AHB DEFEND AST IH SENSATION &L DIVOHCE TBIAI.
WOOD
PLATT WINS SUIT.
Wood Is Committed for Perjury
in Divorce Case.
Mae G. Wood's divorce suit against
Senator Thomas C. Platt was dismissed
by Justice O'CJorinan in the New York
.Supreme Court Thursday afternoon and
immediately afterward the justice com
mitted Mrs. Wood to the Tombs in de
fault of 9-J.OOO bail on a charge of per
jury. This startling end to the case
was no less sudden than sensational.
"The taking of evidence over , Justice
O'Goruiau had asked her a few ques
tions concerning her claims and had
then listened to a short address by her
-counsel in opposition to a motion to dis
miss the suit on the pleadings and evi-
-dence.
The lawyer's apologetic argument
-ended , Justice O'Gorman leaned for
ward in his chair and delivered himself
-of this short but positive opinion :
The court cannot credit the plaintiff's
-evidence as to the alleged marriage , and
the testimony in the case impresses the
court with the belief that it is a most
wicked design to support a fictitious claim
by forgery and perjury. The court cannot -
. -not believe from th& evidence that theio
ever was a marriage. On the merits of
the case every issue dms resulted in the
court's impression that the plaintiff has
-committed willful perjury in this case.
J'eing impressed with plaintiff's guilt of
perjury , the court commits her to the city
prison unless she furnisJies bail in $3,000.
Delivered with all the impressivo-
iiess that goes with a black silk gown
and a judicial position , these words fell
like thunderbolts on the Wood camp.
The case was one of the most remark
able suits ever to come up in New
York City. A United States Senator ,
-a feeble man of 73 years , the president
of the United States Express Company ,
.a grandfather , the father of adult sous ,
the husband of a second wife whom he
married five years ago such a man be-
iug sued for divorce by a woman -who
claims to have secretly married him
'nearly seven years ago. The woman
-who brought this astounding action is
JMrs. Mae C. Wood , or Wood-Platt , as
she calls herself. The defendant was
Thomas Collier Platt , for decades the
.political boss of the great State of New
York and now representing that com
monwealth in the upper house of Congress -
-gress for the third time.
Mrs. Wood , who was herself divorced
by Albert Wood years ago , began her
tfsuit for a divorce from. Senator Platt
on the ground of his marriage to Mrs.
Jane way , and it was the trial of this
tBuit that resulted in her commitment to
.jail as a perjurer. The two most important -
i portant links in her chain , the marriage -
riage certificate and the "confession , "
were made her own worst accusers
-when the defense finally displayed its
( hand. Months of patient detective
work , weeks of microscopic study by
Iiandwritiiig experts , and day after day
of testimony taken by deposition in va
rious cities and States , demolished the
ttiret'uliy built fabric of evidence Mrs.
"Wood had prepared. The marriage cer-
lilicate was traced to the stationers
-who sold it ; from them to the lithographers -
-graphers who printed it. It was shown
conclusively that this certificate , pur
porting to have been drawn on Nov. 9 ,
31)01 ) , was not printed until 1002. The
other link in Mrs. Wood's chain , the
"confession , " in which Platt was made
to acknowledge her as his wife , seemed
to almost cry out for itself that it was
.an impudent fraud.
Daniel Fiohninn , president of the Ac-
Fund of America , which held its
-inmial meeting in New York , told the e
assembled that the fund , in its twenty-
seven years of existence , had disbursed
more than $1,000KX ) to the needy , but
that the laj > t year showed a deficit of
' $27,000.
Denying that he intended to pare the
way for an international mnxriajrv , Prince
Prospera Colonmi of Italy arrived in
'Washington with his son , Prince
Colonna , and the Marquis of Socomi.
T.C-
. -
HOMES FOE POOH MEN. '
Easy to Acquire Under the Opera
tion of the "Carey Act. "
For the poor man the government
has provided a plan under which land
can be homesteaded at practically no
cost. For the man who can arrange to
pay a small sum each year in 30 an
nual Installments there are great pro
jects that have been undertaken by the
United States reclamation service. I Jut
there is another large class of those
who wish to own a small section of
ground that they can call their own ,
and this class is composed of men who
cannot afford to drop all of their pres
ent affairs and take up their residence
for five years in a now country , as
would be necessary if they either ac
quired a homestead on the prairie or
obtain land that is irrigated by the
government. For all such there is what
is known as the "Carey act" lands.
