y ; i '('V it': VOL. XXI. ST. HELENS, OH EG ON, FBIDAT, AUGUST 2G, 14. NO. 37. HE . ..... 0IIEGON MIST. WEEji'DOINGS Newsy Items Gathered from Atl parts of the world. Or INTEREST TOOUR READERS General Review of Important Happen. pcnlga Presented In Brief and Condensed tor m. Mn, Maybrlck has arrived In Nw York. Tha lo by th tornado at Bt. Paul will roach f 3.500,000. I ,nl 9 reports from Port Arthur tax th fort hm all but fallen. Hnuvanlr Lewi and Clark coins will ) rmdy oarly neit month. Tli Japanese continue to narrlflct Hi.niMti.U of lives at I'ort Arthur. A Saut K passenger train wa d ml I i-d nar Topeka and all person In jured, Th Russian attlmala that tb (leg lia already coat tha enemy :,ou0 men. A mob of (00 burnad a negro at Ce ilariown, Oa., for tha assault of a 13 vrarold white lrl. A hurricane wept over Watertown, H !., killing two people and Injuring many oilier. Oraat dainag wa doue to property. Tb HtiMlaa cruiser Orombol and Hoists are fan! being repaired at Vladi vostok and will mn b ready to as time Clio offenalv again. John Klland, a wealthy bepman ol New Meili-o, baa fallen Into the band of brigand In Meilco, where b went nn bunltiea. A heavy ranton la de manded for bl rUM. The riar lia iiminonel all reserve otlWu to lira nilnr. JPn loM that tb nutarllty cf China at hhanghai I Imperfect. An entitlement will) Kaiopelkln will purlmbly I lorced at l.lso Yai g. The inlnii'-r department lain no hur ry to create forest reserve lo Oregon. The Jet-anee bv eaptuml all lorta on the I'lgeon bay il ot l'ort Arthur. Kite prrmn were killed at Mandrn, Mo., by the explosion ol a car ol dyna mite. liUliig continue at tb Chicago i.k yard. Another roan ha been tbol. . Japan in lioaln uttor dUrefard lor ltvtiblklug all precedents at fort Arthur. The lue caused by the tornado In North HI. Lout 1 much heavier than t Brat reported. 1 he annivereary ol "Md" Anthony Wayne' victory over tb Indian wa ulwrved at the bl. Uml fair by an iuipxalng parade. Th rains ar slopping around I Uo Yang. The rod ai Mill In bad con dition ami aittva operation r not ei peeled unlit Ibey ar In bellter (bap. A Idling almost akin to deepalr reign in Ibe Kuaeian admiralty. Forest firea continue to rag In th reaervea of Montana, destroying much Nlilhla timber. JapaiinM blp ar cruising off Che loo In a arch ol lb Kuln boaU Il na ami Novlk, Paraguayan rebel hv demanded the city ol Asuncion, allowing It 24 houi to Korrender. A clomlburat near Globe, Arlona, cbiimmI a Lie ol several lia and grest damage to property. A Uiiwlan gunboat wi nnk by corn ing in contact with a mine near tb l.lao Tung jieniusulB. The Rwuisni will li their blp at l'ort Arthur lather than let them (nil lulu tha hand ol the ouemy. Tb corporation couneel ol Chicago ha decided that the packer hv no right to houe employe Intbeli plant. ItAruat H rut In Clarke count r. Wash., ar.. dolim irreat damage A number ol i, ,..... Iim.ii burned and much cordwnod destroyed. A aspect be bten a r rented. General Btoessel mda a defiant reply to the J-paueao demand Uiat n render. The west ctop In Eilrn Oregon and Waamgton ,wlll b t grett vr known. The Russian hips damaged In tb recent battle ran tak no further part in the war. The Urand Army h lrcted General W Union Wackmar, ot waaaacnaaei.--commamlor in chief. It it believed that tha raid ol tha Ruinian aqnadron will noi cos .u,y ping more than $260,000. T...i:....,. .r. mure lavorable tlian ever that Kuala will agree to the American Mellnltlon ol contraband ol war,.v. ,. ; ; ::. . ; ',."" The Jnpnee normil R"""1 nhaugliai lia mdifled the Uota that a fleet I. coming to aul the Rulun war vemol thora. m . d . I.