- - _ -
ICIAL
* "
*
< CHICAGO.
i ( Although business conditions invitfl
< Clos4e scanning as to the probable effect
< # f developments , the factors in evidence
ifiiscjose no decline in ( present activity. No
'adequate relief appears in money to off-
et the pressure , while crop moving needs
-.must be met , but this does not minimize
operations in the leading productive in
dustries , many of which employ macl/m-
cry and forces fully and steadily , new
Orders adding to the assured period of forward -
ward work. Bank statements this week
were not quite so unfavorable as expected ,
( and the fact that loans have increased de-
'flpile shrinkage in deposits is an encourag
ing testimony to confidence in the fumja-
.tnental basis of commerce.
Distribution is maintained the high
est level this season , indicating that the
purchasing power is yet without w parent -
-ent check. At no time hitherto have more
visiting buyers appeared here to secure
'Call and winter merchandise.
The volume of payments through the
'banks is notably in excess of the high
itotal a year ago , and leading retail lines
tsnakc sales of necessaries which compare
favorably with previous corresponding
jseasons. Late advices sustain improve-
-.cnent in the corn crop , and the high prices
.tuling for grain and live stock must e QD-
itually modify any financial anxiety.
Grain markets reflect the highest aver-
cage of values established this year , but
- < fihe speculative features discouraged the
extension of cash demand for the princi
pal cereals and flour. Live stock receipts
feave been disappointing.
Failures reported in Chicago district
numbered 24 , against 14 last week and 25
a yea-r ago , and include an increase in de
faults exceeding $3,000. Dun's Review ,
ZtfEW YORK.
' Crop tind trade developments display
Irregularity , rendering generalization diffi
cult. Extremes of abundant moisture , cool
-weather or continued drought are noted
different sections , causing improvement
-ll n some instances , 'arresting development
lli
( in others , and in places working lamaga
-of more or less serious character. Fali
jobbing trade has improved at mo t large
centers , -and from the Northwest comes
'the report that goods ordered. held bach
, arc now being urged for quick delivery ,
fOn the other hand , while some markets
.Are well filled with buyers , and some lines
'report ' sales exceeding a year ago , there
&s a noticeable undercurrent of cons
cfeism in buying. Bradstreet's Report.
' ll
J ?
Chicago dattle , common to prinu
flji.00 to $7.30 ; hogs , prime heavy , & 4.W
-Ho 50.35 ; sheep , fair to choic * . $3.0C
ito $5.75 ; wheat , No. 2 , 89c to 91cj
Jcorn , No. 2 , 59c to Glc ; oats , siau'li/d ,
Ia9c to 51c ; rye , No. 2 , Sic to S2c ; hay ,
Jtimothy , $14.00 to $21.50 ; prairie , $0.X ( !
-ito $13.00 ; butter , choice creamery , 21 <
to 2Gc ; eggs , fresh , 15c to 20c ; potatoes
feer bushel , 5Sc to 66c.
- Indianapolis Cattle , shipping , S3.0C
-fco $7.15 ; hogs , choice heavy , $4.00 tc
rko.GO ; sheep , common to prim * , $3.0C
rte ( $4.75wheat ; , No. 2 , 57c to 58c ; corn
Ko. 2 white , 57c to 5Sc ; oats , No. 4
ivhite , 45c to 47c.
St. Louis Cattle , $4.50 to $7.1fy
{ hogs , $4.00 to $6.05 ; sheep , $3.00 t <
j$5.50 ; wheat , No. 2 , S9c to 90c ; corn
tNb. 2 , 5Sc to 59c ; oats , No. 2 , 44c t <
JlGc ; rye , No. 2 , 76c to 78c.
Cincinnati Cattle , $4.00 to $6.00 ,
-&ogs , $4.00 to $ G'.GO ' ; sbcerp , $3.00 tc
J$3.00 ; wheat , No. 2 , SSc to S9c ; corn ,
| No. 2 mixed. Glc to G2c ; oats , No. 2
jrnixed , 46c to 4Sc ; rye , No. 2 , 79c to 81c
Detroit Cattle , $4.00 to $0.00 ; hogs
J$4.00 to $6.23sheep ; , $2.50 to $4.75j
hvheat , No. 2 , S9c to 91c ; corn , No. t
H-ellow , G2c to G4c ; oats , No. 3 white ,
J55c to 5Gc ; rye , No. 2 , SOc to 81c.
