I
SAYS EBRB !
IF ! '
lExpcrt Declares the Boasted Fight
ing Ships Are Merely Death
Traps.
JVKBIOR BELT IS TOO LOTV.
Defects in Construction Pointed
Out cad Promotion System
/ Is Scored.
Henry Rcuterdahl , associate of the
* CJnited States Naval Institute and
American editor of "Fighting Ships , "
is the author of a startling article on
" "The Needs of Our Navy" in the Jan
uary MrCIure' : ; . Mr. Reulcrdahl's ex-
jjertness on naval matters is not dis
puted and neither is his patriotism ,
lie agrees with President Roosevelt
that a navy must be built "and all its
'training given in time of peace" and
with this in view he exposes defects
In our first-class battle ships and ar-
aiored cruisers which all but make
them useless as a efficient units in a
fleet on heavy sea and in real action.
Mr. Reuterdahl's criticisms appear
* to be the more amazing' account of
ithe contention that most , if no * , all of
the weak points he emphasizes , will be
.acknowledged by sea-going ollicers. "or.
if the reader is sufficiency interested ,
by the testimony of his own eyes. "
His principal points are the folio w-
iug :
That the shell-proof armor of the
American battle ships is virtually be
low the water line where it will do no
oed , leaving the broad side of the ves
sel exposed to the shells of the enemy.
Tnat this defect has been pointed
out time and again ; that other nations
years ago recognized it as fatal and
now have armor wrapped around the
sides of their war vessels from five to
seven feet above the water line.
That , despite repeated accidents on
DISASTBOUS MINE ACCI
DENTS IN RECENT YEABS.
Lives lost.
1.S91 jLibion colliery , South Wales. 2SO
1902 Fratervillo. Tenn L-X )
IS/02 Rolling Mill mine , Pennsyl
vania 105
190. , llanna , Wyoming 175
1JJQ-1 Laekawanna mine , Pennsyl
vania 30
1904 Tercio. California " 1
U'OTi Virginia City , Ala 152
19H5 Ziler , 111 : .3
1 ! > ( ' . " Welsh coal mine 120
ll'Ol IMamondville. Wyoming IS
1KJKurtsisk. ! . Russia 3UO
1KJ5--M. . K.T. . Coal Company. . 13
1905 Princeton. I ml 13
1905 Coal mine in Prussia 55
KM 5 Wicox. ! W. Va o5
1911(5 ( Rluefields. W. Va. - . 21
190(5 ( .Johnstown , Pa. 25
150 ( > Century , W. Va 1 >
1130(5 ( Durham. England 1 25
190o Dutchman miue , Blosslmrg ,
N. M 15
1900 Courricrc mine , near Calais ,
France 1,0'JO
1901 * . Japan 250
Oakhill. W. Va'S
West Fork. Va 75
'
K0i ; Quarto. Colo. . " : 22
19O7 Saarius , Prussia 22
1907 Primero , Cole 20
1907 Fayolt ville. W. Va bO
1907 Saarbruek , Prussia 200
1907 Las Ksperanxas. Mexico 123
11T)7 ) Forbach. Germany ' . . 75
1907 Monongahela , Pa 30
1907 Toyoka. Japan 470
1907 Tsing Tan , China 112
1907 Nejraunco , Mich 17
1907 Monongah. W. Va 398
1907 Yolando , Ala SI
i.OOO.OOO ChristmaH Tree * a. Year.
In discussing the effect on the forests
ot the country by the use of Christmas
tites , of which it is estimated that 4,000.-
000 are used each year , Gifford Pinchot ,
United States forester , says that the ef
fect is infinitesimal compared with the de
struction cauod by forest fires and waste
ful lumboriuu' . If planted four feet apart
fl'ese trees would be grown on less than
1.400 acres. He says that trees suitable
for Christmas trees do not grow in the
old forests , where reproduction is most
important , but iu the open , and there is
iu more reason for an outcry against
usng : land to grow Christmas trees than
to grow llowcrs. According to Mr. Pin
chot , the center of the Christmas tree in
dustry lies in the big cities of the East.
