HEAR DEATH
THE PRINCE OF WALES ESCAPES
BEING SHOT.
DEED OF A YOUNG BOY
Me Fires a Revolver at the Prince
Just As the Train Was Pulltng
From the Station.
Brussels. (Special.) The greatest
consternation was caused here Wed
nesday bv an attempt on the lif" of
the Prince of Wales.
His roya! highness, accomr-anied h"
tbe Princess of Wales and their suite,
srrived in the Belgian capital at 4 1-"'
o'clock, coming from Calais an'l being
n route for Copenhagen via Cologne.
Whil they were waiting for th .'
V,gT.2 express to 1 made up the roal
carriage was !aced on a siding on tl it
Oare du Nord.
The Princess of Wales and the ladle?
f her suite remained In the carriage
ami partook of refreshments. So the
prince, accompanied by two secretaries,
walked up and down the platform en
gaged in conversation. A few minutes
before the scheduled departure of the
Cologne express at 4:4a the prince re
entered the royal carriage.
At this Instant a youth, apparently
aboot 16 years of age, crossed the plat
form. Jumped on the footboard of the
carriage and fired two shots with a re
roiver in the direction of the prime.
Re, was preparing ti fire again when
the stationmaster knocked up hit- arm
and the revolver fell to the ground. The
rooth nas Immediately seized and mn
'Juoted to one of the waiting rooms,
where be a kept in custody.
WALES TAKES IT COOLLY.
The stationmaster then returned to
tee royal carriage to assure" himself
that no harm had happened to any of
the occupants. He found that the bul
s had gone through a window on the
opposite side of the carriage. The
yrJnce of Wales, who had shown the
jrreatest calmness and self-control
throughout, asked the stationmaster if
would-be assassin had been arrcst
and upon his receiving a reply in
the affirmalive. the train steamed oft
te. Celogne.
The prisoii'T, was conducted to th
ae&rest police station, where lie was
just through an examination. He stat-d
tfrai his name was Jean Baptist, sip
iio and that he was IS4 years of age
otp! are apprentice to a tinsmith.
- Two versions are current as to fur
"Jitr statements made by him. One is
ia.' he stated that the crime had long
4 en premeditated and that he desired
? kill the Prince of Wales because ho
vzs the heir apparent to the throne of
x setintry that was killing so many
iCsOsand persons In South Africa.
TBs second version is that Sipido is
anarchist and that he expressed re
flrrai (hat he had not succeeded in klli
mg the Prime of Wales, declaring that
1 would try again on the first oppor
tunity. SOW TUB BOY WAS IXSPIKKD.
It is supposed that he first eomeived
the idea of the crime at a meeting of
rw.S.a held Tuesday at which sev
,.?' of the speakers denounced the
Fntish policy in South Africa in uti
Tteayored terms, and M. Vandervelde, a
metali'st leader, uttered the following
wrrds:
"Tomorrow the Prince of Wales wil
ymts' through Belgium going to TVn
Yiark. He must know Belgian opinion
-s-fricfi sgrees with that of the rest of
lurope In calling for the cessation of
this feloody and unjust war instigated
r Cecil Rhodes and others to substl
itte white labor for cheap black labor
to tie Transvaal mines."
, mrNISHMEXT FOR HIM.
' Cla account of the extreme youth of
the would-be assassin, the only punish-i-ert
under Belgian law that can be
f hren him is to confine him in a reform
atory ontil he reaches his 21st year.
After the arrest of Sipido a very re
grettable accident took place. As soon
la Jt was known what had happened, a
rye and excited crowd poured onto
the platform, among them a young stu
aent named Vameroy. He noticed the
rvoTver which had been knocked out
t Slpido's hand and picked It up with
intention of handing it to the pro
rr anthorities. Vnfoi tunately for bin.
'tuts Action was misconstrued by the
TWi, which, seeing the revolver in
1i-? Sao. Imagined that, it was he who
lad" W at the Prince of Wales.