- n.tiie fleet ha tailed A JIB niinni," for tna Far Et. Tli .Taianeae ar making a ' ..i. i.il.nr. and report y TJ: . .'r.adv' tacrlflced 20.000 men, - Several Important have been taken. position JFn J.n demanded I he turrendor ol Port Arthur. A Georjila mob "v.rpowerod the militia, eied two negro murderer and tteSM AGAINST POWDER. Queallon Whether Japanese rones Will Hold Out. Bt. retomburg, Aug. 21,-Tlio Intent report from I'ort Arthur Indicate Unit the gartlaon there I holding out with wonderful tenacity In the fuco of per latent deprate aanaulu. Tito only queatlon la how long any body of trtiopt ran wlthatmid audi awful puh labmont, and whether the gnrrlnon In thn forlrett ran milhiitt JnpiiueHe am munition and men, The report that 30 regiment have been drawn from Oennral Oku to atrengthen the attacker U believed to ludlcat that the Japanetia wmthern army It In diutperat itrult and aeem to how that tb Japaneao have not enough men to proaocute alnmltan ou campaign of groat magnitude In the north and aouth. The report that the Novlk hat been unk ha not yet been publlahcd here. If It la true, It will bo greatly felt, for the gallant crulaer, which hat been frequently mentioned In dlt pelchea, ba endeared herself to the whole nation by her tlndet activity at Tort Arthur, and It ha been grent ly hoped that b would reach Vlad ivostok In aafety. Tha attitude of the Jnpuneao govern ment In regard to China ha catiaed Increaalng uneaalnena bere. While It I believed that the dictatorial attitude aaaumed by Japan wa adopted large ly for II mortil Influetice on the Cbln- eae. It It alao taken to Ind cole that pan Intend to make heraeif the! dominant plrlt in the Celestial em pire. I POBTC VtRY SILENT. Cmbarrasacd by Reminder of Verbal Pkhge to America. Conatantlnople, Aug. 24. A 'note from American Mlnlater l.i'Uhman. dated August 10, was handed to the Turklah authorttlea within 13 hour fter the receipt by the Mlnlater of the Turklah note Monday. In thl not Mr. telahman hold the govern ment to It auli nin und'H'liiklng, com ing direct from the Sultan, respecting equal treatment with other nation for the Culled Slate concerning the queallon of educational Institution. Tbla allusion to the Imperial pledge apparently embarnicd the Porte, which bad previously announced thnt would Ignoro tho former verbal as surance which Minister Minman uo dared b bad received. It I considered Improbable thnt the Pone will renlr to the Minister note and therefore tho question I looked oon as aholvod pending the execution of the proces of recognition, when It considered not improtiauie iresn on- 'nit lea will arlre. Notwithstanding the assertion oy lel I'nsha. the secretary of the Fnl e. that $2.10.000 ha been deposited enmnensallon due to n American cllltena at Bmyrna for land Illegally laken, no uch deposit tin ycl oeen made. neCT APPROACHES SHANGHAI. Consul Goodnow Calls Consular Body Together for Action. Shanghai, Aug. 24. Tha atenmor Halting, wbli h arrived here today, re pol having alghted a Jnpnneso snuadron last night off Outiluir Island. about 6S mile aoutheast of Shnnghnt. The aquadron ahowed no light. The United State monitor aionnti- nock and two torpedoboat destroyer have been ordered to be ready to pro tect the neutrality of Shanghai. American Consul aoodnow cnii.i the meeting of Ibe consular body for 10 o'clock tomorrow morning, u believed that the foreign consul wm arrange mean to strengthen the hand i of the Taotnl In dealing w h it., ninller Of 106 Hiu "....- HOtP. , TnnnnMA loiter report aura i" -i-- -snuadron to bo 20 mile from Woo sung Woosttng la the outside harbor of Bbanghnl. Rrln Stops Hid Operations, .i ii.,lnnarter of General ff. rained de.'dl.y for four day. and & - the lower d. wlih ten feet or wuin " - , hiteV lmpaabl. A number of CMni.e snd horse of the commis sary department have been drowned n the cornflold. near the outpost. .Jli ire scouting parties aro search ing Sr them ThePreltlve positions ot the two smiles remain unchanged. Vessels SHcK to Port. i a... si. The nuosliin consXinoValhTr.. replying , alnto hn demand unrciioNt...... - let Ion o the Tight of Russia n a bel Ugorant II. Vfu.-d to order the . w.r vessel to quit Shanghai. Tho CI ln vesRoi 1 .-. -- ..a nr nrcIiiK the B ara lirclllg th ess pewspaiM.-- . - - .nolIlth wfr.h?Pgr r rupbold thoTaotal, warships noro bpcn h()ar(1 bUt SO iar .IW....