HUNDREDS
ARE DEAD ,
Earthquake in Southern Mexico Proves to
Have Been Disastrous ,
New $200,000 Sugar Mill , Just Fit
ted with American Machfnary
Totaly Destroyed.
Mexico City , Jan. 21. One of the
most terrible disasters in the' history
'of the state of Guerrero is reported
to have occurred late Friday after
noon. An extremely violent earth
quake shock was felt at Chilpanclngo ,
causing a great loss of life and 'injur
ing many persons. Details from the
stricken district are very meager , but
scattering reports received here indi
cate that probably 300 persons were
killed and as many more injured. It
is known that the state capital , the
parish church and many business
houses and residences were in ruins
and that there is much suffering as a
result of theawful , seismic disturb
ances. One of the edifices that suf
fered most was the federal telegraph
office , which explains the scarcity of
news thus far.
Meager details finally .began to ar
rive here. The telegraph linesand
apparatus at Chilpanclngo were badly
damaged , but the employes , all of
whom were uninjuredquickly proceed
ed to erect an improvised telegraph of
fice on the outskirts of the city. The
number of deaths in the parish church
was greater than at any other single
place , as a crowd of worshipers was
gathered there for the afternoon serv
ice. The solid masonry walls and the
roof came toppling down on the wor
shipers and many of those within were
killed.
The war department ordered troops
in the neighborhood to co-operate in
the work of rescue. Until this work
is completed it will be impossible to
accurately learn the number of vic
tims. It is believed , however , that this
is one of the most destructive earth
quakes that ever occurred in Mexico.
The greater part of the population of
the city are now camping out under
tents around the town , which is five
days journey from the national cap
ital.
Earthquake shocks were felt in
many other cities and towns. In Mex
ico City the earthquake occurred at
5:07 p. m. , and was of such violence
as to shake the most substantial
buildings. The Pan-American congress
was in session at the time and many
of the delegates were greatly alarmed.
The first movement here was one of
trepidation and was very sharp. It
was followed by an easy oscillatory
movement northeast to south-south
west. The duration was fifty-five sec
onds. The damage in this city was
slight.
SHORT SHOCKS THE WORST.
The state of Guerrero has always
been the focus of seismic disturb
ances. Reports received here state the
shock was very severe at Chilapa. No
casualties are so far reported froro
there. The duration ofthe Chilpan-
cingo shock was less than that in
.Mexico City , having lasted fifty sec
onds , against fsfty-five seconds at the
-capital.
. .The earthquake was also intense at
Ignila , in the state of Guerrero , de
stroying the parish church and many
buildings. Amons the latter was the
sugar rnill of General Frisbie. The
mill had just been completed and fit
ted up with American machinery at a
cost of $200,000. The property loss is
Immense throughout the state of
G-uerrero.
ADMIRAL SGHLEY TO TELL THE TALE ,
-Chicago , 111. , Jan. 22. Rear Admiral
Schley is said to contemplate making
the banquet in his honor at the Audi
torium next Saturday the occasion for
sending forth a message to the coun
try. At least he is to speak , that
much having been announced official'y '
by President E. A. Munger of the
Hamilton club.
President Munger has been tendered
the services of a chorus of 100 women ,
who will gather at the reception in the
Fine Arts building Saturday night
prior to the banquet. They are to be
dressed in sailor blouses and will be
led by Prof. Gabriel Katzenberger.
Mrs. W. D. Washburn , Mrs. John
Morris , Mrs. Fred A. Bangs and Mrs.
v A. A. Taylor have been named as a
committee of entertainment for Mrs.
Schley. They will entertain her with
a few invited guests at the Auditori
um at luncheon. In the afternoon a
reception will be given at the Audi
torium , to which 2,000 Chicago women
are to be invited. At 6 p. m. there will ,
be a dinner party , and in the evening
a theater party.
Sunday morning Mr. and Mrs.Wash-
burn will escort the Schleys to church ,
after which a luncheon will be'given
by Mr. and Mrs. Washburn. At-8 p.
m. Mr. and Mrs. John Morris will give
a dinner to which forty persons have
been invited to meet the distinguished
guests.
