ONE MAN RESIGN
MURAVIFFE STEPS OUT AS
PSEACE PLENIPOTENTIARY
WITTE IS TOJUCCEED HIM
M Muravleff Tenders His Resignation
Because His Experience in Diplo
matic Matters Does Not Qualify
Him forPost
ST PETERSBURG M Muravleff
has resigned his position as chief
peace plenipotentiary
It may be regarded as practically
certain that he will be replaced by M
Witte president of the committee of
ministers who all along has been con
sidered the Russian statesman pre
eminently qualified to undertake the
difficult task of negotiating peace with
Japan
Though the emperor on two pre
vious occasions has flatly declined to
accept M Witte he has now indicated
his readiness to make the appoint
ment The commission however will
not be actually Bigned until Foreign
Minister Lamsdorff who throughout
the war has been M Wittes warm
supporter has had an audience of -the
emperor To that extent only the mat
ter may be regarded as unsettled
nothing being certain in Russia as a
prominent diplomat remarked recent
ly until the emperors signature has
been affixed M Wittes selection un
doubtedly win be hailed as a prac
tical assurance of peace While it
would be a mistake to denominate
him as a peace at any price man M
Witte earnestly believes that the
struggle should be ended and should
be succeeded by an understanding be
tween Russia and Japan which would
insure peace in the far east for half
a century Indeed he is personally be
lieved to be in favor of a
alliance
The conduct of negotiations by M
Wittee it is felt by the peace parties
here ivould inspire instant confidence
in Japan
The only handicap under which M
Wittee labors is his lack of familiar
ity with the English language as the
only foreign languages he speaks are
German and French
NEBRASKA GRAIN DEALERS
TRY SQUEEZING PROCESS
OMAHA Before Notary Charles
G Bearsall Thomas D Worrall presi
dent of the Worrall Grain company
told of the efforts of the Nebraska
Grain Dealers association to squeeze
his company out of the grain business
in Nebraska Mr Wbrralls testimony
is taken at the request of the oppos
ing counsel in his suit for 128000
damages
The witness insisted on all the
questions put to him being written
out in plain sight on a typewritter be
fore he would answer them
An interesting portion of the testi
mony concerned the possession by
the secretary of the Nebraska grain
dealers association of full informa1
tion about a car of grain loaded by a
farmer and consigned to the Worrall
company before the car was anywhere
near Omaha The secretary came to
Worrall and tried to induce him not
to handle the particular car of grain
The plaintiffs counsel will try to
show that the information was trans
mitted by a railroad company thus
showing collusion with the so called
grain trust
THE RUSSIAN EMPRESS
WITH THE WAR PARTY
ST PETERSBURG The Associated
Press has high warrant for the state
ment that M Witt president of the
committee of ministers was strongly
urged on the emperor for head of the
peace commission Even Foreign Min
ister Lamsdorf is said to have joined
in recommending his election The
emperor however flatly declined to
appoint him and after M Nelidoff
ambassador at Paris pleaded illness
his majesty personally chose M Mur
avieff the ambassador at Rome Two
of the five councillors to the plenipo
tentaries though M Pokotiloff minis
ter to China and M Shipoff director
of the Imperial treasury and former
president of the zemstvos are dis
tinctly Witte men
SUGAR DROPS 20 PER CENT
Heavy Crop in Europe Due in August
Causes Decline
San Francisco Cal A reduction of
20 per cent in all grades of sugar has
been announced The cut is attrib
uted to the weakness of the raw sugar
market the price of that article hav
ing recently dropped 13 cents per
pound
The decline in raw sugar has been
in a measure caused by the excellent
prospects in Europe for a large in-
tcrease in the beet sugar output and
the crop which forms a little more
than one half of the worlds output
will come into the market in August
Shonts and Stevens Busy
WASHINGTON Chairman Shonts
of the Panama Canal commission and
Ir Stevens the newly appointed chief
engineer are in Washington Both ex
pect to leave for Oyster Bay Friday
They will leave for Panama July 18
and Mr Stevens family will follow
him in the fall Mr Stevens is now
considering the question of filling the
vacancies in the engineering corps and
will familiarize himself with the avail
able matter here before he inspects
the forces at Panama No plans will
he made till he reaches the Isthmus
THE COMING PEACE MEETING
Portsmouth N H Definitely Decided
Upon as the Place
