CAPTURE OF THE FLEET, VENEZUELAN SITUATION, DRYDEN'S CONGRESS HABIT, AND BOARD OF SUPERVISORS

 

SMS Panther.

 

Cortland Evening Standard, Thursday, December 11, 1902.

CAPTURE OF THE FLEET.

Was Accomplished by Ten German and Four British Cutters.

   La Guaira, Dec. 11.—The Venezuelan fleet was captured Tuesday by 10 German and four British cutters. They went alongside the Venezuelan vessels and ordered them to surrender, and without a shot being fired the British and German forces seized the Venezuelan fleet in the name of the German emperor and the king of England.

   Two of the vessels which were undergoing repairs were broken up. The German cruiser Panther steamed into the harbor during these proceedings with her decks cleared for action.

   The Venezuelan steamers were taken outside the harbor and early in the morning the General Crespo, Tatumo and Margarita were sunk.

   The Ossun was the only vessel spared in view of the protest made by the French charge d'affaires, H. Quievreux, who notified the commodore of the allied fleet that the Ossun is the property of a Frenchman.

   At 10 o'clock in the evening 130 German sailors proceeded to Cardonal, a suburb of La Guaira, in which is situated the residence of the German consul, whom with his family they placed on board the warship Vineta. On their way back to this port the German sailors met a party of Venezuelan soldiers but no collision took place.

   At 5 o'clock Wednesday morning a landing party of 30 British seamen went to the British consulate and conducted the British consul and his family on board the Retribution.

 

GUNBOAT BOLIVIA SEIZED.

Entire Northern Coast of Venezuela to Be Blockaded.

   Port of Spain, Trinidad, Dec. 11.—The British cruiser Charybdis seized the Venezuelan gunboat Bolivar in this harbor Tuesday night.

   She landed the Bolivar's officers here, while the British sloop Alert took the crew of the captured gunboat to the port of Guairá, situated on the Venezuelan coast opposite to the island of Trinidad.

   The British torpedo boat destroyer Quail has sailed with instructions to capture the Venezuelan war vessel now engaged in blockading the mouth of the Orinoco.

   The entire coast of Venezuela from the Orinoco river to La Guairá will be blockaded by British war vessels, while the Venezuelan coast from La Guairá to the Colombian frontier will be blockaded by German war vessels.

 

El Presidente Cipriano Castro.

Castro Calls to Arms.

   Paris, Dec. 11.—A Venezuelan government communication to its representative here protests that Britain and Germany, acting in concert, have committed an act of hostility in a manner as arbitrary as it is unprecedented, by the seizure of Venezuelan vessels lying at La Guairá.

   The communication says that indignation in Venezuela is at its highest pitch and the government is resorting to justifiable reprisals.

   It has arrested the resident subjects of both hostile countries and has seized the railways and other undertakings belonging to them.

   At the same time, adds the communication, President Castro has appealed to the Venezuelan people to take up arms. He has decreed a general amnesty for all political offences and has ordered the restitution of the confiscated property of Venezuelan citizens.

 

THE VENEZUELAN SITUATION.

President Castro is Gathering an Army to Resist Germans and British.

   La Guairá, Venezuela, Dec. 11.—There is no sign of weakening in the Venezuelan position. Instead, President Castro is gathering an army, reports from Caracas state, to resist German and British aggression. Two thousand men and eighteen guns have been sent from Caracas to reinforce the garrison here. They are now encamped 4 miles from town.

   Fort Laviga is being stocked with ammunition and there are indications of preparations to resist.

   Castro's position is very popular and volunteers are offering themselves in numbers. Nearly 1,000 such have been armed here.

 

PAGE FOUR—BRIEF EDITORIALS.

   The Venezuelan idea of the Monroe Doctrine seems to be that Uncle Sam is sponsor for South American delinquency in the payment of just obligations. The sooner the Venezuelans get this notion out of their heads the better for them.

   Admiral Dewey, who is now in command of the fleet [over 60 warships—CC ed.] in Caribbean waters, may be expected to cut out some very rapid work for the captains before the [war game] maneuvers are over.

 

BOARD OF SUPERVISORS

Will Adjourn Tomorrow to Extend the Tax Rolls.

   The supervisors will not finish the work of the session today, but they expect to adjourn tomorrow to extend the tax rolls.

