DAKOTA "COUNTY HERALD.
VOLUME XV
DAKOTA CITY, NEK., FRIDAY, JUXR 14, 1907.
NUMBER 42.
LATEST BY TELEGRAPH
SUMMARY OP THB NEWS OP
THE WHOLE WORLD.
GRAFT FOR SCIIMITZ
nt'EP DKCLAHES HE DIVIDKD
WITH THE MAYOIL
Schmltz Hears Former Friend Flatly
Ctmtradlct 1 1 in Sworn Testimony,
and Later Listens to Terrlflo Ar.
, rnlgnmcut of Prosecutor.
Wednesday was an earburnlng day
for Mayor Schmltz. of San Francisco.
Seated at the counsel table before the
altar of the Jewish synagogue tn Bush
Btreet he heard Abe Ruef, his former
political friend, philosopher and guide,
practically call him a perjurer to the
Jury, and with that same Jury he lis
tened to a scathing denunciation of
himself at the hands of Prosecutor
Hiram Johnson. And If there Is balm
for scourged feelings In the speech
that closed the day, the speech of his
own attorney, Parrett, he took no
open heed. 'Indeed, during the most
of the two hours and fifty-flve minutes
Mr. Barrett was speaking the mayor
was either glancing over newspapers
or burled deep In typewritten pages
of testimony. Hut no word of the pros
.ccutor's address escaped his sensitive
eai-s.
Uuef was, of course, the sensation
of the day. His appearance on the
stand as a witness In rebuttal for the
prosecution is now accredited to the
tactical error of the defense In letting
the mayor testify, for It was to refute
the mayor's denials under oath that
he had participated In Ruef's "fei
that the prisoner ex-boas was called.
,Ruef told the Jury that he went to
Schmltz' former residence and hand
ed to the mayor at stated Intervals
one-half of the "fees" of 5,000 and
13,000 paid him by the proprietors of
the five foremost of the French res.
tau rants of San Francisco before the
fire.
FIGHT OX THE PACKEKS.
Kansas Cattle Kaisers Stand by
. Commission Men.
ttic
Comprising what Is said to be only
the Initial step for the Cattle Raisers'
Association In Kansas In protesting
against the packers' recent order not
to buy cowa, except subject to post
mortem examination, the executive
committee in session at Fort Worth,
Tex., adopted a resolution condemn
ing the action of the packers, which
they declare Is but a step towards pur
chasing all live stock under similar re
Ktrlctlons and an unjust discrimination
naglnst outside packers, and urging
members of the Cattl Raisers' asso
ciation In v particular, and all produc
ers of live stock In general, to stand
together and with the commission
men in resisting the packers In "their
unjust demands to apply said rules to
our cattle."
ELECTRIC SWING FALLS.
Accident Occurs In a Kansas
City
Amusement Resort.
The large electric swing at Electric
park, Kansas City, Mo., the new
amusement resort at Forty-sixth
street and Lydla avenue, fell to the
ground with a crash Tuesday, Injuring
eight persons, one seriously, when the
center shaft, sixty-five feet high, whlc'u
supports the cars, snapped at the base
and fell over. Miss Nellie Stiles sus
tained internal injuries and both of
her ankles were broken. She was re
moved to a hospital. The other injur
ed persons suffered only sprains and
bruises.
Killing of Masher Justified.
B. F. Cain, of Leesville, La., 22
years old, whose reputation as a
masher emboldened hliS to hug and
kiss young women he met on the
streets, was shot and killed by Thomas
E. Gant, a druKRist, who was-In com
pany with three girls when they were
Insulted by Cain. The slayer was re
leased from custody on the plea of
Justifiable homicide.
To Oyster liny for Summer.
President and Mrs. Roosevelt, Ad
miral and Mrs. Cowles, secretary and
Mrs. Loeb, and M. C. Latta, assistant
secretary, left Washington in the pri
vate car Magnet, attached to the regu
lar Pennsylvania railroad train, Wed
nesday morning for Oyster Bay, where
the president will spend the summer.