WASHINGTON Assistant Secre
tary Pierce announced that the pleni
potentiaries of Russia and Japan had
agreed upon Portsmouth N H as the
meeting place for the sessions- of the
peace conference to be held outside
of Washington The sessions will be
hid in the government navy yard at
Portsmouth in the new building just
completed there
Third Assistant Secretary of State
Pierce has been specially commis
sioned by the president to make all
arrangements for the meeting of the
plenipotentiaries at Portsmouth and is
preparing to leave for that place to
confer with the commandant of the
navy yard The meeting will be held
in the general etpre house
ADULTERATED FOODSTUFFS
MUST BE LABELED
NEW YORK Secretary Wilson of
the department of agriculture has sent
out an order and circular letter in re
gard to a large amount of adulterated
foodstuffs imported since the pure food
law went into effect and which have
been held up because the chemistry
department found that all kinds of ad
ulteration had been practiced Secre
tary Wilson in this order modifies a
former one in which he declared that
the goods must be sent back to Europe
The secretarys order which arrived in
New York custom house provides that
goods already imported shall not be
sent back but may be sold in this coun
try He orders however that cans of
peas colored with sulphate of copper
shall be distinctly labelled so as to
show this fact various strawberry
jams shall bear the label reading ar
tificially colored and some canned
mushrooms must be sold as stems
and scraps
DEPEW EXPLAINS
What He Says of Loan Made By
t
Equitable
New York Senator Chauncey M
Depew has made a statement to the
Paris correspondent of the New York
Tribune regarding the loan of 250
000 made by the Equitable society to
the Depew Land Improvement com
pany on property alleged to have been
worth only 150000 in which he says
that he never had advocated or recom
mended any such transactions be
cause he was a director of the Equit
able
Senator Depew further says
That loan never could have been
made unless the official appraisers of
the Equitable had reported after ex
amination that 250000 was only 60
per cent of the propertys value such
being the rule of the society and that
on such a report the officers of the
company had unanimously approved
it
The Depew Land Improvement
company was organized and in opera
tion some five years before it was in
duced to become a stockholder It
then had about 3000 inhabitants and
many thriving industries including
the New York Central shops and con
nection with several trunk lines The
company appointed a general manager
who built houses a hotel opened
streets extended the water and sewer
systems and incurred great liabilities
in improvements A few of the
larger stockholders formed a plan to
pay off all liabilities and provide
working capacity but the stockhold
ers were so numerous a large num
ber living abroad that co operation
could not be secured and went into
the hand of a receiver five years after
the Equitable loan Appraisals of the
property has been made by the offi
cers and independent persons the low
est valuation being 200000 over and
above all liabilities If the Equitable
and other creditors join and take the
property out of the hand of the re
ceiver and put on a going basis there
is no possibility of loss On the con
trary in the judgment of those best
acquainted with the property there is
a certainty of profit
A few days before I sailed from
New York I placed my resignation
as counsel in the hands of Chairman
Morton and I am very glad that he
accepted it I had passed my 71st
birthday and I had made up my mind
before I reached 72 to secure some
thing of that rest and freedom from
incessant work that has been denied
me year after year
TOM LAWSON SAYS
HE WILL PUT IT BACK
MINNEAPOLIS Thomas W Law
son the hero of Frenzied finance
was the guest of the Minneapolis Com
mercial Club and spoke to 300 mem
bers of the club after luncheon
Im not afraid of personal violence
I came out here unguarded I have
several millions myself and I wronged
the American people by getting it But
I did not know it at the time When
the time comes I will give that money
back to them
Morton Cuts All Salaries
NEW YORK Sweeping reductions
in the salaries of various officials and
employes n the Equitable society
were announced Thursday by Chair
man Morton The decreases will
amount to 20 per cent on all salaries
15000 per annum 15 per cent from
all annual salaries between 9000 and
15000 both inclusive and 10 per cent
decrease from all salaries above 2000
and below 9000 per year These