Orman WillIssue Call.
Denver , Colo. , Jan. 22. Governor Or-
- man has announced that he will issue
-a call for a special session of the leg
islature to consider the following sub
jects : The revenue bill which was at
tacked by the trusts and pronounced
unconstitutional in part by the courts ;
the control of the corporations , espe
cially railroads , by a commission or
other board , an employers' liability
bill and a measure for financing the
Gunnison tunnel and canal for irri
gating purposes.
NEELEY SAYS HIS ACCUSER LIES ,
Havana , Jan. 21. When the trial of
the cases resulting from the Cuban
postofiice frauds were resumed in the
Audencia court the cross-examination
of C. F. W. Neeley , ex-chief of the
bureau of finance , was continued.
Neeley said that his "OK" on bills
under the miscellaneous accounts only
signified that the goods had been re
ceived. None of Rathbone's private-
bills for receptions given at El Cerro ,
Havana , the Avitness said , were paid
from the postal funds.
Neeley denied telling C. M. Rich , his
first assistant , that he ( Neeley ) had
saved Rathbone $5,000 by including his
private accounts with those of the
postal depaitment. He also denied
that he had entered into a conspiracy
with Reeves and Rathbone to defraud
by issuing duplicate warrants. He said
that all warrants were drawn in
Reeves' office. They might have been
cashed in the postoffice or in a bank.
Neeley was confronted with Reeves
three times. He maintained perfect
composure and evaded no questions ,
explaining all transactions clearly and
giving Reeves the lie direct. When
Neeley denied that he had forged the
names to the warrants Reeves was
put on the stand to eriterate the state
ment previously made that either he
or Neeley had forged the name. He
looked Reeves in the eye and hade
him to repeat the statement. " This
Reeves refused" to do. Neeley's law
yer then asked the court to appoint
experts to examine the signature , with
the object of discovering theforger. .
The fiscal objected to this step , but
the court said it would not grant the
request.
Reeves again confronted Neeley with
the statement that Neeley told him
when he was departing for the United
States in September , 1899 , that he was
taking with him $8,000 which he had
collected on duplicate warrants. The
court asked Neeley what he had to
say to this , and he replied that Reeves
was crazy and that he would show to
the court that Reeves was not with
him under the circumstances related.
FIVE MILLIONS FOR THE SIOUX ,
Washington , D. C. , Jan. 10. The
South Dakota delegation intends to
urge the passage of a bill providing
for the'payment of $5,000,000 to the
Sioux Indians of the state , due them
under treaties with the government
made some years ago , providing that
after their lands were opened for set
tlement they should receive at the ex
piration of ten years 50 cents an acre
for what remained. The ten-year per
iod expires February vo.
It was stated at the interior depart
ment that Secretary Hitchcock will
not reverse his order dismissing Agent
Hardin bf Yankton. Secretary Hitch
cock claims a review of the case con
vinces him that he actedn accordance
with the evidence presented. It has
been the intention of the officials to
abolish the Yankton agency , but the
South Dakotans do not think this will
be done. It is likely they will again
call the attention of President Roose
velt to this matter.
The senate committee on public
buildings and grounds has reported fa-
vorabl yon Senator Clark's bill appro
priating $1,000,000 for a public building
at Evanston , Wyo.
Gustav Ayres of Nebraska has re
signed as third assistant examiner in
the patent office.
FOUND DEAD IN THEIR HOMES ,
Marysville , Kan. , Jan. 22. Carl E.
Holt , aged 55 years , and his niece , Miss
Hilda Patterson , aged 30 , were dis
covered murdered at the Holt home ,
twenty miles west of here. The people
had been missing several days and an
investigating party went to learn the
cause. The man was found in the
kitchen with two bullet holes in his
head. The woman was lying on a
back porch with one bullet hole thro'
her head and one through her neck.
She had been assaulted. The house
had been rifled.