   The committee on coroner's bills, to which was referred certain bills in the Bennett case, reported that the bills be sent to the superintendent of the poor with instructions to locate the party or parties liable for the payment of these bills, and if found to be a county charge the same should be audited.

   The committee on refunding tax on railroad bond exemptions for 1901 reported that the following amounts should be paid back to the several towns and city:

   Cincinnatus $90.00

   Cortland City, $265.28

   Cortlandville, $195.89

   Cuyler, $165.08

   Solon, $85.19

   Truxton, $156.79

   The report of the equalization committee was adopted this morning. The full table of values will be published later. The following is a comparative statement of percentages for this year and last:

 

   The report was adopted.

 

Dryden's Congress Habit.

   Congressman John W. Dwight of Dryden, Tomkins county, was sworn in today, and his appearance as a representative suggests the somewhat curious fact that Tompkins county has furnished three congressmen since the organization of the Republican party—Milo Goodrich, Jeremiah Dwight and John Dwight. All three lived in the same election district in the village of Dryden, N. Y. The new congressman is the son of Jeremiah W. Dwight. He has extensive business interests in New York [City] and stays there in the winter.—New York Tribune.

 

BREVITIES.

   —The annual meeting of Dryden Agricultural society will be held Saturday afternoon.

   —Dr. J. H. Benson's office, 8 Maple-ave., has just been connected with the Home Telephone exchange. His number is 770.

   —The Home Telephone company opened its line to Ithaca yesterday. It connects with the independent company of that city, which has about 700 subscribers.

   —The Woman's Foreign Mission circle of the First Baptist church, will meet at the home of Mrs. Simonson, 31 Charles-st., Friday afternoon at 3 o'clock.

   —The funeral of Mrs. William Foster, who died last Tuesday, will be held from her late home in Harford tomorrow at 11 o'clock. Burial will be made in Cortland.

   —The Woman's Home Missionary society of the First M. E. church will hold its regular meeting, Friday at 2:30 p. m. at the home of Mrs. F. P. Saunders, 52 Clinton-ave. Ladies are requested to come prepared to sew.

   —The new display advertisements today are—F. Daehler, Christmas gifts, page 5; G. H. Wiltsie, Kid glove sale, page 4; McGraw & Elliott, French stag novelties, page 5; W. W. Walters, Shoes, page 4; Scotch Woolen Co., Suits, and overcoats, page 8; J. W. Cudworth, "Optical talks,'' page 5.

WIDOW'S SAD STORY, DIFFICULT PROBLEM, SUBSTITUTE, ARSENIC FOUND, COURT ADJOURNED, AND BOARD OF SUPERVISORS

 

Breaker boys, Pennsylvania Coal Co.

Cortland Evening Standard, Wednesday, December 10, 1902.

WIDOWS SAD STORY.

Her Husband Was Killed in the Markle Mine.

LEFT WITH FOUR CHILDREN.

Kept Boys at School Till They Were 14—It Took the Earnings of Herself and the Two Boys 13 years to Pay Off a Debt For Rent—Refused to Re-Employ Strikers.

   Scranton, Dec. 10.—Tales of eviction from houses owned by G. B. Markle & Co., the narration of the death of a wife as a result of an enforced removal from her home and the story of a mother whose husband was killed in the Markle mines, of how she and her two boys struggled for years to pay the Markles the back rent and coal bill she owed them, were the principal features of the sessions of the coal strike arbitration commission

   The miners concluded the calling of witnesses against the Markle company. The attorneys for the large coal companies have nothing to say regarding the testimony now being presented but those representing the miners are well pleased. One of the latter, speaking of the proceedings, said:

   "The independent operators in their meeting with the big companies in New York two weeks ago, when they succeeded in blocking the proposed settlement, said the whole matter should go before the commission so that the country at large would know who is right and vindicate the coal companies.  We are willing to go ahead with the proceedings if they are satisfied with the 'vindication' they are now getting.''

   National Board Member Gallagher resumed the witness stand at the afternoon session and explained the powder question as best he could, concluding this part of his testimony by saying the miners employed by the Markle company do not get the 10 per cent increase because of the peculiar way the company has of figuring the increase in wages agreed upon at the end of the 1900 strike.

Money Deducted For Priest.

   The witness presented several of his own wage statements which showed that something had been deducted for a priest. When asked what this meant he said he did not know. It was taken off his earnings ever since he went into the mines, and he simply dismissed it because he did not object to the assessments.