changes become operative on August
1 next and effect a saving of from
150000 to 200000 a year
HEAD B A R DEAD
BLACKMAR DIES WHILE ON IN
SPECTION TRIP
WAS TAKER SICK JULY I0TH
General Blackmar Had Been III Be
fore Starting on the Trip Which
Was Delayed on Orders of Physi
cian but Condition Was Not
Thought Serious
BOISE Idaho General W W
Blackmar commander-in-chief of the
Grand Army of the Republic died
Sunday of nephritis
His wife was with him during his
illness The body will be embalmed
and taken to the home of the family
at Boston The general arrived here
on July 10 on a tour during which he
intended to visit grand army posts
throughout the northwest He was ill
when he arrived and gradually failed
The seriousness of his condition was
kept from the public at the request
of his wife
General Blackmar was born July 25
1841 at Bristol Pa He enlisted in
the Fifteenth Pennsylvania cavalry
and subsequently joined the First
West Virginia He served with distinc
tion throughout the war and at Five
Forks was promoted on the field by
General Custer to the rank of captain
Throughout three administrations
those of Govers3 Long Talbot and
Rice he was judge advocate general
of Massachusetts At the last nation
al encampment of the Grand Army he
was elected commander-in-chief
BOSTON Except to two or three
officials of the Grand Army the news
of the death of Chief Blackmar was
received with great surprise in this
city The home of General Blackmar
was in this city and since his ele
vation to the position of commander-in-chief
the headquarters of the or
ganization have been here General
Blackmar is succeeded by John R
King of Washington senior vice com
mander
Two weeks ago the commander-in-chief
broke down and was ordered to
his bed in his summer home at Hing
ham by his physicians At the time
his indisposition however was re
garded as slight On July 7 General
Blackmars condition had apparently
improved and it was decided to per
mit him to continue his visits to west
ern departments which he had begun
early in the year
Assistant Adjutant General E B
Stillings commander of Kinsley post
No 113 of this city of which General
Blackmar was a member will leave
Boston tomorrow for the west He
will assist Mrs Blackmar in arranging
the funeral which will probably be
held in this city
HINGHAM Mass The news of the
death of General Blackmar was en
tirely unexpected by the residents of
Hingham where General Blackmar
lived during the summer months
JAPS WILL CLAIM
THE SAKHALIN
ST PETERSBURG Prices rose on
thhe Bourse upon the improvement in
Russian securities abroad due to M
Wittes appointment as chief peace
plenipotentiary
According to information received
here Japan intends to claim the island
of Sakhalin by right of conquest and
its formal cession will be one of her
unalterable demands
The government has issued another
5000000 in paper roubles the whole
outstanding paper obligations being
495000000 against 547000000 in
gold
MAY HAVE A CHANGE
TO RIDE CHEAP
DULTJTH Minn The Western Pas
senger association ended its conven
tion here and adjourned to meet in
Chicago the second Tuesday in Sep
tember Much of the time at the ses
sion was taken up by a discussion of
the differential rates but no conclu
sive action in regard to them was
taken owing to the fact that three
roads of the association the Missouri
Pacific the Wabash and the Chicago
Alton were not represented at the
meeting The general opinion is that
there is to be a rate war between the
Chicago New York roads
WILL BE AN IDEAL PLACE
Portsmouth Possesses All the Ad
vantages of a Summer Resort
PORTSMOUTH N H Rear Ad
miral Meade who is in command of
the navy yard said that having had
no intimation that the peace confer
ence would be held at the navy yard
he could not at this time tell what
arrangements would be made for their
accommo dation
The new general store building just
completed is the largest and most im
posing of any in the yard being four
stories in height and of ample dimen
sions It is of brick and brown stone
and at present is not occupied
New Head of Admiralty
LONDON A dispatch to a news
agency from St Petersburg today an
nounces that Vice Admiral Birileff has
been appointed head of the Russian
admiralty in succession to Admiral
Avellan who resigned
Opposes the Boycott
WASHINGTON Mr Rockhill the
American minister- at Pekin has ca
bled the State department that the
Chinese gbvernment is vigorously op
posing the threatened boycotting of
American goods
MUST DIE BY HIS OWN HAND
Fate of German Officer Who Drew
Black Ball
MARINETTE Wis That he drew
the black ball in a duel by lots with