Hoy Struck by Rail Near Death.
As a result of being struck by a
baseball during an amateur game
played at Kenosha, Wis., William Sor
rensen, aged 18 years, a member of
the West End club of Racine, la be
lieved dying.
Sioux City Live Stock Market.
Wednesday's quotations on the
Sioux City live stock market follow;
Top steers, 6.00. Top hogs, $5.97 H.
Kill Wife and Himself.
Frank T. Edson, a lodging house
keeper at Loa Angeles, Cal., Tuesday
shot hla wife and Instantly killed her
and then blew his head off. The cou
ple had frequently quarreled over
financial matters.
Fire Destroys Church.
The Roman Catholic church of the
Bacred Heart at Ottawa, Ont., was de
stroyed by fire Monday night.
X200.000; Insurance, ISO.OOO,
ROADS DKCL.MIK WAR,
Order Assault
on All 2-Ocnt Fare
IjUWS. -
At a meeting of railroad executive
officials In Chicago Tuesday It vas
agreed to contest the recently passed
2-cent faro laws not only In Illinois,
but also In Mtssourl, Iowa, Minnesota, !
Nebraska and Arkansas. The laws of
Kansas and Wisconsin are acceptable
to the transportation lines and will not
be contested. In Nebraska, Arkansar
and Minnesota the laws are now In
force. The law In Missouri becomes
effective June 14; In Illinois, July 1
and In Iowa, July 4.
The general ground of the railroad
contention will be that population If
Inadequate to support the passengei
department on a 2-cent basis.
An effort will be made to show that
In Illinois, the most populous of th
western states having 2-cent rate laws,
the greater portion of the population
(Chicago suburbanites) already en-
Joys a rate of less than 2 cents a mile.
All lines were represented at the
meeting except the New York Central
and the Pennsylvania. President vln-
chell, of the Rock Island, In an Infor
mal talk after the meeting said the
law department!! had been Instructed
to get to work at once.
TWO-CENT FARE HILL VETOED.
New York Governor Turns Down tho
Measure.
Gov, Hughes, of New York, Tuesday
vetoed the bill Instituting a flat pas
senger rate of 2 cents a mile on every
railroad system In the state more than
150 miles long.
In the course of his veto message
the governor pointed out that the
"passage of the bill was not preceded
by legislative Investigation or suitable
Inquiry under the authority of the
state. Injustice on the part of the
railroad corporations toward the pub
tic does not Justify Injustice on the
part of the state toward railroad cor
poratlons." .
The governor refers to the public
.ervlce commission provided for In the
law recently enacted, and adds that
provision "Is made for inquiry Into
matters of freight rates and passenger
fares and for fixing such rates as shall
be found Just and reasonable. If a
passenger rate of 2 cents a mile is
Just and reasonable, it can be fixed. If
It is not just and reasonable, It should
be changed.
DICK MILITIA ACT.
Organizations Not Hied They Must Con
form to Provisions.
Acting Secretary of War Oliver has
addressed an Identical letter to the
governors of states and territories
having military organizations, calling
their attention to the fact that on
Jan. 21, next year, under the terms of
the Dick militia act, military organ
izations must conform to that of the
regular and volunteer armies of the
United States. Therefore Oliver sug
gests it Is the duty of the governors to
take the necessary steps to secure such
conformity In organizations by the
date named.
Says Oliver: "Failure to meet this
statutory requirement will reRult in
debarring the state from the use of
the allotment of the annual appropri.v
tion of $2,000,000 for the support of
the militia."
Over Score Die In the Sen.
Twenty-eight passengers. Including
wlve women and children, were
drowned, by the sinking of the French
schooner La Jalouse, from Cayenne
to St. Louis, Friday night.- The cap
tain and twenty-one, of the men
reached Barbadose Sunday.
Receivers for Steel I'lant.
Federal Judge , Holt, of New Yor
Tuesday appointed Congressman J V,
Olcott, former Congressman W. I
Ward and Angus Hecksher, financier,
temporary receivers for Mllllkei
Bros., a large steel manufacturing con
cern.