   An 18-year-old Hungarian slate picker employed by the Markle company said that before the strike he received 85 cents a day, now he received only 55 cents. The company never notified him of the reduction and he still does the same work.

   Mrs. Kate Burns of Jeddo was examined by Lawyer Darrow and said her husband, who was an engineer inside the Markle mines, was killed under ground [sic], leaving her with four children, the oldest a boy of 8 years. The company never offered her a penny, but the employes [sic] gave her about $180 to defray the funeral expenses.

   After her husband had been killed she moved from her four room house into one containing only two, the one above the other, and for the next six years she struggled as best she could to get along. She took in washing, scrubbed for the neighbors and once in a while she was given work cleaning the offices of the Markle company.

   During these six years she said she kept her children at school. When the oldest child was 14 years old she sent him to work in the mines. At the end of the first month the boy brought home his wage statement showing that the mother owed $396 for back rent.

   The boy's wages for the month had been taken off the bill and he came home open handed. She submitted to this and in the course of time her next boy was old enough to help earn a living and he, too, was sent to the colliery.

Boys' Wages Taken For Rent.

   Like the older brother, the second boy received no pay, his earnings being deducted for rent. When the woman added that the money she earned for cleaning the Markle office was never given to her but kept by the company for rent, the commissioners looked at one another in surprise.

   She said it took the three of them 13 years to make up the debt, the mother's earning from neighbors being the principal contribution toward the maintenance of the family. The debt was cleared last August. During the six years, from the time her husband was killed until the time when the first boy went to work, the company never asked her for rent.

   The attorneys for the miners consumed the remainder of the afternoon session by presenting witnesses who had been employed by either the Delaware & Hudson company, the Temple Coal and Iron company or the Erie company, who testified that after the strike they were unable to get back their employment. This was done to shown that the companies were breaking part of the agreement by which the strike was ended and the commission appointed.

   On cross-examination it was shown they had not been re-employed because they had refused to do other work. A carpenter refused to do a laborer's work during the strike; a fire boss declined to be sworn as a coal and iron policeman, another fire boss refused to perform the duties of a fireman and others refused to do certain kinds of work.

 

1902 coal strike commissioners.

A DIFFICULT PROBLEM

For Strike Commission to do Justice to All in Making Awards.

   Scranton, Pa., Dec. 10.—The anthracite coal strike commission is today a more difficult problem in the matter of its award than over [sic]. Each day facing, because of the testimony which demonstrates a variant condition of affairs in the region, increases the difficulty of finding an award which will do justice to all. The commission at the beginning stated that no special submissions would be made and that those who were parties to the controversy would have to accept the one award. Testimony containing black charges against the Markle company has gone on the record unchallenged. The pitiable conditions testified to by the Markle miners has touched the members of the commission to the heart. These stories are not refuted. Counsel for Markle have not been present since last Saturday and the railroad companies are bitter today because they feel that the odium will be thrown upon them.

   Testimony late yesterday and today concerned the larger railroad companies and was mainly adduced to show a blacklist. A vigorous cross examination showed that conditions were vastly different in these mines than in those belonging to the Markle company. The contrast between these conditions is wide and the commissioners admit this morning that their award must be extremely broad to do justice to all.

   Counsel S. P. Wolverton of the Philadelphia and Reading this morning submitted statements of wages paid to contract miners and inside and outside laborers employed by the various coal companies of the railroad to the commission when the morning session opened. Alexander McVicker, a minor of Delaware & Hudson company, the first witness, said that shortly after his return to work he was put to work at a "heading,'' which a miner named Edward Lawler had refused to work. McVickar told the company he did not want to work a "heading" and wanted his old chamber back. He was discharged. Cross examination elicited the information that McVickar knew that Lawler would not work that "heading."

   Operators' counsel left it to be inferred that the union boycotted certain chambers and "headings" and that McVickar was simply following an order. McVickar said he had no orders to boycott that "heading," in fact he said he never knew that there existed such a method of boycott.

 

PAGE FOUR—EDITORIAL.

Substitute For Breach of Promise.

   From Paterson, N. J., comes a new method of punishing recreant lovers. It appears that Miss Josephine Jerdoct was engaged to be married to Mr. Raymond Hopper, but the latter, for some reason which is not explained, finally decided that he did not wish to be the young lady's lord and master. He therefore broke the engagement and gave up the habit of calling at the Jerdoct home. The young lady might have sued him for breach of promise and exhibited his letters in court, but she didn't. She sent out invitations to her friends bidding them to attend her wedding on a certain evening, and when they arrived they found a large table spread with an effigy of the absent Mr. Hopper at its head.