Milwaukee Wheat , No. 2 northern ,
51.00 to $1.04 ; corn , No. 3 , GOc to Olc ?
Wats , standard , 53c to 56c ; rye , No. 1 ,
Slc to S3c ; barley , standard , 87c to SScj
5)ork , mess , $15.GO.
, Buffalo Cattle , , choice shipping steers ,
< i $ 1.00 to $0.73 ; hogs , fair to choice * $4.CK3
-to ( $7.00 ; sheep , common to good mixed ,
. - 1.00 to $5.30 ; lambs , fair to choice
5.00 to $7.73.
New York Cattle , $4.00 to $6.G3 ;
\3iogs , $4.00 to $7.23 ; sheep , $3.00 tc
. -3.50 ; wheat , No. 2 red , 9Gc to 9Sc ;
- < orn , No. 2 , G7c to GSc ; oats , natural
-nvhite , GOc to G2c ; butter , creamery , 22c
-to 27c ; eggs , western , 17c to 21c.
Toledo Wheat , No. 2 mixed , 89c tc
-SOc ; corn , No. 2 mixed , Glc to. G2cj
-oats , No. 2 mixed , 4Sc to 49c ; rye , No.
V9 , 76c to 7Sc ; clover seed , prime , $10.00
Ne-wa Notes.
Enrique Creel , Mexican ambassado
the United States , was recently electee
{ Governor of the State 'of Chihuahua ,
.Mexico. It is said that he will continue
-to serve both as Governor and ambassa-
-Bor.
Word comes from Piatigorsk , Caucasus ,
rhat on the morning of Aug. 5 Gen
Karakozoff , ex-governor general of Odes
sa , was shot and killed in the center ol
the town by several assassins , who es-
scaped. He had aroused the hatred of the
revolutionary class by his' severe measures
dn repressing disturbances.
A vigorous anti-clerical agitation has
> broken out in Italy , which has led Pre-
inier Giolitti to announce that the gov
ernment would riot interfere in any fashion -
ion , though it had issued orders to pre-
-rent violence and protect the churches ,
tconvents and other religious property. Re
garding the charges brought against th
* .religious bodies , he said : "That is a mat
ter for the courts to decide , and the conn-
ry wtfufd have a right te complain if tty
government interfered to restrain tb
ij > ress , which is free both for clericals anj
--jmti-clericals.
STEEL TRUST'S CITT.
GARY , IND. , WILL BE THE PARA
DISE OF CAPITALISTS.
\Voiidcrful foivnVbich HUM
"Up on flic Shore of Lake
"Will Be Corporation Owned and
Ruled.
Tlie town of Gary , Ind.vliieh is be
ing 'built at the behest of the magnates
of the steel trust , is practically com
pleted. The gigantic steel plant which
fs to dwarf every industrial plant that
has ever existed is raising its tall
chimneys against the sky , and the great
furnaces in whose flow thousands of
tellers will find a living are standing
with greedy mouths waiting for taeir
food. Down on the sand dunes of In
diana , on a little neck of land stretch
ing into the southern end of Lake Mich
igan , -the new town is rising. Only
the other day there -was - nothing there
but the dreary mounds of sand with a
sparse and hungry vegetation accentu
ating the dreariness. Even the drowsy
Calumet , which river flows through the
new city , 'had ' a forlorn and lifeless as
pect
All that is now changed. The sand
dunes have 'been leveled. The reedy
n\irshes of the river have ibeeu filled
i'l , and in place of the few scattered
trees modern buildings foava arisen ,
and thousands of laborers have turned
the desolate place into a great camp
of industry where pick and shovel , ma
son's trowel and architect's measure
are busy all day long. Broadway , the
principal 'street , is 3 . miles long and
100 feet wide , with 20-foot sidewalks.
On every side stores , banks , hotels and
office buildings are rising to comple
tion. Two hotels , at a cost of over
? dO,000 , are under way , while a bank
building is completed and a newspaper
office is even now busy publishing a
weekly paper , which will soon be a
daily.
Unique Living Conditions.