The indignant populate set uim him
id h'jfoi'e the police: could come to his
wis or the mistake explained he was
r.j severely maltreated.
Biscefver for Flour Trust.
-fin York. (Special.) An order Wa
.-fc in f-ourt of hsnvery at Jers-y I
Li.y; jnlt'-fic. P"f"li,llent the appolut
niWfV of (ieneffll Samuel Thorns of
Nrw York. Albert l'rlng of Minne
swdis and C. K. Kimball of fumrnltt.
jr. i.. as receivers nf the United Slates
Flcur and Milling company, otherwise
nown ss the flour trust. The appoint
ment of a temporary receivership was
sjiadc on February 24. Jt was objected
to tij Thorns W. Sfliackelford of Hu
fjerlor. Wis., who wned $75,000 of the
tosnpany's bonds. The plaintiff alleged
tktt the plan of the reorganisation of
CMRVaiy mi fait", as its purpose
mtl protect particular and favored
latere tB ezpense of the mlnor
ey tsMfrata. The right of the organ-
UltW to centfot lh new
for ftrMI at years. It was
mm .iwwary M opprw-
THERE'S KILU'JSS IH II.
Commercial Clut Takss Ui;Oues
tlon of Irrl.-ation.
Omaha. N b.- -i special ) -.t : ";
Ukr meeting of the ts-x(i.- commit
tee of the Commercial lu'o I - -.. dm on -were
adopted commit! i iz to- to
the Inauguiat! i:i of a campai -n f-.r th.:
advancement of a proj ! f..r tii'' irri
gation of lW.ins acies of western
arid iarirJi now owned by itv- gov ru
men. The resolutions wti.- sVomnte-i
by Ceor-je H. M.sxw -ll ..f Chici te
chirjrman of the cx-iuti-' cotir; itt -or
the National Irrigation a.-n . i-iti.n.
who ad i'.es' d th - itub at its m ;Ui;y
ir.eeiing on the iubject. ar;d ip' earn
ag'rin this -,M-ek at the invit.it ion uf the
club to submit tits plan. It wiifw
pl.ites the adoption of a national l "li' y
i cniboilvir.e the following f.ntits.
ItK.S; I A'TK ).'.S A 1 I T 1 '. !
"All the ren:aining public lands ;., be
lield and administered as a truss for
the benef.t of the whole p.-opl- of Hie
l'nitd Jstat?s and no giants of th' ti
tle to any of the public Uioils ! :
hereaftr rr-ade to any state or t'lti
tory or to anyone b'.it a tuai st it'eis
and hnme-bul! 1-ts on the land.
"Die pf-servation and dev-lopm-nt
of our national ri-soun es by the con
struction of storage reservoirs by the
federal government for flood protection
and to save for use in aid of naviga
tion and irrigation Ihe flood ters
which now run to waste and cause
overflow ami destruction.
"The construction by the federal gov.
eminent of storage reservoirs aod irri
gation works wherever necessary to
furnish settlement of the arid public
lands.
"The ptes-rvatiioi of the forest and
reforestation of denuded forest areas
as sources of water supply, the con
servation of existing supplies by ap
proved methods of irrigation and distri
bution and ttie increase of the water
resources of the arid region by imeati
sattim and development of undei ground
supplies.
"The public grazing lands which are
unsuitable for agriculture to be leased
at a nominal rent In limited areas to
settlers farming adjacent, lands, the
revenue from rentals to be used for
irrigation and development in the
states or territories herein the lands
are situated', leases to be subj-i t to
right f rec lamation by irrigation and
of s.-ttiemenf of lands actually re.
claimed or cultivated, title of land to
remain in the federal govei niro.oit until
actual settlement.
'lb-solved. That we urae upon con
gress that an appropriation f not less
than - '"" should be made in this
session for irrigation suivejsanrl maps
of irrigable public lands with plans
and estimate of cost of reservoirs, ca
nals and irrigation works necessary for
their reclamation and for sinking ex
perimental artesian ueils."
