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PUBLISHES FULL ASSOCIATED PRESS REPORT
COVERS THE MORNING FIELD ON THE LOWER COLUMBIA
piiice five mm
23rd YEAH. NO. 303
ASTORIA, OREGON, TUESDAY, DECEMBER 29. 1S08
M J j! o li ii H M
J
LEWI
e eonspiRATORS m lai
RtAUD ARE DR017HED
Hepburn Flood Has Prom
inent Part in Frauds
..
, (.'
LAND VALUED $100,000
er, took tht final proof hereinbefore
mentioned with full knowledge and
notice of the fraudulent character of
said cntriei."
Complaint States That tWiliiam
Ayres nnd P. B. McSwordsJ
Met Death In Flood
SCRIBNER ALSO INCLUDED
8CRIBNER WHO IS UNDER AR
rttt With Other Attempted to Car-
l ry Out Plot After the Leader
Death But Art UruwecaatJut
PORTLAND, Dee. 2S.-A wit la-
tltuted by the govirnmeat in the
United Sutea circuit court today for
cancellation of 46 patent to tract of
land in Eaitern Oregon ia interesting
beaux of the Jct that the Heppner
flood played an Important part The
defendanta named are J. W. Scriber,
S. W. Spencer, Aaa B. Thompion,
Harrison Hale, Vawter Crawford, C
W. Rea, David Wilson, Alfred Coot
Wire, truitee: Frank Melvin, A. S.
Crowder and A. M. Roa. The Und
la valued at about $100,000. The
complaint alleges that in March, 1903,
William Ayres, P. B. McSword,
Spencer Hale, and other conspired
to defraud the government out of
land which are described In the com
plaint under the timber and atone
law.
On June 14, 1903, the complaint
atatei, that William Ayre and P. B.
McSword were drowned in the
Heppner flood. These, the complaint
asserts, were the principal conspira
tors, and those left, did not desire or
were unable to carry out the conspir
acy and thereupon Scriber, Spencer,
Thompson, Wilson and Hale under
took to carry It out. After giving al
leged details the complaint declare
that in 1904, in order to further pre
vent the government from recovering
the title to the lands certain of the
defendants organized at Spokane,
the Washington & Northwest Timber
Company, which took over the title to
the property secured by the defend
ants. The Scriber alluded to, i the
former cashier of the defunct Farmer
& Trader Bank at La Grande, who Is
under arrest, on" a charge of convert
ing the funds of the bank to hi own
use. In the course of the complaint
the statement i made that "Vawter
Crawford, as county clerk, and Geo.
W. Rea as United State commision-
TARIFF REVISION.
WASHINGTON, Dec. 2a The
work of preparing the revised tar ill
bill was resumed by the sub-committee
of the house of way and mean
committee today. Two meetings wer
held and there i every likelihood thut
the tariff framing committee, which
will continue to hold daily meeting
until time come to report the bill to
congres at, a pecial session in
March.
ORS FINCH INTRODUCED
FIS CASE
the case were made after the state
finally rested. Special Prosecuto
Spencer for the state argued for a
verdict of murder in the first degree.
W. W. Holcomb of counsel for the
defease argued that the prosecution
had failed to make out a complete
chain vf evidence, that it had shown
no motive but that on the contrary alf
the evidence ihowed that Finch had
been subjected to persecution.'
SAYS SHE TOLD HUSBAND TO
PURCHASE REVOLVER. ON
DAY OF TRAGEDY.
GOES TO THE JURY TODAY
Deputy Attorney Dunning Testifies
That ha Searched Fisher Office
Shortly After the Shooting But
Failed to Find Notary Seal
PORTLAND, Dec 28-The case of
Jame A. Finch, charged with the
murder of Ralph B. Fisher, prosecu
tor for the state bar association, will
probably be in the hands of the jury
some time tomorrow afternoon. To
day the defense concluded taking tes
timony, with the cross-examination of
Miss Vera Burkhart, Flsher'a stcno
grapher and the introduction of
Finch sick wife. Mr, l-ineh wore
that she requested her husband to
purchase a revolver on the day of the
shooting. In her crosa-testimony, the
stated that (he possessed a revolver
at the time the shooting occurred, in
its rebuttal testimony, the state intro
duced Detective Frank Beatty who
swore that Finch had told him short
ly after the (hooting that Fisher had
threatened him with a revolver.
