THE DISASTER TO THE "GENERAL SLOCUM
TUGS AND HOW-BOATS ATTEMPTING TO SAVE THE PASSENGERS OF THE BURNING STEAMER.
The steamer "General Slocum , " carrying the annual Sunday school excursion of the St. Mark's German
Lutheran Church , of New York , to Locust Grove , Long Island Sound , on June 13 , took fire while off Sunken Meadows.
The flames speedily became uncontrollable , and panic followed. The vessel , unable to turn because of the Hell Gate
rocks , wns run at full speed to North Brother Island , and there beached. The hurricane deck gave way almost
at the first Many brave attempts at rescue were made , b nothing could prevent an enormous sacrifice of life ,
and over 1,000 persons , mostly women and children , pen
EXCU-SION TRAIN IS WRECKED.
Twenty-four Persons Killed and Seven-
ty-Tw * Injured at Glemvood , 111.
Twenty-four women and children were
.killed and seventy-two Injured , forty 13-
rieusly , in a collision between an excur
sion train loaded to the platforms with
Sunday school -picnickers from Doremus
Congregational Church , Chicago , and a
freight train near Glenwood , 111. , at 0:40
-o'clock Wednesday night.
The wreck was the result of a misun
derstanding of orders. The excursion
train was coming north on the south
bound track of the Chicago and Eastern
Illinois Railroad when at a curve half a
mile south of Glenwood it crashed into
the rear end of a coal train. The bag
gage car wajs telescoped and the first
-coach completely demolished. Both cars
were filled with children and old wom-
-eu.
The party of 750 picnickers was re
turning from Island Park , Momence. For
the most port the passengers were hap-
i > y children and their mothers. Some
were singing and some were asleep when
the wreck came.
At the crash those in the rear cars of
the eleven-coach train rushed for the
doors or jumped through the windows ,
many berog injured. In 'ront , the first
two cars , crushed like egg shells , were
crowded with dead and injured.
The baggage car had been filled with
romping children. The roof of the first
passenger was rammed clear through It ,
pushing the cruelly crushed mass of hu
manity through the breaks in the walls.
The first passenger car was torn to splin-
Jters.
Jters.Word
Word was sent to Chicago Heights and
Glenwood and relief parties reached the
epot fifteen minutes later. The scene
-was a most fowrful tiling. Strngglizic
masses of bodies could be .seen through
the openings in the cars. The dead and
Injured were packed in together.
The dead were terribly , horribly man
gled , heads and limbs having been sev
ered , and in the midst were the maimed
and injured living. It was fifteen minutes -
utes before the first body was taken out.
There was no screaming or wailing.
The picnickers came to the aid of the
workers who had arrived in large num-
WRECK OF PICNIC TRAIN , AND WHERE IT OCCURRED.
bers. Eight physicians were soon on the
scene.
The enormity of the catastrophe did
siot become apparent until they started
to take the bodies out. The passengers
in two cars which were smashed were
mostly mothers and their children. Fam
ilies had stayed together Few in the
other coaches had relative * among those
iillcd.
The lack of water caused much delay
nd a dozen mangled little ones breathed
their last under the scrub oaks on the
4-seat cushions.
0 Fires were built to heat water. The
"farmers brought water in milk cans. The
field hospital was operating among the
piles of dead until 8 o'clock , when the
last bodies which could be fount ! were
taken out and placed on a special train
for Chicago.
Officers are searching for Edward
Bowen , a negro farm hand , who disap
peared shortly after the mysterious dis
appearance of the 14-year-old daughter
-of Perry P. Joseph , a farmer near Holly-
-ville , Del. The father swore out a war
rant after discovering a cabin in the
woods which bore signs of a struggle in
Its interior.
V
Judge Beekman Winthrop was inau
gurated as Governor of Porto Rico.
Prince Dolgorouki , who assaulted
Count Lamsdorff , the Russian minister
of foreign affairs , has been exiled to
Archangel.
It is said that two British yachtsmen
are seriously contemplating challenging
for the America's cup , the world's em
blem of yachting supremacy.
The dowager duchess of Abercorn is
the oldest living British peeress. She
has lived through five reigns , one of
them the longest on record.
Cab drivers in London , England , are
again on strike. They say it is impos
sible to pay the amounts fixed by the
Asquith award ten years ago.
The bubonic plague has broken out at
Paita , Peru'on the border of Ecuador ,
and is raging with such violence as to
occasion alarm in both countries. June
0 ten firemen died of the plague at
Pnita within three hours.
