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About Morning Oregonian. (Portland, Or.) 1861-1937 | View Entire Issue (Sept. 12, 1903)
10 THE MORNING QREGONIW SAtfTJBTJAY, - SEPTEMBER 22, 1WIS. ELKS MR! Their Committee Re ports on Trainwreck. SCORES MINOR OFFICIALS Engine Alleged to 'Have Been Defective. AAILROAD DENIES ALL CHARGES General Superintendent of Northern Pacific Says Disaster Was Due Entirely to Negligent Engineer Wno Let Water Hun Low. WHAT THE ELKS SAY. The engine which pulled the excur sion train wrecked on August 22 was defective and not first-class. The engineer was only an extra man. and had never been on the loco motive before. Minor officials of the Northern Pa cific were indifferent and dilatory, and the railroad is to blame for the delay cxperienced by the various relief par ties which attempted to reach the scene of the disaster. WHAT THE RAILROAD SAYS. The engine was first-class. The engineer was an experienced and capable man. The company should not be blamed for the discourtesy of petty employees. The accident was due solely to the fact that the water in the boiler was allowed to run too low. and the ex plosion which followed would have occurred under similar circumstances with any locomotive in the world. Any delay experienced by the relief parties was caused by the congested condition of the road, which on that particular day had to care for a num ber of excursions. The committee appointed by the Elks to investigate the accident in which their excursion train bound for Olympia was wrecked, has made a report. Its tone is decidedly adverse to the Northern Pacific, and a note of bitterness Is sounded in the comment made upon the alleged dilatory action of the railroad in affording the re lief parties transportation to the scene of the disaster. The committee states and their report has been adopted by- the lodge that the engine -which drew the excursion train was not in first-class condition, that the engineer and fireman Into whose charge tho inonmntlvft was clven. were both extra men and had never before been on the big machine. From a legal point of view these matters are the most important touched upon in the report, but the snappiest part of the document is that which relates to the conduct of various minor officials of the road after the wreck had occurred. "A monumental instance of indifferent officialism," is the phrase applied to the inactivity of the station agent at Napa vlne, and such condemnatory adjectives as "incompetent," "unwilling" and "inex cusable" lend a spice to the judicial lan guage of the committee. The Northern Pacific officials, on the other hand, stand pat on their first state ments that the accident was not to be avoided by them, but was due entirely to the negligence of the engineer who al lowed the water in the boiler to get too low, thereby causing the crown-sheets to become red-hot. "As far as the charge that we were slow in getting relief parties to the scene may go," said A. D. Charlton, assistant general passenger agent of the road, yes terday, "It must be rememnered that even a Tailroad has its lfmitatlons. It can per form no miracles. On the day of the ac cident we were running excursions to many different points along the line, to Olympia, Gray's Harbor, South Bend and many other places. It was a very busy day for us, and when the accident occur red it was impossible to give the imme diate relief that we could have extended on a less congested day. Our willingness In the matter may well be judged from the fact that we stopped a tralnload of ex cursionists at Winlock and used their coaches to bring the people back to Port land who could be removed at that time. "It was out of the question to think of moving the Injured to Portland at once. They needed immediate attention, and the best place to give them that attention was at Chehalis. two miles distant. They -were Immediately removed to that point and cared for by our physicians. "I think these criticisms heaped upon the Northern Pacific are induced by a lack of understanding. People who understand railroad conditions and know what we did will agree we did the best that could be done. Some of the things suggested for us were absolutely impossible and some of them would have resulted in great injus tice to the injured." Other officials of the railroad when ap prised of the criticisms contained in the Elks' committee's report, expressed their belief that the charges were not well founded, and telegraphed their opinions to the Oregonian as follows. REPORT OF COMMITTEE. Complains Bitterly o Delay Ex perienccd by Relief Parties. To Portland Lodge. B. P. O. ID., 142: Your committee, appointed to investigate and re port upon the cause of the accident to the Elks' excursion train from Portland to Olym pla. over the Northern Pacific Railroad. Sat urday. August 22. 