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About Valentine Democrat. (Valentine, Neb.) 1900-1930 | View Entire Issue (Oct. 3, 1907)
fflie Yalentine Democrat VALENTINE , NEB. M. RICE , - - - Publisher t ON TEAiL OF BOOKS u i KELLOGG HOPES TO FIXD MISS ING OIL DOCU3LEXTS. Secretary White Tells of the Safe Be ing Removed from His Ollicc , but Doesn't Know What Disposition- Was Made of It. . Frank B. Kellogg , conducting , the cuit of the United States for the disso lution of the Standard Oil company of New Jersey , made another hunt Fri day In the hearing.of the oil case to discover a trail that would lead to the .finding of the long sought books of the Standard Oil trustees and liquidat ing trustees. When the hearing was concluded Mr. Keliosg said that he was closer to the books from which he .hopes to prove that the oil combine .never underwent a legal dissolution , ilhan he has been at any time since the government's action was com menced. Charles White , the assistant secretary - ; tary of the Standard Oil Company of jNew Jersey , said on the witness stand JFriday that when he went to the sec retary's office to assume bis new du ties there were two steel safes in the office. One of them contained the 'books ' and records of the Standard Oil company , the witness said. What was in the other safe he did not know. 'iMr. ' White said the second safe was removed two weeks after he had come there. Mr. White said he had never seen , the records showing the various trans fers of stock in the liquidating period. 3Ir. White said he had hunted for ( the records recently , but was unable to find them. PATHER SCHELL UNDER ARREST Pighting Priest is in More Trouble in Wisconsin. Rev. Joseph Schell , pastor of the Catholic congregation at Tony , Wis. , jwho claims to be instrumental in dis covering the Oregon land frauds , was placed under arrest upon complaint of a local taxpayer , charging him with obtaining money undec false pretenses from the local township officials. Some time ago the township board settled with John Fenno for alleged injuries to his wife , who fell upon a defective sidewalk and gave prema ture birth to twins , by giving him a certain amount of cash and agreeing to pay all his expenses. The twins died , and among the bills presented to the town board and paid was a bill of $10 for services for attending the jfuneral services of the two children. It is alleged that after the bill had "been paid it was learned that Rev. % IFather Schell never saw the children and did not attend the funeral serv ices , and had nothing due him from the town. The Tony Enterprise , edited "by R. W. Richardson , accused ths jpriest of obtaining this money under ialse pretenses , and asked him to show -what services he performed. The sur rounding towns are grought up over the matter and it was decided to place liim under arrest and settle the case. ' Rev. Fathe Schell has defended 3iimself in a Ladysmith weekly paper , stating that he never put in a bill to town board and never got any money from the town treasurer , and accuses the trustees and others of trying to be little his work. The town , treasurers alleges that he gave Rev. Father Schell'a check in payment for t1 town order and that he now has both the order and the check bearing the priest's indorsement. Oil Tank Explodes. James Copper , James Reilly and Richard Smith were killed instantly early Friday by the explosion of neil oil tank from which they were drawing crude petroleum into a sprinkling cart for use on the Morris Park race track in New York City. Xo Record is Smashed. , The steamer Lusitania arrived at Queenstown at 3 a. m. Friday , having made the eastward passage across the -Atlantic in five days , four hours and nineteen minutes , an average of 22 % Jcnots. A Great Fire in China. Hundreds of houses and many boats. and pontoons were destroyed by fira f J'rjday at Wuchow , China , It is feared "the loss of life is heavy. Sioux City Live Stock Market. . Friday's quotations on the Sioux City live stock market follow : Beeves , $5.5 6.90. Top hogs , $6.10. Wreck in Pennsylvania , Eight persons were injured in a wreck on the Pennsylvania railroad at Jeanitta bridge , at Duncannan , Pa , , Friday , when an Altoona accommoda tion ran into a freight train. Railway Clerks Strike. ' Two hundred railway clerks in To ledo , O. , representing six roads , struck Friday , demanding