(- )Pi:i:atio.v ok "immkrial
iiOlMKS.
The resolutions provid- further that
copies of the resolutions be sent to each
senator and congressman from this
state, that they be urged to support the
appropriation and oppose the era t
nient of any laws relating to public
lands not in harmony wilh the policy
above set forth. They also provide for
the taking of sleps to secure similar
co-operation of every commercial or
ganization of the country and induce
tliem to secure support of their sen
ators arid congressmen for the measure.
Mr. Maxwell spoke wild I'liing ef
fect of the great Impetus that the adop
tion of such a policy would bring to
the development of the west, de tar
ing that under it Omaha would double
its population every rive years until
the iwipulatiori of the west equals that
of the east. The Improvement of the
lands would enable the government to
disjiose of them al enhanced prices that
would more than repay for tbe im
provements, and thus a revolving fund
could be produced to continue indefi
nitely as long as arid lands remain
to be reclaimed.
Provision was made for the appoint
ment of a permanent committee to
cany on this work, and Mr. Maxwell
will remain In the city a day ur two
to get the work well started.
INFLICTED HEAVY LOSS.
Boers
Succeed In Repulsing the
British Troops,
Pretoria. Saturday, March SI. I De
layed.) There has been heavy fighting
between Brandfort and Bloeinfontetn.
The Wakkerstroom and K'erbo com
mandoes attacked ",'sw British and
drove them back with heavy loss. Ac
cording to the reports of the wound d
who have arrived here, fighting rscur-
....,1 oil nl.iim the line Tbe federal
troops held xisltions on (be side and
top
nf tbe mountain, while tne itriusn
positions were on the oppos,t
side of
the hill. The British chaiged repat-
e,ilv, bUt Were repulsed.
The latest reports say that the fed
erals were more than holding their own
but the final result of the fighting in
ooi known h- r. The federal loss was
nine killed and wound'-d.
iroiwiris from Hrandfort. received la
ter state that 2.W federals attacked
3.(tfs BHtish successfully, hut that 13,
foo British reinforcements anied and
the federals wer compelled to tetire,
lifter punishing Ihe British severely.
The federal loss, accotding to these re.
ports', s.lght.
-
Ittrt tillT OPT RT CARNK'lfK.
Pitlsbuig. Pa.-fp lal.- The Car
negie company has purchased 1.0
shares of the Dt x k of thu Pittsburg,
Bessemer & Lake Kile railroad from
Colenei Samuel 0. Tck. chairman of
the road. fr '"' ' 'ng-j close
In 4a,iil. and Colonel tl K hss retired
completely from the msnagemsni ot
the cwmcftBf.. .
PASSES BILL
PORTO R1CAN BILL PASSED BY
THE SENATE.
A MAJORITY OF NINE.
One of the Most Memorable Days
Since the Session of the Late
War Congress.
Washington. I. (.'. Sp ial. ) Tl
Was a notable day in the S'-nat-. It
bi ought to a cIom- tin- sharpen and
most prolonged debate upon any noas
ure since those iliscussf d during the
memorable "mt coi.gi'ss" two y-urs
ago.
At 4 p. m. the vol-s iv-.!- b -gun upon
the I'orto Rjcan tarilt and i t il gov
ernment bills and Ihe pending amend
ments, and less 'ban half an hour la
ter the itiiasure about which there has
been so much contention in arid out of
congress, was paserl by a majority
nine, the final vole being 40 (.. ?..
Only commit te.. amendm.-nu were
adopted.
H has been evident for some tun
that the bill would command a major
ity in the senate, but notwithstanding
that fact, the interest In the measure,
both of the senatots and of the public,
has not flagged an Instant.
