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About The morning Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) 1899-1930 | View Entire Issue (April 28, 1908)
r Man C0VER8THE MORNING FIELD ON THE LOW EH COLUMBIA PUBLISHES FULL ASSOCIATED PRESS REPORT 33rd YEAR. NO. 102 ASTORIA, OREGON, TUESDAY, APRIL 28, 1908 PRICE FIYE CENTS tny LANDSLIDE IN CANADA Small French Town Blot ted Out THIRTY PEOPLE PERISH 7 Cut Off From the Outside World, Messengers Were Dispatched 1. It kl...A II- 1.1 io noupre, nearest namiei DEATH AND DESTRUCTION Just as the Little Hamlet Began to Stir For Early Man Part of the Mountain Started to Slide Toward the River. BUCKINGHAM, Quebec, .April 1 27. Half the little French hamlet of Notre Dame de Salette, 16 miles from here on the Licvre River, dis appeared yesterday under a sliding mountain, and tome 30 of its small population are known to have per ished. The hamlet ha no telephone or telegraph facilities, nor is it on a f railroad. Meagre bits of newi of the ' disaster come in by messenger from ' the physicians and other rescuers who were hurried there from the first calls' for aid came early this morning. The River Licvre winds at the foot F.I I I I l.t. A I t 'i HIV IlllllllVlf mm H iiivriiiiinii vn.i j behind. Sping rains fo days have been melting snow and ice on the I mountain side and steams have been coursing down the river. At S o'clock this morning, just as the little hamlet IU Pill 1 '.'I V Ul j ...Haa, f . . . . : . . - ! , . . tne mountain siaricu io suae lownru the river. It tore a path of death and destruction in its way and those who were not killed when their homes were engulfed were left buried in the mass of rock and earth. Camillc Lapointe's house stood first In' the path of the avalanche. He and his family of 11 arc known to have ' perished. Right others, whose names have not been obtained, are missing, I n& the rescuers are attempting to find definitely how many more are missing., Mrs. Dcs Jerdin's cottage also was swept nway, and she, with her two children, a domestic and a hired man are known to be buried in the landslide. ' V ' Dc Salette, like many hamlets of its kind, rambles into the gardens and little fields on the mountain side, so about half of it was not in tne path of the slide. The sliding mass rushed with a. roar ami spread out nil over the place and dumped itself in the swollen stream at its foot. Cut off from the outside world, messengers were dispatched to Hou pcre, the nearest hamlet. Those who ' arrived first estimated that at least a dozen houses were crushed in the path of the landslide. Buckingham . wai appealed to, but the flight of the messengers, across the Spring roads was slow. Those first on the scene found De Salette in a panic, with the uninjured ones packing their belong ings for flight. . . The first messengers to Bucking-1 ham, ordered Z5 coffins to be sent to Dc Salette and all physicians of the town were hurried across the country with rescue parties. MODERNIZING LAWS. Chinese Government Busy on -Mea sures of Reform. SAN FRANCISCO, April 27,-The most significant feature in the awak ening of China, and" what promises to he the most potent factor in raising the empire to the level of great west ern nations, is found in the enrnest- mm with which the government lit pursuing Us policy of general education," laid Mr. E. T. Wil liam, the newly Appointed consul general to Tientsin, who arrived here ast night. The laws of the land are being modernized to abolish extra territori al jurisdiction. A general codifica tion of the laws, making them to har monize more with the International laws of the occidental nations, Is be ing rapidly pressed by a special mis sion. Lawyers are being admitted to practice. Trial by Jury is being in troduced and schools of law are being established. The only system of combining judicial and administra tive functions in one person is being abolished." Mr. Williams, who has been in the orient for 21 yean, ft on his way to take over his post, having been ap pointed on March, . PROPOSALS ASKED. Government to Build Twelve Steel Tug Boats.' WASHINGTON, April 27- Pro! posals for the construction of 12 steel tug boats, 1&0 feet long, for ser vice in the coast artillery districts, have been invited by the quarter master general of the army, These boats will' be slightly larger than those heretofore built for these pur poses, possessing among other char acteristics living quarters for the full crew. Conclusions From Correspond ence of Steel and Ross TRACED VARIOUS ACCOUNTS When the Investigators Discovered That the Home Security ft Invest ment Co. Was Represented, They Concluded They Knew Enough. PORTLAND, April 27.