-Q . t Drtrrsbura Advised. london Aug. 23. A dlmmtch to a London, auk. poterhiirg ' h. reached the admiralty thor rffecMhnTth. mlsslni I HumI. iu , m . Kors- akevsk . port of the Island of Sak- fi- In that the RnsHlan cruiser Dl. ce?nlng whose fate there has been considerable anxiety, ba. been seen off Hong .on. jivvvvvTvtvmvvvvvvvWvvvvtWvfvTvvvvtv??1 OREGON NEWS SILETZ RICH IN TIMBER. Railroad Survey Parly Loud In Praise of Country. , ?; Independence. The surveying party of the H. Chupumn Lumber Company that ha been In the Coast range mountain since May 28, ha com pleted It task, coming out at a point no one guessed. The survey a com pleted Intersect the Southern Pacific scarcely half a mile south of Inde pendence, near the old racetrack. Thn surveying crew, comprising 16 men, la In charge of Engineer L. M. Rice. The timber found In the Siloti basin was a revelation to the party, many of whom are experienced timber men and surveyors. There I enough tim ber In the SI let i country, aay Chief Hnglneer Rice, to last f0 year after It I made accessible by rail. The route terminating at Independence Is ii very feasible one and, according to the survey. It 1 not over 45 miles Into the heart ot the rich fillet basin. Terminating here, timber over the proiKised route could be handled by mil or river, and the Southern Pacific Is Just completing a spur from within a few rods of where the survey ended Into the bed of the river. A road over thl survey would also afford a short cut to Newport. STIRRING UP DAIRYMEN. Effort to Induce Valley farmers to Produce Butter Pat. Albany. An Important meeting of the dairymen and farmer of Linn county wa held at Sbedd last week. The meeting I tho result of the ef forts of prominent creamery men of Portland and of State Dairy and Food Commissioner J. w. Bailey. Curtis' Grove, one mile from Sbedd. wat the scene of the meeting, which took the nature of a farmera' picnic. A. Portland creamery provided gallon of Ice cream free, and the attendance wsa large for thl season of the yer. The great Importance of the meeting In the eye of friend of diversified furmlng In Oregon 1 In the fact tnai It I the beginning ot an effort on the part of the large purchaser of dairy products in Orecon to Induce the farmer of the Willamette Valley to devote more time to raising blooded stock, and particularly dairy dock. County Is Worth More. Oregon City. Assessor J. F. Nelson has completed the assessment of Clacknmns county property for the l!t04 roll. The aggregate or property valuation, represented by the roll, I approximately $10,250,000. or an In crease of 1300.000 over last year' roll. It 1 not expected that any ma terial change will be made In the assessed valuation by the board of equalisation, which will be? convened on Monday, August 29. Thl I the earliest date tor years that the aes ment of property In thl county ha been completed. Raise Timber Land Values. St. Helens. The assessment roll for Columbia couuty will be complet ed and ready for tbe board of equal lintlon in a few day. It will ahow an Increase of about one-third In the assessed valuation of the county. The valuation of the timber land ha been raised from $2.50 to $3 and $5. Thl bear heavily upon the non-resident land owner, but It Is not nearly as iik-h as In Clntaon county, and I far iminw the actual cBh value of the property. The assessment of the lienaon Comnanr amount to $128,000, and the cash value is certainly three times that amount. Start Work on fair Grounds. linker ritv The survey of the form i ml for the linker County Fair As sociation is completed and the work of constructing the new speed iraca bcBiin in earnest. The grounos su Join the city on the north, and are .vi.i.in kkv walking distance. The hind Is comparatively level and ad' mirni.w located for the purpose Work on the grandstand and fair i...ii.iinir will be begun at once. The rfoio him not vet been set for the fair, but will likely bo the first week in Oc tober. Umatilla Wheat Moving. Pendleton. Wheat buyers estimate that 1.000.000 bushels or vmatti a ..niv'a wheat croD have been o!d so far this season. Sales are being made constantly, sometimes smouni i.r to r.n noo bushels per day. Consid erable whent Is being shipped from Knstland. 