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About The Sunday Oregonian. (Portland, Ore.) 1881-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 18, 1906)
; l I U a : a kVZ ""K. a. a a A. A . t-ct--rhs-Afi'.viiL hi k a a a a a, a a A . a .a.-, -i f: Pages 1 to 12 VOL. XXV-XO. 46. PORTLAND, OREGON, SUNDAY MORNING, NOVEMBER 1906. PRICE FIVE CENTS. COWLITZ RIVER IS FALLING FAST Sun Lights Up Scene of Destruction. MUCH LAND IS LAID WASTE Houses Washed Away From Above Stranded on Bank. LOSS IS QUARTER MILLION Part of Catle Rock la Still Under Water, but Citizens Have fcheltcr and Plenty to Eat. BY G. A. WHITE. CASTLE ROCK, Wash., Nov. 17. (Staff Corespondence.) The ' Cowlitz . .River . is falling. It is apparent tonight that the stream has spent ita force and is swirling harmlessly down Its course through the fertile valley a good 10 feet lower than during Thursday and Friday, when the entire region was In peril. "At 4 o'clock this afternoon a bright rainbow blazed across the sky over the Cascades to the north a peace signal from the warring elements. A few min utes later the welcome sun pushed Its way through the clouds and the people of the Cowlitz gave a sigh of relief. Seem ingly the hour for anxiety was past. Barring the unexpected there will be no further trouble for the present. It was a sad picture of 'destruction upon which the sun shone this afternoon. The falling of the river only accentuated the ruin effected by the river. Houses were toppled over at frequent intervals through . the length and. breadth of . the valley. Here and there someone's home lay against a clump of driftwood. Much Land Under 'Water. Thousands of acres of land yet lay tinder from one to five feet of water. On the Nelson ranch, two miles below Castle Rock, two substantial frame residences rested In debris and sand. Both were carried down from Castle Rock during the night. , The first real estimate of the damage wrought was made today. Conservatively stated, the river's mad frolic cost the people of the valley $250,000. The burden of this loss falls on the lumber interests. Lumber mills and great booms of timber have been swept away on both sides of the river. The loss to Castle Rock people will aggregate about $50,000.- Farm holders are losers in many ways. Many head of their stock have been drowned, a score of houses damaged or wrecked by the Inundation and In some Instances the fertility of the fields de stroyed by great layers of sand, laid on by the river. John Larson, near Ostran. der, had a farm for which he was offered $S0OO a few weeks ago. With hundreds of tons of river sand scattered across his best land, he doubts today If the place is worth JSO0. Voice Called for Help. As yet there is no death list, but many in Castle Rock believe that at least one man lost his life before daylight Friday. At the time the river broke through the western part of town a group of men in the dry districts turned their attention to rescuing those whose homes had been flooded. Just before daylight, when It was thought all were safe, scores oi peo ple hear the voice of a man calling frantically through ..ie darkness for helD. The voice came from the worst part of the nooded district and a rescuing party was at once made up. The calling be '-si came fainter, finally ceased and the res cue boat returned to shore unable to lo cate the point from where the cries pro ceeded. Rev. A: M. McClaln is making an effort to find if anyone Is missing from the city. He learned of no one today. V. .iether or not Castle Rock can be built up as before seems doubtful at this time. The Cowlitz has not yet retreated from the channel which its mad torrent plowed through the west part of town Friday -morning. The major portion of the river is racing through this new course and seems bent on tearing a wider bed, that the whole river may follow. A number of small houses, belonging' to laboring people, stand on the edge of this new course and unless the river shifts back Into the old path these homes will be whirled down the river, possibly to night. Castle Rock Partly Submerged. Castle Rock generally bears a crest fallen appearance. At the upper end of town six houses are yet partially sub merged. D . street is a stagnant pool, three feet deep on the average. The resi dents must either wade or use boats to get in and out. About the new school house the water iias receded leaving the structure shaky on its foundations. .The smith and western portions of the place are in a more sorry plight. Four- ' teen small homes are m'arooned on an island formed by the new channel on one side and back water on the other. Nearly all the houses here appear to stand well out of danger, although In at least five .e floors are yet carpeted wiu an Inch. or two of muddy water. The waterworks Is partially under water; at the electric light plant , the boilers are partially submerged and dam age amounting to JTOOO done; the Black Diamond Shingle mill is completely de stroyed