Twelve thousand men will gain a
living in the mills. They will form a
great homogeneous majority of the new
city's population , and with the end al
ready in sight the question arises as to
( how this great army of workers with
their wives and families will live. The
place where these men will work will
be owned by the United States Steel
Corporation , the houses that they will
live in will be owned by the same body ,
they will pay their taxes and receive
their light and water at the will of
their employers. Such is the plan , at
least , at present , and those wlio ai'A
Interested in the great experiment are
now inquiring curiously as to what
these unique conditions of living will
mean.
There are persistent rumors that the
packing houses in Chicago will move to
Gary and interests allied to the Steel
Trust are already beginning to flock to
the new city. Foundries , ship yards ,
manufactories of bridges , shqet steel §
structural iron , tiuplate , wire and wire
products , and other concerns into whose
business steel enters largely , have al
ready acquired or are seeking sites on
which to erect factories. The initial
population of Gary will certainly not
be below 20,000 and may be more.
Guarding : Aprainst Strikes.
Gary is intended to fulfill the dream
of many corporations and the particu
lar dream of the Steel Trust a town
where labor agitation will be unknown
and where capital will have full swing.
The United States Steel Corporation is
leaving no stone unturned to have In
its hands sufficient power to quell In
stantly any attempt at a strike. The
steel plant is located on one side of the
Calumet river , which divides the town
into two parts. Fronted by the river
and backed by the lake , it will be al
most impregnable to rioting strikers.
Swinging bridges across the Calumet
will turn it into a mediaeval fortress
about which the drawbridges may be
swung upward and the enemy cut off
while the castle can obtain fresh sup
plies of defenders and ammunition
from the lake steamers. Then , again ,
when the striker faces raised rates for
his light , fuel and transportation , he
will probably think twice before strik
ing , or at least such is the hope of his
smploycrs. .
x
Workers Nearly All Poles.
An interesting feature of the whole
project is that almost the entire popu
lation will be rolish. In the nc'w town
English will be at a discount , and the
PolSs .with his habitual dislike for de
parting from his native tongue and cus
toms , will have a unique opportunity
to find in the English-speaking country
to which he is flocking in thousands a
city where he will meet only his own
countrymen , where the natives of the
country will be to all intents and pur
poses foreigners , and where he will be
enabled -to live his life under the tra
ditions and customs of his native land ,
Notes of Current Events *
Several persons were injured when twc
passenger trains collided head on on the
Galveston , Ilarrisburg and San Antonio
railroad near Seabrook , Texas.
Sachem Hall , the new $100.000 dormi
tory of Yale university at New Haven ,
was so badly damaged by fire that it will
be necessary to rebuild it.
Fire in the upper stories of the Monitor
Truck and Storage building in Toledo
causeda loss of $200,000. The Interna
tional Harvester Company was the heavi
est loser.
Effective war , it is announced , is being
waged against the Black Hand through
out Pennsylvania by the State constabu
lary and the indications are flat tha
troops will soon rid the commonwealth of
this murderous organization.
r
MONUMENT TO M'KINLEY.
Splendid Marble Shaft In Dedicated
at Bulfalo
The monument in memory of Will
iam McKinley , erected by the State of
New York on the site provided by the
city of Buffalo ,
was dedicated
Thursday. It is in
the form of an obe
lisk of "white mar
ble eighty-six feet
high and is sifcuat-
ec at Niagara
square , the inter
section of Niagara
and Court streets
and Delaware ave
nue. The principal
address was made
br Gov. Charles E.
GOV. HUGHES. Hughes.
The obelisk rests upon a pedestal
fourteen feet high , the base of which
Is twelve feet above the street level.
The whole is surrounded by a tessel
lated promenade , embellished with or
nate parapets and balustrades and
splashing fountains. On four sides of
the base of the column are the follow
ing inscriptions :
This Shaft Was Erected
by the State of New York
to Honor the- Memory of
WILLIAAI M'KINLEY ,
Twenty-iifth President
of the United States of America.
William McKinley Was Corn
at Niles , Ohio , Jan. ! > 0 , 1S4:5. :
Was Enlisted 23d Ohio
Volunteers , June 11 , 1SG1 , as
Private and Mustered Out
July 2G , 1SG3 , as Major by Brevet
For Gallantry Under Fire.
William McKinley was
Elected to Congress as a Ucprescntative
of Ohio in 1S7G , ' 78 , 'SO , ' 82 ,
'Si , 'SS , ' 00.