1903. and upon the action or the officials of that road, in relation to the accident, respectfully report that we nave carefully and thoroughly performed the duty placed upon us to the full extent of our ability, and the opportunities within our control. Two members of our committee. Brothers Carl H. Jackson and John Driscoll, were sent to Tacoma, Chehalis and Napavlne with au thorlty to take with them two locomotive experts and a stenographer, to examine the wrecked engine, take the testimony of the engineer and fireman, and of various other parties whose names have been handed to the committee .and to interview the chief -officials of the Northern Pacific at Tacoma. These members took with them Messrs. Mc Caully and Thomas as experts, and Miss Julia Maxwell, stenographer, and proceeded north, leaving Portland Thursday and re turning the following Monday. They pcr f oraied their work thoroughly and conscien tiously 'and returned to your committee tbe statements of the following parties bearing: upon the wreck. R. W. Green, engineer of the wrecked train; Lou Dorskey. fireman or the wrecked train; Mr. Law, of the Northern Pariflc Rail road; Mr. Albee, division superintendent of the N. P. R. R-: Mrs. P. M. Shay, into -rfhose care the engineer came Immediately after the wreck; A. L. Mattlngly. of.. Chehalis, one of the first persons at the scenes of the wreck; G. B. King; J. P. Bradley; I. J. Jones, (all early at the wreck, and all of Chehalis); Mr. Donohue. Mayor of Chehalis; H. Vr. Urquarhart, Sheriff of Lewis County, Wash.; Dr. A. C. Tucker, of Portland; E. J. Jones, a machinist who examined the engine immediately after the wreck; Messrs. Mc Caully and Thomas, experts above men tioned. Vcrbnl Statements Not Considered. Your ' committee had also before it the statements taken in Portland of E. W. Rowe, as to the conditions existing at the wreck and at Chehalis, from the time of the dis aster until the severely Injured were start ed back to Portland at 10:30 that evening. Also of Brother Harvey L. Morcland, as to the treatment accorded to the nurses and doctors taken to the wreck by members of the Elks of Portland; of Dr. TV. E. Carll. of Oregon City, as to the treatment he received In his endeavors to reach and aid the In jured, shortly after the occurrence of the wreck; also verbal statements from E. A. Durr, as to the condition of engine 347 on August 11, 1003, and of an engineer of the company, through a second party, as to its condition between August 11 and 22. These statements not being in writing and signed, were not considered by the committee. Your committee carefully examined the testimony, and after due deliberation reach ed the following conclusion and findings from the evidmce: L TVe find that the engine pulling the excur sion train August 22, 1003, was not a first class engine. II. The engineer and fireman Into whoso, charge the engine was given, wero both ex tra men. III. Neither said engineer nor said fireman had' ever before been upon or run the engine that day given into their charge. IV. We find that the cause of the accident was low water in the boiler; that the Injectors were not working perfectly, and that the wator did not cover the crown sheet, which broke or exploded and dropped down, blow ing out the grate bars, ash pan, etc.. which obstructed the track and threw the train off. V. We find that the officials In charge of the Northern Pacific Railroad the day 'of the dis aster, were cither unwilling, unable or In competent to render the prompt service which the nature of the occurrence at Napa vlne demanded, and the detention of the car containing the wounded and suffering at Ka lama was inexcusable, and wo condemn the action of the official in charge of the station and telegraph at Napavlne as a monument al instance of Indifferent officialism. Regrets That Charlton Was Absent. In closing its report, the committee desires to express its regret that Brother A. D. Charlton, of the Northern Pacific Railroad, was not In the city the day of the accident. We are convinced, as must be every member of the Lodge, that had he been in Portland or, anywhere upon the line of his road, con ditions after the .accident would have, been different, and much suffering and anguish of mind saved to all concerned. Respectfully submitted. D. Soils Cohen. R. E. Moody, Frank C Ba ker. Harry F. McKay, R. W. i Hoyt, John Driscoll, Carl H. Jackson, Alex Sweek, W. J. Riley. TESTTMOXY OF WITNESSES. Engineers Say Wrecked Locomotive Was "Strictly on the Bum." Extiact from the statement of R. W. Green, the engineer in charge of the wrecked train: I am on what they call extra runs, and this was the first trip I made on the engine. The grate bars would not work; that Is, they would not shake. They may have been out of line or twisted. We had Black Raven coal, the lump coal, and It was not good grade. We had a very hard time to keep up steam. I had trouble with the right-hand injector and tried the left-hand one. It did not work either, and I went back to the right-hand Injector again. I think the trou ble was caused by the valve being worn; the Injector was old; It was an Ohio. I have got no opinion of the cause of that wreck, or what caused the crown sheet to