i
S
I
f
WILL PROBE DEE
LIFE INSURANCE AFFAIRS TO BE
INVESTIGATED
RECOMMEHDATIOjj BY GOVERNOR
A Committee of Eight Appointed to
Look Into Matters Gov Higgins
Brings It About by a Message to the
Legislature
ALBANY N Y There will be a
legislative Investigation of the life in
surance business as carried on in this
state both by New York state corpor
ations and by those of other states do
ing business within this state This
investigation will be made by a spe
cial joint committee with ample pow
ers of which the chairman will be
Senator William W Armstrong of Ro
chester republican
The other senators on the commit
tee will be William J Tully of Corn
ing republican and Daniel J Itlordan
of New York City democrat Sena
tors Armslrong and Tully are lawyers
Senator Riordan is a real estate and
insurance agent The two republicans
are said to have been selected by Gov
ernor Higgins and Senator Raines re
publican leader in the senate and Sen
ator Riordan by the democratic sena
tors The five assemblymen members
of the committee will be named by
Speaker Nixon within the next day or
two
Chairman Armstrong said that
while the actual hearings by the com
mitee would probably not begin for
some time the preliminary prepara
tions calculations and so on neces
sary in preparations for the inquiry
would be set in r otion as soon as pos
sible and the organization of -the com
mittee vruld take place as soon as
the assembly member had been ap
pointed
The institution of the committee fol
lowed hard upon a message of Gov
ernor Higgins to the legislature which
came as a complete surprise The
message was received in the senate af
ter the conclusion of the Hpoker case
and was not read in the assembly un
til late in the afternoon session Its
effect may be described as sensational
YOUNG RUSSIAN
CHOOSES FREE AMERICA
NEW YORK A young Russian
claiming the title of Prince Potemkine
and said to be the son of Admiral Po
temkine of the Russian navy a de
scendent of the house of Potemkine
from which the mutinous battleship
Kniaz Potemkine derived its name is
in this city He arrived Monday night
on the French liner Labretagne The
young man made the trip in the steer
age although when his property was
examined at Ellis Island it was found
he had nearly 25000 in cash To his
fellow travelers the young man said
he had sold his place in Russia had
divided a sum the equivalent of 10
000 amongjiis ten aunts and had left
Russia for all time He said after a
short sojourn in the east he would go
west and buy a farm He declaimed
against existing conditions in Russia
and said he did not desire to live long
er in that country
THE CHINESE BOYCOTT
HAS BEEN INAUGURATED
WASHINGTON The state depart
ment has been informed by its consuls
that the Chinese boycott against
American goods which was instituted
Wednesday was organized by the
trade guilds in five ports Shanghai
Canton Tien Tsin Hankow and New
Chwang It is believed the boycott
will not be successful or do any par
ticular injury to American goods ex
cept in Canton and Shanghai where
the guilds are stronger than else
where There is no official action
which the United States government
can take as long as it remains a singl e
boycott or refusal to purchase Ameri
can goods but it is thought the boy
cott will be discouraged by the Chi
nese government as far as possible
ATTEMPTED ASSASSINATION
Man Rushes at Pobiedonestseff but
Is Disarmed
ST PETERSBURG A circumstan
tial report of an attempt on the life
of Constantine Petrovitch Pobiedon
ostseff chief procurator of the holy
synod is current in St Petersburg to
inight but the Associated Press is un
jable to obtain confirmation of it The
authorities and even the police at the
Tsarkoe Selo railrorad here where the
attempt is reported to have been
made disclaim all knowledge of any
such happening
According to the report as Mr
Pobiedonostseff stepped from one of
the coaches on the train from Tsarkoe
Selo where he is residing during the
summer to the platform a man about
thirty eight years of age rushed up
with a revolver in his hand bjit he
was seized by a quick witted passenger
before he could shoot and was turn
ed over to the police
Japs Go to Get New Ship
VICTORIA B C The steamer Iyo
which has arrived from Japan brought
among ber passengers Captains O
Kamlmura and H Ogura Fleet Engi
neer H Yamada and Lieutenant Com
mander Sato Japanese officers de
tached from Togos fleet since the bat
tle of Tsushima and sent to England
to take over the battleship Katori re
cently launched which they will take
to Japan at the close of the war A
crew will be sent to Encland by the
Suez route for the battleship being
built in England
MORE BOODLE INDICTMENTS