Was elected Governor of Ohio
In 1S91 and 1894 and President"
of the United States in
1S9G and 1900.
William McKinley Died in
Buffalo , Sept. 19 , 1901.
Victim of a treacherous
a.ssassin , who shot
the President as he was
extending to him the
hand of courtesy.
The monument was built under the
direction of a commission composed of
E. H. Butler and George B. Matthews
of Buffalo , John G. Milburn of New
York , formerly of Buffalo , and at
BUFFALO M'KINLEY MONUMENT.
whose home President McKinley died ,
and E. A. Curtis , of Fredonia. Thurs
day saw an end to their work , when
Chairman Butler formally handed over
to Gov. Hughes a work complete in ev
ery detail and of rare artistic beauty.
CUBA COSTS MILLIONS.
expenses of Army of Pacification
$2,554O7O for 19O7.
It cost the American government $2-
554,970 , in addition to the regular ordi
nary expense , to keep the American army
of Cuban pacification in that island dur
ing the fiscal year of 1907. This fact is
shown in the annual report of Gen. Ale-
shire , quartermaster general of the army.
Of the amount stated $1,015,383 was
spent for transportation.
Gen. Aleshire devotes a few words to
the work of the quartermaster's depart
ment and its ramifications over a great
portion of the world covered by the Unit
ed States and its territorial possessions ,
at the same time pointing out that the
. strength of the corps consisted of but
ninety-six commissioned officers and 200
post quartermaster sergeants , in addition
to seventy-six line officers who were de
tailed in connection with the department's
work.
The general points out the. urgent ne
cessity for such an increase in the num
ber of commissioned officers as will relieve
the department from the necessity of call
ing upon line officers to perform its du
ties ; also for an increase in the num
ber of post quartermaster sergeants and
the creation of a general service corps for
the work of the department.
Gen. Aleshire expresses the opinion that
the limit of cost , now $20,000 for build
ings , which can be constructed idthout
special authority of Congress ought to be
increased to $ GO,000. This is especially
urgent with reference to hospitals.
He says that carefully prepared statis
tics show that the prices of nearly all the
lumber used in ordinary construction have
advanced fully 100 per cent since 1904 ,
andwthe higher grades of finishing lum
ber even more than that.
Because it is economical th& bulk of the
eoal required for the trans-Pacific trans
port service is procured at Nagasaki ,
Japan , where upon the return trip to the
United States all transports take aboard
coal to their cargo capacity. The coal
ing is done very rapidly , as much as 3,063
tons having been put aboard in a workIng -
Ing day of ten hours.
Sparks from the "Wires.
Increase in the pay of the army , but
no increase in its size , is the compromise
which , has been reached by the President
and the leaders in Congress.
After being imprisoned for eight hours
In the McAdoo tunnel , New York , eigh
teen men were rescued. The rainfall had
caused an accident to the working1.
Two young foreigners unable to speak
English were anested by Syracuse" , N.
Y. , police on suspicion of cennection with
the attempt to wreck a New York Ceu-
ftral train at Jordan , N. Y.
A general strike has been declared in
Lodz , Russia , and more than 32,000 men
are out.
New Bedford ( Mass. ) Weavers' Union
lias again affiliated with the United Tex
tile Workers.
The international convention of Steam-
fitters and Helpers will be held in De
troit next year. .
The International Union of Ladies'
Garment Workers will hold a convention
in Boston next year.
Union labor is renewing interest in the
proposition to establish a magnificent , la
bor temple in Boston.
Thirty-six unions , out of a total of
forty-six in Duluth , Minn. , are affiliated
with the trades assembly.
A special committee of the St. Paul
Trades Assembly is looking into the mat
ter of building a labor temple.
Vegetable venders of Brooklyn , N. Y. ,
are talking of organizing a union to pro
tect themselves from the middlemen.
Fall River ( Mass. ) weavers have ac
cepted a compromise that 47 % yards con
stitute a cut , and the threatened strike
is off.
In the paper working industry in India
the average wages a day for men is 15
cents ; women , S cents , and children , 3
cents.
The largest shipbuilding firms are to be
found an the Baltic ports ; large firms
have also established themselves on the
Elbe and Weser.