New York City and the New England
States consume 1,500,000 trees , or nearly
one-half of all the output. Maine , New
Hampshire , the Berkshire Hills , iu Mas-
A BLOT OH THE LAST CHAPTER.
fff. Vv'T-Lo T's slfK \ Ti-Vi-V
ifycf * * * & ! jfc f * X + J > J Vi
-1 w k y Vs ;
k wA
WH * r ' 'J - * N NS /
-board our ships , the Navy Department
year after year has approved of plans
by which the greatest guns on the
ships are directly above an open shaft
leading to the powder magazine.
That other nations long since recog
nized the criminal stupidity of thus en
dangering the lives of officers and men
and have remedied the defect by use
of common sense and ordinary precau
tionary measures.
That , without regard to the protests
of experts , our battle ships have been
built so low that if the sea is heavy
.and ships are in action , the sea would
wash over the vessels , render some of
their most effective guns useless and
practically leave the ship to the mercy
of the enemy.
The officers in the American navy
who command the battle ships and
J rsquadrons are too old ; that under ex
isting conditions young men cannot at
tain command , and that the service is
-badly crippled as a result.
That there is too much "bureau man
agement" in Washington : too much
red tape in the Navy Department ;
that American genius is-stifled because
of the bureau's immersion in details ,
and that with the Secretary of the
Navy a civilian , he should have a
ftoanl of expert advisers.
Other matters are dwelt on , but the
foregoing arc by far thejnost impor
tant. An afternoon's fight on water
sealed Russia's fate in the recent war
with Japan , says Mr. Rcuterdahl , and
t t\\c \ same may well be true of the next
' war into which this nation is plunged.
The issue is so important and the stake
so tremendous that the sea power
which is prepared in every respe.-t to
meet the crisis will be the victor.
by
According to the report of the New
"York public service commission , the iium-
'icr of street railway accidents in that
city for November shows a .steady decrease
since llio commission bc an to keep a recon -
on ] four ii'.onths ago. Ihnjing November
-45 perrons were killed , as compared with
47 in October. ( > 3 in September and 42
in August. An oven greater decrease is
noticcablf in the number injured.
Mrs. Jcim R. MrMahon , known in literary -
-erary work as Marghorita Arliua llanim ,
is dead of pneumonia in New York. .
sachusetts , and the Adirondacks and Catskills -
kills , in New York , are the sources of
supply for New York , Boston and Phila
delphia , and even Tor Baltimore and
Washington. The swamps of Michigan ,
Wisconsin and Minnesota furnish the
markets of Chicago , St. Paul , Minneapo
lis and Detroit , while the local demand
throughout the central West is mainly
supplied by nursery-grown Norway
spruce.
Replying to this declaration , Mrs. John
S. Crosby , president of the Women's Dem
ocratic Club of New York , points out that
there is little in the training of children
that the man , as well as the woman , ought
not to learn , and that if womankind were
restricted to the rearing and teaching of
children she would be deprived of many of
the best opportunities for learning how to
do that very work.
President Wilson of Princeton , in a
bold address before the convention of the
Association of Colleges and Preparatory
Schools at New York , got after , the pre
vailing school and college methods with a
sharp stick. lie declared that educators
had missed the "true inner meaning of ed
ucation , that we have forgotten to assem
ble its elements , and that we have forgot
ten to simplify our metho'ds. " Education ,
as distinguished from technical training ,
should be based on three principles : En
lightenment , orientation and discipline. "
By orientation he meant the power to or-
ganixe one's knowledge and see things
with perspective. What our age needed
most was the dreamers and creators. Mere
information did not educate , and it might
impede the mind.
The faculty of the Cornell university
medical college at New York announced
that hereafter the usual high school
course generally accepted as suflicient
pieparation for the study of medicine
would not enable students to enter there.
Candidates for admission would have to
be graduates' approved colleges or scien
tific schools , seniors in good standing at
Cornell or any other like university which
would permit the substitution of the first
year of the medical course for the senior
year. Also others not possessing a degree
may be admitted by passing a special ex-
animation.
WORK OF
Resolutions wore introduced in the
Senate Wednesday by Senator Tillman
asking the interstate commerce commission -
sion to report whether any corporation
engaged in interstate'commerce was the
owner of the sto-i of any other corpoia-
tipn transporting passengers and freight
and calling upon the interstate commerce
commission to define the authority of the
federal government and of the States in
respect to the control of the liquor trailic
through the operation of the interstate
commerce law. Senator Culberson spoke
on his resolution calling on the commit
tee on finance to investigate and report
upon the cause of the present financial
stringency. The resolution was referred
to the committee on finance. The
was not in session.