The Carey act provides for the seg
regation of 1,000,000 acres of arid land
in a State. This land is to be sold
for not to exceed 30 cents an acre and
is to be irrigated by private compa
nies. In order to obtain water rights
for this land it is necessary for the
settler to enter into a contract with
the company that does the irrigating
and to agree to pay a certain amount
a year in easy installments. This is
from $ l > to $1 a year for each acre , as
a rule. When the entire amount has
been paid the irrigating system passes
into the ownership of those who have
acquired the water rights.
One of the most interesting things
about the Carey act is that under its
provisions only a short residence is
necessary and a teacher , professional
man or capitalist can spend a short
vacation on the ground , make the
small payment required and obtain ti
tle. In Wyoming , where the Big Ilorn
P.asin Development Company has just
thrown open 243,000 acres for settle
ment , a residence of , " 0 days is all that
is required.
THADE AND INDUSTBY.
The Continental Express Company
through \\hich the Chicago. St. Paul and
Milwaukee road is to operate its own ex-
I-H-SS bu ine-s , has filed articles of in
corporation in the States where this ? s
required.
Dynamite was used in an attempt to
blow up tilie home of Charles Girehner , a
non-union woodworker , in Chicago. No
one of the seven occupants wa.s hurt , but
the windows in the front of the cottage
were shattered and the stairs leading to
the fiont door weie reduced to splinters
by the force of the explosion. Kirchner
had left the union and joined a rival or
ganisation.
A labor colony , removed from the influ
ence of walking delegates by a ten-foot
fence , is being established by the Corn
Products Company on the banks of the
drainage canal near Summit. The $4-
0 < X,000 ) new plant of the company is to
be completed-with non-union labor. To
avoid interference by walking delegates
from the city , cottagcw have been built
inside tJie enclosure.
Fire' in EColliday , Head & Sons' chem
ical TTorf-a , New York , caused daoxigs to
the extent o J50.000.
Plea of Retiring Moderator , Dr.
Roberts , Before the Presby
terian General Assembly.
WOMEN AHE TEE PILLAES ,
Indifference of Men to Heligion De
plored Statistics as to Growth
of tae Church.
With officers and lending ministers
of the church in America , as well as
prominent laymen and foreign mis
sionaries in attendance , the one hun
dred and twentieth general assembly
of the Presbyterian Church in the Uni
ted Stares began its sessions in Con
vention Hall at Kansas City. The
most important business of the first
day was the election of a moderator
to succeed Her. William Ileury Rob
erts , D. D. , of Philadelphia.
The feature of the morning session
was the opening sermon by the retir
ing moderator. It was largelj- plea
for co-operation of the churches in
fighting the in a 113- influences opposed
to the Christian religion in this coun
try. Above every other nation of mod
ern times. Dr. Roberts said , the United
States represents those widespread
movements which arc lifting men out
of the narrowness of caste , which are
making the world a neighborhood and
which seek the welfare not of a class
or classes , but of the whole people.
lite Great Xecd.
The retiring moderator in his ser
mon s.i id in part :
In this land to-day the churches con
front conditions of a notable character.
The \ \ orklhich God made is in a. sense
within our borders. Its multitudes arc
I ouri' : ; ; into every corner of the country.
'llu ; populations of Europe , in particular ,
arc af'fvsiblp fhroiiuli us to the influences
of th.j go'-pel in a marked manner. So
vast is the movement that it can be said ,
as ; % as said at Pentecost , that men out
of over/ nation under heaven are in our
Opposed to the Christian churches in
our country are to be found many evil
influence. There is the irreligion of the
average immigrant , the presence of an
inordinate commercial spirit , the Galileo- ( '
like attitude of a majority of our politi
cal leaders , who care for no religious opin
ion whatever , but solely for self , and ,
above all , the practical unbelief of the
majority of American men. We are a
Christian nation only because thrce-
fourths of our women are Christians. Ev-
eryv. 1'ere there is the need , whether we
lia\o reirard to our native population or
tin1 foreign , immigrant , for persistent ,
united evangelistic and educational work.
We must go forth everywhere under
the influence of the "love divine , all love
excelling , * ' under ihe influence of the love
for the world of God the Father , and of
the sa\inir power of .Tesii- . Christ , the only
and all-sufiicient Divine Savior , proffering
unto p\ery creature that salvation which
ib profitable both for the life that no\v is
and for ihe life that is to come. We
must unceasingly strive to win America
for Christ , that we may thereby wiu the
woild for Him.