a working agree ment with their employers. More than thai number remained at their 'f FAVOR CREDIT 3IOXEY. Bankers Approve Hepburn Currency BUI. The American Bankers' association , In session at Atlantic City , N. J. , Thursday , by a viva voce vote approv ed the Hepburn bill , which favors credit currency , and voted to continue the currency commission. ' The question was first discussed by A. Barton Hepburn , chairman of the currency commission appointed by the association at St. Louis last year. This commission had endeavored to secure legislation to correct certain evils in the currency system , but failed. Its aim was to obtain more privileges in the issuance of circulating notes so as to relieve frequent stringency in the money market. When Mr. Hepburn finished a mo tion was made to continue the curren cy commission , and immediately there was a protest from Delegate Yates , of Omaha. He said there was no public sentiment for the Hepburn bill. The estion also , he said , was a political .e , and the members of the associa tion should remember 1896 , "when we only pulled through by the skin of our teeth. " "What we need , " he said , "is reform of banking methods. We should use the cash reserves locked up in Wash ington and not ask congress to put out speculative notes guaranteed by the people of the United States. They will not stand for it. " 33. J. Parker , of Quincy , 111. , sug gested that the government obtain control of all the clearing houses which could , he said , be operated as a central bank to relieve stringency in the money market and would thus eliminate the necessity for another in flation of the currency. TAMPERS WITH OIL CASE \FURY. \ Ohioan Accused of an Attempt to Bribe. L. B. Williamson was arrested Wed nesday at Findlay , O. , on an indict ment charging an attempt to bribe Charles F. Thompson , a juror in the case of the state of Ohio against the Standard Oil company , tried last June. Mrs. Charles E. Thompson said Williamson approached her and asked her to persuade her husband to dis agree and hang the jury in the Stand ard Oil case. The final vote of the jury was 8 to 4 , the last opposing conviction. Williamson , in a statement * made in the county jail Wednesday , admitted he made a. proposition to Mrs. Thomp son , saying her husband would be paid $500 to $1,000 should the jury dis agree. BISHOP'S LIFE THREATENED. Black Hand Attempts Upon Rt. Rev. Bernard McQuaid. The Rt. Rev. Bernard J. McQuaid , the venerable bishop of the Roman Catholic diocese of Rochester , "N. Y. , made the declaration before a crowd gathered to witness the ceremony of blessing' the graves that an attempt had been made by the Italian Black Hand society to extort money from him and that he was informed that four of the gang were under oath to kill him. The statement made a sen sation , as no inkling of the threats had ever reached the public , although Chief Hayden said that the matter was first called to his attention several months ago. The chief said that he had investigated it , but no trace of the senders of the threatening letters had been found. ARE SHOT DOWN FROM AMBUSIL Members of Railway Surveying Party Attacked. A special from Valdez , Alaska , says the forces on the * Guggenheim rail road , the Copper River and North western , shot and -wounded six survey ors and workmen of the Alaska Home ' railway in Keystone canyon , fifteen miles from Valdez , Wednesday. The " party , which was making a prelimi nary survey for the Home railway , from Valdez to Summit , was ambush- in a canyon by a force under com mand of Edward Hassey , former United States marshal. Officers are searching for Hassey and party. Would Exclude All Orientals. A monster petition signed by hun dreds of British Columbians is on its way to the premier , Sir Wilfrid Laur- ler. It prays that the government immediately pass legislation to insure the absolute exclusion of orientals from the Dominion of Canada Root en Route to Mexico. Secretary of State Elihu Root , ac companied by his wife , daughter and private secretary , passed through St. Louis Thursday night on their way to Mexico City , where they will be enter tained by President Diaz. Carrie Nation Released from Jail. Mrs. Carrie Nation , recently com mitted to the work house at Washing ton , D. C. , for disorderly conduct , was released Thursday , her fine having been paid by a friend. Russian Mail Robbctl. The post was held up a few miles west of Tobolsk , West Siberia , Thurs- "ny and the postman in charge killed a band df robbers , who got away with $30,000. To Name Warship Xorth Dakota. North Dakota Is to be the name of oattleship No. 23 , one of the new 20,000-ton vessels recently contracted for. The other vessel will be the Del aware. Plague Continues at Frisco. The totals in the bubonic plague sit uation in San Francisco to date are ; Cases verified , 43 ; deaths , 26 ; death percentage , 60.4 per cent ; suspects un- ' Uer observation. 