10 mile northeast of here, to New York, to the cereal market and to fill contracts made on me ooara oi trade. Harvesting Is more than half done but in some localities will con tinue several weeks into September. Seven Williams Name Camp. Aiimnv Tlecause seven men whose ftt-ut nnmn was William were the first settlers of tho proposed mining camp, (ho town was christened Btllvllle. It Is-In the Blue river mining district near the line between i.ane mm un counties. Hlllvlllo Is now a busy min ing camp. , . Northwest Wheat Markets. Portland Walla Walla, 78c; bins stem, 85o! valley, 83c. Tacoma Rlueslein, 85c; club, 17)io. Albany 76c. 8lem 78c. . . Colfax Club, 70o; bluestem, 76o. Pendleton Club, 58Xcs blnestem, 73 Vic. La Grande Club, 62c ; bluestem, 68c, OF INTEREST WIND DAMAGES HOPYARDS. Poles Blown Over and Vines Torn , by Brisk Breeie. Independence. Quite a little dam ago ba been done to hopyarda In thl vicinity by wind. Walker Bros., two and a half mile north of bere, are the beavlett lotert. Fully 25 acre ot their yard I flat on the ground. About Ave acres of the Patton Sloper yard and three acre In John Burton's vard are also down. R. D. Cooper will have nearly 2000 bill to ktmlgbtcn up, and a few trellis poles are broken In one of the Hirchberg yards. A gale from the west sprang up about 4 o'clock In the afternoon. It wa not severe enough to do any dam age ordinarily, but only very sub stantial poles were able to withstand It force where tbe wind bad a clear weep. The owner promptly et to work repairing tbe damage by sharpening, redrivlng and propping poles. The eipenie to Walker Bros, alone In re letting pole will be over 11000. rrult Shipments from the Cove. La Orande. The Cove, 16 mile from La Orande, which I considered about the bed section of Eastern Ore gon for fruit, thus far tbi year ha ahlpped the following: Twenty thous and boxes of cberrlei, 5000 crate of strawberries, S000 crate of red rasp berries, 1000 crate of blackberries. Owing to a lack of picker the loss on strawberries was about 20 per cent, on the raspberries about 40 per cent. Plums sre now moving and the indica tions are that of these there will be about 4000 crates. There will be about from 2.5 to 30 cars of prunes and about 40 cars of apples., The pear crop will be light. Tbe cherry crop amounted to 100,000 boxes. The apple crop will reach 100 carloads. Restored to Domain. Tbe Dalle. The Secretary of the Interior ba autboriied and Instructed tha officer ot Tbe Dalles land office to restore to the public domain portions ot the following-named townships, em braced in the temporary withdrawal for tbe Blue Mountain Foreat Re serve: Twenve aoutb, 17 east. 13 south. 17. 18. 19. 20 and 21 east. 14 south. 19 and 20 east, and 15, 20. 22 and 23 east Tbeae lands were with drawn from entry st the creation of the reserve June 28. 1902. exclusive of township 15 snd 22. Twenty-three tbosuand acres of land are released from the withdrawal by this order, out of which 14,500 are already filed upon. Mamcur People In tamest. Ontario. The committee ot 17 for completing the organisation of the Malheur Waterusera Association met in Mayor Lsckey's office snd appoint ed committees for drsftlng by-law and for dividing the territory to be Ir rigated Into districts. The committee for securing slock In the association reported that 60.000 shares have been subscribed, or 6000 more than wa re- nulred to organize nermanently. w ork on the Malheur project is expecieu 10 be begun tbls fall unless sometning unforeseen occur. A meeting or stockholders will be beld in vaie, September 27. exhibit of Grasses and Grains. Alhanv. A. F. Miller, of Portland. Is getting together a display ot grains, grasses, vegetables, leaves, mosses, etc.. for a state exhibit. Mr. Miller in Albany In connection with his vork an 1 left a number or orders, u Is a little early yet to collect a large display, but arrangements are being r orln ror materials to maxe up a ais- nUv to be collected later. Mr. Miller has been msklng these collections for the last 40 years snd knows just what part of the state to visit tor tne oesi collection of every variety of product. New Linen Mills. Alhany Euaene Bosse. who has sn- nnnnced that he will establish a linen mill in Salem. Is looking over the field In Albany with a view to estab llshlng a linen mill here. Mr. Bosse ..v. hA will establish a number of nia over the valley, and that flax hni,M be arown here In large qunntl' ties, as