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About Corvallis gazette. (Corvallis, Benton County, Or.) 1900-1909 | View Entire Issue (Feb. 22, 1901)
CO.RVA Ali WEEKLY. PWl OK BaaJ. Jalr. 1MT. (Consolidated Feb. 1899. uasm Katb. Baai, COEVAIiLIS, BENTON COUNTY, OREGON, FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 22, lflOl. VOL.. XXXVIII. NO. 9. GaZ Tannic? X X Ali 5 of i m From All Parts of the New World and the Old OF INTEREST TO OUR MANY READERS Comprehensive Review of the Important Hap penings of the Put Week In Condensed Form. "' Tbe condition of Empress Frederick continues unchanged. Purchase of 500 cavalry horses in Oregon has been ordered by lha. war department. A provincial government is in course of formation in Tarlao, a northers Lu son province. General Chaffee is not to join in the German expedition in China under Yon Waldersee. ' Fire destroyed the Union Railway Company's barns at Klwood, R. I., and 80 tiolley cars, causing a loss of 162,000. ' Governor Rogers has appointed G. Meade Emery, as an additional judge for King county, Wash., to serve until the next election. Eight alleged Boxer leaders, after trial by officers of Chang Chi Tung, the viceroy of Hanko, have been de capitated at that place. William P. Hill, for over 50 years a prominent New England newspaper editor, is dead of grip, at the home of his son-in-law in Denver, Col. The schooner Alice, which was in the Nome trade last year, ran on the rocks near the West Point lighthouse, while en route to Seattle from Ban Pedro. . The full extent of tbe damage is not known. She was towed to Port Townsend. Fire destroyed the Pvthian opera house, the Second National bank build ing and the building occupied bv the Southern Express Company, at Jack son, Tenn., causing a loss of $100,000. It is believed two lives were lost in the falling of the opera house walls. The bank of Omaha, at Omaha, Tex., has been" robbed of $3,000 in cash and paper amounting to $2,000. The rob bers made tbeir escape upon a hand , car. The lone occupant of the bank was decoyed from town by bogus tele grams, and remained away from Omaha-on the night of the robbery. H A verdict for $1,600 for the plaintiff was rendered in the circuit court in the case of J. J. Hecker vs. the O. R. & N. Co.. at The Dallesj Oregon. Heoker, in June last, while driving across the railroad track four miles west of town, was struck by an engine, and sustained severe injuries for which suit for $2,500 was brought. Money scarcity in England contin ues! . "- ' The president will call an extra ses sion. The end of the Boer war is not in ight. Severe cold weather prevails through out Europe. ' , - A 13-inch gun exploded on tbe bat tleship Kearsarge. An Englishman's letter created a sensation in Manila. Five rebel officers and 20 men were captured near Manila. Civil government was established in Pangasinan province. All the volunteers will be home from the Philippines by June 30. The czar is suspicious of Emperor William's doings in England. Appropiiatioa bills have the right of way in the house this week. Russia has imposed an increased tariff on imports from America. The senate will practically d"vote this week to appropriation bills. Louisiana mob hanged a negro who killed a white man and his family. Six persons were killed and as many seriously injured in a train wreck in Nevada. Nine prisoners in tbe Spokane coun ty jail overpowered the jailer and es caped. Official list of the victims of the Union mine accident places the num ber at 64. One regiment and a portion of two others will be mustered oat at Van couver. Wash." Elaborate preparations are being made for the colonial tour of the Duke of Cornwall and York. Two Bridal Veil. Or., factories and tbe O. R. & N. railroad bridge were damaged by the bieakingof a drift jam. Danish government has broken oft negotiations with the United States regarding the sale of Danish West In dies, Colonel W. T. Hart, a well-know Western promoter, committed suicide by jumping from a moving train into the Snake1 river. , To hasten peace negotiations, Von Waldersee has planned an 80-day ex pedition and asks American and Frenob to co-operate with tbe Germans. ' ' (jueen Victoria had 73 children. grandchildren and great-grandchildren. . Lord Roberts is the first man ever entitled to wear the Garter, the Vic toria Cross and- the order of St. Pat rick. Thirty-five prominent American sculptors will contribute to the embel lishment of toe grounds and buildings of the Pan-American exposition at Buffalo, N. Y. OUR LAWMAKERS. Doings of Importance at the State Capital BiUs Passed. To Prevent Hoboing. A bill to prevent persons beating their way on railroad trains was passed by the house Monday. The bill was introduced by Poorman, at tbe request of railway employes and managers. It is a copy of tbe law now in force in Alabama, and is designed to put a stop to the tramp nuisance. The result of sncb