Deputy Coroner Dunning who tea
tided that he searched Fisher' office
after the shooting but found no no
tarial leal; G. Everett Baker, Fisher s
law partner who testified that the sel
was later found in Fisher' desk and
two witnesses who swore that they
observed no signs of an abrasion on
Flnch'a head after the shooting.
Jt will be remembered that in this
evidence Finch swore he ahot Fisher
after the latter had hit Finch over the
head with a notorial aeal.
Two ot the closing arguments in
WOULD LEND THE BELL,
PHILADELPHIA, Dec. 28.-May-or
Reyburn i in favor of granting the
request of the Portland Rose Festival
and Yukon-Alaska Pacific Exposition
authorities that the Liberty Bell be
permitted to journey to the Western
Coait for the opening of the festival
at Portland, Or., in June,
"Certainly nothing can happen to
it," declared the Mayor, "and it is
only right that we should allow the
historic relic to be shown to people all
over the country. The distance is
great, but I do not see how that will
make any difference. There are many
Western people who never w the
bell, and it would be a good thing to
show it to them. It is a matter of
education, and I am heartily in favor
of aending it out The expense
amount to something, but I believe
enough could be raised by subscrip
tion to cover that end of the ques
tion." '
The request reached Mayor Rey
burn Thursday, December 17, and was
read In the Council and referred to
the committee on city property.
EIGHT KILLED IN
HEAD ON COLLISION
AYorkJand Freight Trains Crash Together Owing
to a Misumlerstandinglaf Orders
MISS ETHEL'S DEBUTE.
WASHINGTON, Dec 28.-1
I'lhel Roosevelt tonight made a
mat bow to ociety preceding
dancing in the East Room of
White House which began at
o'clock. Mrs. Roosevelt and
Roosevelt received guest in
ruom.
diss
for
the
the
10
Miis
blue
SOUTH III BUT Ml
MIDH
T. J. IIAIfIS HAS
GQODCIIAfiCE
Strong Witnesses .for
Defense Testify
SCORES TWO POINTS
Exhaustive Cross -Examination
of Defendant's Witnesses
Fail to Shake Them
THORNTON MORE CONFIDENT
When Haina Returned to Jail be De
clared That the Evidence of the
Day Proved Him Innocent Captain
Haina Alone Responsible.
got so that we could cut about IS
head of hair an hour. We devoted
our entire time to cleaning the wound
ed soldiers, (having them and cutting
their hair. They used to wake us up
(in the night, begging for a trim and
finally our skill became so widely ad
vertised that we had to give put num
bered ticket.
NEW MATCH PENDING.
Seattle Man Wants a Chance to Meet
Kaufman or Barry. ;
LOS ANGELES, Dec 28.-H Dr.
Roller of Seattle wants to fight the
winner of the Kaufman-Barry fight in
this city all that is necessary for him
to do now is to deposit his money
with some reputable newspaper in
Seattle and the match will be consid
ered as made. Manager Baron Long
of the- Jeffries Club says Dr. Roller
can have a chance to fight the winner
of the Barry-Kaufman fight that is
to be pulled off Wednesday night At
a meeting yestreday between Delaney
and Murphy, representing Kaufman
and Barry, respectively, apd Manager
Long, it wa agreed that Roller's
proposition looked good enough to
accept He offers to bet $1000"and split
the fighters' end of the money 75 and
25 per cent of the money. ",,
DEWEY IS 71 TODAY. ;
WASHINGTON, Dec 28. -Ad
miral George Dewey, hero of Manila
Bay and ranking officer in the Navy,
celebrated his 71st birthday Saturday,
more than 10 year after the exploit
which made him world-wide famous.