the Oregon product Is the best in the world. At the present time the linen mill at Solo Is the oniy one in this locality. It has proved success ful. every way. II llM.IHI.IIII III Surveyors In Grand Ronde. La Grande. The surveyors who are out locating the route for the new electric belt railroad in Union county for the Eastern Oregon ueveiopmeni rnmnanv aro now In the center of the Grand Ronde Valley and will reach La Grande In a short time, ine ex pense up to this time has reached a total of $85 per day, and the company have the greatest confidence in the best outcome of the undertaking. New Albany Tannery. . Albany. The Star ' Tannery Com pany has been incorporated in Albany. The Incorporators sre Henry Lyons, John 8hea. James H. Curran and Har- ry Shea. It is capuaiiseu ni. fo. the stock being divided into shares of $100 each. This is the second tan nery for Albany. rind Scab on Cattle. Albany. Drs. Wells, ot Albany, snd Mntnhlnaon. of Portland. Inspected a number of cattle at Halsey, Linn conn tv nrlor to their shipment to Nevada. Considerable scsb was found among the stock. This wa oraerea eraai cated before shipment. LOSS IS MILLIONS. Tornado Sweeps Over St. Paul and Minneapolis. St. Paul, Aug. 23. Several person were killed, a number are reported missing and 50 to 100 were Injured, some fatally; business property and residences were damaged to tbe ex tent of perhaps $1,000,000; tbe mas sive steel bridges across tbe Mlssls ilppi were wrecked 'and strained; shade tree were leveled and much otber damage waa done In Bt. Paul and Minneapolis by a tornado which bioke over the two cities shortly after 9 o'clock last night Apparently the storm was of a local character, for as far ss can be learned no damage was done In the neighbor ing towns. The storm was particular ly severe In the business districts ot the two cities. Windows were blown In and roof torn from Immense whole sale warehouses and tbe flood of rain which accompanied tbe storm did Im measurable damage to stock of good. Dwelling bouses, churches and school also Buffered greatly. Railroad traffic between St. Paul and Minneapolis wa entirely cut off. Tbe street railway system of both ckte were prostrated. For hour after tbe atorm bad spent Its fury it was im possible to get Into communication with Minneapolis, tbe telephone wires being demoralized. Rumors of great loss of life were rife, but on being tracked to their sources were found to be Incorrect All telegraph wires were down and tbe Associated Press waa compelled to send men to station down the river before communication could be estab lished with the outer world. Tbe atorm was of short duration. lasting not more than 15 minute. The devastation it wrought was terrific. The wind, according to tbe government weatner observer oiew su mnes u hours, coming from tbe southwest Buildings wete unroofed and fronts blown In. tbe cellars being flooded by tbe rain which came In great waves along with tbe wind. Electric wires were prostrated and many persons were injured by contact with electric light and trolley wires. PACKERS WILL TIGHT. Gourt Must Decide on Their Right House Employes. Chicago, Aug. 23. Tbe packers will apply to tbe courts for an Injunction to prevent tbe carrying out of the city a orders that the strike-breakers be no longer boused In the buildings in the stockyards. This waa decided on at a meeting of tbe legal representatives ot all the packing firms, save one, that are affected by tbe strike. Agents of the packers hurried aboat the yards today reassuring the non-union men and rushing the work of re habilitating barracks to be entirely separate from tbe alaughter bouses. Arrangements were made to bring in tents to cover every available vacant s Dot for tbe same purpose. Small cir cus tents were sent for to meet the emergency. Swift's carsbops were soon taken possession of by mechanics, wno began fitting up the plant's bunkhouee, and tbe same was done with other buildings, apart from the killing de partments. Every effort was made to prevent a stampede of non-unionists. The packers declare It was successful and that the exodus was no larger than Is usual on Saturdays. Union pickets