The Senate was not in session Thurs
day. Prime interest in the session of
the House centered in the announcement
by Speaker Cannon of the appointment
of the various committees. Many b-lls
of importance were introduced. An un
successful effort was made to block the
erection of the statue to Gen. Grant at
the expense of a number of historic trees.
Adjournment was taken until Saturday
The Senate , at the instance of Mr. Tel
ler passed a bill Saturday , suspending for
the year 1907 the requirement that 8100
worth of labor shall be done on all m-n-
ing claims in course of perfection. Sena
tor Cullom introduced a joint resolution
providing that the presidential term shall
be six years , and that the President shall
be ineligible for re-election. It was ic-
ferred to the Committee on Judiciary.
Senator Scott introduced a joint resolu
tion providing for a commission to inves
tigate recent mine disasters. Sena'or
Warner introduced a bill creating the
rank of vice admiral in the navy. Ad
journment Avas taken to Jan. G. 3 he
House was in session but twenty minutes ,
most of the time being occupied by a pio-
test of Representative Gaines against ad
journment over the holidays. Adjourn-
tnent , however , was taken until Jan. 0.
NATIONAL CAPITAL NOTES.
The President sent to the Senate the
nomination of Frederick II. Magdeburg
to be pension agent at Milwaukee.
Representative Ansberry of Ohio intro
duced a bill providing for the survey of a
ship canal to connect Toledo and Chicago.
A bill making it a felony for a national
bi nk or any of its officers to speculate
\\ith the fnnds of the bank was intro
duced by Representative Do Armond of
Missouri.
The commissioner of Indian affairs , in
his annual report , urged that laws be
passed giving the more progressive In
dians greater freedom in the management
of their affairs.
Secretary Metcalf sent a letter of re
proof to Justice Delacy of the Juvenile
Court , who I'-'ceutly discharged a boy ac
cused of theft on condition that he en
list in the navy.
The Ohlsou-Malioney Lumber Company
of San Francisco was the lowest bidder
on 0,000,000 feet of lumber for the Isth
mian canal commission , offering to deliver
it for $121,372.
Representative Perkins of New York
introduced his inheritance tax bill so
amended that one-half of the tax collect
ed should go to the Slate atid the other
to the government.
Word was received from Pcnsacola ,
Fla. , that Senator Mallory , who is seri
ously ill tlicr ? , would not be a candidate
for re-election , and planned to retire from
public life on account of his health.
Robert L. Owen and Thomas P. Gore ,
the two ne\v Senators from Oklahoma ,
were sworn in the other day. Senator
Owen , by lot , secured the six-year term ,
and Senator Gore the two-year term.
Oct. 12 will be a national holiday ,
known as "Discovery day , " in honor of
the discovery America Oct. 12 , 1492 , if
a bill introduced in the House of Repre
sentative Gonlden of New York becomes
a law.
Representative Burgess of Texas intro
duced a resolution calling for the appoint
ment by the President of a banking and
currency commission to hold public hear
ings in New York , Chicago and other
large cities.
Representative McKinley of Illinois in
troduced a bill appropriating ? oO,000 a
year for each of the land grant colleges
maintaining schools of engineering , in ad
dition to the ? 55,000 annually now given
to the agricultural experiment station- ; .
A resolution charging the Secretary of
Agriculture with inaccuracy in estimating
this year's cotton crop , and calling on him
to furnish to Congress "the figures and
the information upon which he based his
estimate. " was introduced in the Ho.ise.
A bill creating in the Department of
Commerce and Labor a bureau of trans
portation to take off the shoulders of the
Interstate commerce commission all s.ive'
: he larger matters requiring the exercise
of the judicial function was introduced bj
Representative Ste\eus of Minnesota.
Representative John Sharp Williams of
Mississippi introduced the old Blaine bill
to admit into all ports of the Fniled
States free of duty all products of the
American hemisphere upon which no export - '
port duties are imposed , whenever such
nation shall admit to its ports free cer-
: ain United States products.
Pittsburg had a $100.000 fire. Graff
! c Co. , stove manufacturers : John Flock-
er & Co. , rope dealers ; Seeley & Lcard ,
wholesale hat dealers , and II. W. Johns ,
dealer in railway supplies , were the prin
cipal losers.