The galleries were crowded and hun
dreds of eople lilt"d the coiridors. un
able even to secure standing room in
the galleries. From II "'clock, when
the seiiaie convened, until the hour
when the voting began, advocates and)
o..oooer.i of the bill bi illiani.lv and i
elotiuetitly maitilained their ruiivlctioris ! indeed, a historic aslon.
and the audilors were kept in a stat. ; Mr. Wellington (Md.t oppos-d the
of constant excitement. j pending measure, but said be had stood
The particularly notable .peeehe of i ready to support the bill first presented
the day were delivered by Mr. Mason J to the senate upon the subject. That
of Illinois, in opposition to the meas- j bill had been regarded as Just and n
ure. and by Mr. Foraker of Ohio, ho j siitufional. "But." he said, "the leg
replied to a brief spec, h by Air. Wei- isialfve monstro-lty now before us
lington of Maryland. It was tbe ( diso i transgresses evio y principle .f nation
senator's desire to ciear up any inisuu-! al honor, patriotism, good faith and
derstandirig or misiiifoi mat ion con- j justice. I am compelled, therefore, to
concerning the bill. j part from my colleagues of the repub-
Mr. Mason's spee. j, was aigumeiita- j i an majority and vote agsiinst -this
tive, eloquent and uoiusmg in turns. ; hdl "
and as it ownd the entire range of; Mr Foiaker said the spee, b of V.
the t ouiclry's duli.-s and ..soisiidit- WelUnai.in made It appropriate for him
lies to what the Illinois senator tar-jlo say. at tie- close of Ihe debute. Hat
astna v tt-noe. "our m-au-liir P"S-
ses-sions. it was
ry inteu-siijig and
ciear to his heareis. i
Just before the senate adjourned, a
sensational episode occurred in which
Mr. Woleott aoeus.-ii Mr. fridge of Man.
sachuseits of urgins that which was
"uniualifS'dly ,alss-." The .jlfHeiilty
arm over- an effoU made by Mr. lej jc
to have tbe S"oiii-r bill made rhe un
finished business. This Involved .lie
displacemenl of tin- (jiiav case and the
friends of the Pernor senator from
Pennsylvania made tilings exeei-dir.y.'y
lively for half an hour.
BDIINMMl OF VoTF..
When the hour of 4 o i lo k
wa- '
reached the chairman aniroiin.id that
the votes uton the pending amend
ments and upon the bill should now be
taken.
At the suggestion of Mr. Forsker the
committee amendments w hich had been
passed over were reverted to and
adopted without division.
The bill w as I hen reported to tin
senate, the amendments w-ie agreed
to and on an av and nay vote it
was passed by a vole of 40 to 31; a ma
Jorlly of V. The following is a detailed
vote on the measure:
Teas Allison. Baker. Bard, Carter.
Chandler, Clark (Wyo.i. Cullom, Tx-bo.
Itepew, Fairbanks, Foraker. Frye, t!al
linger. tjear. Manna. Hansbrough.
Haw ley. Jones t.N'ev.). Kean, Kyle.
Idge, M'-Uride, McComas, McMillan.
Penrose, Perkins, Piatt (Conn.), Piatt
(N. Yd. Prilohard, Qaurles, Ross,
Sott. Seawall. Shoup. SiMiner, Stew
art. Tliurstort, Wet more. Wob-ott 40.
Nays Allen, Bacon. Bale. Merry.
(,'lark (Mont. I. Clay. Coekrell, Culbert
son, Daniel, Iiavls (rep.l. Harris. Heit
feld, Jones (Ar k ), Kenny. Undsay, M.'-I-aiirlii,
Martin. Msson (rep). Money,
Morgan, Nelson (rep.i. Pettus. PrKtor
(rep), Sullivan. Taliaferro. Teller. Till
man, Turley, Vest, Wellington (rep.)
31.
The only change In pairs on the final
vole related to Mr. P.everidge (Ind)
Mr. Clark (Mont announced that he
under stoiaJ, If present, Mr. Hrverldge
would vote for the bill: he. therefore,
transferred liis pair to Mr. Rawlins
oiem., Ptaht. This permitted both Mr
Clark snd Mr. ll.inna (Mr. Rawliu's
pain to vntf.