a German army officer and that he will
be found dead as a result is the sub
stance of a letter just received by a
friend Victor Van Taske of this
city who disappeared July 4 Von
Taske who Is a young man was a
bookkeeper According to the letter
his death would result from a dispute
of several years ago when he was a
German army officer A duel was pro
posed and it was agreed that they
draw lota as to who should make away
with himself Von Taske drew the
black ball which meant his death by
his own hand
TREMENDOUS WHEAT CROP
IN REPUBLICAN VALLEY
INDIANOLA Neb A grain harvest
greater than the big crops of 1891 and
1892 is now being gathered in this
country Binders are running day and
night and Sunday Hundreds of acres
are lying in bundles unshocked for
want of hands Good shockers are
getting fifty cents per acre Two
hundred to three hundred hands could
get good wages in this county alone
It is estimated a great many fields of
barley will yield 60 to 75 bushels per
acre wheat and rye 30 to 50 bushels
per acre Three hundred and four
hundred acre fields are a common
sight Corn and other crops are im
mense
PEACE COMMISSION ITINERARY
Will Go to Duluth From Seattle and
Thence to Buffalo
ST PAUL Minn President J J
Hill of the Northern Pacific railroad is
personally arranging the itinerary of
the Japanese peace plenipotentiaries
in their journey from Seattle to Wash
ington The party which is headed
by Baron Komura will arrive at Seat
tle on the steamer Minnesota July 20
They will travel eastward over the
Great Northern to Duluth where they
will embark on the steamer Northwest
for Buffalo via the Great Lakes At
Buffalo the party will be taken by the
Pennsylvania railroad to Washington
arriving there early in August
NEBRASKANS SEARCHING
FOR MISSING DAUGHTER
CHICAGO A G Smith superin
tendent of the Central Cify Neb
schools and Mrs Smith have come to
Chicago and taken apartments at the
Saratoga hotel to search for their miss
ing daughter Heartbroken the par
ents declare that they will not return
to Nebraska until some trace of their
daughter is found
Florence was such a good girl
said Mr Smith I cannot understand
why she left the young womans school
the Deaconess seminary for girls at
Aurora to come to Chicago We were
educating her there The last we heard
of her was that she started out to earn
her own living as a nurse
PREFECT IS KILLED
General Count Shouvaloff Assassinated
While Receiving Petitions
MOSCOW Major General Count
Shouvaloff prefect of police here and
formerly attached to the ministry of
the interior was assassinated while
receiving petitions One of the peti
tioners drew a revolver and fired five
times at the prefect who fell dead
The assassin was arrested
The assassin who was dressed as a
peasant has no yet been identified
He was recently arrested as a political
suspect but escaped from the police
station before his examination
The assassin waited in the anteroom
of the prefecture and entering the au
dience room he advanced toward
Count Shuvaloff firing five shots at
close range The bullets passed
through the body oc the prefect
Advance in Window Glass
CHICAGO At a meeting of the
western window glass jobbers here
the retail price of window glass was
advanced 10 per cent The raise takes
effect at once
PEARY READY TO START
FOR THE NORTH POLE
NEW YORK With 35000 sub
scribed toward his expedition to reach
the north pole Robert E Perry an
nounces that he will sail this week for
the north Commander Pearys new
Arctic ship the Roosevelt has been
waiting several days for supplies
which could not be bought on account
of the lack of funds
The polar expedition which has been
in preparation since October 15 1904
has cost 150000 including todays
s bscription The entire amount has
been donated by American business
men to the Pearv Arctic club whose
members are anxious that none but
Americans have any hand in this polar
expedition
Want Saturday Half HoMday
WASHINGTON Four hundred me
chanics of the government navy yard
met here and appointed a committee
of two to confer with the president
at Oyster Bay looking to securing
from him an order allowing the navy
yard employes Saturday half holidays
during the summer as in the case of
employes in the executive depart
ments A telegram was sent the
president asking when he vill see
them President Gompers and Vice
President Duncan will accompany the
delegates
5rT
yj1 mff ikjIjw
SOME MORE LAND
UNCLE SAM WILL DISTRIBUTE IT
SHORTLY
UNITAH INDIAN RESERVATION
It Is Located in Utah and Will Soon
Be Thrown Open to Settlement
Much of It Said to Be Worthless
WASHINGTON Uncle Sam will