San Francisco ( Cal. ) Stone Cutters'
Union , through its executive committee ,
has- decided to submit its differences with
employers to arbitration.
Emma Gruber Foley , elected president
recently of the Native Daughters of the
Golden West , is past president of the
Women's Auxiliary to San Francisco
Typographical Union No. 21.
All chances of Boston garment work
ers becoming involved in the dispute of
the suspended locals of New York and the
International Union are over. The Bos
ton unions will support the national or
ganization.
Some 70,000 Scotch miners have re
newed their demand for an advance in
wages of 12 % per cent. The present
rates amount to about G shillings 9 pence
a day in wages , so that the demand is
considerable.
Corporation laborers at Calgary , Can
ada , have received an increase from 25
to 27 cents an hour , and it has been de
cided T > y the City Council that eight hours
shall constitute a working day , except in
cases of necessity.
A blind man's union has been formed
in Paris. The members are the blind em
ployes of the National Institute for the
Blind , who were dissatisfied with their
salaries. They threatened to strike and
received an increase.
The convention of theatrical stage em
ployes , held recently in Norfolk , Va. , had
before it a proposition to establish a sick
benefit fund , also a funeral benefit fund.
It was decided to submit this to the sub
ordinate bodies for a referendum vote.
i
Large crews of men have been going to
the West through the Minneapolis
( Minn. ) employment offices for a long
time , Montana , Idaho , Wyoming , Wash
ington and Oregon taking the bulk. The
work supplied is understood to be railroad
building.
About forty employes of the New York ,
New Haven and Hartford railroad have
been retired on pensions. The men so retired -
tired have been in the employ of the com
pany from thirty-five to forty years , and
will now receive from $6 to $7 a week
for the remainder of their lives.
The industries of the United States
suffered less from strikes during 1905
than in any year since 1S92. In 1905
there were 221GSG employes thrown out
of work by 2,077 strikes undertaken by
170,007 strikers in 8,292 establishments
and lasting an average of twenty-three
days in each establishment involved.
The terrible disasters which have re
cently occurred in the local coal mines of
Germany and France have directed the
attention of scientists , especially in the
former country , to introducing methods of
protecting the miners against a recurrence
of such calamities * or at least of dimin
ishing , as far as possible , the loss of life.
A Pastors' Union , composed of all the
Piotcstnnt clergymen of La Crosse , Wis. ,
is affiliated with the American Federation
of Labor. In that town members of the
other trades look upon the preachers as
brother workers , admit their delegate to
I'.ie meetings of the Trades and Labor
Council and have a representative of that
body at the meetings of the clergymen.
The or-anizotion of employes on the
railway lines of the United States dates
from the organizing of the Brotherhood
of the Footboard , at Detroit , Mich. . May
S , 1SG3. by the locomotive engineers ,
which association is known as the Broth
erhood of Locomotive Engineers. Other
branches of the transportation service fol
lowed , from time to time , so that now
each branch of the service is organized.
The Massachusetts State Commission
on Commerce and Industry , recently ap
pointed by Gov. Guild , has sent to many
labor men , as well as business men and
trade organizations' officials , a request to
send to it before Sept. 1 a statement of
the ways each thinks that the commercial
and industrial prosperity of the State can
be promoted , whether by changes in legis
lation , by public or private undertakings
or otherwise.
Women of Jersey City have started a
novel organization. To establish a school
to instruct women how and where to
spend their money most beneficially for
union labor will be one of the features of
the body , besides boosting union labels
and encouraging men to organize.
On the subject of uniform design for
all union labels , the executive council of
the American Federation of Labor has de-
cid'd 'hat the report of the committee at
the Minneapolis convention last year
shall be given careful consideration. The
matter will be again brought up at the
coming convention at Norfolk , Va " '
DOWN THE MISSISSIPPI.
Great Papreant to Honor Roocvelt
Early in October.
For the first time in history a Presi
dent of the United States is going to
take a journey on the Mississippi river ,
not for the purpose of getting from one
point to another , but to see the great
river , to meet the people who live along
its banks and to acquaint himself with
the conditions as they exist at the
present time in that territory adjacent
to the "father of waters. " True to hi *
principle of seeing things for himself
Instead of through the eyes of others.