Twenty Four Additional Bills Return
cd Against Officials
MILWAUKEE Twenty four true
bills against fourteen individuals were
returned by the grand jury which has
been investigating alleged grafting
This was the third bunch of indict
ments handed down since the jury
went into session June 20 the grand
total thus far numbering 129 To
nights list contains seven new names
the most prominent being Thomas
Clancy cblef of the city fire depart
ment indicted on one count the
charge being perjury Capiases were
issued for the indicted persons
THE CHINESE NOTE
IS MADE PUBLIC
OYSTER BAY The text of the Chi
nese note made public by President
Roosevelt is as follows
Having Viewed with profound re
gret the unfortunate interruption of
peaceful relations between Japan and
Russia the- Imperial government now
learns with gratification that the ne
gotiations are about to commence for
the restoration of peace and amity
But in the present conflict Chinese
territory has been made the theater of
military operations Therefore it is
hereby expressly declared that no pro
vision affecting China without the ap
proval of Ghina being previously ob
tained which the treaty of peace may
contain will be recognized as valid
The diplomatic representatives of
China in Japan and Russia have been
instructed by telegraph to communi
cate this declaration of the govern
ments of Japan and Russia respective
ly
WITTE FOR PEACE
Russian Envoy Talks of Pending Ne
gotiations
ST PETERSBURG M Witte the
senior Russian peace plenipotentiary
received the correspondent of the As
sociated Press at his villa on Yelagin
island In according the honor of an
interview to the Associated Press he
said he expressly desired it stated
that he had declined all previous re
quests of journalists for interviews
and would decline all future requests
He further said that he made an ex
ception in the case of the Associated
Press as it was the representative of
the press of the United States and as
he was about to become the tempor
ary guest of the United States and
also as a mark of the particular sym
pathy he felt toward that country
M Witte spoke in French After
greetings which were cordial the con
versation gravitated to the high mis
sion with which the Russian states
man is charged and the disposition of
the foreign press to interpret his ap
pointment as an indication that Rus
sia had desired to make peace at any
price
No no said he straightening up
in his chair and speaking slowly and
distinctly as if weighing the value of
each word In the first place I have
been designated by the emperor as
his ambassador extraordinary for pour
parlers with the Japanese plenipoten
tiaries to ascertain whether it is pos
sible to conclude a treaty of peace
My personal views are of secondary
importance but my ideas are in entire
accord with those of my friend Count
Lamsdorff
In serving my emperor I have re
ceived precise instructions from his
majesty and shall follow them
The ultimate decision remains in
the hands of the emperor and it is for
him to decide the destinies of Russia
The emperor is the friend of peace
and desires paacee but I very much
fear that the Japaneese terms will be
such that we will be unable to reach
an accord
Secondly the world snould dis
abuse its mind of the idea that Rus
sia wants peace at any price There
are two parties in Russia One fa
vors the continuance of the war a out
rance this z a large and influential
party The other to which I belong
favors peace I avow it frankly be
cause telling the truth has always
been my rule in politics I was for
peace before hostilities broke out
SOCIAL REVOLUTIONISTS
ISSUE A PROCLAMATION
MOSCOW The fighting organiza
tion of the social revolutionists has
issued a proclamation announcing that
the death sentence pronounced against
Major General Count Shuvaloff chief
of police who was assassinated July
11 was executed by one of its mem
bers on account of the black and
cruel activity of this satrap at Odessa
where Count Shuvaloff was formerly
prefect and his subsequent return to
active service of reaction at the recall
of Trepoff the pan Russian dictator
to stamp out the revolution in Mos
cow
The proclamation concludes Let
this execution serve as a joyful signal
to the Russian millions in revolt and
as the death knell of the dying auto
cracy Let it remind all dogs of the
autocracy of national justice
Chicago Strike at an End
CHICAGO The teamsters strike
which has so greatly disturbed bus
nsss conditions in this city for over
one hundred days was at 1230 oclock
on Thursday officially declared off by
the members of the Teamsters Joint
Council The men have been ordered
to seek their old positions and it is