through having stood in the course of the new channel; the Robins shingle mill is damaged to the extent of $10,000; 30 residences are untenable . and seven homes have been swept down the Cowlitz. Citizens Not In Distress. The greater part of the town is un scathed, however, and there is plenty of shelter for those who have been left tem porarily without homes. Provisions are plentiful. The tax on the local larder was considerably lessened this afternoon when the delayed Northern Pacific passenger train- from Portland, with its 150 passen gers, got through to Kelso and finally to Portland. After being tied up since Wednesday the passengers were overjoyed at the prospect of getting out, and many shouted with glee when Trainmaster Buckley got a work train through during the forenoon and said the track was clear back to Port land. During the early part of next week it is hoped to have the line clear to Puget Sound. A Seattle-bound passenger is held In check by an extensive washout six miles above Castle Rock. The steamer Chester bucked the river' from Kelso to day and will attempt to transfer the pas sengers from the washout to Kelso or Castle Rock, where they can get trains for Portland or ejwait-.the opening of the line. ' ' The entire valley is already at work remedying the damage, for It is believed, after the ten-foot fall in the river today, that the river will remain docile for the Winter. The temperature Is normal and the Chinook remains In evidence, but snow is reported as scarce in the Cascades and hence there seems to be no basia for panic predictions. Fears were entertained at Kelso. early in' the morning that the Coweeman dam above that place might break, but later the dam was reported firm and normal, with no evidences of a break. Land Emerges From Water. Two Oregonlan men covered the flooded section from Kalama to Castle Rock dur ing the day and learned tbe precise con dition of affairs. At daylight it was evi dent, even at Kalama, that there had been an extensive falling away of the floods. Telephone poles that had been hardly visi ble above the surface on Friday were dry half their length. Where farmhouses had been submerged to the eaves, north and west of Kelso, the windows and In some Instances the foundations were in evi dence. " Reaching Kelso It was found that un easiness was nearly at an end there. Several small steamers had fire in their boilers in readiness to take up their runs up and down the Cowlitz. Catlln, across the stream, was dry again, portions of the docks being above the flood. Drift wood appeared In smaller quantities. The (Concluded on Paj?e 3.) 3. THE SWIRLIXG STREAM IN THE FOREGROUND IS THE PEARY CEMENTS E Safe Return Means Sil verton Wedding. SOPHIE WOLF IS THE BRIDE Marry Willard Geer When ' Brother Comes Home. HE IS DOCTOR WITH PEARY Oregon Doctor With Peary and Sis ter Makes Happiness of Daven-'. port's Cousin ' Depend on Return. NEW YORK, Nov. 17. (Special.) A ro mance that depended on the safe return of Lieutenant Peary's latest Arctic expedi tion became known today, when an nouncement was made of the engagement of Miss Sophie Wolf, of Sllverton, Or., sister of Dr. Louis J. Wolf, physician 'to the expedition,' and 'P.' Willard Geer, of Morris Plains, N. J., cousin of Homer Davenport, the cartoonist. Mr. Geer and Miss Wolf ' have been sweethearts from childhood. Their, affec tion first manifested itself when young Geer, then a resident of Oregon, secured a clerkship In the etore of Adolf Wolf & Son, of Silvertori.' Not only did the elder Wolf take the young man Into his busi ness establishment, but he invited him to live at his home. While ' young Geer chummed with Louis Wolf, he constantly was pressing his attentions upon his friend's sister, but his suit for her hand was not successful. . Too Young to Marry, She' Says. ."Walt a - while; you're too- young to marry," Miss Wolf chlded, as Geer asked her to promise to be his bride. Longing to forget the scene of his un successful love-making, Geer turned his face eastward, and several years ago came to New York, where he Joined his cousin on his stock-farm at Morris Plains. Eighteen month ago Dr. Wolf was graduated from a medical college and accepted an invitation , to spend sev eral weeks with Mr. Geer at Morris Plains. ' - Coming to New York one morning early in September of last year. Dr. Wolf read in a New , York paper that Commander Peary's expedition was lacking a physi cian. Several had volunteered to ac company him to the far North, but none was accepted. , Joins Peary Expedition. "I'd like to volunteer to go with Com mander Peary," Dr. Wolf confided to his friend. ... "I think I can arrange it If you are In earnest," replied Mr. Geer. "I know Commander Peary; come with, me and I will recommend you to him." Arriving in-New York, Mr. Geer called on the explorer and introduced! Dr. "Wolf, who was examined and immediately ac cepted. Dr. Wolf sailed on the Roose velt, while Mr. Geer hurried across the continent