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About The morning Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1899-1930 | View Entire Issue (Feb. 22, 1908)
UlUlflHKI FULL ASSOCIATED PRESS REPORT COVERS THE MORNING FIELD ON THE LOWER COLUMBIA VOLUME LXMI. NO. 412 ASTORIA, OREGON, SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 22, 1908. PRICE FIYE CENTS APPLICANTS FOR LAND Coos Bay Wagon Road Grant. HAVE A RIGHT TO BUY Eighty-Six Applicants Have Com menced Suit in the United States Circuit Court AGAINST PRESENT POSSESSOR Southtrn Oregon Company Holds 92.. OOO Acres and Its Chief Stockhold er! An Residents of New York and Boston Applicants Want the Land PORTLAND. Feb. 21-Contcnding that the applicants (or the land of the Coot Bay wagon road grant should have a right to buy land in 160 acre tracts at price not to exceed 2.50 per acre, 86 applicant! have commenced suit iu the United States circuit court against the present pos sessor of the land which is the South ern Oregon Company whose chief stockholder reside in New York and Boston. The applicants want 17,000 of 92,000 acres held by the com pany. " I of "Iron J;!c" Grant, an ex-pugilist, to kill himself. Grant jumped from the Brooklyn Drlrige into the water nearly ISO feet Iclow missing a tug and an ice float by only a few inches The net result of his efforts was not what he expected death but just one black eye. Previously .Grant, who ........ .1....... .1.- - II..! -1 vmm iu uvucitc me HJCIIilllon 01 "Iron Jack" had attempted suicide by drinking laudanum and severing the arteries in both his arms. Any one of his three efforts ordinarly should have proved fatal, but he has now decided that death isn't so easy after all and that he will have to wait hit FLEET-INVITED. Australia Invites ths Fleet to go Horns by Their Country. WASHINGTON, Feb. 2I.-The in teresting snd important newt of the movements of the American battle ship fleet was made public at the conclusion ofa cabinet meeting to night. A most cordial invitation was received from the Austrslian govern ment, asking that the fleet or portion of the fleet visit that country. After expressing the apprecistion of the invitation Secretary Metcalf ssid: , "The eventful movements of our fleet have not been determined. While it is possible that the vessels will re turn by wsy of Sues, I would be glad if some of them could be sent by the Australian route but it would be pre mature to promise this." , "IT IS SIMPLY FICTION." Lincoln Steffens in Msgssine Article Romance About Harvey W. Scott PORTLAND. Feb. 21. -In the March number of the American maga zine is an article by Lincoln Steffens on Oregon affairs, wherein he gives the text of a telegram said to have Decn written dv ji. w. scon, eaitor the Orcsoman. and tent by W. M. d to Jonathan Bourne at Salem during the Oregon senatorial cam paign in 1903. Mr. Scott is declared to have made offers of various kinds to Mr. Bourne in consideration of Mr. Bourne's support of Mr. Scott for Senator. The Oregonian tomorrow will say editorially: "it is simply fiction. This so-called agreement, alleged to havo been written by Mr. Scott, was not written by him nor dictated by him, nor ever seen by him till now. It never existed. It is a fabrication by somebody and a sheer forgery. It follows, of course, that it was not "wired" to Salem on the last night of the session, or at any time, by Mr. Lndd, or by anyone else, and Mr. Ladd, moreover, never saw it till it was shown him in this magazine article." " 1 .,; UNEXPECTED DEATHS. NEW YORK, February 21. Just how near unexpected death lurkes in the metropolis and obverse iy how difficult it may be to find it was never more theatrically illustra ted than in several surprising hap penings this week calculated to instill imp even the average person a certain amount of respect for the eastern pro verb "Unto every man his death ap pointed time." On one morning was chronicled the strange death of Mar tin Seaks, who suffering from a chap ped face had purchased a bottle of lotion which he rubbed on at retiring. Rising in the night to get a drink he struck a, match. That was his last cious act for his face Immedi- ely took fire and he was so badly burned that he died a few hours later. For him death lurked in the innocent seeming lotion. The following day came the third unsuccessful attempt ALL MAIL HELD UP Postmaster General Orders Mail for Syndicate Held Up. IS USING TILLMAN'S NAME Ths St. Paul-Pacific Timber Syndicate and Its President, Byron R. Dorr, Cannot Receive Any Mall Till msn's Name Used in Litersture. PORTLAND, Feb. 21.