estimated that less than one half of
them will be re employed The strik
ers have made a complete surrender
and will apply for work as individuals
and without an agreement of any kind
with their employers
pMoiStcSJfewCSIjbi
VICTIMS BURI ED
FORTY SEVEN OF BENNINGTONS
DEAD IN COMMON GRAVE
AN IMPRESSIVE CEREMONY
Remains Lie Beside Those of Heroes
of Monterey and San Pasqual San
Diego a City of Mourning Over the
Awful Disaster
SAN DIEGO Cal Later figures
given out on the Bennington explosion
disaster are as follows
Fifty five dead in undertaking estab
lishments
Seven unidentified men wedged un
der the boiler in the fire room of the
boat
Eighteen men missing and unac
counted for probably drowned
Fifty four in the hospitals
Of the injured Surgeon Foster of
he marine service says ten will surely
die within the next two days
They buried the Benningtons dead
Sunday forty seven of them in a
common grave On the crest of the
promotory of Loma high above the
waters of San Diego bay on the one
side and within sound of the booming
surf of the Pacific on the other they
were laid to rest in the peaceful little
military burying ground Without the
crash of drum or the sound of brass
without pomp or parade yet with sim
ple impressiveness all honor was paid
the nations dead
They have honored dead to keep
them company these brave men of the
Bennington All about them lie those
who died in the nations service in
most trying times Gravestones yel
low with age bear the names of men
who died at Monterey in the Mexi
can war others who gave up their
lives in the conquest of California and
who followed Commodore Stockton at
Old San Pasqual These are their
neighbors in death
Army and navy paid their last tri
butes no less sincere than the simple
grief of the representatives of peace
who made the long journey around or
across the great bay From Fort
Rosencrangs came the One Hundred
and Fifteenth company coast heavy
artillery from the city of San Diego
the naval reserves from the Univer
sal brotherhoods home on Point Loma
a company of khaki clad representa
tives and from the government ship
Fortune a dozen of her sailors But
the most impressive body of mourn
ers were the fifty two men from the
battered Bennington Beside these
there were hundreds of civilians who
unthoughtful of the fatiguing journey
from the city brought their offerings
of flowers to lay upon the graves
San Diego was a city of mourning
today Although the people of the
city have taken in the Bennington ca
tastrophe an interest that was per
sonal to all from the moment that it
happened they set apart this beautiful
Sabbath day to pay tribute to the
dead
A careful compilation of the casual
ties was made by the Associated Press
Sunday night as follows
Buried in military cemetery at Fort
Rosecrans today forty seven dead
now in morgues eleven awaiting
shipment to relatives dead in fire
room of Bennington still unrecovered
two Total dead sixty Injured at
various hospitals forty nine Missing
sixteen Grant total 125 Of the in
jured at hospitals seven or eight are
expected to die
ACCOUNT OF MR BRYAN
AND BENNETT ESTATE
NEW HAVEN Conn A hearing
was held in the probate court on the
acceptance of the account of William
J Bryan as executor of tne estate of
the late Philo S Bennett M H Wick
wire counsel for Mrs Delia Bigelow
and George W Cable legatees filed a
typewritten statement of his formal
objections to certain items in the ac
count These items include the trans
fer tax of 5500 and charges made
by attorneys It was claimed that had
Mr Bryan settled the estate prompt
ly without resorting to litigation the
tax would never have been so large
On the other hand Mr Bryans coun
sel declared that the estate was liable
to a ten percent penalty but he got
that remitted so that the estate may
consider itself that much in
THE PEAGE ENVOY
LEAVES FOR AMERICA
ST PETERSBURG M Witte had
a final interview with Emperor Nichol
as at Peterhof Foreign Minister
Lamsdorff was present showing the
complete harmony of views between
M Witte and the foreign minister M
Witte left St Petersburg for Paris
accompanied by Mme Witte At
Paris they will meet their daughter
who is the wife of the secretary of
the Russian legation at Brussels Mme
Witte has no intention of joining her
husband later in America
PEARY STARTS FOR THE POLE
Bids Farewell to Friends and Boards
the Roosevelt
BAR HARBOR Me The Arctic
steamer Roosevelt bound from New
York for northern waters via North
Sydney C B called here and after
Gommander R E Peary had bade fare
well to Morris K Jessup of New York
Whose contributions to the Arctic club
have assisted the explorer to build
and equip the vessel she continued