The coroner's jury returned a ver
dict that the two were murdered for
the purpose of robbery. Holt had $1,000
in the house. The murderer stole the
money and a fine team belonging to
Holt.
The bodies of Holt and his niece
were badly mutilated.
THEY WORSHIP FEMININE LEADER ,
Jerusalem , Jan. 22. The Theocratic
unity , or Diss De Bar , scandal in Lon
don , has attracted attention to a sec
tion here whose principles and prac
tices are similar. The section numbers
10 devotees. They are chiefly Swedish ,
though the society is cosmopolitan and
includes in its membership a few
Americans , Germans , Servians , Arabs ,
Hindoos and Turks. They live under
one roof , claim to be above all laws ,
discard marriage and all the other sac
raments.
Their leader , a woman , Is worship
ped as a god. They make a great show
of religion and affect to live "pure and
holy , " but their first practical tenet is
free love. Quarrels and scandals are
frequent. Charges of systematic in
fanticide have been made repeatedly ,
but there is no press to expose them ,
no public opinion to overawe them ,
and authority here is so divided that
it i& nobody's business to put a stop
to their enormities.
The Schley Case.
Washington , , D. C. , Jan. 21. Repre
sentation Watson of Indianachairman
of the subcommittee in charge of the
bills and resolutions relating to the
Schley case , repeated his belief today
that nothing would be. done to revive j
the controversy. He made the same
statement when the committee was
appointed a week ago and his reiter
ation of it is taken to mean that the
republican majority likes to have its
wishes expressed , from time to time i
so no mistake can be made.
REGARDING THE
PACIFIC CABLE ,
Naval Officers Declare Acquisition Really
Necessary , '
Woud | Promote Commercial Interests
in Time of Peace * and Facilitate
Success in Event of War.
Washington , D. C. , Jan. 21. The ad-
Vantages of government control of the
projected Pacific cable were presented
before the commerce committee of the
house. Admiral Bradford , who has
had charge of the cable soundings ;
General Greeley , head of the geodetic
survey ; Captain Russell , who has done
much of the cable work in the Philip
pines , and Thomas F. Clark , vice pres
ident of the Western Union Telegraph
company , were among those present.
Mr. Clark said the plan presented by
the Commercial Cable company con
templated exclusive arrangements with
the lines in the far east , the effect of
which would restrict the business to
this one line , preventing competition
and such advantages to the govern
ment and public as would accrue from
competition.
Mr. Clark emphasized the prospect
ive commercial development of the
orient and American trade in that
quarter , and emphasized the alleged
disadvantage that would accrue from
any private control , which would , he
said , tie up the business for an indefi
nite period and place the far eastern
links of the cable system entirely un
der foreign control.
General Greely stated that about 10-
000 miles of cable and telegraph were
now under government charge. He
would strongly favor government con
trol of the Pacific project and showed
the extent to which governments were
extending their control of cables. One
of the recent extensions was by Ger
many on the China coast , while
France and other countries were mak
ing similar cable extensions. General
Greely said an American cable to the
Philippines would do much good in
Americanizing the islands. He cited
instances of the current news appear
ing in the Philippines coming by for
eign cables , presenting the affairs of
Germany and other countries , but not
mentioning the most Important devel
opments in the United States.
General Greely stated that during
the Spanish-American war it became
necessary for him to secure control of
the Haytien cable for thirty days at
$2,000 a day. In time of war , he said ,
it was impossible to observe due se
crecy when cable lines were under for
eign control. He had discussed the
subject with President McKinley , who
was favorable to an "American cable ,
under American control , in peace and
war. "
Admiral Bradford was favorable to
having the cable laid , operated and
controlled by the government , not for
commercial considerations , but as a
naval and military necessity. He said
the British navy had great advantages
over other navies by reason of being
linke dby cable with all insular pos
sessions. If there was a war with
Great Britain tomorro\vAdmiral Brad
ford said , it would be impossible for us
to communicate by cable with the
Philippines.