-Behind an entry of $4148 on the trust ledger of the Title Guarantee & Trust Com pany, under date of June 6, 1907, the day following the segregation of the educational account of the State of Oregon on the books of the institu tion, may, in the opinion of investi gators, lie an explanation of the rela tions really existing between George A. Steele, State Treasurer, and J. Thorburn Ross, president of the com pany, s Considering the item in the light of other entries and various debit and credit accounts, as well as checks and deposit slips and the correspondence between Steel and Ross, Attorney Wt C. Bristol, who represents the state relative to receivership proceedings, and Governor Chamberlain formed certain conclusions. Their de ductions were aligned ' in every particular with those made by Ben W. Olcott and J, W. Ferguson, the expert accountants, who devoted much of their time while investigating the bank's affairs fo throwing light on this phase of the stuation. Three per cent was paid by the Title Guarantee & Trust Company on check accounts. That the educational fund of the state was deposited in the bank by Treasurer Steel as a check account is undisputed; in fact, the de fense during the trial of Ross at Salem was founded ' on the theory" that in view of court decisions this procedure was lawful and proper. It is a peculiar fact that $4148 lacks only 89 cents of being th exact amount of interest on $69,148, the .average of daily balances of the state accounts with the bank from January IS, 1907, until June 5, 1907, at 3 per cent for two years, Mr. Steel took office Jan uary 14. 1907, and the educational ac count by his order was segregated by the , hank June S, 1907, His term of office was for four years. The amount of $4148 was credited to him June 6, 1907. , The amount of $4148 having been JUGGLED fin; BOOKS L VN AND SHELTER Problem Confronting the Devastated Region 325 NEW MADE GRAVES Distributed Over Nearly Entire Width of Louisiana Missis sippi and Alabama DEATH LIST IS NOW KNOWN It is Possible to State With Accuracy That the Dead of the Three States Will Not Exceed 350, Although a Few May be Added. NEW ORLEANS, April 27.-With 325 newly made graves distributed broadcast over nearly the entire width of Louisiana, Mississippi and Ala bama, the dead of Friday's .tornado have been mostly cared for tonight and it was possible to state with some degree of accuracy that the death list of the three states will not exceed 350. A few who may be added to the list, and, the fatalities are possibly as many as a score out of the 200 of the most seriously injured. (The re maining injured numbering about 1000 were reported on the road to recov ery. The most serious problem now confronting the devastated region is that of living, food and shelter. traced through the various accounts, the experts found the way the account actually stood to be in this wise: Cash actually advanced for the pur chase price of the property in the Couch addition, $11,852; credited to George A. Steel, $4148; total, $16, 000. This is the amount of the debit given, causing the whole to balance to a nicety, and convinced the offic ials, at least, that there was jugglery somewhere. In addition, the deposit slip shows that June 7, $4148 was deposited to the credit of the , Home Security & Investment Company by George A. Steel personally. When the investiga tors discovered that the company was represented by 50 shares of stock, of which Mrs. Steel held 49 and Steel only one, they concluded that they had learned enough. So Mr. Steel was questioned. At first, it is reported, he denied all knowledge of the item of $4148. When it was drawn to his attention that it represented within 89 cents of the exact interest at 3 per cent for two years, his term. of office, on $69, 148, the average of daily balances of state deposits in the Title bank from January 15, the day he took office, until June 5, on which date, by his or der, the educational fund of the state was segregated by the bank, he be came vehement in his protestation that he did nor know of the transac tion. Then his own deposit slip for the amount on the same day was shown him, and with -tears in his eyes he said that his memory was poor and he could not explain how the amount got on the books, that he certainly remembered nothing about making such a deposit. 1 ' ' , FLOTILLA COMING. SAN DIEGO, April' 27.