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About The morning Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1899-1930 | View Entire Issue (Oct. 16, 1907)
110, 241, VOLUME LXIII. ASTORIA, OREGON, WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 16, 1807 PRICE FIYE CENTS ASTORIA ' l!....-r.s-. Wi i 1 PEEBLEsS GUI HILL M BAilffl SUSY antic farm Holdlnes at Mouth of Columbia River IU1 mvdl luminal j. SEMI-OFFICIAL STATEMENT MADE OF FACT Surveyors of Lytle Road Now Within Limits of City and it is ; Expected That Deflnate Location of the Road Will Shortly be Announced. ( If f t f ,f I HILL INTERESTS ACQUIRE HAMMOND AND flAVEL HOLDINGS 'THOUSANDS OF ACRES OF FRONTAGE ON THE WEST SIDE OF YOUNG'S BAY CHANGES HANDS AND WORK WILL SOON BEGIN ON IMPROV ING SAME MILES OF RAILROAD YARDS AND IMMENSE DOCKS AND WAREHOUSES WILL BE BUILT, With the Ilill Railroad Interests the purchasers of a 2200-acre terminal site In Astoria, and with the Harriman Rail road Intereate the purchaser of a ter nilnal lite aggregating 800 aires, and with the IUrriman surveyors already in thU dty, it would awm that Astoria ia oon to be the theatre of the moot active railroad operation! in the northwest. The North Dank Hill toad will 1 com pleted ao for aa the graders are con cerned even with the bridge acroia the Columbia by the 1st of December, and these grader, it ia atated on good au thority, will then be brought to this olty for the purpose of rushing the Bill terminala to an early completion ao that wheat may be loaded on shipboard here at the earliest possible date. This is necessary because the Hills expect to tablih a trans-Pacific steamship line And this is the only place they can load , 1 . 1 St 1 i i I II wiieui oil i ne vuiimiuiu river, on ouia ' . . . . I , 11 I ll- ; ORDKA oi wnicn iney win soon nave ine The atory that the Hills have putxhas e2200 acres of land for terminals, in- cluJHjg the 1800 acres owned by the Flavel Land Company and much of the TtAfainnal Tinl.lfnrM n Aft TTttmmnnil comes as no surprise to those who have been keeping up with the local railroad situation, First President Elliott came nd looked over this site personally, then came Lewis Wl Hill, then came J. II. Carroll, the leading attorney for the Hills. AH of these officials brought with them the same maps and charts and looked at them in exactly the same way while tbey were here. The information .41.-1 L. t . . -1 II . mat uie iana nas aciuaiiy neen soia is given to the public by those who sold it ; and there does not seem to be any fur ther reason on the part of any of the Interested parties to keep the matter a secret.1, v."'' . ' ' ' .",.' ' The announcement that the Harriman : interests had purchased terminal grounds here was made last week and now with this authentic announcement that the Hills have purchased terminal grounds of more than three timos the area of those of Ur. Harriman, it would seem ithat any other proofs that the two big living railroad kings of the northwest re now. vying, with each otheir for advantages at the' mouth of the Colum bia river are entirely unnecessary. But If more are needed,, then those on the lookout for them should just step over Coxcomb Hill and there by the water works they, may see the surveyors busily engaged in laying out the proposed route over which Mr. Harriman a little later expects to 'get into Astdria." Mr; Lytle of Portland is the personal representa tive of Mr. Harriman so far as actual local railroad building is concerned. A ' -little while ago Mr. Lytle said that he xpeeted to survey three routes "into WV.aw IV. uuavw v . www.. vmm..A I. . i . j . n i a uiua vl due vuiea uvooiuw wayo vi w trance were' the cheapest, f Then M m- wrteo no Mum h reaav za maicfi a. tiud- lie announcement' of what ' he "wanted Astoria to do far him through the Cham ber of Commerce. The route that is now being surveyed through the farm of Mr. Cornelius, the assessor, is the third and last route and Mr. Lytle may be con fidently expected to make an announce ment now in a short time. Astoria is now being brought into its own because of what nature has floue for this site. ' Hon. Thomas H. Benton said in Con gress as far back as 1850. "The Colum bia River will one day provide the great outlet to the Paciflo Ocean for the entire western half of the United States. ' S. IL II. Clark, the father of American railroads, has said: "Here (Astoria) will be built the greatest maritime city on the Paciflo Coast." The late Colli P. Huntington, presi dent of the Southern Paciflo Railroad Company, said. "The mouth of the Columbia Iliver is the only natural out let to the Pacific Northwest. Mr. Archibald A. Schenk, engmeer of the New York Central Railroad Com pany, said: "Whoever controls the line of railroad to the mouth of the Columbia River will for all time control the trans portation problem of the Paciflo North- westr Louis W. Hill, president of the Great Northern Railroad Company