Admiral Bradford said the navy de
partment had made all soundings , had
found a practicable route which was
all ready for the government to begin
operations on it. .It started from
Monterey , Cal. , which he considered a
better point than San Francisco. Pie
did not recommend a cable of Amer
ican make , as the industry was not de
veloped here , and it was essential to
get the worldi produced.
Senator Morgan , chairman of the
senate committee on inter-oceanic ca
nals , made a brief report to that com
mittee today as the result of his in
vestigation of the status of the Pan
ama sale proposition.
He stated that he had called upon
the president and Admiral Walker ,
chairman of the Isthmian Canal com
mission , and had learned that the
president had impressed upon the com
mission the necessity for an early re
port , fixing the time at the close or
the present week , and that the ad
miral hadsaid that in accordance
with these instructions , the commis
sion probably would be able to report
by Saturday night. He also stated
that he had learned officially that the
French government had made no pro
position to the United ; States in con
nection wit hthe Panama route , and ,
further , that nothing had been heard
from the government of Colombia , on
that subject.
Pardon May Come.
London , Jan. 21. Baroness De Roues
the mother of Mrs. Florence Maybrick ,
who was found guilty in 1SS9 of poi
soning her husband and sent to pris
on for life , is hopeful now that her
daughter will soon be pardoined. She
has , it is stated , received semi-official
assurances that the pardon will corne
during the coronation celebration next
June
For Harsh .Words on Kaiser.
Munich , Jan. 21. A feeble-minded
cvorkman named Kilian has been sen
tence dto two years and six months'
imprisonment for using harsh words
aobut the kaiser. He already has serv
ed three terms for like offenses. This
time he wrote a letter to the judges in
his district , saying severe things about ,
the kinser a.nd closing with a "hoch"
for anarchfsm and all its work. Kilian
has no money and is believed 'to T > e in
sane , but this did not protect him.
JO FRAME A CURRENCY BILL ,
Washington , D. C. . Jan. 21. A gen
eral banking and currency bill will be
framed and reported to congress by a
subcimmittee composed of Represent
atives Fowler of New Jersey. Hill of
Connecticut and Price of Illinois. .As
set currency .the parity of the metals
question and all othej ; phases of the
problem relating to the volume of the
money will be thrashed over by this
triowho will report to the house via
the committee on banking and cur
rency.
In speaking of the matter Mr. Prince
said : "Theer has been so much dis
cussion about our currency system , its
defects and needed amendments , that
the committee has decided to review
the question in the hope that a bill
can be framed that will afford relief
and at the same time not disturb the
business world.
"At this time , I am not at liberty to
suggest ways and meanis for remedy
ing the alleged mistakes in the exist
ing system , but all efforts in that di
rection must maintain the stability
and uniformity of the currency. Means
should be adopted for improving the
elasticity of the volume of money. I
don't know but that I might favor the
coinage bf silver bullion in quarters
and halves , but I think there is some
opposition to the coinage of silver dol
lars.
"Sentiment seems to favor the in-
'terchangeability of gold for silver.and
the committee on coinage , weights and
measures already has reported such a
bill favorably. It is a complex ques
tion to legislate about the currency ,
and steps must be taken with extreme
care and caution. "
HAS A NEW PLAN FOR CANAL ,
Indianapolis , Ind. , Jan. 21. J. C.
Power , superintendent of the park sys
tem of this city , who as civil engineer ,
with Lieutenant Robert K. Peary , the
explorer , made surveys for the world's
isthmian canal , has proposed a new
route for the great waterway and his
plans will be laid before the president
and congress.
While detailed announcements have
not been made steps haev been taken
toward the organization of a gigantic
stock company for the promotion of
the project under Engineer Power's
direction.
By the route he proposes from th
fleep water of the Pacific to deep wa
ter of the Atlantic the distance is only
twenty-nine miles.
The proposed way ends in two good
harbors , Darien on the Pacific side.and
Ihe Gulf of Darien on the Atlantic.