Investigations made by representatives
of European governments confirm the
recent reports of shocking massacres of
Armenians in the Sassun district of Asi-
Turkey by Turkish troops. Accord
ing to somereposts 43 villages wore de
stroyed and the inhabitants killed. The
British , French and Russian ambassa
dors at Constantinople have joined in re
monstrances to the Turkish government
against the perpetration of such atroci
ties *
A treaty of arbitration between Spain
and Portugal has recently been signed.
It conforms with The Hague convention.
Holland and Denmark have con
cluded a treaty of arbitration , by which
they agree to submit to the tribunal of
The Hague all differences which cannot
be settled by the ordinary processes of
diplomacy. The treaty is broader than
most agreements of the kind , and the
only cases excluded are those in which
the vital interests or honor of either
party are involved.
Snch a secrecy abe t their affairs is
maintained by the Tibetans that , accord
ing to a correspondent of the London
Times , the fact that they have a postal
system with properly authorized govern
ment stamps has only just leaked out. A
photograph of a Tibetan stamp shows
it to be merelj- native character im
pressed in red sealing wax. A mission
ary says that the sender of a letter in
Tibet takes it , to the nearest official
postoflice , pays the postage , and then
the letter is impressed with the seal and
duly forwarded.
It is announced that Earl Grey , lord
. .eutenant of Northumberland , will suc
ceed the Earl of Minto as Governor Gen
eral of Canada when Lord Miuto's term
expires next October. Earl Grey is a
brother-in-law of Lord Minto. lie was
a member of Parliament 1SSO-SO , and
one of the original promoters of the
South African Chartered Company , and
administrator of Rhodesia , 1S9G-9S. Re
cently he has been actively identified with
the interesting movement of the Public
House Trust Company of England , for
the establishment of municipal saloons
to discourage the sale of intoxicating
liquor , and to promote the use of tea and
coffee as substitutes.
PAUL KRUGER IS DEAD.
Former President of Transvaal Repub
lic Passes Away in Switzerland.
Former President Krugor of thi
Transvaal republic died at Clarens , Can
ton Yaud , Switzerland.
President Kruger's name has for twen
ty years been a household one through
out the civilized world. He won for him
self the title of ' 'Modern Champion ol
Liberty. "
Disappointment over the conquering ol
the South African republics by Great
Britain primarily caused his death , al
though the fatal disease has been diag
nosed as a gradual wasting away duo to
the infirmities of old age.
When the war broke out President
Kruger had an enormous private fortune ,
OOJI PAUL ICKUQER.
which he sacrificed in the hopeless cause
of liberty. When he left South Africa ,
never to return , he had less than $3,000 ,
according to an authoritative report. He
was 79 years old
WOULD AVOID DIPPING CATTLE.
Delegation Petitions President and
Secretary of Agriculture.
By an order promulgated in March by
the Secretary of Agriculture , it is re
quired that all cattle west of the Missis
sippi river intended for shipment should
be "dipped" in a preparation prescribed
by the department for the purpose of ab
solutely exterminating the skin disorder
known as the mange , which has existed
to a limited extent for many years in
that section.
As it has been found impossible to
make necessary preparati6ns and round
up and dip the cattle within the limited
time allowed , numerous petitions have
reached the department praying for a
relaxation of the order. The other day a
delegation appeared before the Secretary
of Agriculture , and later called on the
President , requesting that the order be
so modified as to obviate die dipping of
beef cattle before shipment and in lieu
thereof to institute rigid government in
spection at the point of shipment beforu
the cattle are loaded on the cars.
Cparlrs from the "Wires.
The Seaboard Air Line is having ten
locomotives built at the Baldwin works.
What is known as the Santa Fe sys
tem embraces over nine thousand miles
of track.
A daily paper at Rapid City , S. D. ,
* s managed and edited by Mrs. Alice R.
Gossage. Her husband is an invalid.
Potato growers in the Kaw valley , in
Kansas , will have only from a third tea
a half crop this year , owing to the ex
cessive rains.
The Comptroller of the Currency has
authorized the First National Bank at
Moline , Kan. , to begin.business , with a
capital of $25,000.
The Comptroller ol the Currency has
authorized the First National Bank of
Plainville , Kan. , to begin business with
a capital of $50,000.
