La Grande evening observer., January 06, 1915, Image 1

AM INDEPENDENT NEWSPAPER - PRINTS THE NEWS THE DAY IT HAPPENS
LA GRANDE, OREGON, WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 6
; VOLUME XIV.
1915.
NUMBER I8I
'..FJRST PHOTOGRAPI OF BRITISH. TROOPS FIRING BIG GUN lit T BENCHES.
REPUDIATES
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SEVEN HUNDRED TRAINS. STALLED1N
TUBE FILLED WITH SMOKE AND FUMES
ONE HUNDRED, APPARENTLY DEAD, ARE REVIVEO
New York's Worst Subway Fire Rages , For
Two Hours-Unconscious Fill Hospitals
New York, Jan.- 6. One woman
lost her life, 13 are in a very serious
condition, and 700 are Suffering: from
shock, and inhalation of smoke, and
-thousands were seriously in danger
for ia time, as the result of a subway
fire and tieup today. A blowout put
the tube system from Upper Bronx to
Brooklyn .out of commission at 8
o'clock and an hour and 45 minutes
later after' the tieup of , the system
had become the most complete in the
history of the" city fire broke out
between Fiftieth and Fifty-ninth
streets, directly under two t trains
jammed with passengers. Trapped in
the darkness, they fought frenziedly
to escape until, they fell unconscious
from smoke. t !
i People Lifted by Relays.
v Firemen tore up the gratings and
1- t 1- J .J 1 .unAiinj . Ml.a
TL r WaZa Unwind, however, antf-wiUi the com
than 100 whwre. anparentjy dooroadl M. . . t ' ..$4
but revived on. reaching good
revived on. reaching good air. It
. took two hours to rescue this group
alone, the firemen working in relays,
lifting the men and women up the
ladders to- safety. , i
Volunteer doctors revived some,
and the rest were sent to the hos
pitals. ' Seven hundred trains were
stalled at this point.
Woman is First Victim.
;'. An unidentified woman was over
come by the smoke and died at the
hospital. ' Fire Chief Kenlon said at
11:30 that all the passengers had been
rescued, that 150 victims had , been
taken to the polyclinic hospital alone.
' Wild scenes were enacted in the
subway. When the blowout occurred
the tube was filled " with densely
packed trains. For miles in each . ti
rection from Fifty-Ninth street, the
trains were stalled and plunged into
pitchy darkness. '
Fire Smokes up Tube. '
The fittings at . the - powerhouse,
where the blowout occurred took fire
and filled the subway.- with smoke.
The heat . became unbearable. Finally
the guards succeeded in running the
trains between Fifty-Ninth and One
. Hundred and Tenth streets together,
ed for end, and opened the doors con
necting them so the passengers could
get out at the Ninty-Sixth street sta
tion. ' Whole Trainload Suffocated.
- Elsewhere great difficulty was ex
perienced. Firemen entered the sub
way at Fifty-Ninth street by jam
ming the grating loose, and reported
an entire trainload of passengers un
conscious from tht moke. More than
160 were brought to the urface and
carried to the Circle hotel where they
were stretched on the stage until tak
en to the hospitals later.
COMMISSIONERS AT BAKER.
Light Rate Hearing Not Finally Set
. . . Down.
Baker, Jan. 6. Clyde B. Aitchisn
of the Oregon Railroad commission,
accompanied by Messrs. J. A. Rock
well and Wnv J. Neil!, engineers to
the commission, arrived in Baker yes
terday afternoon for the purpose of
vestigating the affairs of the East
ern Oregon ' Light and Power com
pany in preparation for the hearing
in the company's rate case, which is
now before the commission.,
Mr., Neill was here last summer
making an inventory of the com
pany's property, and Mr. Aitchison at
this time will confine his efforts to.
work on the company's books and
records, the history of its organiza
tion, management, etc. '
- "It is - a somewhat - unusual - case,''
said Mr. Aitchison yesterday. "The
investigation was originally taken up
at the instance' of the La Grande
Commercial club relative to the rates
in that city, but-, the company asked
that its whole system be investigat
ed at the same time, and that is why
the service in Baker is being looked
into, although there has never' been
a line .of protest from any individual,
club or corporation in this 'city.
"We- will- probably ' be busy, hero
all this week, going over the com
pany's books and records. . We will
probably have all our data ready so
that the hearing before the-commission,
could start about the 20th oi
the month, were it possible to hola
the hearing in Salen), - It is custo
mary to hold the hearings on the
I .. , f., .. ... .
state
capital during the session of the leg
islature, it is impossible at this time
to say just when we can get action.
I had a talk with Commissioner Fin.
ley today concerning the situation as
it affects the city and the promotion
of the municipal project and we un
derstand what it means to them to
get the matter , settled soon, and of
course we will all co-operate to ex
pedite the hearing and ruling and
finish the ,case at as early a date
as possible."