   At her suggestion her lady friends pulled the effigy's nose, the young men kicked it around the room, jokes were made concerning the thing, and it was subjected to all the indignities the lady and those who sympathized with her could think of. Finally, at the conclusion of the ceremonies, the stuffed man was flung out of the house, and Miss Jerdoct announced that diplomatic relations were ended forever between her and the one who had failed to fulfill his part of the transaction.

   Miss Jerdoct's method is certainly unique and may well be recommended to young women placed in a similar position. It is comparatively cheap. It calls for no attorney's fees and involves no tiresome hours in stuffy courtrooms, while it furnishes more or less amusement for the aggrieved and her friends which she or they would not get if she took the case to court. While the recreant lover is not muleted in pecuniary damages, he will, if not utterly wanting in sensibility, be made to suffer in feeling by being held up to ridicule. On the whole, Miss Jerdoct's plan would seem to be an excellent substitute for a breach of promise suit.

 

ARSENIC FOUND.

Prof. Chamont's Report in the Case of Adam Kiehl.

RECEIVED BY CORONER SANTEE.

Says Organs Submitted to Him for Examination Contained Arsenic in Large Amounts—An Inquest will be Held Dec. 15 at Coroner Santee's Office.

   Dr. E. M. Sautee has received the following report from E. M. Chamot of Cornell university, who has competed the examination of the viscera of William Kiehl, husband of Maude Kiehl, who was charged with giving her brother-in-law, Adam Kiehl, strychnine, but who was discharged after a hearing before Dr. Santee:

   Ithaca, N. Y., Dec. 10, 1902.

   Dr. E. M. Santee, Coroner Cortland Co., Cortland, N. Y.

   Dear Doctor—The examination of the material submitted to me for analysis in the case of William Kiehl has given the following results:

   The liver, kidneys, spleen, intestine and lungs received Nov. 5, 1902, all contain arsenic in large amount.

   The comfortable received Nov. 17, 1902 contains also a relatively large amount of arsenic quite uniformly distributed throughout the whole fabric.

   At your suggestion no analysis was made of the floor scrapings, etc., since such an examination seemed unnecessary in the light of the results obtained on the above mentioned material.

   Respectfully yours, E. M. Chamot.

   It is learned from Dr. Santee that the body of William Kiehl was not embalmed, consequently it cannot be said that the poison in the body of William resulted from the fluid used by an undertaker, as was claimed when poison was found in the viscera of his brother, Adam Kiehl. The doctor says that the undertaker went to the home of William Kiehl at the time of his death, but as it was extremely cold weather he decided not to embalm the body. The post mortem examination also revealed the fact that there was only one perforation of the body, and that was in the abdomen to let out the gases.

   The comfortable that Prof. Chamot speaks of in his report is one that William Kiehl's sister, Mrs. Fred Shearar, sent to the Kiehl residence to place under her brother, who, it is said, vomited almost incessantly just before his death in February. This comfortable had been washed but, it is claimed, this would only tend to distribute the poison through the cotton lining of the comfortable.

   Dr. Santee has decided to hold an inquest into the matter of the death of William Kiehl as a result of the chemist's report. The inquest is set down for Dec. 15 at Dr. Santee's office.

 

COURT ADJOURNED.

Motion to Reduce Term of Sentence of Gooding and Corcoran.

   The motion to reduce the term in which S. N. Gooding and J. H. Corcoran should be kept within the jail limits was argued before Judge Eggleston this morning at the judge's chambers. Briefs will be submitted next Friday and a decision rendered. James Dougherty appeared in behalf of Gooding and Corcoran, and the motion was opposed by E. E. Mellon. County court was adjourned after the argument.

 

Died at Greene.

   Mrs. H. S. Thompson, aged 59 years, 3 months and 20 days, died at her home in Greene, N. Y., on Thursday, Dec. 4, inst. Mrs. Thompson was a native of Cortland, where and in Homer she passed all of her life except the last ten years. In this vicinity she was better known as Miss Dorcas E. Kinney and was a sister of Mr. F. G. Kinney of this city.

 

Common Council.

   The Cortland common council held an adjourned meeting last evening to make up the tax budget, but on account of the fact that the board of supervisors had not reported the amount of state and county tax to be raised no action was taken. The board adjourned until Friday night.