-Under in structions from the postmaster-gen eral, all mail addressed to St. Paul Pacific timber syndicate or to its president, Byran R. Dorr, is to be withheld from delivery until further notice. The order was issued on the representation of Senator Tillman of South Carolina that the company was using his name in its literature with out his authority. ' GROWTH NEUHAUSEN TO RESIGN. TORTLAND, Feb .21. -The Ore gonian tomorrow will say that Thos. B. Ncuhausen, special inspector of the Interior Department, will tender his resignation to the Secretary of the Interior when the pending Oregon land fraud cases are tried or other wise disposed of. Neuhausen desires to enter private business, Neuhausen will leave for Los Angeles Sunday night to assist Tracy C. Becker, special assistant to the attorney- general, in arguing the application of the government for the removal to this state of several alleged land fraud operators charged with having illegally acquired 18,000 acres of land in Crook county, NO WAGE REDUCTIONS, r NEW YORK, Feb. 21. -Railroad officials commenting upon Roosevelt's asking for the data that might shed some light upon the wage controver sies between the railroads and em ployes indicated clearly today that wage reductions are not contem plated. ' ' '' ' ''' " CAGE FALLS. WILKESBARRE,' Pa., Feb. 21. Four men were killed and four prob ably fatally injured, when the car in which they were being lowered in ji mine fell to the bottom today OF NEW NAVY Senator Perkins Speaks In the Senate. IS SECOND SEA POWER Surpassing France By a Small Margin Outstripping Germany, Russia and Japan. POPULAR BRANCH OF SERVICE Perkins Declared the Encouragement Given the Iron and Steel Industry by Construction of Ships of War Had a Very Potent Influence, WASHINGTON, Feb. .21.'-Sena tor Perkins, of California, today spoke in the Senate on the justification of the expenditures for upbuilding the American navy and of the policy of sending a fleet into the Pacific Ocean. He reviewed the achievements of the navy and declared it the most popular branch of the government service. The Senator sketched the growth of the new navy from 1833 to the present day when the United States has be come a second sea power in the, sur passing France by a small margin in strength and fighting force, far out stripping Germany, Russia and Japan. Perkins declared the encouragement given the iron and steel industry by the construction of ships of war had a very potent influence by bettering the conditions of the workingmen and that money expended for the ships of war therefore was not an economic loss, judged by a single trade alone. The Senate adopted Tillman reso lution authorizing the attorney-gen eral to prosecute the transportation companies of Oregon that have re ceived public lands and have violated the terms of the grant. WAR FUND. Brewers Unite in a Common War fare Against Temperance Movements. CHICAGO, . f'cIT 21. The U. S. Brewers Association and the U. S. Masters Associations have united in a common warfare against prohibit lion and temperance movements. They have pledge many thousands of dollars at a "war fund" with which to fight Sunday saloon closing and to stop the wave of prohibition. ' The action was taken yesterday at a retsion of the executive officers of both organizations held here. Rudolph Brand of Chicago was fleeted chairman of the conference. Edward A. Faust, of St. Louis review- i'd the movements of the prohibition ists throuih the Southern and West crn states and asseited that the time was ripe for action on the part of li'iu. r interests. Brewers from all parts of the coun try attended the meeting. HUNT , WAS FAULTY SHIPPING TIED UP. SAN FRANCISCO, Feb. 21. Fifty longshoremen employed by the Pa cific Lumber Company struck today on being notified that their wages would be reduced from $4 to $3.50 per day. It it expected other firms will follow suit and that the long shoremen will strike. Sixty steam schooners of a total of 101 in the coast trade are tied up and the indi cations now are that the lockout of engineers will result in an almost complete tie up of the coast shipping for a time. , NEWSPAPER STATISTICS. -NEW YORK, February 21.