PROFI.P I.M'Y AM OITKKSSIO.S.
Duiiim the dl-i .":eii of the Porte
Ricdii bill Mr. t'mboioti tiek slroiiK
ground against l cle.. r u,g the IT:;s
of I'm-iii lileo to. coiigresi. uncontrolled
by constitutional plovisione. Congress
was apt to le partisan, and such being
the fact profligaiy and oppression wer
to be expected. Already the skirmish
lines had lecn thrown out for a change
on the part of Imperialists by Henatoi
Jodge and Pa-veiidue, the latter ex
oresing ti tueferenie in res-( t for
the unwritten constitution of the arls-i
tocracy of C.reat Britain,
The order for llfleen-mlnute swoheii
or less then went Into effec t. Mr, Clay
0 ) addressed htlriseif lurgely to show.
Ing what he designated the Inconsist
ency of the suppoltcis of the pending
bill. The original measure, he said, wss
diametrically opposed In Its provisions
to Ihe pending bill, providing as It did
for a territorial form of government.
It was also in keeping with the presl
dent' message, for the president had
not only detlartd for free trad, , but
kg also hud taken i position fr a teril-
torial form of government. "We have
been told" said Mr. Clay, "that the
president has changed his mind, but as
for myself the president can hae but
one attitude." He recognized no mes
sage from the president favorable to
free trad- with Porto Rico, regardless
of assurance of senators and the speak
ers of the house.
Mr. Ross (Vt ) laid stress upon the
importance of proceeding with care in
this crisis. He thought the constitu
tion had not extended to Potto Rh-o
upon the sdgnli'.g of the peace treaty
and argued that it would be unwise to
txtrnd it by legislation. Mr. Ross said
he thought fu-e trade should be estab
lishe das soon as possible between tbe
t'nited State and porto Rh o. He
thought the provision permitting some
article to enter- fr.e and taxing mn-is
w is unfair, If not Illegal. He would,
however. suUuditiate some of his opin
ion and vote for the measure.
Mr. Teller enter,. ,1 bi.-i protest against
the pending bill. He wou'd vote against
it, not be -ause il I. i d a doty on
Porto K" an ppaPiMs; be did not ob
j ct t that pioiisi'in. but he did !
iicve the I'nited States ought to treat
th" .,,ple of Pllto Rico 8S it
p!ooos-d to treat those of Cuba, lie
( ! believed congress had ample power to
il-g'l-date for the people of Porto Rl. o
,. I under the treaty of pari
A. MKTAMORI'HOSKI).
Mr. Paeon (fla.i adverted to what he
teimed the "evolution of the pending
bill," showing it had developed from
free trade to a tariff measure. The pro
vision relating to the citizenship of th
people had likewise been changed, and
npon the enactment of the pending bill
they were to be disappointed in not be
coming citizens of the 1'nlbd States.
When this bill should pass it would be
the first law d dar ing that people for
whom congret
had legislated were not
citizens "f lie- I'nited States
It was.
so far as l ne p-ininif too
erned.
r diffe
there hod been nothing unusual j
lent from legislation generally.
PROCTOR'S QPKSTfo.V. J
Mr. Proof or V! I tninrei wny tne
president, the secretary of war and
Genera! Thu is, the iroverrior "f Porto
Rb-u. had not seen and noted the ne.
cessity for a tariff on I'orto Rlcan pro
ducts. "1 do not know." retorted Mr For
aker. "why It did not occur to them.
Perhaps It did. What I do know Is that
the subjei t whs thoroughly ami impar
tially investigated and the necessity
f,.e Ihe b-iMvlKlioll IliOMISed ftOW WS
established beyond quibble by our com
mittee."
DEWEY SAYS HE WILL ACCEPT,
New York World Says He Would
Accept Nomination.
New York. (Special ) A spe.-iat to
the Woild from Washington says;
Admiral fVwev authorizes the World
to announce to the American people
that after mature reflection and In re
sponse to earnest entreaties from all
parts of the country . his former deci
sion not under sny circumstances to
run for the presidency is rescinded.