while here in Astoria last July said: "This is un doubtedly the place from which the groin shipments of the great Columbia River Valley will be made. Yours is unques tionably the situation for that purpose." And now after all of, these seers of the great salient facts in financial his tory, comes i, the realization of these dreams through the two leading railroad interests of the modern , railroads and financial world. v f It would seem now that the real es tate men of Astoria should choose this as the judicious moment to get busy. They can best get busy by advertising and, they wiill not have to begin thelf advertising campaign far from homo. The people of the Columbia Valley know most about the possibilities of this val ley and , with proper representations made to them, through illustrated and printed literature it would probably , be easier to attract capital and people here now than it has been at any other time within the almost one hundred years since Astoria was founded as a trading port. The people who know the most of the local situation now have the most confidence, They know that the Astors, Goulds, Vanderbilts, and other multi millionaires made their vast fortunes by early buying New York property, and with this tip in advance they can lay the foundation now 'by purchasing land hereabouts, in small or large quantities, in the New. York of the Pacific Coast. "Watch Astoria soar" ' The price' paid b the Hills ' for their terminal ground was in round figures $400 an acre, although they bought a very large quantity of land at one time. This price will probably look cheap (six months from now. All someone appar ently has to do now is to get up a proper cut of Astoria showing where these ter minals are located and what lots can be bought near by, to start land to moving rapidly in small lot purchases. A repre sentation of this kind would probably draw more money out of Portland than any real estate deal that the City of Portland could get up to excite the im agination. And it is quite certain some one interested will not overlook this proposition. 1 la fact, full page advertise ments of Astoria real estate in the home papers here in Astoria and in those of Boise, Seattle, Spokane and Portland are already being talked of by those who have the1 largest land holdings here. And such a stirring up would bring in much new capital which Astoria stands In need of also many new people, which Astoria could assimilate with ad vantage to her business interests. . The two railroads, the Harriman and the Hill, will settle the common point on grain . and on everything else. With those two roads built Into Astoria and with both of them in a position to ship grain, lumber and fish out of the mouth of the river in their own ships, of course the common point rates wi'l perforos be established. The railroads will even then perhaps make a better than a common point rate to protect their own interests and then the state railroad commissions of Washington and Oregon will probably be appealed to by Portland, Seattle and Spokane to see to it that Astoria is not allowed to have such a great advantage over them. Such a state of affairs would indeed seem strange to Astorians who have for all these years been dreaming of the days to come, of the city that was to be. The railroad masters know that the Panama canal is soon to be completed, probably within six years from the first of next January. , , Almost immediately after it is com pleted the commerce of the Pacific Coast with the Atlantic Coast of the United States will increase many fold, perhaps double each year in a geometrical ratio for many years to come. The railroad kings know this only too well, and for that reason they so long fought to keep the building of the canal a back number. For that reason they hired away from the United States government every en gineer that was placed in charge of this important work until President Roose velt put the entire canal construction problem in the hands of the engineers of bis own war department. Now that the canal is thus assured the railroads are getting Sn shape to handle the commerce to the best points on the Pacific Coast. The mouth of the Columbia is the best point and in a few years now the port of Astoria will assume that place of promi nence as a wheat and grain exporting point which nature has fore-ordained since first the foundations of this eon tiuent were laid. ' :f. The only way you can keep Astoria from going up higher now is to stake it low! at the four corners. And then the tethers would probably burst asunder. ' PRESENTS CREDENTIALS. SHSMS " TOKIO, Oct. 15. T. J. O'Brien, the new American ambassador, presented his credentials to the Japanese emperor to day and Mrs. O'Brien was meanwhile presented to the empress. SUDDENLY SETTLED Large Estate is Settled Out of Court. A GREAT AMOUNT INVOLVED Instead of Holding Estate of $30,000,- 000 for Fifteen Years Widow and Children Will Divide Property at Once -Principal Provision of Will Nullified. CHICAGO, Oct. 15.