soon open to public settlement nearly
1000000 acres of the unallotted lands
on the Uintah Indian reservation lo
cated in Utah The presidents pro
clamation opening the land will bo is
sued about the end of the present
month The same plan of entry will be
followed as in the opening of the Rose
bud agency by registration and draw
ing
An act passed by the last session
of congress provides that these un
allotted lands excepting such tracts
as may have been set aside as nation
al forest reserves and such mineral
lands as were disposed of by the act
of congress of May 27 1902 shall be
entered under the general provisions
of the homestead and townsite laws
each entry is not to exceed 160 acres
in area The law provides further that
all lands opened to settlement and en
try under this act remaining undis
posed of at the expiration of five years
shall be sold for cash under terms
prescribed by the secretary of the in
terior not more than 640 acres to any
person
The vast tract to be opened to set
tlement in this reservation is mainly
mountainous country and is gener
ally believed to be comparatively poor
Its value is said to have no compari
son to the land opened and settled
upon in the Rosebud Indian country
There are some sections of the coun
try however that are covered with
rich granite deposits
The date of the opening and the
places to be designated where the
drawing w take place probably will
not be announced before the president
issues his proclamation which is ex
pected to be made public some time
between August 1 and September 1
In older to obtain registration each
applicant will be required to show
himself duly qualified to make home
stead entry on the lands under exst
ng laws and gve the registering offi
cer such appropriate matters of de
scription and identity as will protect
the applicant and the government
against any attempted imposition
Registration cannot be effected
through the use of the mails or the
employment of an agent excepting
that of honorably discharged soldiers
and sailors entitled to the benefits of
section 3204 of the Revised Statutes
of the United States as amended by
an act of congress approved March
1 1901 The drawings will be held
under the supervision and immediate
observance of a committee of three
persons whose integrity is such as to
make their control of the drawings a
guarantee of its fairness
At each land office commencing on
the day to be named by the president
in his proclamation the applications
of those drawing Nos 1 to 125 inclu
sive for that land district must be
presented and will be considered in
their numerical order during the first
day and the applications of those
drawing Nos 125 to 250 inclusive
must be presented and will be consid
ered in their numerical order during
the second day and so on at that rate
until all of the lands subject to entry
under the homestead laws have been
entered
SEES THE EMPEROR
ABOUT PEACE MATTERS
ST PETERSBURG M Witte had
a prolonged audience with the em
peror at Peterhof at which the whole
subject of the peace negotiations was
gone over in detail The difficulties
of the situation were freely discussed
and indications were given that his
majesty is more apt personally to gov
ern M Wittes course than the formal
instructions which have been given
him
M Witte will leave St Petersburg
next Wednesday for Paris sailing as
previously announced from Cherbourg
July 26 on the North German Lloyd
steamer Kaiser Wilhelm Der Grosse
Mme Witte will accompany her hus
band as far as Paris where she will
remain for the present though she
may possibly join M Witte later in the
United States
Brings Suit for Damages
NEW YORK Denying that the
wreck of its fast passenger train near
Harrisburg Pa on May 11 last was
caused by dynamite or due to negli
gence of employes the Pennsylvania
Railroad company filed answer to a
suit recently brought by Clarence F
Opper who asked 50000 damages for
injuries received in that wreck Mr
Opper stated that he was compelled
to walk a long distance in his bare
feet and that his hearing was prac
tically destroyed by the explosion
Granite Boys Will Entertain
PORTSMOUTH N H The state of
New Hampshire desires to participate
in entertaining the Russian and Japan
ese peace envoys who are to hold
their conferences in this city next
month Edward N Pearson secretary
of state will come from Concord Sat
urday evening to confer with Assist
ant Secretary of State Pierce regard
ing arrangements for the accommo
dation of the envoys and to tender
the assistance of the state It is ex
pected that Mr Pierce will come to
Portsmouth Saturday or Sunday