Clnireh Grcn.vtli Itcorded.
In conni'ction with the opening of
die general assembly , the Interior ,
Chicago orica-n of the Presbyterian
Church , presents statistics of the de
nomination for the year. It is shown
that the presbyteries have organized
10r > churches and dissolved 103. This
practically corresponds to last year's
record. It appears that the ministry
has made a net gain of seventy-six
men in the interesting commerce of
trading preachers with other denom
inations.
That the church has gone on grow
ing at about the usual rate is indicated
by the total of additions. The net total
church membership at present is 1.2S7-
220. and that of Presbyterian Sunday
schools. 1.1P,7.74G. Gifts to foreign
missions aggregated $ l,13o.S32 , to homo
mission $1.182,192 , to education $113.-
237 , to Sabbath school work $173,173 ,
to church erection $1S4GJO and to aid
for colleges $4S-I.'Jl5i3. Contrrfcgational
expenses reached a total of $15,030.200.
Vnlons AViu Unite Strilie.
The Cell Telephone Company at P utte ,
Mont. , has settled the strike of the line
men and operators which started fifteen
months airo. by conceding nearly every
point in dispute , even having dismissed
some of the injunction suits under which
labor leaders had b en sonU to jail. The
company had been completely pa rah zed
by the boycott , despite the injunctions ,
as the merchants had not dared "to use
the phones forbear of losing trade.
To IlcMliiiru Cotton AtTt-a e.
Throughout the South members of the
Farmers' Co-operative and Educational
Union have begun plowing up a portion
of their cotton fields to insure against an
excessive crop. P.eMdes this , the . \ ield
will be further reduced by the damage
from flood.s in the Southwest.
I > eflc'it for the Now Ilnvt-ii.
Tlie New Haven raihoad s.ston re
ports tlie largest deficit for the lart qupr-
ter since the be innin1 ; of th panic l- ; t
fall , the shortage boiii' ; . liC.S.S'l" . Tl-is
condition exists in spite of rigid ivil'ui.v > j
in
To CJle the Idle V/orU.
Tire leaders in the new National Pros
perity Association s.iy 'thai they hove
begun negotiations with the leading nian-
ufticturor. . of the country to indncv ihe
fatter to apply every increase in Imr.ine s
to the re-eiuploymcat of workers.
MEMOEIAL DAY AT GETTYSBURG
These graves , which show where blood
was shed ,
These mounds , now strewn with roses
red ,
Recall past days of bitter strife ,
When brother sought his brother's life.
That hate , which once had unknown
power ,
Has turned to love in this glad hour ;
No more shall war. with threat'ning air ,
Arise to drive us to despair.
Each soldier brave who now survives
Recounts the blessings he derives
From untold hardships he endured
And what to all has been secured.
The gray , the blue , their loves hero show
For comrades resting still and low :
Beneath these mounds their forms will lie
Till Gabriel calls them to the sky.
Soon nil these living soldiers , bent
With years that Father Time has lent.
Will rest within these hallowed grounds ;
Still friends will strew with flowers their
mounds.
Where once was hate , love reigns instead ;
Love rules the heart and guides the head ;
Dread civil war we no more fear.
Since love grows strong from year to
year.
May peace throughout all time be ours ,
A pledge be these expressive flowers.
And as each coming year they bloom ,
May they adorn a soldier's tomb.
Here Meade , the hero of this field ,
Caused Lee , with all his hosts to yield
To force of arms as well controlled
As those of Marathon of old.
Now two score years have passed , and
more ,
Since those dark days of war were o'er.
Yet time moves on , and on and on ;
Soon our last veteran will be gone.
Their ranks grow thin each passing year :
There'll soon be none to answer "Here ! "
Then all will be enrolled on high ,
Where are no tears , nor e'en a sigh.
Still songs will be forever taught
To tell of deeds through valor wrought
By those who fought and died to save
Our land from a dishonored zrave.
THE 30TH OP MAY.
iremorlc.s Recalled by the Great Xn-
tlonul Aiinii er nry.