Still vigorous in mind, the aged Ad
miral is not enjoying the best of
best of health, having been suffering
for the past six weeks with a bad at
tack of sciatica.- He therefore spent
the day at hi home, many of his in
timate friends calling to pay their re
spects and to tender their congratula
tions.
TOO MUCH POLITICS.
OVER HALF .OF ITS AREA
IS NOW ABSOLUTELY
"DRY."
MOVEMENT STILL GOES ON
On January 1, North Carolina, Ala
bama and Mississippi go Dry, and
Active Fight in Tennessee, Ken
tucky and Other States.
GREAT FALLS, Dec. 28.-As a re
sult of a head-on collision between a
freight train and work train on the
Great Northern this afternoon, eight
men are dead and four seriously in
jured. The wreck occurred becausu
the freight which was coming north
did. not stop at Mid Canyon siding to
allow the work train to pass, but who
is to blame has not yet been determin
ed. The work train had order to
pass the freight at Mid Canyon, The
freight, which .wa heavily loaded,
was met by the work train on the
curve.
Conductor Drake and Brakeman
Egan, who were on the caboose jump
ed, but the bridge carpenters in the
caboose did not have that chance.
Seven of them were killed and the
other two badly injured. . The engine
of the work train being in the rear
did not leave the track. The engine
of the freight was thrown over the
embankment toward the Missouri
river. The fireman and engineer were
carried over with it, the fireman mar
velously escaped, and crawled out
through the cab window after it stop
ped rolling. Engineer Morrisey was
killed The dead and injured all came
from Grea: Fall.
WASHINGTON, Dec 28.-A wave
of prohibition has swept with such
remarkable effect over the South that
the new year opena upon a vast
stretch of territory absolutely bereft
of liquor, while the area where anti
prohibitionists have triumphed, marks
the battleground for impending fights
on the question.
More than half the South' territory
is "dry absolutely and in the re
maining area the sale of intoxicants is
restricted.
State-wide prohibition laws become
effective on January 1 in North Caro
lina, Alabama and Mississippi. Pro
hibition advocates in Louisiana have
suspended their fight tor test the new
Gay Shattuck law for the regulation
of the liquor traffic.
Tennessee is the chief center of in
terest among the other tates where
state-wide prohibition fights are in
progress. The prohibitionists say that
a state-wide bill will pass the legisla
ture which they expect to organize
and control. Kentucky, the second
largest distilling state in the Union,
with 119 counties, has but four in
which the sale of liquor is not prohibited.
Virginia presents a string of vic
tories for anti-saloon elements, as
Drohibition now exists in 80 of the
state's 101 counties.
In Texas where more than half the
counties have accepted prohibition,
the voters soon will be called upon to
vote upon a constitutional amendment
for prohibition.
FLUSHING, N. Y Dec. 28.-De-
fense scored two material points n
evidence developed in Thornton
Mains' trial today, in which defend
ant's counsel assert Jo disprove th!
charge that the author was a princi
pal with his brother in the killing cf
Annis. Exhaustive cross-examination
of the two witnesses for the defense
left the main points of their testimony
unshiken and Thornton Hams return
ed to jail tonight declaring that the
evidence proved him innocent.
Testimony that Thornton did nit
go to Bay City to kill Annis but to
look at property was testified to by
Charles Weaver, sales agent of ths
Haines Concrete Mixer Co., who
further declared that it was at his
urgent invitation that Haiti brothers
on August 15 postponed the trip to
Sandy Hook and went to Bay Side to
inspect real estate. Weaver almost
sobbed on the stand when he said
that he fclr responsible for sending
the Hains brother on the journey that
ended in the death of Annis. Tne
mental condition of Captain Hains
previous to the shooting was testified
to by Weaver, who asserted that from
the actions of the army captain he
believed him to be irrational.