laws in Alabama was shown by Mr. Poorman to be far reaching in its effect, putting a stop to car robbing. The bill was passed, there being no negative votes. Passed by the Senate. The senate passed the following bills Monday: House bill 11, to authorize clerks of school districts and county judges to bid in property sold for taxes and to direct the manner in which such property may be disposed of; sen ate bill 222, to regulate surety compan ies; by Senator Booth, fixing the salar ies of the county treasurers of the state; senate bill 227, to anthorize the capi tol building commissioners to construct a ditch in order to secure water for tbe state institutions. , To Pay State Taxes Twice a Year. Senate bill 223 was passed by the senate Monday. It provides that state taxes shall be payable by tbe counties in two semi-annual installments. This change in the law is proposed in order to harmonize with the new law which makes taxes payable in the oounties semi-annually. The Senatorial Vote. The vote for senator Monday stood: H. W. Corbett, 32; Binger Hermann, 28; R. D. Inman, 26; George H. Wil liams. 1; C. E. S. Wood, 1; absent. 2. Two Railroad Bills Killed. The house after spending nearly an other balf day in consideration of rail road bills, disposed of two more Wed nesday. One of these measures was Poorman's fellow-servant bill. It was debated at length, and although even its opponents admitted., it had good points, it was defeated by a vote of 31 to 22. The other railroad bill which was disposed of, and which met a sim ilar fate, was the bill of Harris to fix tbe liability of railroad corporations for injuries. But 19 votes were cast in favor of this bill. No Holiday at Salem. Washington's birthday, February 22, is a legal holiday, but it is not a legis lative holiday unless the legislature by specific act chooses to make it so. Inasmuch as Washington's birthday happens this year to fall on the 40th day of the session (the usual day of sine die .adjournment) it is probable that business will be proceeded with much as usual. The constitution of the state does not limit tbe sessions to 40 days, but does limit the total com pensation of each member to $120 at $3 per day; therefore, few legislators can be expected to be so self-sacrificing as to work long for nothing. Bills Passed. Tbe ' senate Wednesday passed tbe following bills: Senate bill 79, to cor rect the description of the boundary of Wheeler county; senate bill 143, to protect hotel and boarding house keep ers; by Hunt, regulating street rail ways in Portland; senate bill 73, to enact the Torrens system of registra tion ol land titles; senate bill 173, to regulate insurance companies; senate bill 31, to provide for the election of road supervisors; senate bill 137, to create the office of county auditor of Multnomah county; senate bill 217, to amend the charter of Sherwood; senate bill 216, to fix the salary of prosecut ing attorney in the Seventh judicial district. Tbe house Wednesday passed bills aB follows: house bill 27, providing for a uniform system of mine bell sig nals; house bHl 146, making it a crime to remove or interfere with mining lo cation marks; house bill 127, regulat ing tbe supply of water for irrigation purposes. The Senatorial Vote. The joint vote for senator Wednes day was: H. W. Corbett, 32; Binger Hermann, 29; George H. Williams, 1; R. D'. Inman, Democrat, 26; W. E. Robertson, Democrat, 1; absent, 1. Oregon Notes. The Robins saw mill, six miles east of Union, has been leased by a man from the East. - Eugene vetmans of tbe Spanish and Philippine wars are planning to organ ize a local association. A' paper ij being circulated at New berg soliciting subscriptions to stock for the purpose of operating a cannery. Tom Gilliam's log drive, consist ing of 4,000,000 feet, is stranded in the Mohawk waiting for a' freshet. It is consigned to the Booth-Kelly, mills at Coburg. Barbed wire telephone lines are com ing baok into fashion in Morrow coun ty. The latest is one between the ranch of C. E. Jones, near Eight-Mile postoffice and Heppner, via O. E. Farnswurth's ranch on Rlrea cieek and the public road to Hardman. The recorder and clerk of Washing ton county collected $211.80 in fees last month. It ia annonnoed from Hanisburg that David Bnsey has sold his farm on Lake Creek to Mr. Bnsbee, from Wash ington. The consideration is said to have been $7,000. , The Heppner Milling Company last week shipped a lot of stnd-hand ma chinery to Portland. ' As soon as the water open np aagin the mill will be run to its full capacity day and night. 