A World correspondent saw the ad
miral at his home. Admiral Dewey
said :
"I realize that the time has arrive,
wh'ii I must deflnltely define my po
sition. "When I arrived In this country last
September I said then that nothing
would Induce me to s candidate for
the presidency.
"Since then, however, I have had the
leisure and Inclination to study the
matter and have reached a different
conclusion, inasmuch as so many assur
ances have come to me from my coun
trymen that I would be acceptable as
a candidate for this great office. If
the American people want nie for this
high office I shall be only too willing
to serve them.
"U Is the highest honor In the gin
of this nation. W hat citizen would re
fuse it ?
"Since studying this subject 1 am
convinced that the otlie of the presi
dent Is not such a very dlfllciilt one u.
till, his duties being mainly to execut
the law s of congress.
"Should 1 be chosen for this exalted
position 1 would execule Ihe laws of
congress as faithfully as I have always
executed the nrdeis of my superlots."
Admiral Iiewey did not slate which
party's nomination he would accept.
The icimrter asked .
e)n what plalfoim will you stand''
snd the admiral leplied:
"I think I have said enough St thlt
time, snd possibly too much."
JONK8 KAYS TO WAIT.
Washington, ! C (Special.)--Senator
Jtmes, chairman of the national
democratic committee, sny that the
committee will take no formal action
until he has further Information con
(ernlng what Kansas City proposes to
do. If It is true, ss reported, that th';
hall will be rebuilt, (here will be no
necessity for making other arrange
menu. Senator Jones says that l( the
i Risen of Kansas City go at It in the
right way there is no reason why they
cannot templets the. ntw building by
July .
destroyed:
KANSAS CiTY CONVENTION HALL
DESTROYED BY FIRE.
WILL REBUILD AT ONCE
rVhlle Building Burns Kansas City
Plans Its Reconstruction Loss
is About 40O.OOO
Kansas City, Mo. (Special.) Conven
tion hall, Kansas City's pride, wherein
the democratic national convenibin wu
to have been held on July 4, was laid
in tulns In less th.m thirty minutes
Wednesday afternoon from fire that
started from an unknown source at 1
o'clock. The fire burned w ith su -h fury
that it was evident almost from the
stall that the structure was doomed,
ind (he firemen soon turned their at
tention to saving surrounding proier-
ty.
A stiff breeze was blowing and be
,'ore the fite was subdued at 2:15 o'clock
he Second Presbyterian church, one of
.he finest edifices in the city; the
I'hurch parsonage, the Lathrnp public
tchool, a two-story, thlrteen-room
building, all situated across the way on
Central street, and a half block ot
three-story flat buildings on Twelfth
street were rendered a total loss. SeV
ral residences were damaged to a
greater ur less degree and for a time
il was feared that several blocks o!
buildings in the resilience dlsiilit
would go.
The aggregate loss is Jtoniss'. appor
tioned as follows; Convention hail.
$i"V. Insurance, ila,".f; church,
M, insured; parsonage, tla,ts), insured,
school $:;,",,iss. inxuie-i for $-.it.4i; V. ,1
liamson block. Twelfth street, pia '.
Insurance Ibi.'Mr.
Plans are on fool to rebuild Conten
tion hall immediately and make it
leady for the democratic convention in
July. While the lire was still in pro
gress members of the Commercial club,
through whose efforts the hall u as
oiiceived and built, mingled in tne
.. rotd of spect.Hois and began s-dii it-ing-
funds for a new- structure. J'.y
evening t.'.'i.'sm had le-en subscribed and
Secretary K. Al. t lendi nlng of ihe c'ul.
o,-i!-cd a mass meeting of citizens toi
Thursday nii:hl to devise wavs and
means cf raising ail additional !",, iio.