her voyage
THE PEACE CONFERENCE
Preparations for the Same Rapidly
Progressing
PORTSMOUTH N H Prepara
tions for the peace conference are pro
gressing rapidly and satisfactorily
and by August 6 the day on which the
plenipotentiaries are expected to reach
Portsmouth from Oyster Bay on board
the Mayffower and the Dolphin all
will be in readiness for the reception
The Washington government and the
state of New Hampshire are co-operating
in the effort to make the sur
roundings of the conference as suit
able aspossibIe and are receiving gen
erous assistance from the people of
Portsmouth and the adjacent villages
of Kittery Me where the navy yard
is located and Newcastle N H near
which the plenipotentiaries will have
quarters In the Hotel Wentworth
THE BENEFICIARIES
OF MR HAYS WILL
WASHINGTON The will of John
Hay late secretary of state was filed
for probate in the office of the register
of wills for the District of Columbia
The beneficiaries are his widow and
his brother and sister His brother
Leonard Hay and his sister Mary Hay
Woolfolk are given all the property
at Warsaw 111 and the sum of 25000
each His brother Charles Edward
Hay is given 50000 and Harwood
Otis Whitney of Keokuk la 2000
All the rest of the property of all de
scription is left to Clara Stone Hay
his widow Nothing is contained in
the will to indicate the value of the
estate Payne Whitney and James
Wolcott Wadsworth jr sons-in-law of
the deceased are named as executors
of the estate
MERCHANT COMMITS SUICIDE
H J Birkby of Nebraska City Jumps
Into the Missouri River
NEBRASKA CITY H J Birkby a
prominent dry goods merchant of this
city committed suicide by drowning
in the Missouri river
He had been sick for several years
and during the last few months had
nearly gone blind and was losing his
mind About 930 this morning he
walked to the river bank at the foot
of Central avenue He took off his
hat coat and vest and laid them on
the bank and jumped into the water
RAILROAD ACCIDENTS
FOR THREE MONTHS
WASHINGTON Accident bulletin
No 15 just issued by the interstate
commerce commission giving an ac
count of railroad accidents in the
United States during the months of
January February and March 1905
shows that during that quarter there
were twenty eight passengers and 204
employes killed and 1651 pasesngers
and 2062 employes injured in train ac
cidents making in all 232 persons
killed and 3713 injured in train acci
dents Other accidents to passengers
and employes not the result of col
lisions or derailments bring the total
number of casualties up to 909 killed
and 14397 injured
THE MOROCCAN CONFERENCE
Russian Accepts on Same Terms as
Great Britain
PARIS Russia has given notice of
her acceptance of the Morocco con
ference on the same conditions as
Great Britain
A cable dispatch from Tangier July
16 said that the government of Great
Britain had accepted the invitation ot
the sultan of Morocco to attend the in
ternational conference on Moroccan
reforms on conditions that the pro
gram to be discussed by the confer
ence be communicated to it before
hand
In the course of a conference be
tween M Rouvier and Prince von
Radolin the former made known the
general lines of the International con
ference according to the French view
point particularly as relates to the
French policy in giving financial aid
to Morocco and in maintaining order
and security in the country by a po
lice system under French supervision
These exchanges are gradually bring
ing the parties together upon the es
sential features of the conference
Peace Envoy Reaches St Paul
ST PAUL Minn Baron Komura
the Japanese envoy to the Russo
Japanese peace conference arrived in
St Paul Sunday over the Great North
ern railway While no official wel
come was accorded the baron and his
party they were greeted at the sta
tion by several hundred people in
cluded among whom were city and
state officials and prominent St Paul
business and club men besides a large
number of Japanese residents of the
Twin cities The party left on the
Burlington for Chicago
Secretary Loomis Unnotified
LONDON Assistant Secretary of
State Loomis who has returned to
London after a trip to the country
has heard nothing of the alleged prob
ability of his appointment to repre
sent the United States at the interna
tional conference on Morocco Mr
Loomis expects to remain here a week
longer and then will go to the conti
nent and pursue his investigation of
the various American legations He
was a guest of Ambassador and Mrs
Reid at a luncheon party at Dorches
ter house on Saturday
ED ON GUNBOAT
AN EXPLOSION THAT HAD A TER
RIBLE OUTCOME
WAS A FEARFUL LOSS OF LIFE
Two Score Killed Outright Besides