15 in CAPf C0L0I1T Dewet Engaged a British Force Near Philipstown. CROSSED ORANGE RIVER AT SAND DRIFT The tnniskillings Charged the Enemy Who Left Five Killed and Six Wounded Ten Boers Were Captured. London, Feb. 16. The war office has received the following dispatch from Lord Kitchener: "Pretoria, Feb. 15. Our troops are now engaged with Christian Dewet'a force north of Philipstown, wbioli we hold, Dewet having crossed the Orange river at Sand Drift, apparently moving west. ; ' "French, reporting from a point 25 miles southeast of Ernielo, states that a large force of the enemy is being driven on the Piet Rief, their efforts to break back having so far been frus trated. Tbe Inniskillings charged the enemy, who left five killed and six wounded on the ground. Ten Boers were captured, and there was a large capture of wagons, carts and cattle. Our casualties were one killed and five wounded." The Evening News prints a dispatch from Cape Town, dated Thursday, February 14, which says: , "Tbe government here is advised that Christian Dewet and ex-President Steyn entered Cape Colony and occu pied Philipstown. The British attack ed them yesterday and drove them out of the town with loss." Cape Town, Feb. 16. A Boer com mando crossed the Orange river yester day, in the Philipstown district. It is reported that Dewet was in command. Van Wyksvlei was occupied Monday by 300 Boers who were retreating from Calvinia. Tbe Boers are reported in force 24 miles west of Carnarvon. A Boer convoy of 65 wagons and 45 pris oners has been captuied north o( Am sterdam. Boers Near Cape Town. London,Feb.'16.It is reported from Cape Town that the wife of Comamnd ant Botha left Pretoria with a military escort to endeavor to get her husband to surrender. , The Boers tried unsuccessfully to destroy a culvert near Cape Town. Re vere fighting ensued, the Boers leavi ig three killed and 23 wounded. The British lost one killed and two wounded. Boers Worsted at Aberdeen. Cape Town, Feb. 16. Fighting is reported to have taken place near Aber deen Friday and Saturday last, the Boers being worsted. CHICAGO HOTEL FIRES. Attempts Were Made to Burn Four Structures Robbery During the Excitement ' Chicago, Feb. 16. Flames were started simultaneously on four floors of tbe Palmer House this afternoon, and 45 minutes later were discovered on two floors in the Great Northern hotel. - Two men supposed to be hotel thieves were seen to run from the Palmer house. During the exoite ment, $500 worth of jewelry was stolen from one of the rooms of the Great Northern. About the same time, a blaze of light was discovered in tbe Sherman house. Another fire of sus picious origin had been discovered only 24 hours before. The fires con vince the police that an' organized gang of incendiaries is operating in Chicago. Good desciiptions have been secured of the two men who were seen running from the Palmer house, and a number of detectives are at work on the case. The four fires, with tbe cir cumstances attending them, were: Palmer House Four fires started simultaneously in baskets of linen on different floors. Towels saturated with, kerosene were found. Tbe fire was extinguished by . guests and em ployes. Two suspects were seen, but allowed to escape. Damage nominal. Great Northern Hotel Simultan eous fires were discovered on the H and J floors. Odor of kerosene on H floor. J. S. Friest, ot New York, reported that $500 worth of jewelry had been stolen bom his room. Damage of $1,500 by fire and small panic among the guests. " Sherman House The blaze was on the upper floor and was attended with little commotion. Damage, $100. Hotel - Grace Fire of suspicious origin discovered in a linen closet. Damage nominal. The cnoBt dangerous fire in the Palmer house was on the fifth floor. It was extinguished at personal risk by John M. Mc Williams, Jr., a senior at Princeton university. The police agree that all the fites were incendiary and tonight every iiortant down town hostelry was guarded by a detail ef officers in plain clothes, watching for the men suspected of having started the fires. These officers, as well as tbe hotel managers, have the theory that tbe blaze was started by some dis charged hotel employe who wished to satisfy bis grudge and was able to do so through his .intimate knowledge of opportunities. Ribbed of $3,000 Worth of Jewelry. San Francisco, Feb. 16. Mrs. F. H. Osgood, of Seattle, who arrived in this city on the Oregon express this morning, has reported to tbe police and railway officials that she was robbed during last nigbt of $3,000 worth of jewelry. She stated that the gems were in a leather bag which she suspended from her neck, but that they were taken while she was sleep, ing. Tbe police officers have arrested a man on suspicion. - . SIX WERE KILLED. Frve Passengers and Fireman on Wrecked Train As Many Seriously Injured. Winnemucca, Nev., Feb. 19. The east bound overland limited Southern Pacific train, officially known as No. 2. was wreoked at 6:20 o'clock yesterday morning at a point 27 miles west ot this plaoe, while running at a speed of 60 miles an hour, the train went into a washed out culvert, and the result was the .. worst wreok known on this division of the road. Six persons were killed and six injured. The disaster occurred at