F. Harwood , formerly assistant gen
eral freight agent of the Illinois Central
at Evansville. has been appointed coal
traffic manager for the company at Chicago -
cage ;
'
Th'e headquarters of William J. Leahy ,
assistant general passenger agent of the
Chicago. Rock Island and Pacific , have
been transferred from Chicago to St.
Louis.
Immigration and industrial agents of
Southwestern railroads look forwrd tea
a heavy movement of hbmeseekers to
ward Indian Territory an9 Texas dur
ing the summer and autumn months.
PARKER'S RUNNING MATE.
Henry O. Davis Has Second Place on
Democratic Ticket.
Henry G. Davis , former United
States Senator from West Virginia ,
was nominated for the vice presiden
cy by the Democratic national conven
tion at 1:10 o'clock Sunday morning.
The nomination by a national conven
tion on Sunday was unprecedented in
the history of American conventions.
There were three other candidates , ex-
Senator George Turner of Washington ,
Congressman James R. Williams of
Illinois and William A. Harris of Kan
sas. Mr. Davis was Just short of elec
tion on the first ballot , but the dele
gates clambered into his band wagon
at once and his nomination was made
unanimous. At 1:31 a. m. the conven
tion adjourned sino die.
When the convention met at 2:30
Saturday afternoon , after the ten-
hour session of the night before , it
was expected that it would adjourn
by 5 or G o'clock with a complete tick
et. Matters progressed slowly for an
hour , and it soon became apparent that
tbe convention was utterly at sea in
the vice presidential matter.
Delegates formed in small caucuses
on the floor and suggested candidates
by the score. The informal caucusing
was little more than gossip , and an
adjournment was decided on so that
the leaders might have a chance to
survey the list of candidates and crys
tallize the scattered sentiment. Mr.
Bfyan had retired at G a. m. , after
fifty sleepless hours , and did not come
to the afternoon session.
An adjournment was taken soon
after 3 o'clock to 5:20. : In the mean
time the leaders had caucused at the
Southern and selected Davis. The
original plan was to nominate a for-
O. DAVIS.
rner silver man. But when the Parker
people found that their voting strength
In the convention was such that they
could do as they pleased they decided
to pick a man of well-known gold lean
ings. Finally Davis was suggested.
Elis age he is 82 years old was
urged against him , but on the other
hand it was pointed out that ho was
extueinely wealthy , had a long and
honorable political and official career
behind him , and had always been
"sound" on the iix > ney question.
The nominating speeches were made
at the afternoon session , and the con
vention was up to tha roll call of
States when a telegram was received
from Judge Parker stating that he be
lieved the gold standard was irrevoca
bly established , and that if the major
ity of the delegates did not like his
views he would decline the nomina
tion. Senator Culberson of Teras
moved a recess with the remark : "Be
fore this convention proceeds to nomi
nate a candidate for Vice President
we should ascertain if we have a can
didate for the presidency. " So a re
cess was taken and the leaders at once
gathered in conference.
The night session started at S:30 :
o'clock. After hours of great excite-
merit among leaders and a sensational
debate on the floor , the convention offi
cially assured Judge Parker that there
has been no misunderstanding of his
views , and that there is no reason
why he cannot conscientiously stand
upon the platform.
It was nearly 1 o'clock Sunday morn
ing before the roll call on the vice
presidency started. Not more than
1,000 persons outside of the delegates
and others having business in the con
vention were present The roll call
was immediately followed by a mo
tion to make the vote unanimous , and
the motion was carried with a whoop.
The vote for vice presidential can
didates was as follows :
Davis G46 Williams . . . . 1G8
Turner 92 Harris 58
The motion to make the vote unani
mous was made by Ohio. The vote for
Davis was almost up to the vote on
Parker , his being G5S before any dele
gates changed their votes. The visi
tors rushed for the exits , and those
having business matters to attend to
crowded around the speakers' stand.
After a few moments of loud talking
by Chairman Clark , that was not heard
in the final rush , the Democratic na
tional convention of 1904 passed into
history.
Dr. G. M. Whipple of Danvers ,
Conn. , has been appointed to a pro
fessorship in the department of science
and art education at Cornell.
It is claimed that tbe father of Gen.
Kuroki , the victorious Japanese com
mander , was a Frenchman. His moth-
sr was a Japanese.
/Hugh McLaughlin , Brooklyn's vet
eran politician ' , has collected. 1,024,000
stamps. .
THF1 HAT
J& JiJLiL > aLPJcTL JL
The Republican Hippodrome.