 

Horton-Jackson.

   Mr. Ralph Horton and Mrs. Lulu Jackson, both of this city, were married at the First M. E. parsonage in Rochester by Rev. Charles E. Hamilton on Dec. 1. Mr. and Mrs. Horton will reside in Cortland.

 

BOARD OF SUPERVISORS

Convened This Morning After Adjournment Last Saturday.

THE PREBLE APPEAL DECISION.

Contract With Onondaga County Penitentiary for Care of Prisoners—More Good Roads—Compensation of Clerk and Janitor for Session—Report of Committee in the Matter of Bonded Indebtedness.

   The board of supervisors convened this morning at 10 o'clock after the adjournment of last Saturday. All were present except Mr. Chatterton.

   The clerk read the decision of the state tax commissioners, which was published in full in Tuesday's Standard. A letter from the secretary of the state board stated that the decision was delayed a few days on account of the illness of one of the commissioners.

   A communication from the superintendent of the Onondaga county penitentiary to the clerk of the board gave the information that the institution did not care to make a contract that would give any of the prisoners received the option of paying a line.

   Upon motion of Mr. Kinyon the contract with the penitentiary authorities, providing for the payment of $2.10 a week for the maintenance of each prisoner sent to the penitentiary during the year 1903, was adopted.

   A petition of the town board of Homer, asking that the highway between the north corporate line of the village of Homer, and running northerly to the south line of the town of Scott be improved, was received. This road is commonly known as the "Scott road," and is about 4 miles in length.

   Upon motion of Mr. Bennett it was determined by the board that this road should be improved under the provision of the state good roads act.

   Upon motion of Mr. Allen the Cortland Daily Standard and the Cortland Democrat were designated to publish the official canvass for the ensuing year, and the Cortland Semi-Weekly Standard and the Cortland Democrat were designated to publish the election notices for the same period.

   Upon motion of Mr. Bennett the compensation of the clerk of the board for the session was fixed at $200.

   Upon motion of Mr. Shuler the compensation of the janitor was fixed at $50 and $10 was allowed for extra work.

   The committee that was appointed to determine if the towns that are bonded for railroads should receive such exemption in their assessments in the value of the bonded indebtedness reported that such towns are entitled to exemptions. Formerly there was a provision that such exemptions should be given for a period of thirty years, but by an act of the [state] legislature in 1898 the time limit was removed. No exemptions were given the towns of Cincinnatus, Cortlandville, Cuyler, Solon and Truxton, the bonded towns, last year upon the theory that the thirty years had expired. Upon motion of Mr. O'Donnell it was voted to refund to the five towns the amount due each that resulted from not including this matter in the report of the equalization committee of last year, and a committee was appointed to fix the amounts to be refunded.

   The equalization committee reported this afternoon, and it is thought that an adjournment will be taken tomorrow.

BREVITIES.

   —The fire board held its regular meeting last night. The bills for the month were audited.

   —A regular meeting of the L. C. B. A. will be held this evening at 8 o'clock. A large attendance is desired.

   —A regular meeting of the L. O. T. M. will be held tomorrow evening at 7:30 p. m., at which time the nomination and election of officers will occur.

   —The new display advertisements today are—Pearson Bros. Big fire, smoke and water sale of furniture, page 8; W. W. Bennett, Sterling Oak stoves, page 5; Corner grocery, Flour sale, page 4.

 

THOMAS B. REED DEAD, STATEHOOD BILL, REED EDITORIAL, RAY DICKINSON, PATRONS OF INDUSTRY, AND COUNTY COURT

Thomas Brackett Reed.

Cortland Evening Standard, Monday. December 8, 1902.

THOMAS B. REED DEAD.

Ex-Speaker Died at Washington Sunday Morning.

WAS SICK ONLY FIVE DAYS.

Remains Started Sunday Afternoon For Portland, Where the Interment Will Take Place Tuesday—Sympathetic Callers at the Arlington Hotel. No Ceremony at Washington.

   Washington, Dec. 8.—Thomas Brackett Reed, former speaker of the house of representatives, and for many years prominent in public life, died here at 12:10 o'clock Sunday morning in his apartments in the Arlington hotel. The immediate cause of death was uraemia.