The body of a man of striking appear
ance about 40 years old was found in a
street in San Francisco. Cards in his
pockets bore the name and title "Lieuten
ant Baron von Ilaberiicht , military at
tache of the consolidated powers of l'u
rope. "
6BAIN CROPS
Government Final Estimate Shov/j
Great Decline in Cereal
Production.
PRICES I.IAZE FARMESS HAPPY.
They Will Get Kalf a Billion of
Dollars More This Year
than Last.
The government report shows a
shortage of 7S5.9S7.000 bushels in total
crops as compared with the crops of
190U , which were the largest ever raised
in this-country , and a shortage of 377-
287,000 bushels as compared with tne
yields of 1903 , which were also very
large.
The chief shortage is in the corn
crop , with 335,000,000 bushels , oats
with 211.000,000 bushels and wueat
with 101,000,000 bushels.
There is something of an offset to the
big loi-sos in the feeding grains iu the
increase of 0,431,000 tons of hay as
compared to that of 11)00 ) , and of
3,045,388 tons as compared to the crop
of 1905.
Prominent features of the final revis
ion of its crop estimates for the year
by the Department of Agriculture were
the increases made in the reports of
area seeded to spring wheat , corn raid
oats. In each of these particulars as
well cs iu the estimated weight of
spring Avheat and oats the official re
ports ran more or less counter to the
general impressions of speculators. In
a few instances , such as the weight of
oats , the figures given wore at variance
with all the experiences of the trade
for the year to date.
Figures of tlie Ileport.
The report gave final estimates of
acreage , production and value of farm
crops , showing winter wheat acreage
to be 28.132,000. production 409.442,000
bushels and value per bushel SS.2 cents.
Spring wheat acreage was 17.07U.OOO ,
production 224,045,000 bushels and val
ue SO cents.
Corn acreage was 99.931,000. produc
tion 2,592,320,000 bushels and value
51.7 cents.
Oats acreage was 31,837.000. produc
tion 754,443,000 bushels and value 44.3
cents.
It was announced that the total val
ue of the farm crops for 1907 was $3-
401,000,000 , an increase of 8428,000,000
for 190G.
The farm value on Dec. 1 of the four
crops already mentioned follows : Corn ,
81,340,440,000 ; winter wheat , 8301,217-
000 ; spring wheat , 8193,220,000 ; oats ,
8334,5GS,000.
The comparative prices for the grain
crops for the past three years follow :
1907. 190(5. 1905. 1904.
Wheat . . . .81.7 GG.7 74.8 92.4 :
Corn 51.7 39.9 41.2 44.1
Oats 44.3 31.7 29.1 31.3
Rye 73.1 5S.1) G0.7 GS.S
Barley . . . .44.3 41.5 40.S 42.0
Buckwheat G9.S 59.0 5S.7 G2.2
Flax 95.G 101.3 95.0 99.3
Potatoes . . .G1.7 51.1 G1.7 45.3
Ilay . . . . $11.08 $10.37 SS.52 $8.72
FARMING IN A DESERT.
There Are Colonizing Possibilities
Even in Death Valley.
The craze of "homestaking" which is
seems to have reached its limit in the
choice of Death Valley as a colonizing
possibility. With the idea of trans
forming the most arid and most deso
late portion of the great American des
ert into farm land , a number of tracts
have been homcstaked , irrigation sys
tems have been planned , and other
preparations are now in progress for
beginning the reclamation of Death
Valley. A railroad is already built
from Greenwater , at the southern end
of the valley , to the borax works owned
by the celebrated "Borax" Smith of 20-
mule team fame , and there is an auto
mobile stage line through the valley.
Even enthusiasts do not claim that
piping water from Telescope Peak
across the Funeral range into the A-al-
ley is also under consideration.
State Holds AYater.s-t'ieree Company.
The Texas Supreme Court has decided
that it has final jurisdiction in the dis
puted receivership for the debarred Wat-
eis-Pierce Oil Company and At ton ey
General Davidson has moved the appoint
ment of a State receiver to take charge
of the property , pending a final disposi
tion of the penalty and ouster proceed
ings.