with farewell messages to the young physician's family. "I'll tell you what I'll do," Miss Wolf said. "If Louts gets back safely, I'll promise to marry you." The engagement was sealed then and there and was kept a secret until a cablegram announced the safe arrival of Commander Peary and his party on the coast of Labrador. Mr. Geer was among the first to receive a message from Dr. Wolf. He telegraphed his provisional fiancee. She replied: "Am the happiest girl In the world. PANORAMIC VIEW OF 'sx" - :.y. '. A OREGON Mi Will, keep my promise to be. your wife." Mr. Geer expects to marry Just as soon as Dr. Wolf returns to New York. He received today this letterf rom his fiancee's brother. - Message From Dr. Wolf. "Hopedale, Labrador, "Missionary Station, Oct. 25, 1906.' We're In this harbor repairing rudder and stern and taking on ballast, water, wood, etc. We expect to mall steamship in few days or bope to get coal from her. We have been steaming: part of the time with wood and blubber. ' : "The Roosevelt has a few feathers pulled out of- her tall, but she Is able to put up a mighty good front yet. We (Concluded on Page 3,) CONTENTS TODAY'S PAPER The Weather. YESTERDAY'S Maximum temperature, 80 degrees; minimum, 45. TODAY'S Occasional light rain; westerly winds. National. Interior Department tainted with gigantic ' -coal land frauds. Page 1. ' Senator Pulton resents suspicion of complic ity In land frauds and puts lawyers on accusers' trail. Page 4. ...... Glnn, of Moro, recommended for Register ine uaues iand unice. fage.. President Roosevelt sees Colon and starts for Porto Rico. Page 3. Secretary Siiaw outlines his position on the , currency question. Page 2. ; Foreign. Servla In state of anarchy and drifting to bankruptcy, while Crown Prince Is Insane. Page 4. -America and Britain may unite to stop Con go atrocities. Page 4. London County Council may attack electric trust. Page 5. Domestic. Romantic marriage In Oregon will follow return of Peary, expedition. Page 1. Jerome says Insurance grafters '-cannot be prosecuted. Page 4. Standard OU directors Issue circular on Gov ernment suit. Page 1. Threp persons cremated In hotel lire at Goldfleld. Nev. Page 13. .- Floods In Northwest. Cowllts Is falling, showing that damage to rich valley will reach $250,000. Page 1. Refugees In flooded valleys near Seattle are In dire need of food. Page 2. Loss In Yakima Valley Is estimated at $400, 000. Page. 3. Sports. Eastern football games Yale 0, Princeton O; Harvard 22, Dartmouth 9; Pennsylva nia 17. Michigan 0; Cornell 2S. Skartn , more 0: Navy 40. North Carolina 0; Carl- Isle T. Minnesota O; Chicago 63. Illinois u: Wisconsin zu. furaue o. fage 3tt. Outsider, wins handicap In Oakland races. Page 36. Whitman defeats Idaho by a score of 8 to 5. Page 14. Eastern style of play superior to that of . west, says itereree in weeaiy tootoaii review. Page 37. Hill Academy defeats Columbia University, 5 to 0. Page 38. Multnomah beats Willamette University at iootoau. la to o. fage 30. Pacific Coast. Murder of George Mitchell may be laid to me aeaa Mrs. v-remeld. Page 14. Wilbur Smith, of Portland, accidentally Kiueo. oy close zriend on snoaiwater say Page 14. Douglas County house blown up when over turned lamp explodes giant powder hid den by boys. Page 15. Professor Pernot gives results of Investlga ' tlon. of the typnold bacillus. Page 14. Hugh Saxon and Thomas Reeves boy slay ers of Thomas Powell, are taken to the penitentiary, page 15. Commercial and Marine. Shorts In prune market caught. Page 3S. ChK-ago wheat market lacks support. Page os- New York banks hold surplus reserve. Page . 33. , ' . . . Increased speculation In stock market. Page AO. i Norwegian tramp Jerhou arrives. Page 15. Big fleet of sailing vessels barbound at As toria, .rage id. Portland and Vicinity. Northern Pacific Railway to resume opera tion of trains between Portland and the Sound today. Page 2. Lawmakers will consider making members of Port of Portland elective. Page 33. Postmaster Minto answers critic who' ques tions postofflce regulations. Page S2. Circuit Court decides suit of state against Portland General Electric Company in luvor oi aeienaani. rage B. Outlook for hopgrowers la brighter. Page 8. Police arrest delinquent youth for highway robbery. Page 24. State Woman's Suffrairist Association holds peaceiul meeting, page 33. Real estate sales of past week break all recoras. page 10.