reDorted that the desertions were heavy and that the non-union m were in a stste of terror. ACTION SAVES MANY. Captain of ferryboat Rammed Makes Harbor Quickly" New York, April 23. A hundred pas sengers on the ferryboat South Side, plying in the East river between Tenth street and Green Point, have been saved from possible death by quick ac tion on the part ot a captian or a new Haven Railroad transfer-boat. The terry boat 60 yards out in tbe stream, making for the slip at the foot of Tenth street, when she was rammed by the big float carrying IS freight cars. The float's prow penetrated nearly to thee enter of the ferry boat on the aide of the ladies' cabin. The passengers fled In terror, msny of the women in the cabin having been cut and bruised by flying glass and splint ers. ., The captain of the transfer-boat realised that If he backed off the ferry boat would float helplessly away and sink. Whistling for help, he ordered on all piessure, pushed the helpless ferrvboat toward the docks, snd suc ceeded in shoving It against the pier ot the slip where the passengers quickly scrambled through the windows and over piles of freight to the street. A few minutes later me soum siae But tled to the bottom. Darkness and storm, together with s misunderstanding of signals, probably caused the accident. Panama Enters Denial. Panama, Aug. 23. President Ama dor today informed the correspondent of the Associated Press that there was no truth in the report received in New York yesterday from Buena Ventura, Colombia, to the effect that the govern ment of Panama had stationed a gar rUon at Fort Nugul, at the confluence of the Atrata and San Juan rivers, thereby assuming formal possession oi a wide strip of the Colombian depart ment ot Cawes. The president aaaea that Panama wants peace with all na tions and especially with Colombia. Answer Is Held Up. Washington, Aug. 23. In reply to the State Department's Instructions to request President Castro to put the New York & Mermudese Asphal Com pany again In possession of its proper ty in Venezuela, pending tha decision of the Venezuelan supreme court In September, Minister Bowen haB cabled that he has laid these representations before the Venezuelan foreign office, but has not yet been able to secure sn J answer from President Castro. MINERSNEET Seventh Annual Convention at Portland. WILL SELECT PERMANENT HOME Pighl Is Between Denver and Salt Lake, With the Tormer Blry In the Lead. Portland, Aug. 23. Under the folds of tbe flags of the world, the seventh annual convention of the American Mining Congress was called to order yesterday morning at 10 o'clock at the Armory. The day wa spent In begin ning tbe work which will for Ave nays take up the time and attention of the delegates, who have come from all of tbe mining state of the country to make an effort to better tbe condition of the Industry, and to bring It before the people on the plane where it should stand. Preliminary work, addresses of wel come and responses occupied yester day and last night, and today the real work will commence. The power that are behind the management of tbe congress, the wishes and desires of the delegations are beginning to be made manifest by conference snd caucuses, and tbe hopes of cities and the desires of ambitious men are now being settled. The one great question that Is now before the convention of miners as sembled is that of selecting a perma nent headquarters for the congress, ot choosing some one city In which can be erected a home for the organiza tion, and where can be maintained nermanently the office of the con gress, the exhibits to be collected and the records of the proceedings. Denver snd Salt Lake are both out after tbe permanent home, and are bending every effort to secure It, both by offering bonuses and concessions snd by velvet-tongued srgunents. Which will secure the prize is now un known, though it looks as though it might be Denver, for tbst city has many warm supporters and friends. Tbe question ot the permanent es tablishment Is s serious one, as the members well know, for it means the presentation to the city securing the headquarters of every annual meeting after tbe one held