23. CONSPIRACY IN CUBA. Wall Street Accused of Financing : Re bellion. A conspiracy fo start a revolution movement in Cuba has been discover ed. Under instructions issued by Gov. Magoon a number "of suspicious per sons believed to Be connected with the conspiracy have been shadowed for several days past. It is believed that the movement is backed by Ne'w York capitalists. Gov. Magoon has been aware for several days past that certain individ uals were conspiring against the gov ernment , but he did not , attach to the matter much importance , owing to thp fact that these persons were under constant surveillance and the Cuban rurale guard-and the American forces on the island had been so assigned as to be able to crush any such move ment in a few hours' time The fact that Gov. Magoon was cognizant of the conspiracy and the movements of the agitators seems to 'iave served to suppress the threatened outbreak , and advices received by the government Wed/iesday night from all the provinces show that there * is no ground at all for apprehension. There is reason to believe that this conspir acy has been going on for several weeks past. The recent miniature up risings near Santiago and Cambusni were due'to too great enthusiasm on the part of some of the partisans in the movement , who failed to await the signal from the chiefs in Havana. It is declared that Masse Parra , a native born Cuban , has been the lead er of the activity. Parra is known to have led several Latin-American revolutions in the past. He tried to enter Cuba after being expelled two years ago , but the Palma administra tion feared his purpose in returning was to organize a revolution and would not permit him to land. Parra landed in Cuba several weeks ago. No objection to his coming was made. FOR PURE KANSAS DRINKS. Board of Health to Inspect Places Where Beverages Arc Sold. All "joints , " drug stores that sell li- quir , ice cream parlors and confection ery stands ; in fact , every place where drinks of any kind are sold in Kansas , are to be inspected at once by the pure food inspectors of the state board of health. The orders to the inspectors were issued by Dr. S. J. Crumbine , secretary of the state board of health. The inspectors are to visit every place where drinks are sold or manufac tured to see if the premises are in proper sanitary condition. The pure food law also applies to drinks of all kinds. Everything must be properly labeled , of standard strength and pur ity and without adulteration. The inspectors specters will gather samples for anal ysis. ysis.The The " 2 per cent joints" in some of the towns are the ones that suffer most under this order. It is reported that these places sell the goods without la bels or any mark of identification. This is in violation of the federal laws , as everything must be labeled. SAYS PICKETING IS ILLEGAL. AVisconsin Supreme Court Reverses Decision of Lower Court. A decision of far reaching impor tance was handed down by the state supreme court of Wisconsin when the order of the late Judge J. J. Dick re fusing to punish A. C. Humphrey , a striking molder , at the Vilter Manu facturing company's plant , was revers ed. The decision in effect is that pick eting is illegal , and is regarded as a decisive victory by the attorneys for the foundrymen's association. This case grew out of the molders * strike against the iron foundries of Milwaukee , which was instituted on the 2d of May , 1906. About 1,100 molders went out on a. strike to com pel the unionising of the various foun dries of the city. TO REORGANIZE FOUR ROADS , Only Obstacle Removed by Granting of Immunity to the Alton. The granting of immunity to the Chicago and Alton for paying rebates to the Standard Oil company by Judge Landis , of Chicago , Tuesday removes the only obstacle to the ratification of the sale by the Rock