Kaiser to Meet Czar.
It Is learned from court circles that
the German' emperor Intends to meet
the Russian emperor during a summer
trip in Scandinavia. It is expected p
litical matters of great Importance wll
be discussed. The place of meeting l.
a secret.
Yale Awards Fellowship.
Darwin A. Leavltt, of Helolt, Wis
has been awarded the Hooker fellow
ship by the Yale divinity school. The
prize amounts to $1,200, is awarded
every two years, and the money is t
be used for the further study of the
ology In America, Europe and Pales
tine.
Attacks Girl; Gets Ten Years.
Arthur Caddock, a member of one
of the best known families of Keno
sha, Wis., pleaded guilty of attacking
the 8-year-old daughter of forme
Blierlff Henry Ttmme and was sen
tenced to ten years in the state pris
on.
Cabrera is All Kllt.
Dr. Ramon Bengoechoa. consul gen
eral for Guatemala, received a cub I
dispatch from President Cabrera, o
Guatemala, Tuesday reading: "The
president is all right."
t Not to Suspend Wheat Duty.
The French customs commission
Tuesday unanimously decided against
a proposal to temporarily suspend th
duties on wheat and flour owing to the
rise in the price of bread.
Colorado Hank Failure.
The Bank of Ouray, Colo., a state
Dank, closed J Is doors Tuesday. Th
liabilities are about $100,000. The as
teti are not stated, but are said not to
be equal to the liabilities.
THREAT Tt) PACKERS.
Chicago Teamsters to Strike Unlesa
Arc Advanced.
If a mutton chop la worth 6 cents
more a pound than two years ago Is a
teamster worth 4 cents an hour mora
'In wages?
Substantially this proposition was
put to the Chicago packers' Monday
by the Picking House Drivers' union
the members of which have voted to
go on strike next Saturday unless
their demands for better pay are
aranted. Retail nrlces of meat were
quoted by the teamsters tolshow that
their demands are Justified" by the in
creased cost of living.
George F. Golden, buslnese agent of
the union, called up Stephen Conway,
superintendent of Armour & Co. over
the telephone in the morning.
Mr. Conway, what Is the retail
price of mutton chops today?" in
quired Golden.
"They are celling at 22 cents a
pound In the markets," was the an
swer.
That is about 6 cents a pound
higher than two years ago. Steaks
and roasts also are higher, are they
not?" asked Golden.
"Yes, they are higher," said the su
perintendent.
"Then I have to inform you, Mr.
Conway." said Golden, "fhat your
teamsters voted Sunday that inas
much as living expenses have in
creased practically 25 per cent we
cannot work any longer unless we re
ceive an advance In wages of 15 per
cent"
Golden told about the same story to
representatives of the other packing
houses. They thanked him without
Indicating what will be done In the
matter. It is believed they will at
tempt a compromise.
SEES SIGHTS; MAKES TALK.
Roosevelt Puts In a Busy Day at Nor.
folk, Va.
Brought back to the Jamestown ex
position by the formal opening of Bul
loch hall, the ancestral home of his
mother at Roswell, Ga., and repro
duced there at the Georgia state build
ing, President Roosevelt Monday was
for the second time the central figure
of attraction on the exposition pro
gram.
Outside the features arranged In
connection with the celebration of
Georgia day, a military and naval
spectacle was not greatly dissimilar to
that which marked the vlBlt of the
president when the exposition was
thrown open. on April 26.
The president arrived with a special
party, Including Mrs. ' Roosevelt, on
the Mayflower, at 8:20 a. m. After
receiving the Georgia officials on
board as his guests, the reviewing
fleets assembled at Hampton Roads,
and he was landed at the exposition
grounds at 11.
RICH COCNTESS AS GYPSY.
Lnriy Grosvenor Out for the lteal
Thing In Simple Life.