JfflW
-- -
v J
JEROME TURNED DOWN AGAIN
Second Attempt to Secure States Re
Port on Equitable Results
NEW YORK For a second time
within twenty four hours District At
torney Jerome made an unsuccessful
attempt to procure from the New York
office of the state superintendent of
insurance an official copy of the super
intendents report on his investigation
of the affairs of the Equitable Life
Assurance society The report has
been made public at Albany last night
Mr Jeromes personal representative
Assistant District Attorney Garvan
went to the office of Deputy Insurance
Commissioner Huntertoday bearing a
long letter from the district attorney
together with a formal demand for an
official copy of the document Mr
Garvan and Mr Hunter were closeted
for more than half an hour and when
the assistant attorney emerged from
the office he was empty handed Ho
admitted that he did not get the de
sired document but refused to discuss
what took place at the conference
District Attorney Jerome said he
would inform the government of the
failure of the insurance department
here to turn the Equitable testimony
over to the district attorneys office
promised
UNION PAGIFIC EXTENSIONS
ARE TO BE BUILT
CHICAGO Julius Krutschnitt di
rector of maintenance and operation
ot the Harriman system says
The Union Pacific and Southern Pa
cifi roads will build a number of short
lines from points where they seem
feasible and paying We are engaged
in surveying and looking over a num
ber of proposed extensions in the west
but have definitely decided on very
few as yet
The Union Pacific nay use the
Burlington stub from Hastings to
Kearney Neb in connection with the
new line from Kansas City which is
being built However that point is
not settled and the Union Pacific may
use the tracks of the St Joseph
trrand Island from Hastings to Grand
Island to connect with the main line
instead of using the Burlington to
Kearney
FRANCE GIVES HER CONSENT
Will Participate in Conference on
Morocco Affairs
PARIS Premier Rouvier and Prince
von Radolin the German ambassador
reached an agreement relative to the
communications to be exchanged be
tween France and Germany regarding
Morocco France consents to partici
pate in a conference having been as
sured in the course of the negotiations
that her interests will be safeguarded
The official notes on the subject will
be communicated to the chamber of
deputies probably on Monday
Information obtained in diplomatic
quarters shows that it has practically
been settled that the conference will
be held at Tangier
NOW HEAD OF THE
PEACE COMMISSION
ST PETERSBURG Emperor Nich
olas has assigned the appointment of
M Witte president of the committee
of ministers to be chief plenipoten
tiary representing the Russian govern
ment in the peace negotiations to be
conducted next month in the United
States The appointment which was
signed after midnight clothes M
Witte with plenary powers
Official notification of the designa
tion of M Witte to head the mission
was forwarded to Washington this
morning M Witte will take passage
on the North German Lloyd steamer
Kaiser Wilhelm Der Grosse which sails
from Cherbourg July 26
Rebates to Grain Dealers
WASHINGTON The inter state
commerce commission proposes to
conduct an investigation in St Louis
beginning uly 22 into the question of
alleged allowances made by railroads
to companies or persons owning grain
elevators or by such companies or per
sons owning elevators to shippers of
grain
ROOSEVELTS SUGGESTION
IS FAVORED
LONDON In the house of commons
Mr Robertson asked Premier Balfour
whether there had been any further
international conference proposed by
President Roosevelt and whether the
government was prepared to agree to
the presidents proposal to include in
the subjects for discussion the ques
tion of making private property not
contraband of war free from capture
or destruction Mr Balfour replied
that the government cordially wel
comed the proposal of President
Roosevelt but Great Britain in com
mon with other nations reserved the
right of considering what should be
submitted to the conference
GEN STOESSEL UNDER ARREST
Held Because of Result of Investiga
tion of Port Arthur Fight
ST PETERSBURG The Nasha
shism prints a roport that Lieutenant
General Stoessel has been placed
under arrest at Tsarskoe Selo in cons
quence of the revelations made by the
commission which has been investi
gating the defense and capitulation of
Port Arthur and that the sword of
honor donated by a number of French
admirers of General Stoessel will not
be presented
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