President Roosevelt is coming to the
Mississippi valley in October to find
out what the needs of this great water
way and those tributary to it really
are , and the members of the Lakes-to-
the-Gulf Deep Waterway Association
.hope to so impress him with the im
portance of their project that before he
leaves the middle west he will be sing
ing " 14 feet through the valley" as
lustily as the rest of them.
The entire river from Keokuk , Ind. ,
where he embarks on the river boat
Mississippi , to Memphis , where his
journey ends , will be en fete to greet
him , but at St. Louis the most elabor
ate reception will occur. Here the har
bor and the city will combine to do him
honor , and the decorations as well as
the program of events will be on the
most elaborate scale possible. The
President will leave Keokuk on Tues
day morning , Oct. 1 , and will go down
the river on the Mississippi river Com
mission's steamboat Mississippi , arriv
ing at St Louis about 9 o'clock in the
morning of the 2d. Here he will be
met by the Governors of 20 Mississippi
valley States , the officers of the Lates-
totheGulfDeep Waterway Associa
tion and the Executive Committee of
the St. Louis Business Men's League ,
who are his hosts on this occasion. He
will remain in St. Louis a few hours ,
departing thence for Cairo and Mem
phis. Along the river every town will
be decorated in honor of the distin
guished traveler , and every boat from
one end of the river to the other is ex
pected to take some part in the great
four-day pageant.
International Socialist Congress.
Eight hundred and eighty-six delegates ,
representing twenty-five of the leading
nations of the world , which constituted
the International Congress of Socialists ,
met for the first time on German soil
at Stuttgart. Of these , 300 were from
Germany , 130 from England , 90 from
France , SO from Austria , 50 from Rus
sia and smaller delegations from Switzer
land , Bohemia , Hungary-Italy , Bulgaria ,
Roumania , Sweden , Holland , the United
States , Argentina , South Africa , Austra
lia and Japan. Secretary Van der Velde
of the International Socialist Bureau , offi
ciated at the opening of the congress. The
opening address was made by Herr Bebel
of Germany. He laid stress on the So
cialist gains during the past year in
France and on the fact that for the first
time Socialists had been elected to the
British Parliament. In his own country ,
while the number of seats in the Reich
stag had been reduced , he pointed out
that the Socialist vote had increased a
quarter of a million since 1900. He said
the number of enrolled members of So
cialist syndicates in Germany last year
was 1,800.000. He referred to the "scan
dalous prosecution" of Haywood in Amer
ica , and expressed satisfaction at his ac
quittal. Herr Singer resided. An open-
air mass meeting was attended by 10,000
Socialists. The more important subjects
discussed during the week were immigra
tion , the relations of the party to trade
unions and the proposal to introduce sim
ultaneously in all parliaments a motion
for establishing by law maximum working
hours.
The shortage of fruit makes this a sort
of canned-goods summer.
The summer shoes this year bring us
one step nearer to the yellow peril.
Schmitz , of San Francisco , is going to
run for Mayor as far as the penitentiary
will let him.
The United States has at last suc
ceeded in shedding itself of its James
llazen Hyde.
Uncle Sam. it seems , has lost an island
in the Pacific somewhere. Has Japan
been searched ?
Astronomers have found a new canal
on Mars. But the one on Panama is
still subject to delay.
Mr. Rockefeller's knowledge of the af
fairs of his own company is almost as
profound as his silence.
Uncle Sam has a hard time in summer
with pauper immigrants pouring in and
American money pouring out.
Most of the summer hotel proprietors
would give anything for a method for the
painless extraction of pocketbooks.
What is home without a Teddy bear ?
A New York child fell three stories , land
ed on its stuffed pet , and was unhurt.
The King of Spain announces that it
is a very happy feeling to be a father.
Just wait , Alf , till teething time begins.
It was a woman who figured that as
a result of the telegraphers' strike the
wires 'might become seriously damaged
from rust.
Men who have been trying to drink all
the whisky in the country may feel en-
.couraged to know that they. consumed
11,409.252 gallons more last year than
the year before.
The Standard Oil Company has de
clared another $0,000,000 quarterly divi
dend. Reports that the Standard was
about to go to the poorhouse were evi
dently without foundation.