According to a story published In
London Lady Arthur Grosvenor, sister-in-law
of the duke of Westminster,
the wealthiest duke in England, is
traveling about the country In the dis
guise of a gypsy. Her traveling es
tablishment is like an ordinary gypsy
van with baskets for sale hung about
it and a kettle, frying pan and sauce
pan slung betneath it. Lady Grosve
nor has been playing gypsy since May
27. She Is now traveling through Ox
fordshire. She gets up at 5 o'clock,
cooks her own breakfast and usually
takes the road at 8 o'clock. She may
possibly write a book on her experi
ence in the gypsy life.
Sorrowing Swain Attempts Suicide
Paul Rice, of Mount Vernon, Ind.,
took morphine and turned on the gas
in an attempt at suicide. He proba
bly will die. Several of his associates
had told the father of the girl he in
tended to marry that he had talked
about her. . . ,'
Muiky Guests In Peril.
The Princess Anne hotel at Virginia
beach, near Norfolk, Va., burned Mon
day. Over fifty guests had narrow es
capes. Two negro chambermaids are
missing. The Norfolk and Southern
railroad depot also was destroyed. The
loss Is $100,000.
SNiln Will Pny t'nele Sam.
The Spanish budget committee has
reported favorably the bill read In tho
chamber of deputies by the minister
of finance providing for the payment
of the loan raised by Spain In tho
United States In 1834.
Old School Man Is Dead.
Germanla Goodrich Alvord died at
Augusta, Ga., Saturday evening, aged
84 years. For 4 3 years he was state
superintendent of public schools in
Illinois.
WESTERN LEAGUE BASER ALL.
Schedule of Gamen Co lie Plajed at
Sioux City la.
Followl.ir Is a schedule of the West
ern League games to b played at
Bioux City In the Immediate future:
Des Moines June 17. 18. It, 20
Omaha July 6, 7, 8
Denver July 9, 10, 11
Pueblo July 12, 18. 14
Government Fights Bubonic Plague.
The government of Trinidad has
taken energetic measures to stamp out
the bubonic plague, and has cabled to
New York for large supplies of pro
phylactic serum.
Fire In Kan Francisco.
A fire In San Francisco on the cor
ner of Tenth and Market streets, Mon
day destroyed the carriage store of
, .
Studebaker Bros, and Quadt & Co.'s
paint store.
Nebraska
PASSING OF LIMNt.I.lt.
Omaha Art Collector SIimmI High In
v Masonic Circles.
With the passing away of George
W. Lln',nger, who was hurled Monday,
aside from the loss to Omaha and the
state of one of Its foremost cltlnens,
the country loses one of Its greatest
connoisseurs of art and Free Masoniy
one of its highest and must honored
members.
Mr. Llnlnger spent fifty years In
Masonry and traveled In all parts of
the world searching out the interest
ing points of the order. He has held
every office within the gift of the Ma
sons In Nebraska, and as long ago an
1860 was high in Masonic circles of
Illinois. He was Initiated at Peru,
111., Oct. 2, 1866. A few years ago he
went to Egypt In search of Masonic
data.
The Llnlnger Art gallery, founded
by the dead man, Is a monument to
his fame. He spent nearly $100,000
collecting the paintings which deco
rate its walls and the curios on ex
hibit In its museum. To the public he
gave this excellent exhibit without
charge. He found fault only with
those collectors who place their collec
tions beyond the vision of men. He
placed great confluence In the public
and never kept a guard at his gallery.
He took great pride in telling that this
confidence had never been abused.
The Llnlnger collection includes an
tique furniture gathered from the
four corners of the World by the
founder himself; paintings from the
old masters and antiquities dug from
the ruins of the old world. These
were placed in the gallery which ad
joined his home, and the only requi
site td view this treasure of art was
that the visitor register his name. Th
register w-as conveniently placed on
a table at the entrance and contains
the autographs of hundreds of nota
bles of this country and many mem
bers of royalty who have stopped In
Omaha with the sole purpose of visit
Ing the gallery.
Many American artists have re
ceived financial encouragement from
Mr. Llnlnger, who was ever ready to
assist the hard working student. Mrs.