Island of the controlling interest in the Alton to the Clover Leaf and the consolidation with the Minneapolis and St. Louis and Iowa Central railroads. As soon as the necessary financial details are ar ranged the organization of the four roads will be effected. Minister as Confidence Man. Rev. Benj. F. Graff , a deposed min ister , was taken to Joliet , 111. , from Michigan under arrest for working an alleged confidence game. He was un able to secure $1,000 bail. Miss Virginia Lee Weds. Miss Virginia Lee , daughter of the late Gen. Fitzhugh Lee , was married ' at Alexandria , Va. , Wednesday to Lieut. John Carter Montgomery , Sev enth United States caValry. Wealthy Stockman Arrested. Ed B. Johnson , wealthy cattleman and banker of Xorman , Okla. , was rearrested Wednesday on the charge introducing uninspected cattle across the quarantine line. Weds a Music Master. Countess Montignoso , ex-crown princess of Saxony , and Signer Tofelli , music master , were married Wednes day at the registry office on the Strand in London. Leaves Oyster Bay. President Roosevelt returned to Washnston at 10 o'clock Wednesday morning , ending his summer vacation at Oyster Bay , which commenced June , 12. * . > * 5' ' > * ' & I"3"J" ' M""J'O' < i" " 2"X vv'I BEATRICE PEOPLE CELEBRATE. City Starts iri 011 Last Half of Century Since Its .Foundation. With a grand salute at 6 o'clock Tuesday morning the opening day of the fiftieth anniversary celebration of the city of Beatrice was ushered in under most favorable circumstances. Per the last week the merchants have been busily engaged in decorating their places of business for this mem orable occasion , and with myriad elec tric lights strung across the streets throughout the business section the city presents a beautiful appearance. At 10 o'clock a. m. there was a bal loon ascension , and every hour during the remainder of the day concerts were given by the Steinauer , Parker Fairyland , Queen City and Beatrice military bands. Wednesday Avas fraternal day , and after the water fight at 10:30 : o'clock by the firemen and the serving of roast ox at 12 o'clock by M. D. Lawrence , of Lexington , Ky. , there was a grand pa rade of fraternal orders. Beatrice fire department , military organizations and labor unions. At 1:30 : there was an exhibition drill'between fraternal drill teams , and in the evening the Beatrice fire department gave a grand display of fireworks. Thursday's pro gram comprised an' address by Will iam Jennings Bryan , flower parade of carriages and automobiles and a pa rade of old settlers and homecomers. There was an industrial parade Fri day , participated in by all the manu facturing institutions of Beatrice. The high school , postoffice employes and traveling men also took part in the parade. HORSES BURN IX BIG BARX. Xo One Seems to Know How the Fire Started. The large horse barn on the D. L. Johnson ranch four miles north of Cairo was discovered on fire and burn ed to the ground. Mr. Sorensen , the foreman of the ranch , with his family were visiting with his father half a mile distant , no one being on the place at the time except one hired man , and he was asleep in the house. Mr. Sorensen ensen saw the fire and hurried back to the ranch , but too late to save the building. Several neighbors living in the vicinity came soon and were of much assistance in saving the other buildings located near by , one of which caught on fire , but the blaze on this was put out by timely action. The barn was a large building , and with it burned six head of horses , two new buggies , several sets of harness , a few hundred bushels of corn , etc. Only a small amount of insurance was car ried and the fire will be quite a loss to the owner , D. L. Johnson , a promi nent lawyer of Omaha. There seems to be no clue as to the origin of the fire , PACKERS TO BE PROSECUTED. Packages Do Xot Contain Amount Stamped on Outside. Food Commissioner Johnson is be ginning a campaign against the pack ing houses which are offending against the pure food law. Packages of meat must hereafter have the net weight stamped upon them. To start his cam paign for packages of honest weight , Johnson ordered the county attorney of Douglas county to institute proceed- 'ings ' against the South Omaha packing houses. It is found that packages of bacon and ham are wrapped with pa per and cloth until 5 or 6 per cent of the stamped weight is