   The remains of Hon. Thomas Brackett Reed, left Sunday afternoon for Portland, Me., his former home, where the interment will take place Tuesday afternoon. They were placed aboard a special train leaving Washington at 4:50 o'clock and running as the second section of the Federal express.

   Accompanying the body were Mrs. Reed, the widow; Miss Catherine Reed, the former speaker's daughter; Hon. Amos L. Allen, Mr. Reed's successor in the house of representatives; Asher C. Hinds, Mr. Reed's parliamentary clerk while speaker, and Augustus G. Payne of New York, a lifelong friend.

   At Mrs. Reed's request there were no ceremonies of any kind here and at Portland they will be of a simple character.

   During the entire day there was a stream of sympathetic callers at the Arlington hotel, where the body of Mr. Reed lay awaiting removal to the railroad station. They included President and Mrs. Roosevelt, members of the cabinet, the senate and house and diplomatic corps. Many persons in private life also called.

   Neither Mrs. Reed nor her daughter saw any of the visitors, who simply left cards. It was not generally known that the body of the deceased would be taken from the city so soon and President Roosevelt had invited Mrs. Reed and her daughter to be his guests at the White House pending its removal, which invitation under the circumstances they were compelled to decline.

   The body was enclosed in a casket with heavy oxidized extension handles and on the top was a solid silver plate on which had been engraved the following simple inscription:

   "Thomas Brackett Reed,

   "Oct. 18, 1839—Dec. 7, 1902."

   The casket remained at the hotel until about 4 o'clock in the afternoon, when it was brought down stairs and lifted into the hearse, the undertaker's assistants and the employes [sic] of the hotel acting as body bearers. Then without ceremony or display of any kind it was removed to the railroad station. On the casket rested two floral offerings, one of them from the widow and the other from Mrs. Roosevelt.

   Soon after the body left the hotel, Mrs. Reed and her daughter, Mr. Payne, Mr. Allen and Mr. Hinds, who accompanied the body to Portland, were driven to the special train in waiting,

   Among those at the railroad station when the train departed were Senator and Mrs. Lodge, Justice McKenna of the supreme court, General Draper of Massachusetts and Representatives Hitt and Littlefield.

   The special train carrying the funeral party was made up of the composite car Brutus, the sleeper Harvard and a day coach.

   Mr. Littlefield expects to go to Portland to attend the funeral and Representative Burleigh, who is there already, also is expected to be present. As far as tentatively arranged here the funeral will take place some time Tuesday afternoon from the First Parish Unitarian church.

 

STATEHOOD BILL.

Senate Will Take It Up Wednesday. House Adjourned on Account of Mr. Reed's Death.

   Washington, Dec. 8.—In accordance with the unanimous agreement of last session, the senate will take up the statehood bill next Wednesday and it is expected to remain the unfinished business for some time thereafter.

   The bill undoubtedly will provoke considerable debate and it is generally believed that it will continue to receive the attention until the adjournment for the Christmas holidays at least.

   Senator Beveridge, as chairman ol the committee on territories, will call the bill up Wednesday, and probably will make a speech in support of the report in favor of the substitute bill presented by the committee. Other members of the committee who agree with him will follow. All of them will give careful attention to the testimony taken by the sub-committee which recently visited the territories.

   The committee's written report has not yet been submitted to the senate and this will probably be put in on Wednesday. The report will analyze the testimony, dealing with the questions of soil, mines, agricultural possibilities, educational facilities and general fitness of the population of the various territories for statehood.

   It is generally understood that a strong position will be taken in opposition to the claims of New Mexico and Arizona, considerable stress being laid on the fact that a large percentage of the people of those territories do not use the English language and that interpreters are necessary in the conduct of the business of many of the courts.

   It is expected that the immigration bill will continue to receive desultory action on Monday or Tuesday, but the proceeding with reference to this bill will consist largely in the reading of the bill and the consideration of amendments.

   There will be more or less of executive business during the week and in all probability another adjournment from Thursday until the following Monday.

 

AFFAIRS AT THE MINES.

Remarkable Conditions Disclosed by the Evidence.