CHICAGO ELAVATOR BOY IS A HERO
Chicago , Jan. 21. Fire , which broke
out in a rear building , completely de-
Btroye dthe Lake La Strain hotel , 3535
Ellis avenue , and nearly caused the
death of a number of guests. Only the
heroism of 'the elevator boy , who made
trip after trip , with the seething flame
bursting out all around him , carrying
the inmates of the hotel to places of
safety , prevented a fire horror similar
to that of the Windsor hotel of New
York two years ago. Oscar JBela is the
name of the boy to whom so many
owe their lives.
After taking out as he supposed all
the guests of the hotel , he made a
search of the upper story and found
Mrs. Albrecht , a paralytic , in her
room , nearly dead from fright and
smoke. The young hero carried her "to
his car and safely descended to the
bottom , reaching there only a few
minutes before the roofs and floor ?
began to tumble in.
The loss is placed at $100,000.
MORGAN MAY GOBBLE THEM UP ,
Berlin , Jan. 21. Many arguments are
being advanced in Germany in support
of the proposition that the German
government should control the German
steamship companies as it does the
railways of the country. The chief of
these is that if the government owned
the great ocean flyers all danger would
be past of J. Pierpont Morgan or any
body else acquiring them. The possi
bility that foreign capital will buy the
German steamships strongly influences
the managers of these lines in favor
of" government purchase.
FATAL WRECK ON THE ROCK ISLAND ,
Des Moines , la. , Jan. 21. The Rock.
Island flyer was wrecked at Victor.
The engineer and firemen were killed
and several members of the train crew
were injured.
The wreck was caused by the explo
sion of the boiler with terrific force.
The concussion and report were felt
and heard for two miles.
The boiler was entirely blown from
the engine and driven twelve feet into
the ground.
The train consisted of six coaches ,
four of which were derailed and
thrown down an embankment.
None of the passengers were seri
ously injured. One sleeping car was
filled with Des Moines people , but they
escaped miraculously , though the car
was overturned.
Engineer Williams and Fireman Wil
liam Hoar weer blown to pieces. Con
ductor Fox was badly hurt. The bag
gageman and two porters were in
jured , but not fatally.
Negro Shields Mistress.
' Jacksonville , 111. , Jan. 21. Ferguson ,
a colored man , under .a twenty years'
sentence for complicity in the alleged
poisoning of Dr. J. L. Barnes , while an
inmate of the asylum here , was placed
on the witness stand nl the case of
Mrs. Barhes , now being tried as one
of the principals in the crime. The !
negro , who was houseman in the fam
'
ily , of the Barnes , refused to answer
almost every question put by the pros
ecution , evidently trying to shield hi *
former mistress.
DELIVERANCE
IS AT HAND.
Miss Stone and Mrs , Tsilka Soon to Be
Freed from Bondage ,
SixtyOne Thousand Dollars in Turk-
is Gold Ready is to Hand Over to
Bandits in Exchange.
Sofia , Bulgaria , Jan. 21. The leaders
of the brigands who have held Miss
Stone and Mrs. Tsilka prisoners for
twenty weeks have finallyaccepted.and
in writing , the conditions for the re
lease of their captives prescribed by
the agents who have been negotiating
for the women's release. Those
agents are the Rev. ' Dr. M. W. Feet ,
treasurer % of the American missionary
station in Constantinople , and the dra
goman of the United States legation
in Turkey , Mr. Gargiulo.
These two men left Constantinople
December 17 and for one month have
been unremitting in their efforts to
reach an. understanding with the ban
dits. The brigands waived their orig
inal demand that the ransom should
be paid on Bulgarian soil and will ac
cept it in Macedonia , which is Turkish
territory. This is supposed to relieve
the government of Bulgaria from lia
bility for indemnity covering the ran
som paid and perhaps heavy damages
besides , actual and punitive.
In order to avoid such liability the
Bulgarian government has aided the
American plans to secure the captives'
release by directing the Bulgarian cus
toms officials on the frontier to allow
the agents of the Americans , either
those carrying on negotiations or those
bearing the coin for ransom , to pass
freely across the boundary between the
two countries. It is understood that
Rev. Dr. Peet has $61,000 in Turkish
gold to hand over to the brigands in
exchange for the liberating of Miss
Stone and Mrs. Tsilku.