drop, or how the engine could be burned, or could give away at the patches, but one thing I do know, that I had water It blew the grate bars out. Extract from statement of Lou Dorskey, the fireman: I am working on the extra list. I could not tell you anything about it. It was Just a flash, but it seemed to me the engine was on the rail all the time before she exploded. We stopped at CastleRock to clear the fire. The engine had clinkers in her; It was Im possible to move the grates, and it took so long that we had to stop and push out the fire: The engine was on the rails when the explosion took place. I can give you ino reason why she would not steam. We did not have a good grade of coal. It was Raven raw coal we had, it was pretty coarse stuff. That caused the delay at Castle Rock. The explosion blew out tbe ashpan and grates and everything. The crown sheet dropped down. I had a good gauge of water. We had an auxiliary Injector and when we saw that this other one would not work, we tried the left-hand Injector. About that time the engineer got the right one to work, and we did not use the left-hand one. It was buck ing all the time until we got her started, then it worked all right. In Rnn-Dovrn Condition. Extract from statement of Mrs. P. M. Shay: ' I would not care to repeat the man's con versation if It would Injure him In any way. He is a worklngman, and my husband Is a workingman. The engineer was brought to this place, which Is part of the hospital. The engineer was reclining on a couch; the gen tleman was in the room, and the conversa tion, as I understood it. was a private con versation. He said that when they came to the transfer boat at Kalama, they repaired a box on the outside of the engine. They repaired the fire-box later ouj and when they got 'down asfar as, I thlnk,v Carroll's, or' near there, the fire-box began giving them trouble. They started to repair it, and shake the grates and they would not work. I heard him two or three times, I could not tell how many times, make the statement, that the engine was "a strictly bum engine"; he said that he, of course, was not acquaint ed with the machine, that it was the first lime nc nau run inc engine out, out wncn he got into tho engine and looked it over he knew it was In a run-down condition. 1 heard him say also, that of course if ho and the fireman did not take the engine out there were others that would. This, of course, was private between him and me; we were Just talking over these af fairs. Extract from the statement of Dr. A. C. Tucker: I heard the engineer make comments as to the condition of his engine at Kalama, on the ferry. I was right up against the drive wheel; I m first attracted by hearing the engineer talking to himself, and I stepped across the track and went over close to see what ne was doing. Ho looked up and saw me there, and then Uie said, "They would not dare send this engine out on a freight train. I do not see why they give It to me to pull a passenger." I did not say a word to him. He had a hammer and I believe a cold chisel and was pounding something, lie said the engine ought not to be used. (He acted to me like a man who had all those people's lives In his hands, and on whom an imposition had been put by giving him that engine. " Good Enough to Make Trip. Extract from the statement of A. L Mattlngly: ' I have lived In Chehalts ten years,, and am interested In a gutter factory. The engineer said, "She was a bad engine, and she had no business en that train.". He said also that it hud been a passenger engine at- one time, but had been taken off and sent over into the jarfls, but the railroad thought it was Eod enough to make this trip. Extract from the statement of J. P. Bradley: I have lived here five years and got to the wreck shortly after it happened. 1 have been a railroad engineer on the Pueblo North ern. Jn my opinion" low water caused the wreck, because the crown sheet had been red hot. The steel looked blue where it was broken. It blew down. The crown sheet gave away, and It went right down and blew back around the rear part of the boiler SAYS -HE CONFESSED "WHEN TORTURED, BY BURNING MATCHES Burning his bstk with matches to force a confessloa of incendiarism is the charge which Edward Arpln makes against Detectives Day and Hartman. He eqw says that his story of confession of highway robberies and setting firtf to a number of build-' ings was made by him under tho tor ture of burning matches applied to, his back. The police "believe that Arpln is' about to try (he insanity dodge, and that this Is bis 'first statement along that lino of defense. When arriigned in the Municipal Court yesterday morning, young Ar pln, who first gave his name as Or pen, pleaded not guilty. In default of 3000 bonds he was committed to the County Jell. Arpln apparently made up his mind to deny his confession after his moth er had visited him in his cell yester day morning before the hour for court, t'p to that time he had stuck by his confession, but either the sight of her tear-streamlng