thus accounted , for/ The order is that all Nebraska pack ers must comply with the law. If outside packers do not , the retailers ( handling the goods will be held re sponsible. Revising Soldiers' Home Rules. The board of public lands and .buildings . met recently at Lincoln to .revise the rules governing the two 'soldiers' homes located at Milford and Grand Island. The board has not yet completed its work , but it will in all probability change the rule rela tive to the amount of money to be paid into the cash fund out of the pensions of the members. Farmer Killed in Runaway. John Nelson , a farmer living east of Wymore , was killed in a runaway at that place recently. Mr. Nelson had , brought a load of oats to the eleva tor and in driving down the incline his team became frightened and ran away. Sudden Death of Dr. Reed. Dr. M. D. Reed , while at Fremont selling medicines of his own preparation - , tion , died after an illness of fifteen minutes , at the Jones hotel. He was 71 years of age and leaves a wife and family. Neuralgia of the heart was the cause. Columbus First Class City. Gov. Sheldon has received an appli cation from the city of Columbus to be declared a .city of the first class. Ac cording to a census of the city recently taken , it contains 5,082 inhabitants. The law requires 5,000 population for a city before it can be a city of the * first class. Mrs. Wilcox on Visiting Board. , Gov. Sheldon has appointed Mrs. Wilcox , wife of Senator Wilcox , to be a member of the visiting board to the Milford industrial school. Frost Aids Corn. The light frost which visited the lowland around Humboldt did no damage to growing crops , tending rather to aid the corn by checking its growth and causing it to ripen fast. The last few weeks of hot weather and winds did much to get the corn in ihape to escape damage by the frost. County IIi h School Defeated. The proposition for a county high school was voted on in Hamilton coun ty last Saturday and defeated by a majority of about 1,500. K MERRICK WANTS COURT ROUSE. Thhc is Too Short to Submit Proposi tion to Voters This Year. The people of Merrick county will not be given a chance to express their opinion on the question of voting $100,000 bonds for the erection of a new court house at , the general elec tion in November. After careful con sideration , the county board of super visors has decidecf that the time is too shoit before election to comply \vitn a1 ! the requirements necessary for making this question" issue at the coming election. Jnstead of try ing to crowd matters now , the super visors intend putting it off until next year and then taking it up in plenty of time. The question of erecting a new court house was proposed several years ago , but th.e proposition was withdrawn before election on account of a heavy hail storm which swept the county and severely damaged crops. The need of a new court house is keenly felt , for the old structure is. in a deplorable condition , the east side having settled so that the building had to be rodded .and later propped up. The general sentiment over the entire county seems to be that a new edifice should be constructed , and that it only , remains for the supervisors to take the ' necessary steps for submitting the , question at the election one year hence and the bonds will be voted. FARMER'S NARROW ESCAPE. Hay that Fell with Him from AVagon Saves Life. Grant W. Larson , living six miles I southwest of Plainview , was thrown ' off a load of hay and nearly killed. ' He was hauling hay , leading one team and driving the other. The front part of the load of hay he was on fell for ward under the horses' feet. The team took fright and ran away. Be fore Larson could get out from under the hay two wheels of the front wag on passed over him , stunning him. ' The two wheels of the rear wagon also passe'd over him. He was taken tos the home of Jake Pilger and Dr. Kile was called over the phone. When the doctor examined him it was found to the surprise of all that no bones were broken and Larson will be out again in a few days. His head and face was badly cut and bruised. The first wagon wheels were the common sized tire , but the other wagon had I wide tires. All agreed that the , hay that fell off with him was the means of saving him from death. BERI-BERI FRIGHTENS FARMERS Assurance of Physicians Does Xot Allay - lay Alarm at Alvo. Notwithstanding