The return of this national anniversary
has a testimony to offer you. Every Dec
oration Day witnesses a smaller number
of northern and southern veterans. The
maximum is passed ; the minimum in
creases daily and annually. The flowers
upon gravces and chaplets woven around
faded banners bear testimony that the
republic cannot forget her old soldiers ,
can never allow them to be visited with
social contempt. Mr. Lincoln , the great
est figure of the past tempest , declared
that the world "can never forget what
they did. " Decoration and Deed go to
gether. Some things may cau.se contro
versy , but when men have fought and
bled and suffered , no wordy war can sup
plant their claims on our respect.
Let two veterans meet who fought on
opposite sides , and their stories are min
gled with their tears. Xo warmer com
radeship , no more fraternal intercourse
could be desired. There is no more hon
orable feeling than that of one brave man
for another equally brave. < To-day the
feeling will predominate , and among the
reminiscences of strife will be the actual
over-brooding presei..o of peace , good will
and loving unity.
Decoration Day is the gift of the wom
anhood of our land thirty or less years
ago. They gave it not with triumphant
paeans of victorious rejoicing , but amid
heartache and grief and tears were those
first graves decorated , the name bestow
ed and the date perpetuated. If there
is a more sacred gift than that born of
a suffering woman's holy Io\e , one does
not know it. And we are convinced that
the soldier's mother who prayed for him
in the closed room of intercession , and
his sweetheart and his wife uho loved
him as none other did or could , will de
mand that Decoration Day shall ever rep
resent their hearts , and its flowers their
hopes beyond the veil , and its tear ? and
joy , like rain and sunshine in spring's
mingling of both , be indicative of the min
gled feelings with which they reconse
crated the places where lay the dead of
blue and of gray.
The Senates and Legislatures of federal
and State governments have decreed many
public occasion * . Hero is one ordained
by these whoso common suffering and
charity and patience luue ever redeemed
the credit of a people , whose .silence en
hances their glory the women of the
war , who gave us Decoration Day.
The lessons of patriotic value taught
by this day can be discerned by all. Amid
chaos the country struggled into more
permanent being. Disasters enriched her.
In strife more than in lassitude she de
veloped her latent forces , and the red
rain of blood brought forth a harvest of
devotion immortal in our ammN.
The spirit of those days was rude ,
but she. evoked great men to control
them , and as one surveys the list of he
roes , the question forces itself : "When
shall we look upon their like auainV"
Peace has dangers no less great than
those of strife , and sometimes the more
to be dreaded because the less to be dis
cerned. Tlie rights and privileges pur
chased for us during the past century and
a half are ours to keep. increase and be
queath to those who come a't r us. Now ,
shall we not act so as to earn , if not the
soldier's glorious wreath , at least a mod
est flower of remembrance for the main
tenance of right ?
For if Washington and Lincoln could
ride at the head of every festal pro
cession in this nation on May " { ) . they
would cry aloud : "Maintain ! Maintain !
Let your birthright. purcba"l in t-lood.
be kept in undefiled spcuritj ! "
Decoration Day bears on last word of
testimony to our peaceful unity an-1 soli
darity as a nation. " " con
flicts are repressed , schisms , arf 'i iJt-d.
localities and sectionalism lost s ; lu of in
the truer , saner \i ° w this dny affords.
East and West. Xorh and S-iz.lh : ir i
as indivisible in that cor.in-on y > : ifiiueit
of American patriotism which iio party
discussions can disturb as are Ilhoile Isl
and tnd Connecticut. Express trains
tytou/n.j
me doum/ /
j i fc fcKou h < earKc. ; br ve reduce i " 5
Of L-Ky cotixraiotf , wet-eyed laute " ,
'
0-sound ? Ui&'i echoes long , s-jM f
In. my _ heart. . " "
_ . .st tiiou f-ee ! my'urrei .
aOaf-Ky iovmd" , lo ai brecxsh
.iyin low ? 7-
i.t { r\'luU Feel myi-aliic tear ,
As I | ; M.eef iesifle th.ee Tiere
me < so clear
,
Tfi.ey will gii ve u one.
-ee drtd me if
Hath'e Homer
V %
-National Tribune.
have abolished physical barriers ; mutual
'dependence in commerce facilitates an
already natural intercourse. lietween
ocean and ocean lives a mighty race ,
whose guiding forces and aspirations are
a unit. One law. one element , one blood ,
and. henceforth , one language.