- Features and Departments. Editorial. Page 6. Church announcements. Page 20. Classified advertisements. Pages 17-23. Woman's battle for freedom in Englrfnd. rage .l. Annie Laura Miller's Japanese letters. Page What Senator Tillman thinks of himself. Page 45. Multl-milllonalres In public life. Page 44. Chuckwagon Cal. Page 43. A. H. Ballard's New York letter. Page 46. An odd freak by W. W. Jacobs. Page 48. Book reviews. Page 49. The John Dough mystery. Page. 50. Religious notes. Page 49. Social. Pages 26-27-31. , Dramatic Pages 34-35. Musical. Page 28. -Household and fashion. Page 47. v - Youths' department. Page 51. CASTLE ROCK SHOWING RAVAGES OF THE COWLITZ .... A - ....... Jteocr?. NEW CHANNEL OF THE COWLITZ, WHICH WAS CUT THROUGH THE WEST E; CLOSE TO THRONE Taint , Said to Touch nterior Department.' LAND OFFICE IS INVOLVED Commissioner Richards Under . Heavy Fire. HE IS DIRECTLY ACCUSED Secretary Hitchcock's Subordinates Said to Have Issued Patents on ' Public Coal Lands in Wyoming Despite Fraudulent Entries. WASHINGTON, Nov. 17. (Special.) Affidavits are on file with the Gov ernment here, and have been called to the attention cf President Roosevelt, charging that the gigantic land frauds whereby the Union Pacific Railroad Company and the Union Pacific Coal Company secured illegally coal lands in the state of Wyoming valued at many millions of dollars were perpet rated with the full knowledge of the Government Land Office, if not with its connivance and were known, if not tacitly assented to. by the Depart ment of the Interior. The affidavits are made by Artemus J. Smith, of Smith & Bradbury, dealers in mines and mining at Denver. The papers are aupplemental to a petition and other affidavits which were filed by Mr. Smith with the Land Office in Washington early in 1903, and they make a demand upon the de partment to start proceedings for the recovery of all the sequestered lands. Charges-Are Sensational. The charges made by Mr. Smith are sensational In .the extreme and call into question the Integrity of William A. Richards, Government Land Com missloner, and of others high in the employ of the Government. It was the knowledge of the earlier charges made by Mr. Smith which led to the invest! gation made ' by the Interstate Com merce Commission, recently, at Omaha, Salt Lake City and Denver, and by which fraudulent land deals of great magnitude were uncovered. In pursuing the Investigation the In terstate Commence Commission was ex ceedlngly careful not to uncover the fact ' that these steals and all the de tails connected with them, together with names and dates and amounts paid for perjury, had been in the pos sccsslon of the Department of the In terior for more than three years. Act ing under the suggestion of Govern ment officials, the Commission care fully avoided exposing or making an attack upon a co-ordinate branch of the Government. Emboldened by the disclosures of the Commission, Mr. Smith has again ap pealed to the Department of the In terior for justice, declaring that he has a prospective interest in the lands In question and that he desires to assert and protect this interest. Mr. Smith's charges may be sum marlzed as follows: , Evidence of Fraud. That on November 21, 1903, he placed before the Department of the Interior facts and data and offered to prove. If given the opportunity, that a . vast acreage of land had been and still was being stolen from the Government, and that little or no attention was paid to his petition. That, after Insistent demands and NEW FRAUDS COM repeated charges, M- E. Myendorff, Spe cial .Agent of the' Land DeDartment. ,rnade an Investigation in the Kvanston u,8"'vi, wyuming, wmcn substanti ated the charges made by Mr. Smith. That, Immediately thereafter, Mr. Myendorff was transferred permanent ly to Los Angeles. That' Mr. Smith again protested and furnished addi tional facts, making his appeal directly to the Secretary of the Interior, and that the latter official ordered Com missioner Richards to make an investi gation. That, although' Mr. Smith repeatedly offered to prove his charges, he was never notified that a hearing and an Investigation by the Land Commission er had been made. Star-Chamber Session. 'That, on December 26, 1905, a ''star chamber" Investigation was made at Evanston, Wyo., during - which only witnesses in the employ of the Union Pacific coal Company were called 'and were secretly, heard. . .. ." That almost Immediately after this hearing, and on the very day the De partment received a- determined pro test from Mr. Smith, together with sub stantiating facts, patents were issued , to stoln land Valaed- at more ' than i.ooo.ooo. ' . . Regarding his attemDts to arouse th Government and secure" its aid in pre venting these, frauds. Mr., Smith says: "I reluctantly charge the General Land Office, with all Its helps and the Gov ernment, with failing to keep faith with me and by a system of Drocrastl- nation and indifference .compelling me to resort to such Indirect methods as the records which thesn rrooeedine-s disclose. Controls Land Office. ' '"I make the bold assertion that (ho is now In the records of this case In the general land office an affidavit that .car ries the aspersldli that this arm of the Government is controlled by the corpora tions known as the Union Pacific Railway Company, the Union Pacific Coal Com pany and the Superior Coal Company. I do not give much credence to this sworn statement and only refer to it so that I may De Justified In my belief that I am the victim of misplaced