Many Fatally Wounded Several of
The Victims Nebraskans and lowans
A Splendid Ship Received
SAN DEIGO Cal Thirty nine dead
bodies are lying at morgues on piers
and on the deck of a ruined vessel of
the United States navy scores of men
are lying grievously or painfully in
jured in sanitariums and hospitals and
twelve sailors are missing and prob
ably have found death in the waters
of the harbor as a result of an explos
ion of a boiler on board the United
States gunboat Bennington at 1010
oclock Friday morning
The Bennington at the time of the
accident was lying in the stream just
off Commercial wharf at the foot of
H street The warship had received
orders from the navy department at
Washington to sail this morning for
Port Harford where she was to meet
the Monitor Wyoming and convoy the
vessel to Mare Island navy yard
Steam was up and everything was Inj
readiness for sailing when suddenly
and without any warning whatever the
starboard forward boiler exploded with
a deafening roar The explosion was
terriffic People standing on the shore
saw a huge cloud of white steam rise
above the Bennington Columns of
water were hurled into the air and for
a distance of nearly twice the height
of the spars of the vessel
It was immediately apparent thatan
awful disaster of somo kind had hap
pened on board the warship The
ferryboat Ramona was coming across
the bay at the time of the accident
Captain Bertelsen of the Ramona im
mediately gave orders to change the
course of the boat and instead of con
tinuing his trip to the San Diego side
of the bay hurried to the aid of the
stricken warship The tug Santa Fe
which was tied up at the Commercial
wharf the launch McKinley the gov
ernment launch General De Russey
and a large number of other launches
and water craft which were near the
scene at the time also rushed to the
assistance of the Bennington and en
deavored to lend every aid possible
By the time the Ramona had arrived
many of the sailors of th Bennington
who had jumped into the bay to es
cape the scalding steam had been
rescued and the removal of the wound-
ed which had already commenced
was being conducted in perfect order
The crews of the Santa Fe De Rus
sey and McKinley and the others
boats present lent yeomen aid in pick
ing up the wounded sailors and trans
ferring them to the shore
On board the Bennington were pre
sented terrible scenes The force of
the explosion had torn a great hole in
the starboard side of the ship and the
vessel was already commencing to
list A section of the upper deck was
carried away from stem to stern
Blood and wreckage were distributed
over the entire ship the after cabin
and the vicinity of the ship adjacent
to the exploded boiler resembling a
charnel house Over it all hung the
great cloud of white smoke which
drifted slowly toward the Coronado
shore
Among the wounded are C W
Brochman Des Moines la appren
tice Preston Carpenter Arapahoe
Neb ordinary seaman J C Barchus
Omaha Neb seaman W V Kennedy
Lyons Neb Edward V Kennedy Al
liance Neb
HANGED FOR MURDER OF
MOTHER AND DAUGHTER
THE DALLES Ore Norman Wil
liams who murdered Alma Nesbit and
her mother on March 8 1900 was
hanged on Friday at the Wasco county
jail He made no statement his last
remark being My lips are sealed to
the world
Mrs L J Nesbit of Omaha and her
daughter Alma were murdered near
Hood River Ore The motive of the
crime was the desire of Williams to
secure a homestead adjoining his own
in the Hood river country upon which
Alma Nesbit had located at his In
stigation
Williams two hapless victims were
both from Omaha while the murderer
himself was a Nebraskan with an atro
cious record in that state
Funston Escapes Death
MONTEREY Cal General Freder
ick Funston commander of the de
partment of California his aides Lieu
tenant Long and Lieutenant Burton
Mitchell department inspector of
small arms practice narrowly escaped
death Saturday when an electric car
crashed into the carriage in which he
was riding General Funston had his
left hand severely bruised but was
otherwise unhurt Mitchell sustained
painful bruises about the head and
body Lieutenant Long escaped with
a few slight bruises
Will of Late John Hay
WASHINGTON The will of John
Hay late secretary of state was filed
for probate in the office of the reg
ister of wills for the District of Co
lumbia The beneficiaries are his
widow and his brothers and sisters
His brother Leonard Hay and his sis
ter Mary Hay Woodfolk are given
all of the property at Warsaw 111 and
the sum of 25000 each His brother
Charles Edward Hay Is given 50000
and Harwood Otis Whitney of Keokuk
la 2000 All the rest of the prop
erty is left to Clara Stone Hay
TRUE BILLS FOR GRAFTING