And as the watchers of God look down
on hill and hamlet , on mighty spas , and
over great shoulders of mountains , right
down on the spots thirty years ago crim
soned with strife and now fragrant with
spring's gifts , their thankfulnos ? will be
that in this great land there is peace ,
sweet peace. New York Ledger.
HANGING A GUEHKILLA.
Ifc Ac'c-cpted His Fiite "Without a
\VoriI or Tfjtr.
A shothad been fired at us as we
rode along the hi lway in column of
fours , and a trooper reeled and pitched
from his saddle- , shot through the heart.
The shot was fired by a guerrilla hid
den in a corn fiVlil. and we { rot the
order to throw down the fence and rid.
through the field. lie was captured at
the far end of it. just as he v. as about
to gain the woods. lie was a man r 0
years old. grim and grizzly and with
eyes of defiance.
"Wall , what is it ? " he quietly asked
of his captors.
' 'Do you live about hero ? ' ' "
"In the cabin down lhar. "
"Got a family ? ' '
"Yes. "
"Want to bid 'em good-by ? "
"I reckon. "
"Come along ! ' '
The cabin was reached in five min
utes. A gray-haired woman and a irirl
> f 3. ) wife and daughter stood in the
Dpen door. >
"What , ! * ? it. Jim ? " asked the wife as-
: he man stood before her.
"Gwine to kill me. I reckon 1" he ro
il ied.
"What fur ? * '
"Fur killiif one of them. "
"I In ! good-by. Jim I' '
" ( } ood-by. Daddy ! " from the girl.
"Oootl-by ! "
Xo hand shakes no tears no senti-
nent no pleading. Ten rods below the
louse was a large shade tree. Two or
hroo halters were knotted together
he rope thrown pver a limb a noose
ilipped over the man's head , and next
noinent he was dangling clear of the
round. lie had no excuses made no
plea asked no mercy. He wont to
death with stoicism of an Indian. Wifq
and daughter stood in the doorway anfl
saw all. but there were no tears na
outburst. As we were ready to rida
away the woman came slowly down to
the spot , looked at the body for half a
moment , and then turned to a k :
"Is Jim dead ? "
"Yes , ' ' answered the captain.
"IIn ! " And she walked slowly bacfc ,
to the hou e and entered it and shut tha
door , and we rode on and left tha
corpse hanging. Detroit Free Tress.
IVevr Story of Illshop MeCn.l > e.
An interesting incident of life in Libby -
by prison was recalled by Colonel C. EL
P.radshaw addressing a meeting of rep
resentatives of the patriotic orjjaniw-
tions of Washington. The name of
Ijishop McCabe was mentioned.
"I recall one of the darkest , stormiest ,
rainiest nights at old Libby , " said.
Colonel P.radshaw. "The Union pris
oners were huddled together on one of
tiie lower floor , and the rain was com
ing In on them in a perfect deluge.
Among the captives in blue was Bishop
McCabe , then a chaplain. In his ex
cess of good nature he saw the hu
morous side of even such a situation as
I have described. While our boys , hun
gry and cold , were trying to keep warm
and dry. a voice was raised above the
howling of the tempest outside and
could be heard in all parts of tha
prison :
" 'ILinds on your pockctbooks ! '
"The voice was that of Chaplain Mc
Cabe , who knew full well that there
was not a single dollar in all that great
crowd of shivering Yankee soldiers.
The sally caused an outburst of laugh
ter , notwithstanding the uncomfortable-
ness of the situation. " Washington
Star.
A I'ojKJlar 3fyti exploded.
"There is a popular myth , " says Colonel
nel Mosby. "that Pope announced In
his general order upon taking command
that his 'headquarters would be in the
saddle. ' The far-t is that Pope never
said any such thing , but it has become
an article of faith in the South. To
question its truth in Virginia would be
regarded as being as great an act of
impiety as to discredit the legend of
Pocahontas and Captain Smith. "
THE WAS TIME PHOTOGRAPH.
"My goodness , gran'pa , were you ever as young as that ? "
' " { hat was taken the day we inarched away * * * forty-sis years
igo. I was the drummer boy. * < * The men used to laugh at me and
iiy big drum , ami they called me the baby of theivginient * '
"They don't laugh at you row , do they , gran'pa ? "
"Xot ni.uiy of thru : , * inov fellows. * * Why. my goodness , I'm just
is young1 as that now , but , you sec , 1 have to look older because I'm a grand-
> a , you know. I iust do il to keep up appearances. " Chicago Tribune.