the strict quaran tine of the twenty Japanese laborers on the Rock Island near Alvo , who were discovered to be afflicted with beri-beri , the dread oriental disease common in their native country , and the announcement by Dr. W. H. Wil son , inspector of the state board of health , that they have the situation well in hand , residents of Alvo and the surrounding country are still greatly alarmed. The disease is con tagious and epidemic. It exists mostly in the oriental countries , particularly Chinp. and Japan , and is a form of paralysis affecting the lower limbs and working upward until the vital organs are reached. Poor and unfit food and too close confinement are said to have caused the attack at Alvo. The dis ease was discovered among the Japan ese at Alvo by Dr. I. D. Jones , of Mur- dock. BURGLAR SHOOTS AXD RUXS. Dr. Mattson the Target , but Fortu nately Bullet Does Xot Hit. A burglar gained entrance to Dr. Mattson's residence , 102G South Thir ty-second street , Omaha , at 8:30 Wed nesday night , and as he was making his exit he pulled a revolver and took a shot at Dr. Mattson , but failed to hit him. The burglar gained entrance to the house by climbing onto a shed and getting into a second-story win dow. Dr. Mattson heard a noise up stairs and went to investigate. As he entered the room where the burglar was the latter jumped out of the win dow , firing the shot as he jumped. A pair of gold cuff buttons was all trie burglar secured. Woman Pleads In Vain for Man. Tears and pleadings of Nina Smith , a boarding house keeper of Omaha , did not save one of her star boarders , S. Hart , from receiving a stiff sen tence for assault and battery in po lice court. Hart beat the woman un mercifully and she appeared before the magistrate with eyes almost swollen en shut to plead for her boarder. Scott's Bluff Church Dedicated. On Sunday , Sept. 22 , the new Meth odist church at Scott's Bluff was ded icated. The edifice has a seating ca pacity of 500 and was built at a cost of $8,500 , and is in fact a thoroughly modern church. The service was in charge of Joseph W. Powell , of Buffa lo , N. Y. , and Rev. E. E. Thompson , the pastor. Holds Rate Reasonable. In answering the complaint of the Nebraska state railway commission , before the interstate commerce com mission against the blanket rate of $4.50 a ton on coal shipments from Rock Springs and Hanna , Wyo. , to Nebraska points , the Union'Pacific de nied the rate is unreasonable. Creameries Go Into Court. Congressman E. J. Hainer has an nounced definitely that the centralized creameries will fight in the courts the new rates on cream promulgated by the state railway commission , alleging that they were made for the purpose of discriminating against the estab lished plants. Roosevelt Club at Plattsmoutli. A Roosevelt club was organized in Plattsmouth and the following officers elected : President , Jesse Perry ; sec retary , Clare Thomas ; treasurer , Ray Barker ; captain , H. M. Criag. A room , is to be secured and an active cam paign commenced soon. Piclcpockcts Gets Fat Purse. Henry Halscher , of Ogallala. was robbed of $138 cash and a draft for $48 during the parade at the anni versary celebration at Beatrice. There is no clue to the robbers. r/ BIG OIL TRUST PROFITS. Profit off c of Missouri in the gov- the great o , I com- suit to dissolve " and John G. Milburn and others as counsel for the Standard Oil submitted in cu- Company. Mr. Kellogg dW statistics compiled by the Standard Oil officials , showing that the Standard had earned Oil Company of New Jersey profits in the last seven years aggrcga.- ing $490,315,934 , and that during the the same time dividends had been pafd to amount of $308.359,403. These profits came from the plants owned by the parent from those of the company as well as subsidiaries controlled by it. lliis was the first time in the Listory of the oil trust that a record of its earnings entire- had been made public. { Acting Controller Fay of the Standard said there wero- nineteen subsidiary companies , and gave- their names. The evidence is being taken i ! for use in the Circuit Court at St. Louis , where the dissolution suit , under the- anti-trust law , is to be prosecuted. Mr. Kellogg , among other things , wanted the of the- company to produce the minutes various meetings at which the absorption of smaller companies was arranged , but the counsel for