next yesr. It Is the opinion of s great many of the del egates that tbe only business-like plan of proceeding will be to give the an nual convention to the city securing the permanent home. The records, the exhibits, tbe secretary snd his as sistants, the building and headquar ters of the organization will be in the place known as tbe home of the con gress. It will be. therefore, conven ient and more practical to bold the an nual meetings at thatplace than to send them to new cities each year, ne cessitating the establishment of tem porary quarters and transfer of re cords. - r AMERICA KEEPS OUT. She Will Take No Part In the Shang hai Trouble. Washington, Aug. 24. The United States Government does not intend to insist upon tbe neutrality of China. It does not Intend to Insist that the Russian warships now in the harbor at Shanghai shall be disarmed or be forced from tbelr present haven, it does not intend In any way to prevent tbe Japanese from capturing the Rus sian warships.. It does not at this time propose pro tecting American interests in Shang hai or any other Chinese ports, if, by so doing, it Is found necessary to in terfere with the freedom of the war shins ot any other nation. This Is the decision that was reach ed this afternoon by the Department of State after a conference between the State and Navy Department offi cials with President Roosevelt at Oys ter Bay over the long-distance tele phone. Instructions in accordance with this decision were sent to Rear Admiral Sterling, in charge of the Asiatic squadron now at Shanghai. An impression exists here thst Consul-General Goodnow may have unintentionally paved the way to com' routing this government to a main tenance of the neutrality of China, when be called the meeting today of the foreign representatives to take such action as was deemed necessary. But before that meeting had assem bled, a cablegram had been sent him carefully to abstain from any action that could be deemed to be interfer ence. Railroad Shops to Work Less, Altoona. Pa.. Aug. 24. The Penn svlvania Railroad Company today made the most sweeping reduction in the time of the men employed that has taken place since the panic of 1893 The employes of the machine shops today were notified that, commencing with tomorrow morning they would be divided Into shifts, one shift to work Monday and Wednesday and the other Tuesday and Thursday, eight hours to constitute s day's work. The remainder of the week the shops will be closed entirely. It is not known how long the order will con tinue In effect. No Prospect of Big Battle. Llao Yang, Aug. 24. Japanese troops In considerable force are con centrating on the southern front of tbe Russian army and there is contin ual skirmishing, but ' no immediate prospect of a big battle. During the night they kept up firing on the Rus- sian outposts, but the Russian troops have strict orders not to reply. The Chinese say "that 30,000 Japanese troops, with 200 guns, have landed at Ylnkow, part of these troops golug to Ntu Chwang and part to Haicheng. Port Arthur to Be His Tomb. London, Aug. 24. No further war news has reached London. According to the Moscow correspondent of the Morning Post, Lieutenant-General Stoessel concluded a telegram to an Intimate friend there with the words: "Farewell forever. Port Arthur will be my tomb." FURTHER CHECK TO FRAUD. Public Land States are Divided Into Districts. Washington, Aug. 20. To render the Inspection of tbe service of tbe general land office more effective, th acting secretary ot tbe interior today divided tbe public land state into nine inspection districts, placing a special agent in charge of each. Tbi special agent will have supervision orei all otber special (gents ssaigned to this dietrict snd will bave charge of all in spections csrried on in that district, being in tnrn directly responsible to tbe general land office. Oregon ba been made a specisl dis trict with Special Agent Thorns B. Keuhansen, of Minnesota, in charge. Washington is another separate dis trict with Edward W. Dixon, of Ore gon, in charge, while Idaho and Mon tana combine to make another district under Harry II. Schwartz, of Booth Dakota. These