The second material point brought
out by the defendants today was drawn
from John Tirriy, a garbage collector,
who said he was an eye witness o
the tragedy. Tierney declared that
Captain Hains had ceased firing be
fore his brother went up and dow.i
the float and the defendant did ' not
draw his revolver until Charles Rob
erts, a club member, advanced toward
Captain Hains with the captain's re
volver in his hand. Tierney said that
Thornton did not point his revolver
at anyone on the float, but called for
an officer to arrest hi brother. He
did not see Mrs. Annis on the float.
A severe cross-examination did not
make Tierney waver any essential.
Surveyor McCarthy Must Either Quit
Republican Committee or Resign.
BOSTON, Dec 28.-Surveyor J. J.
McCarthy, of the Port of Boston, to
day received a letter from Secretary
Cortelyou notifying him to sever his
connection with the Republican city
committee of Boston or resign the
surveyorship. It is understood that
representations have been made to
the treasury department that McCar
thy is displaying unwarranted activity
in political matters.
ER TELEPHONE PLANT
BEIi C1IECTED UP
Just as fast as Superintendent E. B.
Jackson, of Portland, and nine skilled
mechanics can finish the enormous de
tail, and as fast as the material can
reach, this city from New York, Chi'
cago and San Francisco, the general
equipment of the new home-station if
the Pacific Telephone Company, on
the south side of Exchange street be
tween Eleventh and Twelfth streets,
is progressing an hourly taking on
LOSS OF LIFE Jill Di
INK HIND BUM
ms mo: i us
in HIS I'M
BERT EDWARD DURY SHOT
DEAD BY BERT BELL,
IN DENVER.
One Dispatch States That
300 Are Killed
f.IANY VESSELS
E-r:
Tidal.Wave Which FoSIov,
quake Causes the J.! est
Damags
COMMUNICATION CUT CFF
Owing to the Fact That All Telegraph
and Telephone Wire Are Destroy
el it ia Even Impossible to Obtain
an Opproximate Estimate- of Havoc
WIFE ESCAPES
SAME
FATE
ROME, Dec 28. The latest dis
patches from Messina state that two
thirds oijthe city is destroyed by the
earthquake Mank are killed and in
jured. Gravest news has been receiv
ed from the province of Reggio where
Mr. BeU Otwit. Enraged Husband' rthquake wrought great havoc
by Climbing up the Fire Escape-
She ia Later Arrested and Taken to
Jail in Hysterical Condition.
DENVER. Dec 28.-Bert Edward
In Arkansas two-thirds of its area
or 75 counties are dry and the ques
tion of state-wide prohibition will be
presented to the voters for decision.
CUT THE JAPS' HAIR.
How Y. M. C. A. Worker Got 1
Foothold During the War. -
CHICAGO, Dec 28. Haircuts
helped Christianity to maintain a com
fortable foothold in Japan where prev
ious to the Japanese-Russian, war it
had been hardly tolerated. It was
through the work of the Y. M. C. A
that the Japanese changed their opin
ion of the Christian religion to
marked degree, according to C. V.
Hibbard, who has charge of the Y. M.
C A. work with the Japanese army.
In an account of how the supply of
Bibles and tracts gave out after the
battle of Mukden and attention was
definite and interesting shape.
The snug little two-story builuuig,
solid, well-built, cemented and heav
ily timbered and floored, has the ap
pearance of a bee-hive, with the mass
of wiring and standard mechanism or
dained for the telephone business, and
the unpractised eye is soon lost in the
seeming confusion that prevails. Of
course there is no confusion, since
every bewildering atom and item is
of exact and well computed utility
and has its.place in the scheme of ap
pointment and service, but only a
sharply trained expert can discern the
efficacy of the thousand and one
that lie about at loose ends.