- More publications . are printed in New York than in any other city in the world, or in many states and for eign countries. The total at present fulls just short of 1000, indicating the tremendous increase in the con sumption of reading matter through out the country. Some surprising and interesting statistics regarding newspapers throughout the United States have been gathered by Apple ton's Magazine and are presented in an article to appear 'in the March number. According to this article, which is written by General Charles II Taylor, otje of the most widely known men in the newspaper busi ness, the total circulation of the news papers of the country in 1907 was up wards of ten billion copies. The total income from advertising and circulation is estimated at $200,000,- 000 a year which makes newspaper publishing one of the great businesses of the country. ARpleton's is devot ing much attention to newspaper and the Important part they play in Ameri can life, having published an article this month telling of tlfe services of the press in stopping the spread of of the panic last fall. The forth coming article asserts that there never was a time when the newspaper reader got so much for his money as today and the claim is borne out by the statistics that are given. JAPS DISCHARGED But Held By the Immigration of ficials Pending Appeal. Decision of the Court of Appeals. REVIEW OF THE CASE DETERMINATION OF RIGHTS Chief Justice Hunter Directed That the Two Japanese Now Lying in Westminster Jail for Violating the Natal Act be Discharged. VANCOUVER, B. C, Feb. 21. Chief Justice Hunter today directed that the two Japanese now lying in Westminster jail for violating the re ccntly passed Natal Act of the Prov ince should be immediately discharg ed from custody. The justice said there was no doubt that the provincial act must be held as in operative as regard the subjects of Japan seeking to enter the Provinces. Immediately Mr. Cassidy, representing the govern ment of British Columbia gave notice of an appeal. The Japanese in ques tion will now be detained by the im migration officials pending the deter mination of their right to enter this country under the Dominion immi gration laws. BLOCKS CONDEMNED. SAN FRANCISCO, Feb. 21. -The result of a visit of inspection by the members of the marine hospital serv ice, the citizens' health committee, and the city board of health, to what is known as Butchertown, the de cision was reached to begin at, once the actions to condemn as unsanitary and a menace to the public health the three square blocks in that dis trict '" ' ; SMOULDERING FIRES. "Uneasy Lies the Head That Wears ... a Crowa" PARIS, Feb. 2L A special dis patch from Lisbon says the greatest uneasiness ' prevails there. The palace is surrounded by troops, the entire garrison is confined to the barracks and ball cartridges have been issued to the men. Point of SchmitzVAttorney Was That the Indictments do Not Charge Public Offence. '5.11). REPLY TO THE PROSECUTION The Supreme Court Has Until March I to Grant or Deny Prosecutions' Plea for a Rehearing Schauta May be Admitted to Bail SAN FRANCISCO, Feb. 21.-The brief of former Mayor Eugene E. Scbmitz in reply to the appeal of the prosecution to the supreme court for a review of the decision of the court of appeals in the extortion cases, when it was decided by the latter court that the indictment of Schmitz was faulty, was filed by the attorneys for Schmitz today. The main point of Schmitz' attorneys for was that the indictments charging Schmitz with extortion do not constitute a public offense, that the threats which caused the French restaurant keepers to pay tribute was not unlawful. The supreme court has until March 8 to grant or deny the prosecutions' plea for a re-hearing. If the plea is denied Schmitz will be admitted to bail and the live indictments against him as well as those against Abe Ruef on a similar charge will be invalid. devious trust methods for getting rid of competitors, saying, in his opinion, " cannot resist the conviction that the writ is desired to further the in terests of the relators in their rival company and for some ulterior pur pose" Joseph is defendant in a suit brought by the minority stockholders of another concern who allage that he has sold them out to the trust and the four million meat consumers in the city are hoping that in the general clearing up which it taking place it will be possible to free them from the tightening grip of the meat mon- opiy. MAY 17th. 1914. MORAL HOUSE CLEANING. NEW YORK, Feb. 21,-The panic and the business