face, or sgrne -instinct of self-defense prompted him to plead not guilty before Municipal Judge Hogue. Tho specific charge which was mado against Arpln came from F- C. Fletch er, who was held up on the -night of August 21. W. S. Spencer, who with his wife was held up at Eleventh and Clay streets In June, appeared In court and took a good look at the -' young prisoner. "He looks like the man," said he. Arpln's mother could not bear" the ordeal of the courtroom after an af fecting interview with her son. "Edward is such a good boy," Is her pica. "He has always worked so hard tor me and has been so kind and. so faithful. I just know that he is Inno cent." "How about his confession?" she was asked. "He confessed because the officers were torturing him with burning matches," she cried hysterically. "Ho , says that he would have confessed to anything rather than to be tortured." Judge H. H. Northup Is Arpln's at torney, and it was apparently also through his advice that the.plea of not guilty was entered. Later in the day Arpln was removed to the Cpunty Jail. As Detectives Day and Hartman are the officers who put Arpln through the sweat-box of cross-examination, the charge which he makes of torture ls evidently directed against them. took the arch plpo and all with It. I ex- I amlned the thing pretty closely. Slight Have Happened to Any Engine Extract from the statement of li. J. Jones: I have been a locomotive engineer 23 years on the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul, on . the Delaware & Lackawanna, and on the Northern Pacific ten years here. I have run engine 317, which blew up, hundreds of miles, and as near as I can make out, they made it new in 1800. But it has been re paired a number of times since. I exam ined the engine after the wreck; I found she dropped her crown sheet. It looked to me as though It had been red hot. It was twist ed and crumpled ' and blue. Low water un doubtedly caused the crown sheet to drop down. I have not run that engine in four years, but my opinion was that the engine was a little out of general repair out of first-class repair, because they had had it on the work train, pulling gravel. The North ern Pacific are good friends of mine, they always treated me well, and I have no fault to find. The same thing might have oc curred with a brand new engine right out of the shop. Extract from the statement of Mr. Mc Caully: I have been a boiler-maker over 20 years. I found the crown sheet of the engine blown out. It was without doubt caused by low water. Extract from statement of G. P. Thomas: I have been employed In the practical con struction of boilers nearly all my life. I saw that boiler, made a personal examina tion of it. I saw the crown sheet blown up against the' fire door. It tore part of the flue sheet out with it. In my opinion the cause o fthe accident was, no water on the crown sheet. Said Accident Wasn't Scrions. Extract from statement of Dr. TV. E. Carll of Oregon City: I was on the North Coast Limited about 0 minutes after the Elks' special, and told the conductor that I was the surgeon of the 'Southern Pacific at Oregon City, that I had friends on the wrecked train, and wanted to have the train run down to the place of ac cident, with material. The conductor seemed anxious to do something, and took me to the station agent, who reluctantly admitted us to his room. He pretended to manipulate his Morse machine and soon assured mo that help was not needed, that the accident was not a bad one. and that everything was pro vided for. Soon aftor this a train of empty passenger coaches pulled into Napavlne from the south, stopped there an hour and a half; we tried to go down the line to the wreck on this, but were refused permission. Extract from' statement of Harvey L.. Morcland: News of the accident reached us at 1 o'clock P- M. Doctors and nursc3 were ready to proceed to Chehalis and endeavored to engage a special train to take them down. Officials in charge at Third and Morrison streets informed us they had no news of tho accident other than they had received from the outside. We could get more detailed in formation at other places than from them. We were finally referred to Mr. Lyon of the Terminal Company. He Informed us it would be Impossible to have a special train; ad vised us to go on the 3 o'clock North Coast Limited, which would certainly land us In Chehalis before 7 o'clock, and would take us directly to the wreck. We Informed him we had doctors and nurses with us. He told us the train would be as much at our dis posal as a special train. Dr. Llnsley and his wife, parents of Mrs. Brofcn, were also on the train, which reached Napavlne at 6:30. Here we were Informed that we were obliged to remain there until furthr orders. There was a locomotive and empty car on the side track at Napavlne; we requested that the nurses and doctors and Mr. and Mrs. Llnsley might be put aboard this car anu carried to the wreck, and asked the operator In charge of ,the company's office to telegraph either to Portland