the company was inclined' * o resist. The examination of Charles M. Pratt , , secretary of the trust , brought out the fact that the parent company had trans ferred its $4,000,000 holdings in the- lSWaters-Pierce Oil Company of Texas tea > a son-in-law of Vice President Archhold from 1904 to 1907 , during the ouster pro ceedings brought against the subsidiary by the State of Texas , and. that only $125,000 in cash was paid for the stocks , the remainder being in the form of a note whidhwas never fully taken up , the prof its of the Waters-Pierce company going , toward the payment of the note. Mr. Pratt admitted that this transaction did "not appear on the books of the Standard , the accounts being kept under the title , . " . " Mr. Pratt "C. M. Pratt Investment. explained that by this" arrangement he- held the stocks for the trust merely as a convenience , and when asked if it was not done to avoid the anti-trust laws of Texas he replied , "Xot that I know of. " Tabulations were also verified showing enormous earnings of subsidiaries , amen g : which those of the Standard Oil Company of Indiana appeared most remarkable. This corporation on a capitalization of $1,000,000 made profits in 1906 amount ing to . 10,516,082 , and last year paiQ to the parent company $4,495,500. This amounted for at least one year to the re markable profit of 1,000 per cent. Mr- Kellogg also brought out evidence show ing how the Xew York branch Tiad been systematically drained by saddling upon it enormous liabilities at the same time- that its assets were greatly increased. Counsel Milburn disclosed one line of de fense by giving notice that the trust would object to any testimony bearing : upon acts committed prior to July 2 , 1890 , when the Sherman law went into effect. BIG CORN SHOW. Alore ihnn 1OOOO Entries for Exposition to Be Meld in Chicago , That there will he more than 10,000 entries for the National Corn Exposition which is to be held in the Coliseum at Chicago , is the confident helief held by the management , based on the hearty re sponse that met the first appeal to the fanners in the corn belt. Within a few- days after sending out the list of ' the classifications for the entry of corn to- J contest for the $10,000 cash prizes and the $25,000 in special premiums offered , application for 1,500 entries were made. Quite apart from the educational end of the exposition , it will be especially strong in attractive show features ; While 'the most striking of these doubtless will be the lavish decorative i scheme which has been completed at an expenditure of $30- 000 , a number of specialties have been arranged. Freight traffic is reported to be increas ing at an abnormal rate in Xew Eng land. Reports from California state that the Southern Pacific road is preparing to rufa its trains in that State by electricity. The fortieth annual number of PoorT3 Manual , recently issued , places-the gross earnings of the railroads of the -United States during 190G at $1,124,500,300 , an increase of $234,442i51G over 1903 , in pite of increased wages and cost of ma terials. There were 815,774,118 passen gers carried last year , and 1,010,090,829 tons of freight moved. The average re ceipts per passenger per mile was 2.011 cents , as against 2.028 in 1905. The average revenue per ton per mile on freight decreased from .784 cents to .76 $ cents. The total assets of all the rail roads amounted to $17,534,381,633. The total funded debt of the roads is $7,831- 107,778 , being a slight increase over the- previous year. The increase in capital stock was $364,452,151 , the total now be- 5 $7.106.408.976. The total increose- of liabilities of all kinds was $1,199615- 867. The construction of new road dur i'l ing the year was 5.516 miles , makin JL total at the end of 1D06 of 222,635 miles. The Erie railroad , has received au all- steel passenger coach , which is practically r1 non-wreckable and will not burn The4- % is less than 300 pounds of wood or oth inflammable material used in its construc ? tion and all of that has been triMtea i \ with a preparation which , it is cl renders it immune to an ordinary of heat. The car looks like the st passenger coach in general use , but weight is much in excess of the wooden car , _ being nearly 100,000 pounds. The nnVhT SK nsI-v.buiIt * so well riveted Sfoi ? t ? at 'Vil1 stand alait any shock that railroad * service will ta i-