ROOT SAYS TO BUY FRIARS' LANDS.
Washington , D. C. , Jan. 21. Secreta
ry Root was heard on the question of
the friar lands In the Philippines be
fore the house committee on insular
affairs. He said these land holdings
cause one of the chiei causes of dis
content among the people. They had
furnished Aguinaldo's chief appeal io
popular prejudice.
The secretary said the religious or
ders so fully recognized the bad condi
tion of affairs that they were disposed
to sell out and he urgeed that the
government take advantage of the op
portunity to remove the chief causes
of discontent in the islands. He did
not believe condemnation proceedings
would be necessary , as there were in
dications that a fairprice .could be
agreed upon. A rough , estimate of the
value of the lands , he said , was from
$5,000,000 to $7,500,000 , American money.
Secretary Root began his statement
by explaining the enormous power
which the religious orders had long ex
ercised in the Philippines. They were
represented at Madrid , and the arch
bishop was quite as powerful as the
governor general of the islands. The
orders had largely supplanted the na
tive priests. As a result of the great
political power of the orders the friars
became the medium of communication
between the local parishes and the cen
tral government. They held large
tracts of the best land , amounting to
about 400,000 acres at the time of the
American occupation. The people rent
ed the lands , and thus a landlord and
tenant system was now in operation.
This caused intense hatred , and , Mr.
Root said , the feeling of the tenant
class was not equalled in bitterness by
anything in Ireland. Aguinaldo had
taken advantage of this intense feeling
of the tenants against the friar land
lords and the movement had become
very popular.
The secretary said that about the
most important thing to be done at
this time was to dispose of the friar
question.as it 'was felt that when land
ed proprietorship was brought to an
end most of the agitation would be
disposed of.
The friars had been driven from the
land in many cases , he said , and if
they returned the people would kill
them.
BOERS DENY RUMORS OF PEACE ,
London , Jan. 2L Dr. Leyds , the rep
resentative in Europe of the Trans-
vaal.according to a dispatch from Am
sterdam to Router's Telegram compa
ny , held a conference with the Boer
delegation at The Hague at the house
of Mr. Wolmarans. No official , state
ment has been given out , but there is
the best authority for asserting that
the conference was merely a period
ical meeting.
The dispatch says Ifie reports of
peace are ridiculed by the Boers them
selves , who say such stories are sim
ply fabricated by British agents with
a view to English publication , hoping
to turn them to advantage in South
Africa. The Boers deny that any ne
gotiations are in progress. *
. , . Ten Are > Killed.
Vienna , Jan. 21. An uprising of'the
peasantry at Alse-Dos has resulted in
the killing and wounding of many
persons. Agrarian agitation had been
going for some time in the vicinity
on account of the opposition of the
peasantry to the taxes. A mob at
tacked the government commissary in
trusted with the collection of taxes and
troops were sent to defend 'the offi
cial. The troops fired on the peas
ants killing ten and wounding many
of them ! - - - * - - - - . _ .
TRIAL OF MISS SCHOFIELDS MURDERER.
Des Moines , la , , Jan. 21. The Sco-
field murder trial was marked by the
introduction of the most damaging tes
timony the state has been able to pro
duce. A Ross Hansen , a druggist ,
swore positively that he sold chloro
form and chloral hydrate to Thomas
on the day preceding the disappear
ance of the murdered girl , and that
Thomas declared at one time he want
ed it for toothache and at another
time that he wanted it for an .under
taking firm with whom he had no con
nection at the time.
Three persons who were present
when the body was taken from the
water testified that the odor of chlo
roform was strongly noticeable , and
that the same odor was present on a
bundle of flour sacks near the scene.
Expert Pharmacist Macy.who exam
ined the murdered girl's stomach , was
placed on the stand , with the expecta
tion that he would testify that he had
found chloral hydrate in the stomach.