or Tacoma asking permission to forward nurses and doctors with that unemployed engine1. He EDWARD ARPIN, ALLEGED FIREBUG. told us that engine was ordered back to Ka lama and nothing more could be done. He refused to use his Instrument In any way whatever as we requested. We were detain ed at Napavlne three hours. On the return trip our train which contained the severely injured, was detained at Kalama for nearly two hours, while a circus train was passed ahead of us. Injured Kept Waiting. Extract from statement of E. TV. Rowe: We endeavored to get the engineer of the locomotive that came from Napavlne to hook onto the coach which was on the track, and start that car back to Portland with a number of the Injured; he refused to do so. An engine with two fiat cars came to the wreck, and took aboard such of the Injured as the two cars would carry, leaving a num ber still on the track. Mr. Bloomfield, claim agent, arrived In Chehalis during the after noon, and told me he did not think we could get a train through to Portland that evening, but would have to go to Tacoma. No effort was made by the Northern Pacific Railroad to hurry passengers through to Portland; they were left there until the. coming of the regular train, and assuming that they sent the two flat cars as soon as they were noti fied, It must have been about 11 hours before we were permitted to send the injured back to Portland. Extract from interview with Mr. Law, assistant general superintendent, and Mr. Albee, division superintendent. Northern Pacific Railroad: Mr. Law: There Is no question In my mind but that the operator and the conduc tor both should have communicated with Mr. Albee and advised him what you wanted, but since he was kept in ignorance of what you wanted by the action of the conductor and the operator, you certainly cannot hold the company and the officers responsible for it. Mr. Albee: As Mr. Law stated, there wa a hitch In getting a little quicker action from this side of the wreck; I told him that things did not move quite so well as we thought they were going to, and if our oper ator and our conductor were discourteous we are very sorry for It. Mr. Law: The operator at Napavlne Is not one of our regular men. All this criticism of the company's action at this time arose out of the action of the operator more than any thing else. Mr. Albee: You know what the situation is In regard to transferring across the river there at Kalama. The reason for delay at Kalama, which I very much regret, was that the yard was congested. They thought they would have time to go across the river and get back and get your train. I was very sorry for that. 1 think If I had been there myself I might have figured out some scheme for taking those cars over and avoid ed the delay. EXGIXE WAS FlRST-CLASS. Division Superintendent Says Loco motive Was In Excellent Shape. ELLENSBURG, Sept 11. Referring to the report of the Elks' committee in re gard to train accident near Chehalis Au gust 22, engine 347 used on this train was a first-class engine, having recently been on a passenger run between Tacoma and Portland and was only relieved from that service on account of not being large enough to handle the service passenger trains rendered necessary by the increased travel. The engine was in good condition in every respect. The engineer and fire men were men of several years experi ence on this division with first-class rec ords and were experienced in handling engines of the different classes in service, including engines of the same class as the 347. The cause of the accident as far as the handling of the engine is concerned is a subject for investigation and will be dealt with by the management. After the aqcident the injured passen gers were transported to Chehalis where they could be cared for with the least possible delay. Medical attention was ar ranged for. Representatives of the press were afforded every facility for obtaining information, and every effort made not only to care for the injured, but to enable them to. transmit information to their friends. After arranging this and par tially cleaning up the congestion of pas senger trains at Chehalis and Napavlne by transferring two trains and starting passengers on the return trip it was nec essary to use the track for the purpose of clearing away the wreck as promptly as pdssible. This resulted In delaying the train from Portland at Napavlne longer than was expected. Although It the man agement had been advised that there were friends of the injured" on the train it would have been arranged In some way to move them to Chehalis. The delay at Kalama was caused by ex cesslve congestion of traffic and the en deavor to clear it in advance of passen ger train in order that the latter trains might be delayed as little as possible. The members of the Elks' committee, who were sent to Tacoma, wereoffered every facility for thoroughly inquiring Into the details of the handling of the train and the cause of accident and it is "to be re gretted that they should see