Llnlnger, who survives him, will con
tinue to keep the gallery open to the
public.
PREFERS DEATH TO TRIAL.
Nebraskan Commits Suicide In Stanton
County Jail.
Hanging from the end of a leather
belt which had been tied to the bars
of the cell door, the dead body of
Henry Oltmans, aged 64, charged with
Incest, was found at 7 o'clock In tho
morning by the sheriff at Stanton.
The Jury was impaneled on Monday
and Oltman's trial on the frightful
charge was to have begun Tuesday
morning. The prospect evidently was
itoo much for the man, whose fumlty
had turned against him and who was
looked upon with contempt by the
public. It is not known at what hour
Oltmans committed the deed, but
there was no sign of life in the body
when the sheriff made his startling
discovery.
The daughter who was the alleged
Victim of Oltmans' lust was 18 years
of age. On April she gave birth to a
child. At thut time Oltmans had been
under arrest about three mouths.
The Oltmans family lives near Stan
ton on a farm.
TO LOSE TWO TEACHERS.
Minnesota Will Take Instructor from
Nebraska XInlverslty.
The University of Nebraska Is
about to lose two of her favorite pro
fessors. Dr. Frederic E. Clements has
accepted a call to the chair of botany
of the University of Minnesota. Dean
Roscoe Pound, of the college of luw,
who has been Invited to fill a similar
position at Northwestern, has gone to
Northwestern to confer about the
matter, and It Is considered very un
likely that he will refuse the flattering
offer. Both are young men, barely
more than 30 years of age, but can
show no Inconsiderable achievements
In their chosen lines ofjresearch. The
two are Joint authors of tho "Phyto-
geography of Nebraska."
Farmers Kiiuukc, In Fluid.
At the town of Syracuse, a few
miles west of Central City, Saturday
afternoon, two farmers, John Slefkln
and F. Kehlbeck, got Into an alterca
tion and a free for all fitfht ensued,
and when the melee was over Kehl
beck came out with a severe knife
wound in the back of his neck and ex
tending to the lower lobe of the right
ear. He nearly bled to death before
medical aid could be secured. Both
are well to do German farmers.
Klin Creek Man Is Drowned.
J. H. Vollmer, an old resident
Elm Creek, 62 yearB of uge, was
drowned Monduy afternoon while fish
ing In the head waters of the Kearney
canal south of Elm creek. Ills son
William was with him, but had taken
a boat for another part of the canal
He fell headforemost Into about ten
feet of water.
Demented Man leaves Train.
John Schwelzer was found Indued
In a lagoon by two farmers n-.Mr
Grand Island. The man had evidently
stepped from a truln at that poln' and
wandered twelve miles u'uuy. He hud
several hundred dollar on his person
and transportation to San Francisco,
punched from Omahu to Gran l Isl
and. Struck by Lightning.
The fine house of Mrs. U H. Woods,
six miles west of Table Hock, on Tur
key creek, was struck by lightning and
burned to the ground. The house was
joccupuled by a tenant and It Is under
stood none of the contents were suved.
Mend Get Fifteen Years,
I After being out eighteen hours, the
Jury rendered a verdict of guilty In
, the case of M. P. Smothers, charged
i Willi iiiceni ui nuiiv. juiiKr tteloer
sentenced him to fifteen years In the
with incest at Butte. Judge Westover
penitentiary at hard labor.
MOT1IKK SLAl:,' 11V ON.
Hoy Murders llcr Because She Hail
PnnliJied Iliiti.
The supposed accidental shooting
of Mrs. Thomas MclVy. In the north
west part of Hock county, by her 10-
year-old son, proved to have teen a
case of deliberate murder, the boy
having eonfewd to County Attorney
Douglas and Inter to several other
persons that ho shot his mother be
cause she had punished him severely.
The shooting occurred Friday. Sat
urday the officer went out to hold the
Inquest, st which it was developed that
the shooting was Intentional and the
coroner's Jury returned a verdict ac
cordingly.