CELEBRATION THURSDAY.
Woodmen Have Big Time in Store
at Anniverssary "Blowout."
Tomorrow evening Modern Wood
men of America and the Royal Neigh,
bors have a big time in store. Joint
installation is on the program, and
in addition there h going to e a
musical and literary program. A fea
ture of the music portion vi'i uc a
male chorus of a dozen voices sing
ing under the name of the Woodmen
Male chorus.
Bert Oakman, district deputy head
consul, has. extended a warm invita
tion to . every Woodman and , Royal
Neighbor to be present, and especial
ly to Woodmen from other camps who
may be in the city.
Berlin, Jan. 6. Fresh charges have
been made by the war office against
the French, charging they wantonly
destroy German .villages behind the
Kaiser s lines. It is asserted town3
are systematically wrecked by heavy
bombardments which don't harm the
teutonic troops. Capture of several
trenches with 200 men is claimed at
Argonnes, near Souian.
Rains Hinder Battles. -Paris,
Jan. 6. Torrential rains are
preventing Germans from resuming
the offensive in the extreme North
line of fighting in the Western war
zone. Disposition of the troops has"!
left no doubt in the minds of experts
that Germans had planned a strong
offensive operation.
Pneumonia Victims Great.
Conditions in the trenches are such
that the soldiers live in frightful con
ditions. Pneumonia . victims are ar
riving at Dunkirk by the trainload.
Most of them- are British..
. Farther southward the troops" are
GERMANS
ft
... . This photograph vividly .iHustrates the activities of war in the winter time in the east of France. Hbi-j
are. shown British gunners in the act of firing : from breastworks on the German trenches milos away. These
large guns are hidden as well as possible behind brush or in forests whnre" - the enemy cannot see them
through glasses nor make them out from the. smoke which arises ofter a shot. -.
HQDGIH RECOGNIZED AS THE
COUIlIf PRDSECUTOR BY JUDGE
KHDWLES-TESTS COMING LATER
Attorney John S. Hodgin was thw approved by the people of the state. I
morning recognized by Judge Knowlm feel that it is my duty to obsjre
of the Circuit court as the District this law until it shall-have bean de
Attorney of Union county. Judffj dared unconstitutional by some
Knowles bases his action in this mat- court." The legal phase will likely be
ter upon the law enacted by the tried out in a test cuse in which At
state legislature empowering the gov- torney F. S. Ivanhoe, retiring prosc
ernorof the state to make appoint- cutor, , will attempt to retain his of -ments
to fill vacancies in public of- f ice until a regular election, on thi
fices. Commenting upon the' matter grounds the law under which the
this morning Judge Knowles said: appointment of Mr. Hodgin was made
"Mr. Hodgin was appointed dis- was unconstitutional.
trict attorney of this county under a
law enacted by the legislature and
E
trying to wrest Saint Michel from the
Germans. . ' .i
' French Successes Claimed.
Paris, Jan. 6. French successes in
Argonnes and the vicinity of Courte
hause over Germans are announced
by military headquarters. Eight hun
dred yards of the Kaiser's trenches
were dynamited and half of the men
captured by' the French, fighting if
of a most desperate character. , '
RESCUE HOSE ELECTS.
Officers for the Ensuing Year Chosen
. . at Annual Meeting.
Last evening Rescue Hose Co. No.
1 elected officers for the following
term, as follows:
Captain, P. A. Foley; First lieuten.
ant, L. L. Snodgrass; Second lieuten
ants C O. Murchison;- President, F.
R. Suydam; , Vice-president, , Jameo
O'Neal; Secretary, C. P. Taylor;
Treasurer, L, M. Hoyt. '
Election of officers was the only
business of importance transacted. .
J
1:0
... . .
23
Mr. Hodgin officiated in his first
case in his new capacity this morn
ing when he was present at the sen
itencihg of Alexander Stevens, found
guilty by the jury Monday of potit
, larceny. Stevens was sentenced c
serve one year in the county jail. The
judge in passing the sentence took
occassion to lecture the prisoner upon
the folly of the crime committed by
an able bodied man who should bo
able to earn an honest living. He aluo
intimated that unless the county
could find some employment for the
prisoner to in a measure pay for his
board during his long imprisonmert
that the court would probably par lj
Stevens rather than allow him to re-
main an expense upon the county. .
j Attorney F, S. Ivanhoe, former dis.
tnct attorney, said this morning that
he would take the case to the Supreme
court right away through his attor
neys Crawford & Eakin. Mr. Ivan
hoe said that he intended to contest
the case to a finish and is convinced
that he has good grounds for his ac
tion in the unconstitutionality of the
law authorizing the appointment.
Matches and Clothing Taken!
Th shack on Jefferson avenue oc
cupied by Tony Peters, an Italian, was
burglarized last night and a couple
of gokt watches and a quantttv n
clothing taken. ; The party or parties
who took port in the burglary are not
known.