fit to censure the management of the Northern Pacific for the action of one of its employes who perhaps did not perform his full duty and failed to use that courtesy which is expected of every employe of the North ern Pacific dealing with its patrons. W. A. ALBEE, Division Superintendent. ENGINEER ALONE RESPONSIBLE. General Superintendent Says Low Water in Boiler Caused Wreck. ST. PAUL, Sept. 11. The report of the Elks' committee is of such a character as to seriously reflect on the company and Its officials, and should not be allowed to stand uncorrected. Engine 347 was turned out of shops last January after a thorough overhauling, and had been In passenger service until about three weeks prior to the accident, when it was put In freight service between Portland and Goble. It was inspected be fore leaving Portland and found In good condition. The engineer states that he had no trouble with it between Portland and the point where the accident occurred He made no complaint to the conductor about the engine, nor did he ask for an other engine. He did not draw the fire at Castle Rock, simply cleaned it, which is an ordinary proceeding. Thorough inves tigatlon shows conclusively that the cause of the accident was low water in the boiler, for which the engineer was wholly responsible. There was no weakness what ever In the engine, and precisely the same accident would have resulted from the same cause to any engine that ever was built. The accident was an unfortunate and deplorable one and the sufferers have our keenest sympathy, but It Is only fair to all concerned that the true cause of the accident be made known and the com pany and its officials relieved from the odium of having -sent out an engine on a passenger train that was not fit for ser vice. THOMAS COOPER, General Superintendent, Northern Pacific Railroad. Chloroform and Rob a Family. WABASH, Ind., Sept. 11. Burglars ear ly today chloroformed the family of Chris Harnish, a farmer living near Dora. They ransacked the house, securing considera ble money and jewelry. As a result of the chloroform Miss Lulu Harnish, a daughter, is in a critical condition, and the other members of the family are suf fering. No route across the continent offers so many attractions as does the Denver & Rio Grande, write tne Portland Agency, 124 Third street, lor illustrated DooKlets, Summer -weakness can be avoided If the blood is purified by Hood's Sarsa- parma. WEEK'S WAGES GONE Longshoreman Thos. O'Neill Is Held Up. PISTOLS COW STALWART MAN Two HighTvaymen Make Way With Hard-Earned Savings and Pro ceeds of tbe Sale of a Long Cherished Violin. Robbed of more than his week's wages and the money from the sale of a long treasured violin, Thomas O'Neill, a stal wart longshoreman, was forced to walk for a block with his hands high above his head In deadly fear of the two high waymen, who at the point of their pis tols took. ?25 from him at the corner of Front and Ankeny streets at midnight. O'Neill, who has lived in Portland for nine years and. is employed by Brown & McCabe, started towards his home, 270 Front street, a few minutes before mid night. "With the Intention of' taking the Third-street car he turned up Ankeny from Front. At the southwest corner, in front of the Bank of British Columbia building, now occupied by" the Merchants' Protective Association, two men stepping from around the dark corner thrust pis tols in the face of the astonished long- shoreman. "Hands up," came the order. Though fully aware that his pockets contained a rich haul for the roDDers, O'Neill realized that it was revolvers against two bare hands, strong though they were. Up went his muscular arms. "While one "robber stood at the side and held a revolver at his face, the other coolly went through his pockets. A few cents more than $25 was abstracted. Now, get out of here and don't you dare to look back or I'll blow you're head off," growled the robber, who still held his gun to the victim's face. Baging Inside, but still obeying the orders of the highwaymen, O'Neill walked up tho dark passageway called Ankeny street by courtesy, with his hands as high above his powerful head as he could lift them. Robbed of the money he had expected to send to his motherless child ren in a few days, and stripped of the proceeds of the sale of an old violin he had loved for years, with every cent of his week's wages and more too, takes from his pockets, O'Neill could do noth ing but obey the request. While the masked robbers' were slouch ing out of sight to divide their booty and hide for the night from Chief Hunt's sleuths, O'Neill continued on hia way until he found a policeman. The officer. of course, could not leave his beat to go in the direction of the robbery, and O'Neill finally came to the police station a few minutes after 12 o'clock with his tale of trouble. Dressed In citizen's clothes, Officer Aus tin was sent out with the longshoreman, as O'Neill In his naturally excited state could not tell definitely the scene ,of the robbery. When taken to the corner