The boy had claimed that he shot
his mother accidentally while shooting
at a meadow lark, but he confessed to
the county attorney, and later to sev
eral -persons, that he shot her Inten
tionally, and gave as a reason the fact
that she had been in the habit of pun
ishing him severely. In his confession
he stated that he got the gun In the
house while his mother's back was
turned, placed loaded shells In three
empty chambers, put the weapon In
his pocket, followed close behihd her
to the field where she was going to
plant some benns, and while she was
getting the seed ready for planting he,
at the distance of about ten feet, drew
the gun, and. deliberately aiming It
at the bnck of her head, fired and
killed her Instantly After she fell
he shot her again In the side nnd then
dropped the gun and ran to where a
couple of his brothers were working
In the same field.
The weapon used was a five-shot
double action 38-callber revolver.
Mrs. McCoy was a widow and was
living on a Klnkald homestead. She
leaves five young children. The boy
Is under arreBt.
NEW REPRIEVE FOR BARKER,
Execution of Murderer Is Again Post
Judge Holmes, of the district court,
granted Frank Barker a stay of exe
cution and ordered an Insanity hear
ing June 25. Barker was sentences! to
hang for the murder of his brother
and sister-in-law. Various delays
have taken place. Gov. . Mickey re'
prleved him for two years and the ex
ecutlou was set for June 15.
Two other men In th penitentiary
are condemned to die. One U Jay
O'Hearn. of South Omaha, who was
convicted of the murder of a saloon
keeper. He claims that another mem
ber of the party flrvd the fatal shot,
and the matter is now beforo the su
preme oourt Harrison Clark, a ne
gro, Is also from South Omaha. He
admits killing a man, but claims that
he acted In self-defense, and tho su
preme court has yet to pass on his
case.
None of the condemned men is will
ing to talk much about the crlm- for
which he was convlcted,s but they
show ,marked Interest nnd perhaps a
certain feeling of Importance when
ever they receive visits from their
counsel or mall relating to their cases,
According to the rules of the peniten
tiary a man under a death sentence Is
not compelled to work, but the war
den states that he has seldom known
a man to take advantage of this ex
omption. They find labor much prnf-
eninie to monotonous Idleness and
leisure for retrospection.
ESTATE IS SOLD.
Belonged to Voting Man Missing Three
Years.
A 160-aTe truct of land belonging
to William T. Nolan, the young man
who mysteriously disappeared from
Fremont about three years ago, was
sold at guardian's sale recently,' sub
ject to a mortgage arid a life estate in
his mother of $2,600, for $5,500, mak
Ing the gross price about $18,000. No
trace whatever has been obtained of
Nolan since he left the office of his
attorney, Waldo Wlntersteln, over
three years ago, telling him that he
was going to be gone awhile and to"
look after his business until he re
turned. Last fall an application was
made for the appointment of a guard
inn of his estate and his creditors at
tached the land, subject to the mort
gage and life estate. The amount real
ized at the salq will pay off ail Indebt
eaness arm jeavo about $2,000 sur-
plus for Nolan If he ever shows up.
Lnlmrcrs in Demand.
The scarcity of labor at Herman Is
something surprising. If there Is a
tramp hits town the farmer is right
on his trail. There ace dozens of
farmers who want hands, and want
thorn bad, but are unable to get any
one who Is willing to work. The Crow-
ell company had a car of coal to un
load, and the car had been on the
sidetrack for several days.
CIii.sh of 150 Confirmed.
One hundred and fifty persons, of
both sexes, the majority of whom
were young people, received the sac
rament of confirmation in St. Mary'a
Catholic church of West Point at the
hands of the bishop of the diocese, Rt,
Res-. Dr. Richard Scanned, of Omaha
This is the largest class confirmed in
the diocese for many years.
Nebraska IHincrul Directors.
The Nebraska Funeral Directors'
association met In annual session at
the Crelghton Medlcul institute in
Omaha recently. President Swanson,
of Omaha, presided, Introducing May
or Duhlman, who delivered an ad
dress of welcome.