   Scranton, Pa., Dec. 8.—The remarkable condition of affairs at the mines of G. B. Markle and company testified to by witnesses at the session of the anthracite commission on Saturday is causing much apprehension among the large railroad operators. They make no secret of the fact that they don't propose to be blamed for Markle's alleged sins and today finds the operators more on the defensive than at any time since the hearings commenced. Counsel Darrow for the miners was busy all day examining witnesses who will be called to tell of their work and treatment at the Markle mines. John Markle is known as a hard fighter throughout the region and his appearance before the commission is expected at any time. Justice Gray when the hearing commenced this morning, said that the operators had been given much time for the submission of data on earnings and hours of employees and the number of men employed and the commission desired that such statements should be presented at once. The commission, said Judge Gray, wished to examine this data and thereby ascertain what future testimony might be heard. Some of the railroad companies' counsel said that such statements completed would be submitted.

 

PAGE FOUR—EDITORIAL.

Thomas B. Reed.

   The announcement of the death of Thomas Brackett Reed, former speaker of the house of representatives, at 12:30 a. m. Sunday, coming close on the heels of favorable bulletins as to his condition, added the shock of suddenness to an event which, at any time and no matter how clearly and long foreseen, would have saddened the entire nation. He was a great, versatile, patriotic statesman, and a genial, whole-souled, lovable man. With all his various gifts and achievements, however, be will be known to history chiefly as the speaker of the lower house of congress who made it possible for the majority of that body to transact public business without being obstructed and set at defiance by the minority. No congressman, under the Reed rules, can sit in his seat, refuse to answer to his name and thus aid in preventing a quorum.

   Those who knew him intimately as friend and companion, as well as in the capacity of politician, orator and statesman, and in the discharge of his high duties as a public official, are best fitted to speak of him in the fullness of his personality, and from the tributes of such as these we select the following. The first is from the New York Sun, the second from the Buffalo Express.

   Tom Reed of Maine is dead and we are sorry for it. There are few men in public life that the country could less afford to spare. Tom Reed was a great man and a good man. A quarter of a century of warm friendship taught us to know him in that close and personal aspect that is commonly destructive of the abstract and public apprehension of a man. Did it detract from his figure? Not a bit of it. He grew bigger and broader and greater and more lovable with each succeeding year; and now that he is gone we know our loss to be irreparable. Never, never again, shall we look upon the like of Tom Reed,

   He was a splendid character and there was nothing in all the length and breadth of our land that was more American than he. What a privilege, what an honor, to have Tom Reed for a friend. He was a politician, but we always thought he was a poor politician. He never drew a dishonest breath. The man was the soul of honesty. He was a statesman in spite of himself.

   Big in body, big in soul, grand in every quality that should denote or adore a man, Tom Reed leaves a great and deplorable emptiness where he stood. It is a grievous thing that he was not suffered to stay here yet a little while, for his possibilities of good to his country and of service to mankind were at their greatest.

   Farewell, true friend, brave heart. Peace to thy ashes and to thy name undying honor!

 

TOOK CARBOLIC ACID.

Ray Dickinson is in a Critical Condition.

THOUGHT IT WAS PEPPERMINT

And Took it by Mistake—Prompt Action by the Physicians May be the Means of Saving Boy's Life—Chances for Recovery About Even.

   Ray Dickinson, aged 14 years, son of Mrs. Helen Dickinson, 41 North Main-st., Cortland, is in a very critical condition, due to a dose of carbolic acid that be took by mistake last night. It is thought today by Dr. J. H. Benson, who attends him, that his chances for recovery are about even.

   When the boy got ready for bed last night he was taken with severe pains in his stomach, caused by eating too freely of candy. He was sent down stairs by his mother to get the peppermint bottle. He did not take a lamp with him. When he returned she detected the odor of carbolic acid and asked him what he had been using carbolic ointment for. Upon being told by the lad that he had not used the ointment, Mrs. Dickinson repeated her assertion that she smelled carbolic acid. The boy then said that it must be that he had taken carbolic acid for peppermint.

   The mother, nearly frantic from fear, got the boy down stairs where he collapsed upon the floor. Clad in her nightdress, and with bare feet she rushed out of doors, waded through snow banks, and reached the back door of the residence of Dr. Julia H. Spaulding, who lives next door, and succeeded in rousing the family and making her wants known.

   In the meantime the cries of the woman had attracted the attention of W. C. Bouck, who lives nearby, and Attorney E. C. Alger and Charles Corcoran, who were passing along on the street. The three each started in different directions for a doctor, but only one, Dr. Benson, was found at home. He arrived within a few minutes from the time the dose was taken, and Dr. Spaulding was soon afterwards at the boy's side.