The quadrennial Republican show ,
advertised for Chicago , has come and
gone. There was much that WHS amus-
t3ing , and no Democrat is complaining.
It was the greatest , because the most
typical , Republican performance that
has been witnessed since the Rough-
Riding dictator's troops madj their im
mortal charge upon a defenseless lunch
counter at Tampa.
Talk about your Ainc-rlcan'independ- '
ence , but the Chicago convention sets
an example which should never b for
gotten or followed. We have heard
much about the glory of individual lib
erty in this republic. It has been the
boast of the American that here every
man is a sovereign , who may think and
act for himself. Yet here , in the early
dawn of tha twentieth century , under
the glare of concentrated public atten
tion , the Republican party presents a
spectacle of abasement and obsequious
cringing unprecedented in the history
of the nation , and inexplicable , save
upon the ground of political degrada
tion and decay. It was a gathering of
subordinates , obedient and submissive.
It was the natural outgrowth of a sys
tem which has erased individuality in
the interest of combination and made
the trust the symbol of a perverted civ
ilization.
A gathering in Russia could not have
been more meekly submissive to the
Czar than this assemblage of American
time-servers to the political soubrette
who divides his time between killing
wild animals in Colorado and slaugh
tering American ideals in Washington.
Yes , "soubrette" is the word. Roosevelt
velt is as far from being genuine presi
dential timber as pine is from hickory
or bamboo from oak. But he lias be
come the Republican attraction. He is
expected to draw the crowd. Ho plays
to the jaded senses of the world-weary.
While others move naturally in the line
of dignified citizenship , he cavorte and
pirouettes and poses. He is the. nov
elty the widely advertised and theat
rically introduced star.
In short , it is a "game of politics"
with the Republican party , and is play
ed with as much lack of human sympathy -
pathy or sincerity as though every ci-
zen were a graven image and ea < ? h
voter inanimate clay.
And this self-constituted dictator
whom every self-respecting Republican
of note privately excoriates and public
ly applauds is the candidate of the par
ty of "conservatism" and high "respec
tability , " which persistently opposes
the Democratic party because of its
fidelity to the common people. Yes ,
even more. The political serfs and
panderers who acted under the Roosevelt
velt lash are the men who assume to
represent true Americanism , who claim
for their party a monopoly of patriot
ism , and who , wrapping the flag of
freedom about them , would have you
bolievct that they are the personifica
tion of the Declaration of Independ
ence.
Dissemblers and hypocrites , of Avhat
stuff do they think the American people
ple aret made ? Surely no intcdligent
voter can be deceived by the platitudes
of the platform or the vaudeville antics
of the candidate. No observing man
can mistake the farcical dummy exhi
bition at Chicago for a convention of
free men , assembled for the general
weal. Its every sign proclaimed it to
be a gathering of the national grafters ,
who prey upon the public and rally
under the banner of a party which
knows no creed save that of Greed , no
hope save Private Gain.
Its campaign shibboleth is "stand
pnt" which , interpreted in the light of
history , means "stand and deliver , " for
it has given birth and strength to the
commercial outlaws who have raised
the black flag of piracy upon every
commercial highway in the land.
When the nominating orators at Chicago
cage spoke of the purity of the Republican -
publican party , to what did they refer ?
Were they seriously defying the public
intelligence or aspiring to fame as
humorists ? Did they have reference
to the crimes and villainies of the
Spanish war , with its vicious contracts ,
jts death-dealing transports , its mias
matic camps and its embalmed beef ?
Were they paying tribute to Littauer
and his gloves ? Could tbey have had
in mind the unparalleled postofflce
scandals which have disgraced the
postal system throughout the world ,
and brought the blush of shame to ev
ery postage stamp which looks you in
the face ?
They had much to say about justice
and the reward which merit earns.
This must have been in recognition of
that fine sense of justice which
prompted the promotion of Leonard
Wood , at one bound , over the heads of
400 loyal and deserving officers of the
United States army.
But why enumerate the inconsisten
cies and incongruities of a party which
has been most "honest" in promise and
burglarious in performance , and which
exhibits the prim prudes of society up
on the outer walls while its real pat
riots are at work upon the treasury
vaults within ? It is the old story ,
made bold and revolting by the coarse
fibar and defiant spirit of the man at
the helm , and every Democrat may
look forward with hope and confidence
to the coming conflict
Roosevelt has passed his zenith and
is a falling meteor. His name carried
no magic to the Chicago convention ,
.and the applause which was finally ex-
torted from tbe yawning crowd was
the ludicrous climax of a "one man
show. " That it was made to order ev
erybody knows , and that it was known
to be tbe grotesque finale of a political
farce comedy was evidenced by tha
smile of mingled amusement and'cha
grin which passed over the face of the ,
nation when it was announced.