19
x In
si
. .. ;
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SENATOR KIDDLE IS
FOR LAW AND ORDER
URGES GOVERNOR WEST TO
FOLLOW LAW IN NAMING
NEW SENATOR.
EXECUTIVE ASKS FOR A
SENATORIAL EXPRESSION
State
Senator Kiddle i Figures
Thrilling Tipover.
in
"I am a firm believer in law en
forcement; would advise you to fol
low the law."
Such is the advise State Senator gressives. The presiding officer of the '
Ed E. Kiddle gave to Governor WoBt senate will be the lieutenant-gov-this
morning in response to a letter ernor, Edward Schoenock .
- The re-election of Thaddeus C.
' TT Sweet, Phoenix, as speaker of the as-.
(Continued on Page 8.) scmblv is practically assure(K '
LIFELESS BODY AT WHEEL
-. George Ruckman,. aged 60 years,
and well-known Alicel farmer died at
8 o'clock last evening at the steering
wheel of his automobile. In company
with Mrs. Ruckman he was returning
'from the home of his son Sam Ruck
man, nearby, and while leisurely driv-
ling along the machine suddenly
i swerved into tho fence and stopped.
The turn of the car called Mrs. Ruck,
man's attention to the fact that some
thing was wrong. To her horror she
discovered her husband's lifeless body
at the wheel. He had spoken a few
moments previous.
Later investigation proved that the
machine had been shut off. It is sup
posed that Mr. Ruckman felt an at
tack coming on and instinctively shut
off the apparatus of his car, dying
in the same instance.
. Mrs. Ruckman gave the alarm and
was taken to her home.
About a mile from the Sam Ruck
man home, the auto went Into a snow
drift and Trtr. Ruckman got out to
JOHN SIERKS, ASYLUM INMATE,
NOW SAYS MURDER CON
FESSION NOT TRUE. '
CLAIMS PEN. CHAPLAIN .
WORKED ON FEELINGS
Confession of Killing of Mrs. Wekr
: man and Son, Made Sunday, is
. Repudiated When Confronted by
Father Says Every Word of Form,
r Statement Was Untrue.
Salem, Jan. 6. John Sierks, an in
mate of the insane asylum, who Sun-
day confessed that it was he, and not
John. Pender, ! who murdered Mrs.
Daisy Wehrman and her young son '
near Soappoose jin 1911,- today com
'plotely repudiated his confession, de
claring it untrue in every detail. Pen
der is now serving a life sentence in
the penitentiary for the : crime: :
The repudiation of the murder con
' fession came today ' when" young
Sierks was confronted by his father.
At the conference - between father
i and soon Sierks claimed that state
'f penitentiary Chaplain MacLaren' had
; worked on his feelings and told, him
tnat ne, should confess ; in order to -i
save Pender.
The , : remarkable confession: of
young Sierks, Sunday has" created
state wide Interest in the case. Sttr
officials were loath to beliere the
story of the asylum 'Ihmate and have
not yet taken any 'action looking to
the release of Pender.' Much1 eri-,
dence contradictory to the statement
as issued by Sierks has been unearth.1
ed since Sunday; and Governor West
has ordered careful investigation ;
of all .the details, connected with the
confession. -
IDAHO LIQUOR LAW VP,
Prohibition Bill Introduced In Stale
Senate Today.
: Boise, Jan. 6. A resolution for the
submission of a constitutional amend
ment prohibiting the manufacture and
sale of liquor in Idaho was introduced
in the Senate today by Senator Hart.
No action has 'been taken on the reso
lution this afternoon, The House was
not in session,
N. Y, Legislature Convenes :
Albany, Jan. 6. In accordance with '
state law the legislature will convene
here today, the first Wednesday in
January. With its meeting, the wheels,
of the new. state government, begun
today, will be started on their revolu
tions. The make-up of the Senate
will be: Republicans 33, Democrats 17,
and . Republican-Progressive 1. The
assembly will toe comnosed of 99 Ra .
Imnhlirnnfi. 4fl TtoTnrwnAtfl nnH 2 Pnu
clear the way, and soon dlrove on. The
rnval of death too place about three
miles farther on. .
Mr. Ruckman had been in the best
of health and has had no known af
fections of heart trouble.
Funeral arrangements have not
been announced this afternoon.
Three sons, a daughter and the
widow survive. The sons are Will
and Sam of this valley, R. J. of Wal
la Walla and Mary Peal of Joseph.
Many distant rettions, including the
Cochran family, live here and at Port
land, and most of them will likely be
at the funeral.
Water Case Up Again.
The recent decision of the Supreme
court in the North Powder river dev
termination, whereby the North Pow
der Milling Co., was deprived of the
use of certain water for two summer
months will be reconsidered, as the
court on yesterday granted the peti-.
tion of C. E. Cochran, attorney for ,
the mill, to have a rehearing.