Col. A. S. Colynr , aged 90 years , noted
jurist , statesman and author , died at his
homo in Nashville , Tenn. lie was a
member of the Confederate congress.
DAVIS' DEBUT.
Arkansas Senator Delivers Maiden
Speech.
Breaking all traditions and prece
dents. United States Senator Jefferson
Davis , of Arkarsa.s , addressed his col-
*
| 1 < ffi < H
leagues on "trust
control of busi-
nefcS. " after nine
days' service. Up
to a few years ago
it was an unwrit
ten law that 110
Senator should ad
dress his fellows
in a set speech un
less he had served
at least one term.
.sh.NAio : 4.A\h.
. . , . Then Senator Bev-
eridge reduced the time limit of sena
torial apprenticeship by speaking aftei-
three months' occupation of a Senate
seat. Davis' purpose to cstabdlish a
new record had been widely advertised
and there was a lar e crowd to hear
him.
In 1S9S Davis was Attorney General
of Arkansas and , while in this position ,
secured the Democratic nomination for
Governor. Although bitterly opposed
by practically every newspaper in the
State he was elected by one of the
largest majorities ever given in Ar
kansas. Throe times he was elected
Governor. lie is of a restless , nervous
temperament , devoted to his family , an
eiitbusiastic lover of books and a keen
student of men. He is of tine appear
ance , being over six feet tall. Ilia
daughter is his constant companion and
stenographer. Senator Davis is a
nephew of the illustrious Southerner
whose name he bears.
TWO NEW BATTLESHIPS.
\
Government Ne\v Building1 Largest
in the World.
Coincident with the departure of the
Atlantic ileet for the Pacific , there was
laid down in the Fore River shipyard ,
at Quincy , Mass. . the keel plates of the
battleship North Dakota , which is ex
pected to be far more powerful thnn
the most effective ship now under the
command of Rear Admiral Evans. The
Intrust vessel in the Pacific bound fleet
is of 1(5.000 ( tonnage , but the North Da
kota will be of 20,000 tons displace
ment ; nearly 2.0GO tons heavier than
CROPS OP TOUTED STATES EQE , THREE YEARS.
1907. bu. 19015. bu. 1905 , bu.
Winter wheat 409.442.000 492.8'-'S,001 428,402.834 =
Spring wheat 224,045.000 242.372,900 201,510,055
Total 5.137,903.000 5,923,890,235 5,515,189,880
Hay , tons . . . . . 03,577.000 57,145,959 00,531,012
the famous Dreadnought , of the Brit
ish navy , and 25 per cent more eiTec-
tive in gun-fire than the latter. The
North Dakota will be 510 feet long.
It is already figured out that the
launching will take place next October ,
or in ton months from the time of the
laying of the keel. Although the keel
was laid only recently the North Da
kota is regarded as nearly S per cent
finished. Long before the keel blocks
wore placed in position the ship was
completely laid down in the mold-loft
mid over 50 per cent of all the plans in
the construction of the ship were de
veloped and approved.
The North Dakota is a sister ship of
the Delaware , now being built at New
port News.
I
Money is suffering from bad circulation.
Pennsylvania miser who spent only 3
cents last year is dead. He just couldn't
bear the increase in living expenses.
An Aurora (111. ( ) physician has discov
ered that peanuts are a beauty diet. This
ought to be a circus for some people.
An Eastern banker says , "We want
more common sense. " We want also more
dollars , which are not so common now.
If prices of bread and meat keep on
coming down , pretty soon the average
man can afford , to eat three meals a day.
Chief Sprybuck , the Indian who drank
a quart of blue paint , is carrying the
"decorative interior" fad to an extreme.
With 1.300,000 divorce suits in ten
yars , the United States is plainly in need
of a national "Stay-Married Association. "
Secretary Cortelyou is trying to im
plies us with the fact that stockings were
made to be worn and not to hoard money
iu.
James J. Hill says the railroads need
billions of dollars. From present pros
pects , it will be some time before they
ge ! 'em.
After a while it may dawn on the army
recruiters that the average soldier doesn't
look upon SI3 a month as any great graft.
An Italian count one American heiress
married turned out to be an ex-convict.
Some of tlse other counts haven't yet been
convicted.
These people who will fail to notice the
absence of "In God We Trust" from the
lu-w ten-dollar gold pieces will be largely
iu the majority.