depression that has followed it has had one good result in that it has given time for a moral house-cleaning that seems to have been badly needed. The number of multi-millionaires of a few months ago whose fortunes have .vanished into the thin air from which a good part of them were drawn is equaled only by the bank officials and con trollers who are likely to have ' a chance to study the architecture of the criminal courts-from the inside. For the general business welfare the most important effect is the breaking up of the relations between chains of paper-owned banks and the specula tive enterprises of their owners. The trusts too have come in for a certain share of official attention. Govern- nor Hughes has taken action resulting in the appointment of a special pro secutor for the Ice Trust case and there is a growing feeling among certain trust agents that New York is not the healthiest place imaginable for them just now. The plans of the Beef Trust for securing its domin-1 ance of New York markets received what is generally regarded as a body blown in a decision handed down a few days' ago against a man alleged to be one of its secret agents main tained for the purpose of eliminating competing interests by absorption. The decision in question, rendered by Justice Greenbaun of the Supreme Court, denied the petition of Freder ick Joseph, now president of the New York Butchers Dressed Meat Com pany, an association of the city's in- rflependent dealers, and formerly an officer, of Schwarzchild and Sulzber ger, an independent concern, for a writ allowing him to examine the boks of the latter company. Justice Greenbaun did not hesitate to. indi cate his belief that the writ was not sought in good faith but as part of Proposed Present to Mother Country Costing $100,000 by Norwegians. CHICAGO, Feb. 21.-A movement to present the mother country with a suitable token of love of her emigrat ed sons and daughters will be launched tomorrow by leading Norwegian-Americans from all parts of the country, who will gather in con version here The object of the gath ering is to start a widespread sub scription for a fund of $100,000 with which to purchase the proposed gift is to be given to Norway on May 17, 1914, the centennial of the adoption of the Norwegian constitution. '- -t-. -i 1011 BALLOTS. MARYSVILLE, Ohio, Feb. 21, The eighth district congressional convention called to name a candidate to succeed Congressman Cole ad journed sine die tonight without hav ing made a nomination. They had 1011 ballots. . , . MURDERS OPERATOR Robs the Railway Stations and Postoffices. IN SCUFFLE KILLS THE AGENT West Virginia, Pennsylvania His Pirncipal Field of Action Although he Took a Trip to Frisco, Back to Boston and Arrested in New York NEW YORK, Feb. 21,-The arrest here last night of James A. Baker charged with killing E. Y. Hutchin son, a telegraph operator at Claring ton, W. Va., and robbing the railway station at that point, came after a chase o San Francisco and back to New York which was participated in by postoffice Inspector Kincaid and Detective Riger and Nuss of the Penn sylvania Railroad. The officers say that Baker, whose home is at Colum bus, O., confessed to the killing of Hutchinson, Dec. 29 and to the rob bery of a number of postoffices and railroad stations. The officers say i that Baker is of good family and is . an amateur at robbery. They believe that he began his systematic robbing of smah postoffices and express of fices only in November last. He has worked under many different aliases among them "C. C. Rogers," and "J. ; H Young." It was while asking for mail at the New York postoffice under the lattes names that he was arrested. The detectives say they have discovered that under the latter name he is engaged to marry a girl of good fam- . ily in Pittsburg, whose name they refuse to divulge. It was Baker's method, the detectives claim, to pick out unfrequented stations where there was np one on duty at night and Tob them when there was little chance of his being caught. In these, robbery they say, he frequently secured rail road mileage books and it was by the sale of these books that he was traced. The first crime which they saw, Baker's handiwork was in the latter part of November, whenthe Thomp son, Pa., station on the Baltimore and Ohio was robbed of about $500 worth of pay checks and express money orders. On Dec. 1, Baker is alleged to have admitted, he robbed (Continued on page 8.)