special agents were se lected from the list of five land offices because of their proficiency and adapt ability lot tbe service and will receive 1.600 instead of $1,200 a heretofoie. with an allowance of $3 per day for subsistence. . Nicholas J. O'Brien will be in charge of tbe Idaho-Montana district. Oregon and Washington are the only states that constitute sepacrate dis trict. Tbe experience of the past two years bas demonstrated that with all special agents repotting direct to tbe general land omce at Washington it bas been almost impossible to keep check on those who go wrong. Kum erons discharge bave lately been made, because special agent bave been fonnd participating in fraudulent land opera tions, locating settlers on desirsbble snds, furnishing speculator with val uable insid information, etc. It was this discovery thst led Land Commit ioner Kichsrde ti work out ths new system which ws approved today. f-pecial agents in charge of the dis tricts will bsve headquarters at local land offices to be w lected by them. Each will bave a civil service clerk. whose salary will be $1,000 per annum. TO SAVE TIMBER. fire Alarm System May Be Put In Reserves. Washington. Aug. 20. The agricul tural department i considering ' the advisability of installing wirelees tele graphy in . forest reserve throughout the West with a view io making tha system of forest protection moie effect ive. While the present ranger system is quite successful, numerous large fires bave occurred in reserves patrolled by rangers because of their inability to reach the fires at the time of their origin. Secretary Wilson's idea is to provide each reserve with a practical Sre protection system that can be need to give sn alarm the moment fire is discovered snd get tbe settlers snd the rangers to tbe scene without delay. While not satufied wireless telegraphy can be employed wi.h good effect, Sec retary Wilson believes the plan worthy of investigation, snd has directed Chief Moore, oi tbe weatber bureau, to tour tbe BUck Hills' reserve in Couth Da kota with a view of determining the possibilities of this new service. If it is found wirt less telegraphy is too ex pensive or impracticable, Chief Moore will report on some other tire aJsrm system which will be effective in reach ing rangers in sll parts of tbe reserve, ss well aa settlers npon and adjacent to the reserve. If some system can be de vised thst will not be too expensive, Secretary Wilson will recommend its adoption and ask congress to make th necessary appropriation for eqaipplog all the forest reserves in tha West. It is believed snch a fire alarm sys tem will be especially valuable and practicable in a reserve like the Black Hills, where large mining interests are conducted within tbe reservation and employ a large force of men. Secre tary ft ilson will not go into details in discussing his plan, nor will he show how it is proposed to nse wireless tel egraphy. He wishes little publicity given tbe proposition until. Chief Moore report. . Can't Stop Use of Wine. Washington, Aug. 20. Despite th protest of the Christian Endeavor so cieties of Connecticut, the traditional bottle of wine will be broken across tb prow of the battleship Connecticut when she is launched. Acting Secre tary of the Navy Darling, in his reply to the protest, said : "Permit me to suggest that yon and the 3,000,000 of people you represent ought to find com fort in the thought that wine thus ex pended can neither imperil tbe soul nor contribute to ths cup. of human oriow." . . Tenders His Resignation. London, Aug. 20. Tha correspond ent ot the Standard at Tientsin sajs that Lieutenant Newton McCully, A the United State navy, and Lieutenant Decuiverville, of the French navy, have left that port. - Tbe correspond ent adds that the Chinese admiral, 8ah, has tendered his resignation and offered himself for punishment on account ol bis inability to prevent tbe Japanese capturing the Russian torpedo boat de stioyer Keyeehitelni. ... Cruisers Heard Prom. London, Aug. 20. A dispatch to tha Central News from Vladivostok (ays the cruisers Rossis and Gromoboi, ol the Vladivostok squadron, have return ad there. burned them alive.