   When Dr. Benson arrived he found no heart action, and he hastily administered a hypodermic injection. He then literally crammed whites of eggs and lard down the boy's throat to counteract the influence of the powerful dose.

   The boy rallied somewhat at this and his cries of pain were most pitiful. It is thought that he took one swallow of the burning liquid.

   Last night soon after the accident the temperature of the lad was subnormal. Today he has a temperature of 103 1/2 degrees and Dr. Benson is apprehensive that either inflammation of the stomach, pneumonia or kidney trouble may set in.

   In regard to the effect of carbolic acid when taken into the stomach, Dr. Benson says that it is much the same as would be produced by running a red hot iron down the throat. There is no need of pumping for the acid for as soon as it comes in contact with the tissues its strength is spent.

   Mrs. Dickinson said today that the peppermint bottle had been removed from the shelf where it formerly stood to a table, and she thought the boy knew of the change. The bottle that held the carbolic acid is about the same size as is the one in which the peppermint is kept. The boy took the liquid direct from the bottle. Why he should attempt to take medicine as he did is not known.

 

LOCAL PERSONALS.

   Mr. C. G. Maybury of Winona, Minn., arrived in Marathon Friday and will spend a month with relatives in Cortland and vicinity. Mr. Maybury has not been in Cortland before in thirty years.

 

PATRONS OF INDUSTRY.

Annual Meeting and Election of Officers.

   The Patrons of Industry held their regular annual meeting for the election of officers last Saturday at Good Templars' hall. The forenoon session was taken up in a discussion of legislative matters, and the action of the association will be forwarded to Senator Green of this senatorial district and to Assemblyman Dickinson.

   After the usual routine of business in the afternoon the following officers were elected:

   President—H. B. Stevens, Tula.

   Vice-President—A. J. Sears, Cortland.

   Secretary— E. R. Babcock, Cuyler.

   Treasurer—H. J. Reed, Cortland.

   Business Agents—A. J. Sears, Jerome Holl.

   Trustee for Three Years—J. L. Kinney.

   Trustee for One Year—William Short.

   H. J. Reed, G. A. Bliss and John Snell were appointed a committee to confer with the business agent in regard to purchasing fertilizer. E. R. Babcock was elected as delegate to the state convention.

 

The Normal News.

   The Normal News for November, which has just been distributed, is one of the brightest and best edited numbers of The News that has been put out of late. It contains a professional article by Miss Mary A. Woodbury, Normal '97, two rostrum articles, poetry, exchanges, personals, editorials, locals, athletics articles, convocation articles, and club notes. The issue reflects great credit upon Editor-in-Chief Ray L. Butterfield and his able corps of assistants.

 

COUNTY COURT.

Opened at the Court House This Morning.

   There is not much doing at the session of county court which opened at the courthouse this morning. It is thought that the session will be completed by Wednesday afternoon.

   The case of The People vs. John H. House, Orton A. House and John C. House, indicted for manslaughter, has not yet been called but it is understood that it will be put over the term on account of the necessary absence of Comptroller N. L. Miller, who is one of the attorneys for the defendants.

   The case of The People vs. Mark Jacobs, indicted for burglary in the third degree, was put over the term on account of sickness.

   Frank S. Bennett, indicted for grand larceny in the second degree, was arraigned and pleaded not guilty. The case was put over the term on account of illness in his family from scarlet fever and a consequent quarantine of his premises. He was represented by his attorney C. V. Coon.

   The matter of the person and estate of Mary A. Barnes is now on trial before a jury. The action is for the purpose of getting a committee appointed to take charge of her property. The case is being conducted by Attorney Fred Hatch.

   Micolangelo Cauestraro, an Italian, Nocenzo Mastropaolo, an Italian, and Wallace W. Raymond, an Englishman, gave proofs and became citizens of the United States.

 

Lodge of Perfection emblem.

BREVITIES.

   —The Lodge of Perfection meets at 7:30 o'clock tonight.

   —The Primary and Junior union will meet tomorrow evening at 7 o'clock at the First Baptist church. All primary and junior teachers are invited.

   —The new display advertisements today are--M. W. Giles, Christmas goods, page 7; F. H. Maricle, Auction of harness, robes, etc., page 7; C. F. Thompson, grapes, etc., page 5.

   —Mrs. Mary B. Wood of Ithaca will speak at the Prohibition Alliance meeting this evening at G. A. R. hall on the subject of the National W. C. T. U. convention recently held at Portland, Me. All are invited.