Astronomers are worrying over the fact
that the rings of Saturn are disappearing.
Maybe the hard timej have compelled her
to yawn 'em.
ENNSYLYAN
Terrible Explosion Imprisons AH
the Men Working in Coal Shaft
Near Connellsville.
FIRE ADDS TO AWFUL HOEROE.
Darr Workings , Owned by Pittshurg
Coal Company , the Scene of Lat
est Slaughter of Miners.
Two him(1 red miners were entombed
in the Darr mines of the Pittsburg
Coal Company at Jacobs Creek , on tha
Youghiogheny River , eighteen miles
west of Connellsille. . Pa. Of the vic
tims fully 100 are Americans , the oth
ers being principally Hungarians.
A terrific explosion shook the vicin
ity of the mine Thursday morning and
announced to all the surrounding coun
try that a great disaster had occurred
under the surface. Smoke soon began
to issue in heavy columns from tha
mine , which is of the slope variety.
The mouth of the mine was wrecked ,
and this , together with the lire which
was discovered raging inside , prevent
ed any attempt to rescue the imprison
ed men. There was nothing to indi
cate whether it was gas or coal dust
that exploded.
Within a few minutes after the ex
plosion the mouth of the pit was sur
rounded by the relatives and friends of
the entombed men. Smoke and flames
issuing from the slope made it .impos
sible to enter and the wives and chil
dren were frantic.
The scene of the explosion is on the
Pittsburg & Lake Erie Railroad side
of the Youghiogheny River. Jacobs
Creek , on the main line of the Balti
more & Ohio Railroad , is across the
river. It is forty miles east of Pitts
burg and eighteen miles west of Con-
nellsville.
The officials of the Pittsburg Coal
Company stated that the mine was one
of the largest and was equipped with
the most modern appliances for mining.
The Pittsburg Coal Company mines are
on both sides of the Youghiogheny
River. The fuel mined in this lield is
used for coking purposes. The terri
tory is a part of tfie original Coimclls-
ville coke field and the mines are said
to contain considerable gas.
THIRD HORROR IN A FORTNIGHT
li/XV. Va. , and Volancle Dis
aster Cost liives of Hundreds.
The Counellsville mine horror is the
third to shock the nation within the
last fortnight. An explosion in mines
Xos. G and S of the Consolidation Coal
Company at Monongah , W. Va. , wreck
ed the interior of the mine and caused
a loss of life at first estimated at 500 ,
but since found to have been less than
400. Not all the bodies of men trapped
in subterranean passages have been re
moved even yet. At last accounts 336
had been found.
This disaster brought desolation to
the whole city of Monongah and the
surrounding region and destitution and
even disease have resulted. The State
authorities and others have taken
measures to investigate the causes rig
idly and to seek greater safety for the
workers.
The other serious accident occurred
in the Yolande coal mine , near Bir
mingham , Ala. The latest reports from
the scene of this horror , published yes
terday , show fifty-nine bodies found
and twenty-two men listed as still
missing.
W. R. Boggs , an American , -was slain
by Mexican laborers who demanded their
wages.
Twobombs were found beneath the box
of King Carlos o Portugal in the Royal
Theater of Lisbon.
Brigands tortured Marquis Cite of Na
ples and forced his wife to write a check
for $20,000 for his ransom.
In the effort to gain the mastery of
the Pacific. Japan forced every foreign
shipping line out of the China trade.
Thousands of native troops who attack
ed the French forces on the Algerian
frontier were driven back into Morocco.
A steamer went on the rocks of the
Nova Scotia shore in a blinding storin ,
but the GOO persons aboard were taken
off.
off.Oscar
Oscar Erbsloeh was forced by German
authorities to pay duty of $30 on the
James Gordon Bennett Cup he won in
the balloon race.
" The death sentence of Prof. Karl Hati ,
convicted of murder in Germany , was
commuted to life imprisonment.
Empress Alexandra of Russia became
so ill that special consultation of court
physicians was deemed necessary.
Nicholas Tschaikovsky , known as the
founder of the first revolutionary circle
at St. Petersburg , and Mine. Breshkov-
skaya , one of the first aristocratic con
verts to the terrorist program , both of
whom have many friends in America ,
have bien ? arrested and thrown into the
Fortress of SS. Peter and Paul at
Russian capital.