Chancellor Iluiitinu.1ou to Retire.'
Dr. F. W. Anderson, of New Yor!
was the commencement day orator i
the VWMeyan university exercises I
University Place. Chancellor Hun
Ington tendered his resignation to tl
board of tiuMec to take effect In
yea r.
Klein Extradited to Nebraska.
Gov. Cummins, of Iowa, decided to
deny the request of tho Nebraska au
thoritles for requisitions for Oeorva
Meyers and I E. Hoe, alias, "Hand
and a Half" Kelly, but Frits Klein l
to got to Nebraska to stand trial for
thd alleged burglury of the Wlnne
tin go bank.
Water Works lloniN Defeated.
An election to vote on the Issuance
of bonds for water works wai hold at
Weston, and the bond were defea d
by two votes. This is the second trial,
RAILWAYSLAUGHTER
TERRIBLE INDICTMENT AGAINST
AMERICAN MANAGERS.
Mere Attention Paid to Increnalna;
Dividends than to tho. Practical
Methods of Transportation Acci
dents Likely to Increase.
A list of tue wrecks In the Inst twelve
months constitutes an awful Indictment
against the American railway mnua
ger. In no part of the civilised world
Is transportation attended by so ninny
perils as In the United Stntcs, and of
late the danger seems to be Increasing
Instead of decreasing.
Scarcely a dny pusses that the news
papers do not have to reKrt some new
disaster, tn ninny Instances the trage
dies are the result of cross careless
ness on the part of the railroad people.
Spreading rails, oKn switches, dis
regard of orders, . carelessness of en
gineers, conductors and train dispatch
ers explain some of the other disasters.
In a few cases washouts, snowstorms
and fogs caused wrecks. These are the
only Instnnces In which tt. railroad
people cun bo held .blameless.
Boiuctblo Radically Wrong.
No part of the country seems to have
escaped, and, If anything, conditions
appear to be worse on big railroad
systems, where passenger trnfllo Is sup
posed to be attended by every sufeguard
that experience can suggest, than It Is
on smaller lines, where roadbeds are
weak and tho equipment Is not up to
tho times.
That there is something radically
wrong with the railroads is certain.
James J. Hill, president of the Great
Northern, acknowledged this when he
aid that he never took a railroad trip
nowadays that be did not fenr disaster.
Transportation men say the railroads
are not to blame and that railroad
managers are struggling against condi
tion, such as they never confronted
before and which they could not guard
Against They say the public has no
conception of the strain to which the
railroads have been subjected In the
last year 6r two. There has been a
tremendous Increase In traffic. The In
crease came suddenly. The rnllronds
have done thoir best to handle it, but
they have been unable to get cars or
locomotives to meet the needs. From
tho Atlantic to the Paclflc and from
the Gulf to the Great Lakes nearly
every road Is glutted, with freight. - If
this excess of business could be bundled
promptly tho railroads would mnke
immense profits. Tho railroads did
profit largely in the enrly duys of the
rise in the tide of trnlllc, hut there
was no end to the volume of freight,
and soon men and machinery betran to
suffer from tho strain. Curs and loco
motives need rest and repairs Just ns
human beings do. When they do not
receive it they ore liable fo brenk down.
Men rnnnot be pressed to the limit of
endurance week in and week out, month
after month, without giving vny.
Railroads to Blame.
But this explanation does not fully
explain. Men who go to the root of
the trouble lay tho responsibility for
present conditions upon the shoulders
of half a dozen big men, who know
more about finance than they do about
practical railroading.
There has been an evolution In the
railroad business In the United States
hi the last eight or ten years. It hns
been a period of reorganization and
consolidation. Musters of finance rather
than masters of trunsiortutlon affairs
bare ruled In the councils of old and
A PATHETIC
j-Oincinnntl l'ost.
Sprla thai Tall Distance.