If the Standard Oil .Company madi
$199,800,000 in three years when Its pres
ident wasn't able to attend to business
-what would it make if John D. Rocke
feller was ir working trin °
Following the conference of high
naval officials with the president , or
ders were Issued by Acting Secretary
of the Navy Newberry to hasten all
preparations for the much discussed
cruise of the battle-ship lleet to the
Pacific Coast. He said that the fleet
would sail from Hampton Roads De
cember 15 for San Francisco , In com
mand of Admiral Evans , expecting to
arrive at the destination April 10 , a
distance of 13,772 miles. The big war
ships will be under steam sixty-three
days , and spend fifty-two days at tar
get practice. The sailing pace will be
ten knots an hour , permitting colliers
to accompany the fleet part of the way.
xver 100,000 tons of coal will be con
sumed. A complete machine shop on
board the Panther will be constantly
at hand for repairs.
*
- - -
Following sharp attacks on the
Board of Naval Constructors in the
Navy , a service publication , Secretary
Metcalfe called on all officers for sug
gestions how to promote the efliciency
of the service. Two of the battleships ,
the Iowa and Indiana , were criticised
as being "soft enders , " and already
these have been ordered into the re
serve list , most of their men going to
the new battleships. By "soft end"
the critics mean ships having spaces at
the bow and stern .not protected by
armor , which in action would make
them vulnerable to attack. It is also
charged that steering engines In sev
eral cases ihave been Ipft unprotected
by the naval constructors. Other ships-
thus criticised are the Oregon , Massa
chusetts , Kentucky and Kearsarge.
" " " "
The Navy Department has announced
the awarding of contracts for the con
struction of the two new 20,000-ton
"Dreadnoughts" to the Fore River
Shipbuilding Company of Quincy ,
Mass. , and the Newport fc News Ship
building Company of Newport News ,
Va. , respectively. One of these ships
Is to have American turbines and the
other the British type of turbines. The
contract price with the Newport News
company is $4,090,000 , and that with
the Fore River $4,377,000 , these being
the lowest two bids. Contracts for the
armor are divided among the Carnegie ,
Bethlehem and Midvale plants.
The Naval Board of Inspection and
Survey has forwarded to the Navy De
partment its report on the exhaustive
trials of the four submarine torpedo
boats , the Octopus , Viper , Cuttlefish
and Tarantula , constructed for the
government Much attention was de
voted to the open ocean trial of the
Viper , which was selected to make a
ninety-six hour sea test for the pur
pose of determining endurance. The
performance of the Viper demon
strated that she has a radius of action
of 1,000 miles without coming into
port or communicating with any other
vessel for a period of four days.
Painters at work on the dome of the
Capitol In Washington found in the
gutter below the first bulge a woman's
bonnet , four derby hats , ten straw hats ,
two ham sandwiches , thirteen cents , a
nursing-bottle , and a sparrows' nest
containing thirty-eight eggs. The spar
rows must have planned a corner In
the egg market , for no hen sparrow
could cover three dozen eggs with any
prospect of hatching them.
The cruiser Washington , which has
been in commission but a few months ,
recently had her final tests under the
supervision of the Trial Board of the
Navy Department with most gratifying
results , her. speed record being over
twenty-one knots an hour , and the ac
tion of her guns and turrets proving
exact duplicate of the cruiser Tenn
essee.
It has been agreed between the gov
ernments of Canada and of the United
States that the owners of all buildings
on boundary-line must decide in
which country they shall live , and
must move the whole building accord
ingly. The purpose of this agreement
is to reduce the smuggling evil and
otherwise to put an end to lawlessness
on the border.
Public Printer Stillings has ordered
that hereafter all employes of the gov
ernment printing office shall address
one another with the formal designa
tions "Mr. " and "Miss , " in contradis
tinction to the prevailing custom of us
ing nicknames.
Hereafter medical preparations , such
as headache , powders , which contain
acetphenitidin , must have on their pub
lished formulas notice that the prepa
ration contains "acetanilid , " from
which the former drug is derived.
The president has approved Col. Goe-
thal's request for authority to expend
$8,000,000 more than the appropriation
for the present fiscal year on the Pana
ma Canal. The reason for asking thts
was that the work had proceeded with
greater rapidity than was anticipated ,
and this action was believed to be in
the interest of true economy and might
savt a year's time in completing the
Ciiual. Congress will be requested to
make an appropriation to cover this
deficiency-