Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About The morning Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1899-1930 | View Entire Issue (Dec. 18, 1906)
PRESIDENTIAL MESSAGES Three Messages Transmit ted to Congress. HOLIDAY ADJOURNMENT Both Branches of Congress Rush Ing Business for (he Holiday. PANAMA CANAL DISCUSSED Reading of the Message of Prtildent Roostvtlt Oooupled Nearly tht En tlr Timet of tho Stnate and House, WASHINGTON. D.17.-The bout began tht last week before tho Christ mm bolldayt with ft determination to d is post of murh business at pos this for trior artlv work which will dvnv upon It when It re-convenes fth tho holiday. To thl end Mr- oral email bills were passed, under suspension of the rule. The Indian appropriation bill wu taken ap and fifty-seven page of It completed when It was laid aside, for the President's meaaeft concerning the Panama canal, " which consumed more than one hour In'lte reading;, being listened to by a large number of member The pictorial feature of the report afforded an opportunity for good na tared oomment, the Innovation of cute In mote paper being looked upon with favor, The message from the Pre- Ident on publlo land and naval per snnnel were also reed, The plctorlally illustrated message from the President, portraying the condition aa he found them on the Isthmus of Panama during; hie recent visit occupied the senate during i greater part of Ita session today, Pre ceding the Panama messagt the Pres ident's recommendation regarding the public land and the naval personnel were read. The senate agreed to the holiday adjournment resolution and It will adjourn Thursday until Jan. t. Resolution wer agreed to by the Department of Commerce and Labor on Inveallgatlon, of the Internatlon Ilarvsstcr Company,- to ascertain whether It effect tho restraint of trade, -klio directing the Donate Judl clary committee to report on what au thorlty congress ha under the com merct clause of the constitution to prevent tho Interstate Commerce com mission In Investigating child-made good. Resolution to guard against tate right were presented by Sena' tor Whyte and Raynor for future discussion. , i '. MATTOAX RESPONSIBLE. Investigation of Railroad Oleaster Fixe Blame on Operator. WASHINGTON, Dec. 17. The of ficial Investigation Into the cause of the wreck on the Southern Railway at Lawlors on Thanksgiving day In which President Spencer of the rail road and other prominent people lost their live,, ha placed the rennJil blllty on O. D. Mattoax, the operator tit Rangoon itatlon, Virginia, 8HJP LIBELLED, Ship Baboook from Baltimore to As toria Ha Been Seized. HONOLULU, Deo. 17. The ship W.' F. Babcock, en route from Baltimore to Astoria, and which put In this port "port several days ago, short of pro- vision, hat been IIWO Jor 930,00 by the crew, who allege .t they have not received proper food on the voyage. A number of the crew were sick wllh Kurvy wlitn they .put In here. FAMILY POISONED. Fortune Teller Arretted In Chicago, Charged with Offantt. CHicAno, Dec, , n. poison is re sponsible for the death of at least two of th Varal family, alx of whom have died within tht past six month. Her man Mlllk, a fortune teller, I now In Jail, charged with having adtnlnl tared the poison to tht family, so that tht mother of tht dead children could collect tht Insurance money. Mrs, Vara) was found dead at her home few hour after tht Inveallgatlon com menced. It la Relieved that aha com mltted suicide. STEAMER ASHORE. VICTORIA, Dee. IT, While bound to assist tht steamer Themis, the steamer Henrietta went ashore on Danger reef, Ladyamlth, tht morning. SCHOONER LOST. VICTORIA, Dec 17. The schooner Oabrlola ha been lost off Queen Charlotte Island, according to ad vice received from th Northern Rrllsb company, and tare men, In eluding tht captain, havt been loat, Wreckage and bodies wart waahed a short on Queen Charlotte Island near Sktdgmtt. . , f Town of Valdez, Alaska Nearly Destroyed By Fire. BANK TOTALLY DESTROYED Principal Hotel and Large Mercantile Establishment Destroyed and Only Hereto Effort of Firemen Saved tht Town. SEATTLE. Dec. 17. A special cable to the Seattle Times from VaJde. Alaska, states that a fire In the Bank of Valdes, which la believed to have been atnrted by a burglar, totally de stroyed the bank building, the Stella hotel and one of tho largest mercan tile establishment In the town, en tailing a lose of over 150,000. An ex amination of the bank vault, Imme dlutely after the lire, show that a large hole had been blown In the back of tho vault. It I supposed that the burglar, not being able to effect an entrance, and becoming frightened, ov erturned a lamp or candle, from which the building took fire. The absence of wind, a light mow and. good work by tha fire department, prevented the destruction of the entire town, which wae In Imminent danger ' for eome time. Had a. wind been blowing at the time, there I no doubt but the entire business portion of the town would have been destroyed. VESSEL SUNK. Collision. In t British Channel and , Twelve Men Drowned, DOVER, Dee. 17. During a heavy fog In tht English channel today, the British steamer Arlington collided with and aank the Belgian steamer Cap Juby. Twelve of the crew of the Cap Juby were drowned. ,. FIRE IN NEW YORK. NEW YORK, Deo. 17. Tho Police Gazette building, an old down town landmark, located at Pearl and Prank fort streets, wa gutted by fire early today. The building was ooou pied by a number of manufacturing firms and the weekly newspaper from which It got Its name, concE conn Investigating Coal Famine in Western States. DEALERS COMPLAINING