The hall uns-oc laiioit has JIO.isKi l.i tie
bank and will have V,',,t.m lnsuia:c
for immediate use. the insuiaiee com
panies having spontaneously agie.td in
waive the sfxtV-day limit and make w !
dement on demand.
The Kansas I'lty I,urnl-r company,
that furnished four-dftbs ot the lumber
for the old building, have agreed to
duplicate their order at once at the
tale in existence two years azo, are!
the Minneapolis linn that furnished the j
steel giub rs f,r the immense roof have
been telegraphed to duplicate their or-j
d-r. I
STARTING OF FIRM j
The fire started, as near as art be
learned, at 1 o'clock. Just above the
boiler room In the northeast corner of
the building, on the alley, where some
plumbers had been al work. There
was no fire In the furnace and the sup
position Is that the blaze started from
a spirit lamp or by one of the plumb
ers crossing an electric light wire.
still alarm was first turned in. By
the time the first engine arrived, ten
minutes later, the whole building was
a mass or names. 1 ne entire structure.
coveririt half a block each way on
Thirteenth and Central streets, was
turned Into a furnace of fire before- a
second alarm could be sounded, and In
less than half an hour the roof, up
held by massive sleel girders that span
ned Its 200 feet of breadth, fell wlih a
crash that sent showers of burning em
bers in every direction and drove the
firemen across the street.
The brick Corinthian columns lilting
the building along the facades on Thir
teenth and Centitl streets tottered and
in a few minutes all fell outward, and
the hall was a complete wreck, the
work of but fifteen minutes' time.
CHI'lU'H AND SCHOOU
A strong wind tarried the flames to
the Second Presbyterian church, on the
opposite side of Thirteenth and Central
streets, und In forty minutes that big
structure, occupying a half block in
length, was in ruins. The parsonage
adjoining, and next the Rafhrnp school,
which was partially destroyed in ihe
cyclone or !-. ni wntcn mm i-en s-r
side for the use of the newspaper cor
espondents dining tlv coming mnu-u
tion, weie atlaeken: simultaneously, and
o. in nothing but their wulls were left
niHicllnir Foi innately the sch'Hil
Inn hail not returned t- llnir room
after the no on hour and all weie go.
(en tu plat es of safely.
Nexl the flames caught the William
son flats, across lb- dey from the hall
fin the nolth, on Twelfth stict. and
these were giiii'd. The flats occupied
a half block ami weie bilk and thic
stories In height,
Flying embers started blazes In a
dozen different residences within a ta
illus of two blocks, and fanned by a
stiff bre.r.e anil shied by a low wmi-i
pressure, threatened s geivial confla
gration. The fire, which was finally gotten Un
der control at 2:Vi. proved to le- mi of
the quickest snd most dangerous ex
periences In Ksnsss City for many
years.
CONVENTION HAM,.
Convention hall had been classed b
traveler ns one of the laret. and
itiost perfectly constructed sud'torlum
th world. Th building was eiciej
in ISsH at a cost of Jje'.."f. which was
,ais-d entirely by public subs ! Ipti.m.
It occupied a pie f ground 314 7
2M0 feel In extent, was two stories hlgU
and built of native stone, cream brick
and terra cotta. The first story was of
th renaissance style of architecture,
and the second story in peristyle form,
with groups and columns. The build
ing was of bridge construction, without
a column, the roof being supi-orled by
great steel girders. Its general seat
ing arrangement was modeled some
what upon the plan of the Metropolitan
opera house, New York. The flocr
space was divided into anna.arena bal
cony, balcony and roof garden, box"
skirting the arena and arena balcony.
The total seating capacity was nearly
20.OW. and with standing room the
building was capable of holding mow
than 2').f" people. The arena alone
seated 4ts). The building had no stair
ways, the upper seating being reached
by means of Inclined planes, Separai
exits were used for the balconies and
to
f garden, and It is estimated inai
the
hall rould bo emptle
d at the rata
cf Z,W people a minute.
Practically rothing remains Intact of
convention hall, save the Thirteenth
street one-story wall and the founda
tion. The straggling side walls will
have to be torn down.