-At 9 o'clock tonight Point Loma wireless station was in communication with the Aretluisa.v the "mother ship" of the flotilla. Message received was some what vague but the general idea conveyed is that the flotilla is due to arrive here in a few hours. WALDORF ASTORIA POPULAR. NEW, YORK, April 27.Ncarly 19,000 persons passed into the Waldorf-Astoria on Saturday. The exact figures were recorded by eight men each provided with a counting device. Since the opening of the hotel no record has been kept of the throngs which often packed its ex tensive corridors. The experiment showed that exactly 18,965 persons entered the hotel at the eight en trances between 6 a. m, Saturday anil 1 a. m. yesterday. SHOOTING SCRAPE. Negro Mix-up, Two Killed by Con stable's Guns Being Discharged. FORT WORTH, Texas, April 27. At Gilmer, Texas, Saturday night, Ben Holland, a negro, white intoxi cated, shot ' and killed his sister, JLennie Marible. A crowd of several hundred negroes gathered and was preparing to lynch him when Con stable Cumbee, carrying ' a double barreled shotgun, appeared and at tempted to disperse the crowd. In stead of dispersing, the mob closed in on the officer, who clubbed his gun and started to fight his way out with his prisoner. In the struggle that en sued, both barrels of the constable's gun were discharged, Josephine Mitchell and an unknown man being instantly killed. Reports of Serious Flood Con ' ditionsin Georgia RIVER RISES FOOT AN HOUR In Alabama the Rain of Yesterday Was the Heaviest in Years Fright ened Negroes Are Flocking Into Fort Deposit From All Around. ATLANTA, April 27.-A11 reports today indicate that the wind storm which rolled' up aj death list of nearly 400 and a list of injured of about 1200 during the last 'four (days has passed north. Careful canvass seems to make the death list 376 for the States of Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Georgia, with Georgia the least suf ferer. The dead in this state will number not more than 30. The prop erty damage in all four states is con siderable. The storm was peculiar that it traveled in circles. Yesterday it struck Georgia with terrific force a seconJ time. : Devastation by wind was followed' today by reports of ; serious flood conditions in parts of Georgia. Co lumbus, Ga., on the Alabma line, is the chief sufferer, according to early reports. ' The Chattahoochie River at that point is rising a foot an hour, the power house supplying the city with light is partly submerged, fac tories near the river have been forced to suspend operations and the street cars have been stopped. Two steam boats were torn from their moorings today and have gone down, the river. In Alabama the rain of yesterday was the heaviest of years. Frighten ed negroes are flocking into , Fort Deposit from all country districts. The , latest reports of the storm of Friday and Saturday of last week come from Northern Mississippi and parts of Alabama. Alcncon, a small town, reported 15 dead last night and this report is confirmed this morning. JURY STILL INCOMPLETE. SAN FRANCISCO. Aoril 27.-The beginning of the fourth week in the work of selecting 12 men to try Abe Ruef finds the jury still incomplete. With nine men in the jury box this morning, two were bassed todav. sub ject to the peremptory challenge. hach side has one, challenge lett. AFTER Tilt TORNADO Fill HOUSE Secretary Latta Could Not Deliver Message A SNARL OF MOTIONS It Was With an Eye to Political Capital That the House Pro ceeded Throughout Day FILIBUSTER MAY CONTINUE That it Was Not Delaying the Busi ness Was Evidenced by the Fact That the Supply Bills Were Further Along Than Usual WASHINGTON, April 27-The keyed-up house rules- to meet the Democratic filibuster reacted and shut out the message President Roosevelt had prepared and planned to have read in that body today. It was found impossible to untangle the snarl of motions to get the house out of a committee of the whole and back into the same committee and also to recess and finally" to cover the point of no quorum long enough to have the President's message received, much less read. Hs secretary, Mr. Latta, who waited for an hour in the corridor, was turned away with the message unde his arm and made his way to the Senate. It was with an eye to political capital that the house proceeded throughout the day. The little that was accomplished was made the ve hicle for political discussion. A reso lution was passed authorizing a news paper print of the investigation, but not until the expediency of that dis cussion had been discussed. Williams characterized it as method of delay while the Republican speakers main tained it was in good faith and that the report would be made at the present session should the Demo cratic filibuster permit the