confidence, when I appear before the rfpnartmAnt an an American citizen to ask for recognition." Accuses V. P. Coal Company. In connection with the land frauds which are now being considered by the Federal grand jury In Salt Lake City, Mr. Smith, under oath, chars-es Dver O. Clark, vice-president of the Union Pa cific Coal Company, and brother of United States Senator Clark, of Wyoming, George L. Black, superintendent of the company, William A. Gifford, agejjt of tne company, and George Mossholder with subornation of perjury in procuring people to file fraudulently on Government lands and then to turn them over to the coal company,, which is owned by the Union Pacific Railroad Company. Re garding his efforts to obtain assistance from the Department of the Interior, Mr. Smith says: "I appealed in vain In 1903. I have con tinued my appeals up to and including the present. I have spent a vast sura of money I could ill afford. I have striven to get my petition to the foot of the throne. I have failed, and, almost dis consolate and broken-hearted, I have at last reached the ear of the Honorable Secretary of the Interior." PAT CROWE'S NEW GRAFT Judge Who Tried Him Warns People Xot to Bite. OMAHA. Nov. 17. (Special.) In a letter to Judge Mack, of the Chicago Juvenile Court, Judge Sutton, who presided at the trial of Pat Crowe for the kidnaping of young Cudahy, has put a quietus on Crowe's latest scheme of reforming and starting clubs for boys in Chicago. He ex presses an earnest hope that Chicago business men will not be beguiled Into contributing to Crowe's scheme, saying It Is merely a ruse to get money to spend in debauchery. Judge Sutton says he has known Crowe for18 years, and has no faith In his protestations of reform. "In: my opinion." he says, "Crowe Is one of the most dangerous men in the United States, and the most dangerous one at large today in the country. I would no more think of letting a child under my control pass under his than I would think of sending a child to live with a friend In the penitentiary." ' J- : , ' ;ir::5?-J: hi' -V ' vA-"''':--:'L.::-:":':y.vLVV' -' iaMsti-.iSrA. PART OF THE TOWN. OIL TRUST SAYS 1 POSITION IS SAFE orally and Legally, Unassailable. CONFIDENT ; OF VINDICATION Armed With Virtues Glad to; Go Before Court.- 1 PLACES TRUST IN. JUDGES Directors Issue Circulars to Share- . holders, ' Affirming Goodness of , Standard and Saying It's. Just Like Other Trusts. 1 NEW YORK. Nov. 17. The directors of ; the Standard Oil Company issued anothei ' circular today to the stockholders of the , company, saying that the company's po sition is unassailable, from both a legal ' and a moral standpoint. The circular : follows: "26 Broadway, New York, Nov. 17, 19ns. . "To the Shareholders of the Standard Oil Company: "Regarding the suit this day commenced in the United States Court at St. Louis, in which It is sought to prevent the . Standard Oil Company (of New Jersey) from holding any stocks of other com panles, your directors are entirely con- ' vlnced that the company's position is un assailable, both from a legal and a moral standpoint. We are confident that In the proceedings which will follow the com pany will successfully maintain its po sition upon the merits and vindicate It before the public and the law. Glad to Get Into Court. "While your directors feel that there Is no adequate reason for such a suit, either in the organization or the conduct of the business, yet under the circumstances 11 Is perhaps better for your Interests and the business Interests of the country that the controversy should be removed to the Judicial atmosphere of the courts in whose integrity and wisdom every; citizen should have the fullest confidence where mere allegations must give way to legal proof. . "The present organization waa formed after an exhaustive consideration of the legal and business problems Involved. It has existed unchallenged for many year. Everything relating to it has been a mat ter of public report and in every step the utmost care has been observed to con duct the business.honestly and fairly and in accordance with not only the spirit but the technical requirements of the law. Legitimate and Normal. "The legal organization of your-eom-pany is of essentially the same nature and character as that of the other Im portant industrial Interests of the coun try, and the continuous growth and ex pansion of Its business have been legiti mate and normal. It Is not to be lightly assumed that there Is to be a reversal of the wheels of progress or a destruc tion of the foundations of the great in dustrial business of the country. "You may be assured that In this liti gation, as in all matters affecting the company, your directors will see that the proper steps are taken to protect your Interests. "By order of the board of directors. (Signed) "C. M. PRATT. Secretary." "' Lipton Sails for Home. NEW YORK, Nov. 17. Sir Thomas Lip ton sailed for home today on the steamer Carmanla. i m.-&z:&iiit;