One enters the building via the main
reception room and the home of the
long distance boothes; and turning jo
the right enters the operating room,
where the big multiple, common bat
tery switchboard is fast taking on its
calculated connections. This is the
great feature of the institution, and
will aljvay be. It is of steel and
class and wood and is destined to
serve 4000 subscribers, though its ap
pointments at present will cover but
about one-fifth that number. Every
number on the board is served with
tiny electric light, the rays of which
respond instantly with the taking
down of the receiver on the sub
scriber's telephone at the home or in
the office; there will be no more
ringing up central; it is to be a mat
ter of merely taking down the re
ceiver, and getting an instant re
sponse; and what is more, the very
fact that one's wire is grounded or
short-circuited, causes the light .o
beam so that the accident is made
known to the people at the central
station, though the subscriber may
not realize that anything has happen
ROME, Dec. 28. Three province
of Conosina, Catansaro and Reggio di
Calabria, comprising the department
of Calabria which forms the south
western extremity of Italy, or the
"Toe of the Boot," were devasted to
day by an earthquake, far reaching ef-
Dury, whose stage name was Byron fects 0f which were felt almo
Allerton, who has been playing at the throughout the entire country. The
. . . . u town of Messina in Sicily was partly
Chrystal Theatre, was shot through destroye(Ji and Catania was inundated.
the head and instantly killed this i Messina, hundreds of bouses have
afternoon at a rooming house by Bert fallen 1 ! Pwsons have beeB
killed
Bell, who escaped but was later cap- q
tured. Witnesses claim that Mrs. Bell, telegraphic and telephonic coramuni-
who was in the room with Dury es- cation was almost entirely destroyed,,
it is Imoossible to obtain even ap-
caped the same fate by climbing ap pr0ximate estimate of the damage but
the fire escape to the third floor of reports received here up to a late
. , . . , hour tonight indicate that the havoc
the bu.ld.ng. She was arrested and been and destruction
taken to jail in a hysterical condition. . ,j d Dropertv more terrible
than Italy has experienced in many
'years. All reports show that the pres
ent catastrophe embraces a larger
area than the earthquake of 1890. The
'tidal wave which followed the shocks
The sud- on the coast of Sicily sank vessels and
UNION CITY, Dec 28.-
den illness of one of the defendants inundated the larger part of Catania.
in the nightrider cases caused suspen-1
sion ot the trial this afternoon. The LONDON, Dec 28. A dispatch re
state had completed its testimony and ceived here states that 300 persor
rested. The defense laid the founda- are killed as a result of the earth-
tion for an alibi and proposes to put quake at Messina.
all defendant on the stand and cor-1 It is known that a number of per-
roborate their testimony by members sons were killed at that place, but the
of their families. (Cc::sutd en page 6)
diverted to the care of the wounded,
Mr. Hibbard says: "It was a little led; a circumstance that will serve all
awkward for us at first, but we soon I
(Continued on page 4)
SICKNESS STOPS TRIAL.
PRESIDENT STARTED
PITTSBURG SCANDAL
It is Believed Roosevelt Was Instrumental
Pressing Investigations of Pittsburg Grafting
i.i
PITTSBURG, Dec. 28. In connec
tion .with' alleged bribing of council
men by bankers to secure deposits of
city funds, it is said that the plan fol
lowed was to have the banks' New
York correspondent forward an
amount of the alleged corruption fund
to another Pittsburg bank to the
credit of the councilmen negotiating
the bribery deal, he to make distribu
tion to the other councilmen. Some
of the most wary councilmen operat
ed through safety deposit boxes but
others wrote checks against the fund
It is said that a number of these
This feature it is said has been receiv
ing attention of the federal agents.
President Roosevelt, it is believed,
has been instrumental in pressing fed
eral investigations since the first sug
gestion of irregularities by national
bankers that reached the department
of justice.
checks will be presented in evidence, difficult.
TEN MEN KILLED.
BIRMINGHAM, Dec. 28 Ten men
were killed and several injured by a
cave-in at the furnace plant at Ensley
tonight. But two bodies have been re
covered. ' Gas pouring into execava-
tion from furnace makes rescue work