members of that committee to do their work. The sundry civil appropraition bilf was taken up and three of the eight hours decided on for the general de bate were used. Before adopting the special rule, which provides for the considering and passing of the sundry civil bill after eight hours of debate, the house today listened to Williams, the min ority .leader, in the explanation of filibuster which he is conducting. Filibuster, he said, will end the mo ment the house gives permission for the consideration of a camoaitrn of the publicity bill, th bill to put print paper on the free jist and the anti injunction bill. ' ' ' . These measures Williams insisted were all a part of the President's legislative program. Every roll call which is taken is only for emphasis, which the country understands, of the lack of action by the Republican majority. The filibuster, Williams said, in conclusion, would continue until the desired result was accom plished. That it was not delaying the business was evidenced by' the fact the supply bills wert- further along than usual at. this time in a long session. NATIONAL RIFLE MATCH. WASHINGTON, April 27-Candi-dates for the rifle teams to represent the infantry and cavalry arms in the national match at Camp Perry, Ohio, this year are being provisionally se lected with a view to preliminary practice. ' Cv 'Vrt-. wjty be sent from the Philippines or Cuba. Cap tain Wm. If. Hay of the Tenth In fantry on duty at the Pennsylvania College is to be captain of the cav- airy team and Capt. Fred L. Mussert of the Ninth Infantry, on duty at Fort Sam Houston, will be cantain of the infantry. Lieut-Col. B. K. Ivvans of the Fifth Infantry, on duty with the general staff, will be the ex ecutive of the meet. BROWN CONFESSES. SAN FRANCISCO, April 27. J. Dalzell Brown appeared before the grand jury this afternoon and made 'a complete confession. He will appear as a witness for the prosecution in May againsj William J. Bartnett and James Tread well, the former direc tors of the suspended Calf iornia Safe Deposit Company. After making his confession he gave out a statement in which he said when he became manager of the institution about 10 years ago he found eight-tenths of its capital invested to the interests of tb, Treadwell's. Admitting that he did acts that were culpable, acts which he wouid-never have lone for himself, Brown declares that whatever he did was in the interest of the bank's de positors and directors and that per sonally he never profited one cent Brown says that he can still be of further aid to the depositors and final ly decided to accept his punishment worse than death that he might be able to tell his story and render aid to those who are interested in it , ; OVERPOWERINGVOTE President's Four Battleship Pro gram Failed in Senate TWENTY-THREE VOTE FOR IT Two Battleships Each Year Until the Amncan Navy is Regarded Suffic ient to Meet Any Demands Made Upon it is the Verdict WASHINGTON, April 27.-By an overwhelming vote President Roose velt's four battleship program failed in the Senate today, just at is did in the House. An amendment for four battleships was introduced by Sena tor Piles and the fight for its adootion was led by Beveridge.. Twenty-thret votes were cast for the increased pro gram, the number being largely made np of the recently elected Senators. . Fifty voted to support the house and the recommendation of the Senate naval committee in the recommenda tion to build only two battleships. The debate on the battleshiD amendment lasted three days to the exclusion of all other matters. It was begun by Beveridge with an elo quent appeal for : support of the President arid the suggestion that a larger navy might be needed for war. It was developed by Allison that dur ing the debate there was a well de fined understanding among the Sen ate leaders for the authorization of two battleshisp each year until the American navy is regarded as suffic ient to meet any demands made upon it. As finally passed the bill carries appropriations aggregating $123,115, 659 and provides for the' construction' of two battleships and two colliers and the purchase of three additional colliers,, construction of submarines, and other necessary craft and increase the pay for the officers and men as well as increasing both the pay and the strength of the marine corps." '' BOAT UPSET. Three Were Drowned and One Was Saved. MUSKEGON ' Mich., April 27 Mr. and Mrs. "Willard Stone and Byrd Ward were drownc' :n Muskegon Lake last night. TV boat was overturned by the hi' ! vaves. Miss thel Stewart ch'vr - the boat and drifted a mile to th" 'l -re. '