Several Towns Suffering for the Want of Fuel and Supplies. CAR SHORTAGE TO BLAME In Addition to Investigation of Inter state Commerct Commission,, the Legislature Will Bt Asked to Takt Action. MINNEAPOLIS, Dec. 17. The In veatlgallon of the present coal fam Ine crisis In the northwest may not atop with tht Investigation of the Interstate Commerct Commission now In session In Minneapolis. It I very probable that In every affected state, notably Minnesota, North Dakota and Montana, the subject will be mads a matter of legislative Investigation. Tht northwestern coal dealers hav lndl cated to the large shippers that they are organizing for the purpose or stirring up official Investigation In their states; several towna suffering now or which havt been held In the grasp of winter and famine, are laying their cases before their legislators and there Is no doubt but action will be taken to prevent a repetition of the coal famine. The race Is now on between the railroads and the cold. , If the weather wins, cutting down the ef ficiency of motive power and bring ing on heavy billiards, there may be suffering and loa of life. Reports, however, today Indicate that the rail roads ar rushing fuel Into the dis tricts where either actual stocks are low or there Is none on hand. The Great Northern Is taking no frelirht west of Grand Forks other than coal. The Northern Paclflo ha sent, three hundred car of fuel for commercial uee In the pnat two days. Accord ing to a statement Issued tonight by tht Great Northern officials, the coal famine will be a thing of the past In few days. AFTER V RAILROADS. Reported Grand Jury Return Indict' ment Against Santa F. LOS ANGELES, Deo. 17. The in- vestlgaticna by the federal grand Jury Into alleged rebates by, the Santa Fe railroad and one or two other railroads Is being pushed with vigor and It Is expected thut a report will be hand ed down during the present week. Ru mors are current that several indict' ments will be found. POPE DISTRESSED. Abandonment of Archbishop' House in Paris. ROME, Deo. 17. The Pope Is ex oeedlngly distressed to hear the par tlculars of the abandonment of the archbishop's house In Paris by Car dinal Richard. He characterised It as tni most pitiful Incident of his pon tificate and said that the noblo, digni fied and pious attitude maintained by the cardinal today would have a sa,- untory Influence and bring advantage to "the cause of the church. Vatican authorities deny emphaotlcally that they purpose to conduct reprisals against the French protectorate In the. holy land or elsewhere. Commenting on tht report of Monslgnleur Lacrolx, Bishop of Tarentalg, bad made or per mitted to be mode, any declaration In accordance with the circular Issued by M. Brlund, French minister of public worship and had formed an association for worship In accordance with the law of separation the high Vatican authorities said today, If It wa true, Lacrolx would be repudiated by the Holy He. ' ADVANCE IN JEWELRY. NEW YORK, Dec. 17. Manufactur ing Jeweler have held Informal con ferences of late and talked over the subject of making uniform advances In price of the mora staple article which they make. Without waiting to reach any agreement, many aay that they have already put up prices on many line. Factories which have been running night and day art said to be unable to meet the enormous demand of, the present aaon for ornament of various kinds and some manufacturers havt refused further order aa It Impossible to fill them before the hoi (days. . . ARTHUR P. THOMAS. OAKLAND, Dee. 17. Arthur Thomas, 20 years of age, a newspa. per man, met death at hi home on Seventh Avenue yesterday, being elec trocuted as he attempted to turn on the electric light In tht bathroom of tht house. Dearh was Instantaneous, as th current passed directly through the upper part of tht body near tht heart - Transportatation Companies Reply (o Interstate Commission. FAULT LIES WITH DEALERS Car Shortage I Aggravated by Lack of Motive Power, Inadequate Ter minal Faoititiea and Insuffi cient Trackage Property. WASHINGTON, Dec. 17. Three mort responses havt been received by the Interstate Commerce Commission from northwestern railways In re sponse to Chairman Knapp's telegram of last week, calling tht attention of the companies to the reported short age of cars and the complaints of lock of transportation for the necessaries of life and fuel. From Information conveyed by the railway presidents tO' day, the commission expresses the opinion that one cause of the car shortage Is that the dealers have not stored up a sufficient quantity) for the winter's supply, but have as stated In reply to President Hill of the Great Northern, ordered only sufficient quan tities to last from day to, day. Whatever shortage may exist In car equipment Is aggravated, they say by the lack of motive power, Inadequate terminal facilities and insufficient trackage property to move the great volume of business pouring in on the railroads, supplemented by the delays on the part of shippers In loading and unloading their cars, , STEAMER ASHORE. When She Struck the 'Captain Blew His Brains out with Revolver. KINGSTON, Jamaica, Dec. 17. The Hamburg-American Liner Frinzessln Victoria Louise, which left New York December 12, for this port, went ashore last night oft Port Royal. The passengers were landed here safely today. Captain Brulswig, who was In charge of the Victoria Louise when she struck, committed suicide by blow ing out his brains. The Victoria Louise Is pounding hard and the seas are breaking over her, but hopes are still entertained that she will be saved. MUNICIPAL