Milwaukee Official Are to Appear In
Court
MILWAUKEE Wis Twenty four
true bills against fourteen individuals
were returned by the grand Jury
which has been investigating alleged
grafting This was the third bunch
of Indictments handed down since the
jury went into session June 20 the
grand total thus far numbering 129
tonights list contains seven new
names the most prominent being
Thomas Clancy chief of the city fire
department Indicted on one count tho
charge being perjury
FRIENDLY RELATIONS
WITH CHINESE PEOPLE
SEATTLE Wash Victor M Met
calf secretary of commerce and labor
passed through Seattle on his way to
California He came to the coast for
the purpose of investigating the Chi
nese exclusion question He stated
while here that he believed the most
friendly relations should exist between
the United States and China as the
latter country is just awakening and
that it will be to the advantage of any
country to receive the bulk of her
trade if possible He says that If the
better class of Chinese wish to edu
cate their sons in America they
should be allowed to do so
Tried to Kill Sultan
SOFIA Bulgaria It is reported
from Constantinople that during to
days Solamlik an attempt was mado
to assassinate the sultan
CORN DOES VELL
Made Splendid Progress During the
Week
WASHINGTON The weekly bulle
tin of the weather bureau summar
izes crop conditions as follows
Favorable temperatures prevailed
during the week ending July 17
throughout the country The intense
heat on the Pacific coast during tho
latter part of the previous week was
followed by decided lower tempera
ture Heavy rains interfered with
work in the Ohio valley and over a
large part of the South Atlantic and
Gulf states but a very general ab
sence of rain in the west Gulf dis
tricts with only light showers over
much of the Missouri and upper Mis
sissippi valleys afforded favorable op
portunity for much needed cultivation
Rains would be of great benefit in the
southern plateau region
Corn has made splendid progress
throughout nearly the whole of the
corn belt and is decidedly improved
in the states of the Missouri valley
where its previous progress has been
retarded by cool weather While the
general outlook sustained some in
jury on low land in Missouri and In
portions of the south Atlantic and
east Gulf states and is not in a good
state of cultivation in portions of the
Ohio valley
Further reports of injury to har
vested winter wheat are received from
the Mississippi and Ohio valleys the
middle Atlantic states Texas and Ok
lahoma and Indian Territories but no
complaints of this character are re
ceived from Kansas and Nebraska
both quality and yield in the last
named state being better than was
expected Harvesting where not
finished in the more northerly dis
tricts is well advanced
Spring wheat has experienced a
week of favorable weather and con
tinues in promising condition While
rust is still prevalent in the Dakotas
and to some extent in Minnesota it
is not increasing in the first named
states and there is very little in
Minnesota Spring wheat is filling
nicely on the north Pacific coast
where the hot winds of the previous
week caused but slight injury Rust
is increasing in Washington in cen
tral Mississippi and Ohio valleys and
in portions of the middle Atlantic
states oat harvest has been interrupt
ed and considerable damage to both
harvested and standing oats has re
sulted from wet weather Harvesting
is largely finished except in the more
northerly districts where good yields
are promised
Mucb hay has been damaged In the
central Mississippi and Ohio valleys
and middle Atlantic states but in New
England and the Missouri and upper
Mississippi valleys haying has pro
gressed under favorable conditions
IS THE CZAR
SINCERE FOR PEACE
TOKIO It is believed that Emper
or Nicholas recently sent an encour
aging message to General Linevitcb
promising him men provisions and ul
timate victory It Is also reported
that the Russian emperor recently or
dered the mobilization of four army
corps This fact taken in connection
with the reported limitations of M
Wittes power as chief peace plenipo
tentiary is deemed to be a sign that
Russia is not sincere In her express
desire for the conclusion of peace
Singing Evangelist Arrives
NEW YORK Charles M Alexander
the singing evangelist who conduct
ed the recent London revival meet
ings arrived on the steamer Car
pathia He is going to the Moody sum
mer conference at East Northfield
Mass
Consolidates Land Offices
WASHINGTON The president has
issued an order consolidating the Tuc
son Prescott and Phoenix Ariz land
offices with headquarters at Phoenix
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