His testimony will not be admitted
until it can be established that the
stomach he analyzed was that of Ma
bel Scofield.
Maggie Hamond. friend of the de
fendant , testified that Thomas was at
home within an hour or an hour and
a half of the time the other witnesses
testified they saw a man slosely re
sembling him driving toward the river
with the form of a woman on the seat
beside him. She also declared that
he told her ho was at a funeral at
Valley Junction on the morning of the
day the girl disappeared.
Other witnesses testnied that he in
formed them he was elsewhere. One
says that he mentioned Mabel's dis
appearance to him at 6 p. m. , while
Miss Hamond says Thomas acted as
though such thought had not occurred
to him an hour later.
THE MINE WORKERS' BIG MEETING.
Indianapolis , Ind. , Jan. 20. Several
hundred delegates are here attending
the thirteenth annual convention of
the United Mine Workers of America ,
which opened this morning. Fear is
expressed that the convention will be
unwieldy , as it is believed there will
be over 1,000 delegates , making it th *
largest convention ever held by organ
ized labor.
President Mitchell is presiding. Ben
Tillett , the famous English labor lead
er , has arrived and will be the guest
of the miners until Thursday. Presi
dent Gompers of the American Fed
eration of Labor may also visit the
convention.
It is understood that the miners
will present a demand of at least 1ft
per cent increase over the wages they
now receive , but it is > almost equally
true that the operators will make a
stubborn resistance , as many of them ,
claim they are either operating at a
loss or at a very small profit.
The miners will ask for an exten
sion of the run-of-the-mine basis in.
the districts where the screen basis
now prevails.
The fact that the miners have failed
to unionize West Virginia may pre
vent them from getting an increase
at the present , as the operators of
Pennsylvania , Ohio , Indiana and Illi
nois claim that the West Virginia op
erators , who pay nonunion wages , are
enabled to undersell them. The situa
tion in West Virginia probably will re
ceive considerable attention , as the
miners are determined to unionize the *
state.
DENIES CHARGES OF CRUELTY ,
London , Jan. 21. A blue book Issued
on the subject of the concentration
camps in South Africa contains fur
ther detailed explanations from Lord
Milner , the British high commissioner ,
and Lord Kitchener , as to the causes
of the excessive death rate in the
camps and refutations of the charges
of cruelty.
Lord Kitchener emphatically denies
Commandant Schalkburger's allega
tions of forcible removal and ex-
ure of sick women and of rough and :
cruel treatment of women and chil
dren , and says :
"I offered Botha to leave the fami
lies and relatives of fighting burghers
in undisturbed possession of their
farms if Botha would agree to spare
the farms of the families of surren
dered burghers. Botha emphatically
refused , saying : 1 am entitled to force
every man to join , and if they da not
join to confiscate their property and
leave their families on the veldt. * "
The blue book gives statistics for
the month of December last , when
there were 117,017 inmates of the
camps and 2,380 deaths , of which ntnn-
ber 1,767 were children.
Coal Barons Form Colony.
Pittsburg , Jan. 21. A syndicate at
Pittsburg capitalists has concluded ne
gotiations for 11,000 acres of coal land
in the first pool district. The price is
said to have been $8,000,000.
Eight mines are to be opened , to-
have' a daily capacity of 12,000 tons
and 1,000 houses for the workmen ara-
to be built. The field is five miles
south of Pittsburg and extends from
Fairhaven to a point near Library.
The property is crossed by the West
Side Belt , the Baltimore & Ohio ! the
Pittsburg & Lake Erie arid the Pitts-
burg" extension of the Wabash rail
roads.
Request Colored Successor.
New Orleans , La , , Jan. 21. At a.
meeting of the Ninth ( colored 1m-
munes ) of the Spanish war , a resolu
tion , was adopted urging that a col
ored man be appointed naval officer of
the port of New Orleans to succeed
the lat John Weber. The resolutions
point to the fact that the office has.
been offered to colored men through
out every republican adrnlnistratioa.
from President Grant's time until the
present day and President Roosevelfc
is urged to follow , the example .