OWNERSHIP Chicago Will Soon Own Its Street Car System. ARRANGEMENTS MADE Traction Companies Have Fixed Value on Their Property Ac ceptable to City. EXTENSIVE IMPROVEMENTS Chicago Owners and New York Syn dicate Accept tht Terms Offered by tht Chicago Board of Con , trol for Property. CHICAGO, Dec. 17. With the pub lic looking forward to a complete transformation of the present street car service, with Investors Involved In the reorganization of th corporations and with tht politicians laytng their plan for and against the triumph of the municipal ownership propaganda la the spring mayoralty election traction bids fair to engross the at tention of Chlcagoans all winter. Developments yesterday clinched the assurance that there will be no hitch In the settlement of the long- drawn out controversy' essentially along the lines laid down by the city council's committee on local transpor tatlon on Saturday. General Counsel Gurley of the Union Traction Com pany, and President Mitten of the City Railway said they expected to receive today the replies of the New York financiers the Morgan syndicate accepting the city's terms. Already various movements are on toot' to wind up the tangled affairs of the bankrupt Union Traction com pany and organize in Ita stead the Chicago Railways company, the cor poration designed to accept the fran chise for the north and west side lines. From $40,000,000 to J50.000.000 will be spent on rehabilitation under the direction of a Joint board of engineers. Under the plana work on the Im provements Is to be completed within three years. Through routes from one end of the city to another will be es tablished at once, universal transfers will be exchanged and new cars are to be added as rapidly as possible, so that at least 2,000 up to date vehicles will be In service at the close of the rehabilitation period. ENTOMBED MINER. Resouers Will Probably Reach Him in Few Hour. BAKERSFIELD, Dec. 17. The res cue party running a tunnel to Hicks, the entombed miner, Is tonight di rectly above him, but despite this they are not able to take htm from his cave for many hours yet, on account of the great danger that a false stroke of tht pick or too hurried progress will send loosened debris on the miner. The rescue will probably not be consura mated before daylight SHIP SUBSIDY. President Roosevelt Will Send Speeial Message to Congress. WASHINGTON, Deo. 17. President Roosevelt's message on the ship sub sidy which will be presented to con gress shortly after the Christmas hol idays will, it Is thought, support the joallinger bill, as passed by tht sen I ate. but the house committee will probably report bill so amended that it will merely offer subvention to mall steamers sailing between this country and South American and Oriental port. ir CL08E OF CAMPAIGN. Lift Insurance Companies Held An nual Meeting Ytsttrday. . NEW YORK, Dec. 17Today win see the close of the remarkable cam paign which has been waged among the policyholder of the Mutual and the New York Life Insurance com panies. Control of the affair of tht companies and their stupendous as Met, aggregating hundred of million of dollar. Is tht ctakt that ha been fought for. Lined up have been tht force of administrations on th on side and policyholder who have de manded ft complete change of admin istration on tht other. Both side claim a, victory today, Tht count of the ballot and proxies which havt come from all quarters of the globe, will occur tomorrow, under the su pervision of State Superintendent Otto Kelsey and a force of Inspector ftp pointed by him. It is figured ; that more than 400,000 vote will be cast In the New York Lift election and about 250,000 in tht Mutual Life. There will be election in five mutual companies tomorrow, but In only two are there opposition ticket In the field. Th three in which the election art mere formality, the election of the ad ministration ticket being a certainty, are tht Equitable, tht Mutual Re serve, and tha Security Mutual of Blnghampton. .. Project on Foot to Harness Fails for Power. SOUTH AFRICAN PROJECTS E. H. Garthwaitt, Mining Engineer,' Speak Enthusiastically of tht Conditions in Africa Since tht . Ending of Boer War. NEW YORK, Dec. 17. E. H. Garth wahe. a British mining engineer for the past eight years, has been tend ing to the Rhodes mining Interests In Central South Africa, arrived here yesterday. He will start for Califor nia today where he will take a month' rest Mr. Garth waite has come di rectly from the neighborhood of Vic toria Falls on the Zambesi river, and spoke enthusiastically yesterday of the project of harnessing the falls for power. He sold: "The Victoria falls are the largest in the world, and when the work of utilizing them for electrical power Is completed, I am confident that It will revolutionise the diamond Industry In South Africa, I mean by this that the transmission of power from the falls to the mines will reduce the actual working cost about forty per cent. The great horde of coolies now at work can be In a measure dis pensed with.1' Mr, Garth waite said that South Af rica had picked up considerably since the war. "It Is a great country," he said, "but It is harrassed by the British govern ment much In the way this country was 120 years ago, and there is great danger of similar results." SALVATION ARMY. Reconciliation B Between Father Son Probable. and ' NEW YORK, Deo. 17. The Ameri can says today word Is expected here soon of a. reconciliation after long es trangement between Commander Bal lb.gton Booth of the Volunteers of America, and his father, General Will iam Booth, bead of the Salvation Army.