of Front and Ankeny streets he recognized the spot. Officer Austin continued his search for the robbers, but no men of the descrip THE BOSTON PAINLESS DENTISTS t With large offices in all C . t 1 t . t states nave leasea tne enure corner omces on secona floor of BENSON BLOCK, cor. Fifth and Mor rison Stsi, opposite Meier & Frank's and Postoffice; and will, on next Monday, September 14, open the most modern and approved DENTAL PARLORS on the Pacific coast. WE ARE THE LARGEST DENTAL ESTABLISHMENT IN THE WORLD Boston Painless Dentists For thirty days, beginning next Monday, we will do all Dental work for Cost of Material, in order to introduce our high-class work to the people of Oregon. NOTICE Every man, woman and child who has a tooth that should be extracted must come and have it done without charge or pain, in order that you may tell your friends about the BOSTON DENTISTS. A written guaran tee for 10 years on all work; best extractors of teeth, best fillers, best gold crown and bridge workmen, best artificial teeth makers known to the dental profession. REMEMBER FOR THIRTY DAYS YOU ONLY PAY FOR THE MATERIAL THAT GOES IH YOUR MOUTH LADY ATTENDANT ! BOSTON DENTAL PARLORS COR. FIFTH AND Opposite Meier & Frank's and Hours a:5U a. m. to b r. M.; tion given by O'Neill could be found In any of the hang-outs. Owing- to the darkness of the corner and his complete surprise,. O'Neill can give but a- poor description of the two high waymen. Of one point he is certain, and that is that both held guns to his face at the corner. In almost every robbery lately one thug has done the gun play while his accomplice went through the pockets of the victim. Evidently this precious pair believes In ample protec tion. O'Neill believes that his robbers wore dark clothes. Black masks com pletely covering their features hid their Identity. They were of medium size. Thomas O'Neill is a powerful man, six feet high and weighing over 200 pounds. In a fist-fight the robbers who attacked him would have undoubtedly made a poor showing, but it was pistols against muscle. "Twenty-five dollars is a big loss to me just now, for I wanted to send it to my children, and now I must wait and earn more before I can send them anything. Well," and he breathed a sigh. "I guess I ought to be thankful they didn't kill me so I couldn't earn anything. I guess i ought to be a little bit thankful, after all." INJURED IN EXPLOSION. Leaking Gas in Home of J. T. Ross Causes Accident. Four persons were seriously burned by two explosions of gas in the homo of J. T. Ross, 243 Adams street, early Thurs day evening. The injured are J. T. Ross, his wife, his daughter Nettie, and J. R. Ensminger, an employe of the Portland Gas Company. The first explosion occurred at 6 o'clock. Mrs. Ross, smelling escaping gas in the pantry, lighted a match and started to search for the leak. Immediately after ward her husband heard a muffled explo sion and a scream. He rushed into the room and saw his wife with her clothing in flames. He at once caught up a rug and enveloped her with it, smothering the flames, but not until after she had been badly burned. About an hour later, J. R. Ensminger, an employe of the Gas Company, was sum moned to investigate the trouble with the gas. After considerable, search he satis fied himself that the only leak was in the pantry. Entering that room, he called for a light. Miss Nettle Ross came with a lighted candle. As she handed it to him a second explosion occurred. Ensminger was in the pantry. Miss Ross was standing in the doorway and her father close behind. All three were thrown to the floor. Ensminger was bruised and seriously burned about the face and body. Mr. Ross was burned about the face and head, his hair and beard being badly singed. Miss Nettie Ross was severely burned about the face and arms. Mrs. Ross, who at the time of the sec ond explosion was in her room suffering great pain from her burns, was not in formed of the second accident until yes terday morning. -1 The noise of the second explosion brought several neighbors to the scene, who helped Miss May Ross, another daughter, to put out the fire and care for the injured. None of the injured are fatally burned, and beyond the suffering from the bad scorching, all are doing well. Confer to Stop Cnttlng of Prices. CHICAGO, Sept. 11. A protracted con ference took place here today between the warring strawboard Interests of the country, in which representatives of the independent concerns and the United Box board Company tried to come to an agree ment to stop cutting prices. The confer ence finally adjourned to be resumed In New York at the end of next week. Plans for conciliation suggested provided for the ? election of O. C. Barber, of the Diamond Match Co., as president, ana the agree ment of the Independent Interests to dis pose of their product through the united Boxboard Company. large cities in the United CP. 1 I TEETH . The Boston Dentists made my nice teeth. ALWAYS PRESENT MORRISON STS Postoffice. Sundays till 1. -;fc.rtiiSiiiit , ilk