The country is ripe for a change o
policy at Washington. There is a de
mand for statesmanship. Instead of po
litical theatricals. The average Amer
ican is praying for a return to dignity
and mental sobriety in the Whlto *
House. The public longs for an oppor
tunity to substitute sincerity for mock"
heroics. Is'ew York News.
The Republican Tariff Trap.
There is now no doubt that tbe Re
publican National campaign is to be
carried out on the same theory that
Mr. Roosevelt has marked out for the
congressional campaign. The plank of
the platform adopted at Chicago on
the tariff plainly shows that in States
or Congressional districts that want
to "stand pat" the Republican plat
form can bo shown to stand for pro
tection , even to those trusts who sell
their products cheaper abroad than
hero. For the platform says : "Pro
tection whicb guards and develops our
industries is a cardinal policy of the
Republican party. The measure of pro
tection should always at least equal
the difference in the cost of produc
tion at home , and abroad. "
In those States and Congressional
districts that are demanding reciproc
ity , or that tiie tariff be reduced on
trusts' products that are sold cheaper
abroad than here , the platform will
fit their ideas equally well , for it says :
"We believe In the adoption of all
practicable methods for their ( our for
eign ( markets ) further extension , in
cluding commercial reciprocity , wher
ever reciprocal arrangements can be
perfected consistent with the princi
ples of protection. "
That was written in the platform so
that those Republicans in Massachu
setts and other States bordering on
Canada could be sbown that it favored
reciprocity } with Canada. Those Re
publicans of Iowa , Minnesota , Wis
consin ( and other States who believe
that , the tariff sbould be reformed
where it shelters trusts must rely upon
the promise , "rates of duty should be
readjusted only when conditions have
so changed that the public interests
demand their alteration. " But for
fear that some Republican candidate
for Congress might commit himsedf
for a readjustment of the present rates
of duties , even if he had to break
party lines to do so , he was admonish
ed in the platform that , "this work
cannot safely be committed to other
hands than those of the Republican
party. To entrust it to the Democratic
party is to invite disaster. "
That , of course , means that a Re
publican Congressman who has been
elected by his constituents on tut
faith of his promise to favor tariff
reform , must vote as the majority o
his party dictates or be considered as
a traitor. The framers of the platform ,
President Roosevelt and Senator
Lodge , knew full well that a majority
of the Republican merribers of the next
Congress ( will be "standpatters" and
.
in a caucus could effectually tie up any
independent member.
Viewing all that is said upon the
tariff as a Avhole , the eleclarations must
be looked upon as a straddle and like
the colored man's fish trap that opened
up stream and down : "Will catch 'em
a going and a coming. "
But the trusts and combines can
point with pride to this platform and
]
their magnates be wheeled into cam
paign contributions and that is a much
more pressing matter than what the
next Congress will do two or three
years ahead. Republican tariff re
formers should ask themselves the
question : "Why did the Republican
leaders make the tariff plank ambigu
ous , so that -no one can say what it
really means , ' if it was intended to
promise revision ? " Anything of doubt
ful meaning is generally looked upon
with distrust and- that is the way a
good many Republican voters will
j
look at tbe matter and distrust begets
opposition.
Playing in I/uck.
"It's a lucky thing for me , I ain't in
the box , " said the great base-ball twirler -
ler , as he paraded up and down the
bedroom floor with his tooth-cutting
son and heir.
"Why ? " asked his wife , sleepily.
"Because , " , he answered , "I don't
seem to have any control of the
bawl. "
Slight Mistake.
"Those large bumps , " said the
phrenologist , "would indicate that
some of your ancestors were eccen
tric. "
"You're up against it there , professor -
ser , " replied the man in the chair ;
"they indicate an eccentric wife. Con
fine your examination to the * small
bumps , please. "
TirstPast tliePost.
"Now that we are married , my
dear , " said the happy leap-year vic
tim , "we will have no secrets from
each other. "
"Indeed , we worft darling , " cooed
bridelets. "Suppose you begin by tell
ing me how much you paid for the en
gagement ring. "