are no entrance examinations whatever and when
credentials alone are accepted the new students have more and more got into the
habit of dropping in during the first three days of the term, or even a little
later. So that there is a likelihood of the number of new ones running up to 150
or over within a week. A large number of old students was a [seen] back this
morning.
Arrangements had been made for the reseating
of Normal hall during the vacation, opera chairs of an approved design and
fitted with bookracks and armrests for writing being selected to take the place
of the old desks. With the new seats there will be nearly double the seating
capacity of the old arrangement. This work was all to have been done before the
opening day, but it had not been entirely completed this morning when the
school assembled, though Dr. Cheney publicly stated that it was through no
fault of the local board or the committee having the matter in charge. The
failure to complete the contract within the specified time caused a little
inconvenience, but was not more serious than that, for chairs were carried in
to take the place of the missing seats. A large proportion of the opera chairs
are already in place, and the others will be before the end of the week.
The rostrum has been moved from the west end
to the north side of Normal hall, and this is a great improvement, for it
brings all the seats which are arranged in a semi-circle before it nearer to the
center of things than was possible in the former way, and oftentimes it was difficult
to hear distinctly and always it was hard to see clearly from the rear of the
long hall. The pictures upon the walls have been rehung and rearranged to
conform to the new order of things.
All the members of the faculty were present
this morning at the hour of assembling except Miss Curry, who was at Union
Center for the day assisting at a teachers' institute. There were two new faces
on the rostrum, and one other face familiar to the school and well known in
Cortland which was new to that place, due to Miss Bishop's promotion from
critic in the intermediate department to be the teacher of methods. The faculty
took their seats upon the rostrum in the following order: At Dr. Cheney's right
hand Prof. Banta, Prof. Cornish, and Prof. Booth at the end. At Dr. Cheney's
left, Miss Hendrick, Miss Booth, Miss Bishop, Miss Goodhue, Miss Alger, Miss
Hamilton, a vacant chair for Miss Curry, Miss Wright and Miss Rathbun at the
end.
The school joined heartily in singing the
national hymn, "America," with Miss Alger conducting and Mr. Harry Jennison
at the piano. Dr. Cheney led the devotional exercises, reading the 27th Psalm
and offering prayer.
The doctor then spoke a few words of greeting
to the new and old students, and explained briefly to the former the credentials
which they must have to enter upon. The new students then passed out to the
musicroom, where they presented their credentials to Prof. Booth for inspection
and approval. The A and B classes were the first to be entered by the principal
and then they went to meet the teacher of methods to arrange for their practice
work in the training schools, while the work of entering the remainder of the
students proceeded.
In the intermediate department Prof. McEvoy
was as usual in charge, and his assistant is this year Miss Grace K. Duffey, who
succeeds Miss Bishop, but who is not a stranger to the work of the school as
prior to last year she was for four years the principal of the department.
There have been 58 applications for admission
to the intermediate department, but so far only eight have been received. The
room will seat 212 and only this eight was required to bring the number of
students up to the limit. A number of the students of the department are trying
examinations for admission to the Normal department, and if they pass there
will be an opportunity to receive into the intermediate more of the new
applicants.
Owing to the raising of the standard of
admission to the Normal department this fall the highest class in the
intermediate of last term is not received en masse into the Normal department this
term. Its members can take the state examination of nine subjects, in which they
must pass eight subjects with a minimum standing of 75 per cent in each subject
to get into the Normal, or they can take the faculty examination of twelve
subjects in which they must pass every subject with a minimum standing of 80
per cent. Failure to reach this per cent in any one of the twelve subjects
would prevent admission to the Normal department. In the former case the
examination questions are prepared by the state authorities, in the latter by
the Normal faculty, and the latter examination is said to be the more severe.
The requirements of professional training in
teachers are every year becoming more and more severe, and because of this
advance in grade the standard of scholarship is constantly advancing. By reason
of the advance of this fall the highest class of last term in the intermediate which
passed all its work in the department of last year is now trying the advanced
examinations for the Normal. Those who pass will be admitted to the Normal
department. The balance will be retained in the intermediate as a tenth grade
till they are ready for admission to the Normal, probably at the beginning of
the winter term.
In the primary department the new principal,
Miss Skidmore, was at the helm, assisted by Miss Gale and Miss Ormsby. The
primary is overflowed with new applicants, but can take only about two hundred.
The standard of admission between the primary and intermediate departments has also
been raised for this fall, and as a result the last year's fifth grade is to be
retained in the primary department for six months longer before admitting it to the intermediate.
The kindergarten department does not open
till next Monday. A large number of applications have been received, but the
fortunate children will be chosen by lot. The list of names will be published.
A new floor has been laid in the kindergarten room, making quite an improvement
in its appearance.
[McGRAW
"letter" continued.]
Secretary—H.
R. Greenman.
Financial
Secretary—O. Cooper.
The
company now has a membership of thirty.
BREVITIES.
—A dozen genuine African ostrich eggs in the
north window of the drug store of Sager & Jennings attract
considerable attention.
—There will be a regular convocation of
Cortland Chapter, No. 194, R. A. M., to-night at which the Mark Master degree will
be conferred.
—J. H. Audrus is not working on the paving job
for a few days because of the smashing of the end of a finger which was under a
heavy box when it came down.
—New display advertisements to-day are—Dey
Bros. & Co., Ready for Fall Business,
page 8: Baker & Angell, Hygienic Shoes, page 7; Opera House, The Brosnahan-Jackson
Comedy Co., page 5.
—The STANDARD is indebted to Prof. A. B.
Ingalls of Oahu college, Honolulu, Sandwich Islands, for a copy of the Pacific Commercial
Advertiser of that city of Aug. 13, 1898, containing a graphic account of the
flag raising upon the islands the previous day. A huge flag of red, white and blue
occupies nearly the whole of the first page, and over this occurs the regular
printing in black ink showing through the colors of the flag.