M. Gerard, an officer of the French
navy, has Invented an instrument culled
the telimeter, which enables one to find
accurately the distance of auy visible ob
ject whose height is known, without com
plex calculations. The principle on which
this Instrument works is the combination
of two prismatic rings so adjusted as to
give a variable refractive angle, enabling
the user by means of a graduated scale
to read off the distance of the object
looked at without stopping to go through
a aaatbematlcal calculation.
new system Nearly every merger haf
been attended by a stock Issue, large!
of water, which has been saddled upoa
the railroads. The masters of finance)
were discounting the growth of the na
tion and the development of the pnv
ertlcs they were consolklntlng.
Every observant person has been
aware of the fact that since the Spanish-American
War the nation's business)
hns been expanding at a great rate.
The only branch of the country's mech
anism Unit brs not kept pace with this
.'xpanslon hns been the railroad. It has
been the policy of the masters of
Hunnce to check the building of new;
Hues, force Independent ones into sub
nisslon and concentrate traffic so that
t would yield the largest possible reT
lime to the trunk systems which the,
.ontrolled. They have succeeded. Tb
railroads of the United States to-day
are In few hands. But In their hunger
for large profits and early returns
from tho properties they have absorbed
the musters of finance bnve neglected
the physical well being of the railroads.
They hove looked more to net earnings
thnn to Improved roadbeds, additional
equipment and better service to th
public. They viewed with more favor
the mniuiger, who worked men and
curs to the limit nil the time and show
ed a reduction of operating expenses.
with a big. Increase in gross earnings
thnn the one who always sought to Im
prove the property. .
When about a year ago the tremen
dous bule In the volume of traffic caaie
suddcnly it found the railroads unpre
pared. The masters of flnnnce bad not
added mnny locomotives and cars to the
possessions of the properties they had
absorbed. Neither had they extended
the. terminals of the various roads to
meet the requirements of a constantly
growing Unfile. Division superintend
ents, ynrdinnsters, masters of transport
tntlon, truln dispatchers, conductorav
firemen, engineers and brakemen did.
all they could. They buckled down to
their work as only well-trained, earnest,
efficient men will do. When they wers
called upon to work extra hours tbey
did so willingly. But they could naks
no Impression on the flood. The inore
they battled, the more freight seemed
to pour In UHn thetn. Locomotives,
capable of drawing thirty loaded cars
were pressed to drag trains of thirty
nix or forty. Men who could work
safely nnd well twelve or v fourteen .
In urs a dny were kept on duty slxteers
Q" eighteen, Cnrs that should go to thav
re.nr shops were kept In service oa
the (ilintice thnt they would get through)
nil right. ' .
As It wns with freight so was It wit.
pnHKcngcr traffic. Every pnssenger car
that could be utilized seemed to bs
needed. One branch of the servlcs '
seemed to keep puce with the other 1
growth.
And now the rnllroads are In ths
throes of the reaction trom the strain.
Equipment hns given way and me
bnve given way. Hundreds of persons
have been killed nnd hundrsnls mors
probably will be slaughtered befors
nfTuIrs cnine to a normal state. Th
dozens nnd dozens of freight wrecks
with the killing or maiming of rait
rond employes linve lxen too snail la
Interest to nttrnct genernl attention.
Tear Kill Disease Gcrtna.
Dr. C. Linilnhl of Copenhagen tells lay
the London Lanivt of bis discovery that
tears have the power to kill various bac
teria which produce disease in the humaa
body. This bncteriacldal capacity of ths
lachrymal fluid is not due to its Inor
Kiinisms which it contains, known as leu
cocytes. The fluid when heated and'
cooled fails to prevent the growth of bao
terla to the same degree as when in ItaV
normal st,nte.
APPEAL.
From Far nod Near.
Four churches and a school house wars
wrecked by a tornado at Rome, Tex.
There are about 40,000 persons Idle la
San Fraut'isco because of labor troubles,
The fire department of Wyoming, Ohio
wns burned out whi-u the town kail was
destroyed.
The management of the Jamestown ex
position will be undertaken temporari
and without salary by James M. Bark,
former presides of the Seatoard
Llus.
r.