-A $30,000,000 will contest argued and settled out of court was disclosed yesterday when the last will and testament of. Nelson Morris Packer was filed for probate. As a re sult of this remarkable situation, the principal provision of the will has been nullified. Instead of carrying out the arrangement which would have held the bulk of the estate in trust for at least 15 years, the widow and her four chil dren will divide the property equally be tween themselves at once. STOCK 10110 0111 vnr limn m h Terrible Explosion Causes Great Loss of Life and Injuries to Many. ,1. six:, r THE SHOCK IS FELT 2U0 MILES FROM SCENE Terrible Scene of Carnage When the Works Clew up Without : Warning to the Unsuspecting (Victims cf ths Ter rible Disaster at Fcntainet, Indiana. THE SURVIVORS SLEEP IN TENTS GUARDED BY SOLDIERS BY THE EXPLOSION OF THE DUPONT POWDER MILLS YESTERDAY AN ENTIRE CITY WAS WIPED OUT RUIN A11D DESOLATION MARS WHAT YESTERDAY MORNING WAS A THRIVING CITY OF OSS THOUSAND INHABITANTS- SHOCK FELT IN CINCINNATL :'-: ..I T. ' V'.'f Shares of Illinois Central Not to be Voted. MODIFICATION IS SECURED RECEIVED PERIODICAL REPORTS. Rerorts of Competitors of Subsidiary Companies Furnished the Standard. I NEW YORK, Oct. 15. H. H. Tilford, president of the Standard Oil Co., of California, and of other subsidiary com panies of the oil combinations was again a witness today in the Federal hearing against the Standard Oil Company, of New Jersey. He said that the reports of competitors in the field of the Conti nental Oil Company, a subsidiary of the Standard were furnisred him periodical ly and filed in the statistical depart ment, of the Standard.- The Continental Company sells oil in Colorado and adja cent states. REFUSES TO REINSTATE. Vice-President Schlacks of Denver & Rio I - Grande Gives Reasons. - i DENVER, Oct. 15. In a statement to the public issued ' today ' Vice-President Schlacks' of the Denver & Rb Grande gives reasons for the company's refusal to reinstate Operator Skeggs as demand ed by' the Order of Railway Telegraphers. Skejfgs was discharged September 21. for refusal to test the Western Union wire at Grand Junction. Schlacks Says Skeggs', action Is In violation of the railroad company's 1 obligation f to the Western Union. At the Meeting Today of the Illinois Central Railroad Company 386,731 Shares Cannot be Voted if Result Will be Affected Thereby. - CHICAGO, Oct. 15. E. H. Harriman was today deprived of the voting power of 230,741 shares of Illinois Central stock in the annual meeting of that railroad to be held tomorrow. The order of the court was practically identical with the modification asked for by the attorneys of Harriman. Both sides chum a victory. Fish because the enjoined shares will not be effective at the elec tion and Harriman because his modifica tion was secured. The shares of stock ruled out are those held by the Union Pacific Railroad, the Railroad Securities Company of New Jersey-and the Mutual Life Insurance Company, against which a temporary injunction was yesterday issued by Judge Ball. The court today modified the order by permitting the shares to be voted on condition that if any one of these shares should have a decisive effect "on any vote taken, then the entire vote is to be null and void. In other words Fish is given by court a handicap of 280,731 votes and in order to defeat him on any motion or resolu tion, Harriman and his friends must cast 286,731 votes more than are cast by Fish and 'his followers." 1 ; Attorney Herrick in speaking for the modification , of the injunction stated that HaraWn held proxies for 500,000 shares in addition to other stockholders holding 05,QP0( -who would vote with Harahan. This included the 28G.731 shares enjoined yesterday, leaving the claim of the Harriman people that their voting strength is 308,000 in round numbers. As the matter stands tonight, both sides are claiming a victory Both are of the opinion .that they hold the greater number "of proxies, but the ac tual facts in this connection cannot be guessed with any accuracy. It is admit ted by the attorneys on both sides that many stockholders have issued duplicate and even triplicate , proxies and as a proxy of latest date is effective, neither side knows exactly where it stands. . 1 Harriman arrived here today but did not attend the court preceedings. Fish was in court, all day. FONTA1NET, Ind, Oct. 15.-By an explosion of the Dupont Powder Works today, between' 25 and 50 persons were killed. 600,.injured . and -FonUntet. 