WIL.R BE RFBUILT.
That Convention hall 'will be rebuilt
and before July 4 was settled at the
meeting in the evening of the board of
directors of the Convention Hall com
pany. That the necessary funds will
be subscribed Immediately Is not even
fiuestioncd, Karly Thursday morning
a forte of men was sent into the ruins
tf. begin the work of clearing away th
debris. Wednesday night the directors
were in telegraphic communication w ith
iron and steel men Ihroughout the
i.fiuntry in an endeavor to secure thu
necessary structural Iron and steel.
The securing of this matetiiil is the
one question that is i auslng uneasiness.
In the old building there were approx
imately l,'i0 tons of Iron and steel.
There is some doubt whether the gr.-at
steel girders and trusses that supirt
ed the massive roof r an be constructed
in time, owing to tip- present great de
mands tifOn the iron and steel work.
However, even though the Iron men
should prove urieriu.-il to the emergen, y
it Is believed that the hall la nbe re
built in time for the .onvention by put
tine i temporal lly a light roof, sup
poi ied by wooden columns. This plan
is being discussed.
H has also been suggested that thi
old exposition building, located two
miles east of the burned hall, eon d
easily be transformed Into a satlsf.o
r uy auditorium. This building would
probably seat 1.W0 persons.
The (''.-invention hall directors' arid .
the committee on entertainment nf th
democratic convention have already re
ceive"! hundred of messages of syinm
thy and encouragement. The spirit ev.
ery where to night is that the hall must
be rebuilt and must be rushed to com
pletion before July 4.
GIVE CITY A CHANCE,
Stone Is Confident Auditorium Will
Soon Be Rebuilt.
St. Louis. Mo. (Special.) F.x-Govern-.
or William J. Stone, vice chairman of
the democratic national committee, re
ceived the first news of the burning of
Kansas Cily's convention hall from tli
AssfM-lated Press.
"I am surptlsed and shocked at thin
had news," he said. "The convention
hall at Kansas City I considered one of
the finest In the country and it was,
because of this that the national com
mlltee selected that city for the con
vention. It will be a great blow to
that enterprising city, which, 1 think,
will rise to the occasion and and pre
pare a suitable place in which to hold,
the convention.
"Cntll I hear from the people there
as to what will be done. 1 cannot say
where the convention will be held, but
1 think it Is the disposition of the na
tional committee and the democracy at
large-to sland by Kansas City in hep
affliction. Whether the people of Kan
sas Ciyt tan llnlsh the hall between
no wand July 4. or prepare a temporary
place of met ling, I do not know, but if
any city can do so that city can,"
"At any rate, I believe Kansas City
people should have a breathing spell of
a day or two In order to formulate
their plans. I shall probably call ft
meeting of the sub-commit ten which
has the convention arrangements In
charge, to meet at Kansas City at an
early day I Iook over Ihe situation
and deter mine what in the best course
(o pursue, 1 shall ak Chairman Jones
lo meet with them. As I hae already
said, I Sincerely hcliete the citizens of
Kansas City will make stupendous; ef
lorts to rebuild Ihe i om eiitlon hall, or.
If this camml be done, niak adefUt
.provisions to mee ine emei ini y,"
SAYS COMMITTEE WILL AIO.
Democratlo National Committee,
May Help.
Chicago, HI. 4 Special.) Secretary
Wals hof the democratic ttHlioiiMl com
mute expressed his regret at the con
flagration so disastrous lo Ksnsss City,
"In my heller," he said, "II wilt In ha
way Interfere with the holding of the
democratic convention. Any person whe
has come In contact with the business
men of Kansas CHy must have been
Impressed with th fact that the town
contains a higher degree of public pT.
It than any other city In Ihe l'nlt4
Stales, and 1 believe w p,,,,ie horn
will provide suitable aecommodatlona
for the national democratic convention.
It seems to me that the national com
mittee will certainly aid (hem In tvvry
v m its power."