1 citr of 1000 people, wiped out. Where stood a thriving town this morning, to night there is ruin and scattered wreck age! The dead and more seriously injur ed have been taken away. Five hundred inhabitants all more or less wounded, remain to gather scattered household goods, and some sleep under tents guard ed by soldiers of the state. Without warning the powder mills, seven in num ber, blew up at 9:15 this morning. They employed 200 men and of these 75 were at work when the first explosion occur red in the press mill. In quick succes sion the glazing mill, two corning mills and a powder magazine blew up, fol lowed by the cap mill r " In the magazine, situated several hun dred yards from the mill, were stored 4000 kegs of powder. The concussion when it blew up was felt 200 miles away. Every house in this town was shattered. Farm houses two miles away and school houses equally distant were torn to pieces and their occupants injured. In dianapolis and even Cincinnati felt the shock. A passenger train on the Big Four, four miles away, had every coach window broken and several passengers were injured by flying glass. First Reports. TERRA HAUTE, Ind., Oct 15.-The most appalling accident in the history of Indiana occurred this morning at Fon tanel a coal miners' village, 16 miles from this city, when the works of the Dupont Powder Company blew up, blot ting out, it is estimated, 100 miles, in juring scores, practically wiping out the village, causing cave-ms m the coal mines, entombing the miners, and caus ing heavy property damage in surround ing cities. . . -The explosion was heard and felt 60 miles away,1 buildings were shaken, chimneys knocked down and communi cation with the stricken village almost completely cut off. Where the works once stood there is nothing save a large hole in the ground. - t ' , The explosion occurred soon after the men went to work, but its cause may never be known, as it is believed that none of the employes of the works live to tell the tale. , , 1 The quiet of the country was upon the ill-fated village, when suddenly there came a tremendous roar, followed by a number, of sharp explosions, which car ried the works away' as though they were of cards and tore a deep hole in the ground. , Every building in the vil lage was damaged, Several, including a general store, were knocked flat, catch ing fire and! incinerating their inmates. Two hundred pupils had just gathered in the public school when the explosion Occurred. , The building, which was a two-story structure, collapsed, and near ly all the children were pinned under the wreckage.. How any escaped- in stant death is not known, but according to the latest reports from the scene of I the catastrophe many, perished. I Up to noon 40 bodies had been re ; covered and 125 injured were brought to 'this city. Persons who hare arrived on : the first relief train gay that at least J 100 lives were lost, and it is believed that many miners, entombed by cave ins due to the explosion, are dead. The mine shafts are surrounded by the wives of the miners, frantic and half crazed with anxiety. ,: . ..... Seventy men were at work in the mill when the explosion occurred. Legs, arms and parts of trunks have been picked up 100 feet away from the Bite of the mill which was located on the outskirts of Fontanet. Pitiful scenes were enacted J around the schoolhouse, the parents and j other relatives of the children making pathetic efforts to locate their loved ones. A carload of coffins has been sent to Fontanet. A number of persons suffered minor injuries at Rosedale, Coal Bluff and Bur nett as the result of the shake, being struck by falling chimneys. At Crawfordsville, 35 miles away, the electric light company's office building was partly wrecked, the walls crumbling and the marble floors sinking. ' The latest report is that 100 of the school children were buried and many will die. Not a person in Fontanet es caped injury or death. Pedestrians were thrown from their feet against build ings, and the latest estimate places the dead at 100 and the injured at 150. Doctors in automobiles are dashing to the scene from all directions. Hamilton, Ohio, 150 miles away, reports having felt the shock. The damage thus far reported in other towns follows: Brazil, Indiana, 35 miles away, $10,000, including the art glass in the First' Methodist church, valued at $1000; Crawfordsville, Indiana, 35 miles away, $26,000, 28 buildings being dam aged; Greencastle, Indiana, 27 miles away, $10,000; Terre Haute, $25,000. Losses of $1000 and more are reported ia 19 other towns. " , TRIAL POSTPONED. BOISE, Idaho, Oct 15. The trial of George A. Pettibone, charged with com plicity in the assassination of ex-Governor Steunenberg, was postponed today until October 28.- Judge Wood said hs was certain the defendant's physical con dition would permit of his trial on Octo ber 23, but the defense thereupon re quested a few days' longer delay, andT October 28 was agreed upon, MOB PURSUING MURDERER. ' . " V ;';V: ', GRAND ISLAND, Neb, Oct. 15.An armed mob is in close pursuit of Charles Foster, a junk dealer, who yesterday evening assaulted the 9-year-old daugh ter fo Henry Bussler, a farmer, Foster escaped from a deputy sheriff last night near Cairo and the mob at once took ur the pursuit. .. , . t