a point where an embankment 8 feet high crosses a ravine. Melting snow from the mountains caused a heavy rush of water which broke through tbe em bankment some time during tbe night. The washout was about 75 feet in width, and into the raging torrent tbe ill-fated train plunged without warn ing. Tbe engine nearly olearea the break before the rails gave way, the tender falling back. The mail car and composite car followed into the chasm, the composite car telescoping tbe first of the Pullman sleepers nearly half its length. Two sleepers and the dining car re mained on the track. The bodies of two men, evidently tramps, who were stealing a ride, are in the wreckage. - ; Train No. 4, the eastbound express, was following the limited train very closely, and tbe rear brakeman of the latter had only a few minutes in which to flag No. 4 and prevent a rear end collision. At 7:20 A. M. a special train left this place for the soene of the wreck, carrying doctors and nurses, and tbe injured were given every attention pos sible, being taken to the hotel at Mill City, tbe nearest station. The dead and injured were later taken back to Wads worth on a special train, and will be carried on to San Francisco. It will be two or three days before tbe track can be put in condition so that the running of trains may be re sumed. It will be necessary first to build a trestle aoross tbe chasm in which the recked cars are lying. ': OVERPOWERED THE JAILER. Nine Prisoners in the Spokane County Jail Escape Officer Oave Pursuit ; Spokane, Feb. 19. Arthur Spencer, of San Francisco, charged with imper sonating a United States officer, and eight other prisoners - overpowered Jailer Thompson in the Spokane county jail this morning and are now at large. Thompson says he was seized from behind by prisoners who were hiding behind a door, was beaten in o insensibility,- robbed of keys and revolver and gagged to prevent an outcry. When the jailer got loose he took a Winchester and went out to look for the escaped men. He spied a citizen who, frightened by the jailer's appear ance, started to run. The jailer gave pursuit and began to shoot at the man, who finally was rescued by a jury out for an airing. - Posses have been sent out every where, but not one of the jail breakers has been sighted. NEGRO WAS LYNCHED. Kilied a Man and His Family and Ransacked the House. . New Orleans, Feb. 19. Thomas Jackson, a Negro, was lynched today at St. Petei, 20 miles above this city, for a series of crimes. This morning ho visited the borne of Alexander Bour geois, the engineer of the drainage machine on Bellepoiut plantation, some distance from the plantation quarters. He told Bourgeois the manager wanted him, and the engineer mounted the tricycle with the Negro. Jackson stabbed tbe engineer in the back and threw the "body into a ditch. He then returned to tbe bouse and butchered Mrs. Bourgeois and her two babies and ransacked the house. Two boys visit ing the family hid in the woods. A fter tbe negro's departure the boys went to St. Peter and gave the alarm, return ing with a mob of several hundred men. The negro was tracked to his home and fully identified by the boys. He was hanged and his body riddled with bullets before the sheriff arrived. Composer Nevin Dead. New Haven. Conn., Feb 19. Eth el bert Nevin, musician and composer, died suddenly here today of heart dis ease. Mr. Nevin came to New Haven about five weeks ago to be associated with professor Parker, of Yale univer sity, in bis muscial work. Ethelbert Neivn was born in Nevinacre; Pa., in 1863. As a copmoser, Mr. Nevin at tained a name hardly second to any musician, and his songs are known throughout the continents. Among tbese are "The Rosary," "Narcissus,'.' "Good Night," "Good Night. Belov ed," and an arrangement of Heins' "The Heiden Roeslein." Mexican Troops Defeated Indians. Mexico City, Feb. 19. The federal troops had another engagement with Maya Indians yesterday, and the troops turned their flank and drove them from all their fortified places. The new Mauser Titles are found to be extremely effective against the enemy. Three Suicides in San Francisco. San Francisco, Feb. 19. Sulfides were epidemic in this city today. Three men suffering from despondency took their lives. A. Lewis, a, shoe maexr in ill health, ended his life trou bles by asphyxiation. Robert Mo Kenna, a painter, quarreled with his wife and swallowed a dose of arsenic A. Moeller, a baker, who grieved over tbe death of a son, who was killed in the terrible football accident last Thanksgiving, took carbolic aoid. Ill A DiTATil I Sixty-Five Miners Are Entombed ' No Hope for Them. - CAUSED BY AN EXPLOSION OF GAS Only Exit Is the Mouth of the Shaft. Which Is Filled With a Huge Volume of Smoke Relief Measures Have. Begun. Vanoouver, B. C, Feb. 18. Sixty five miners are imprisoned in No. lhatt of the Cumberland coal mina nn Vancouver island. The only exit is tne mouth ot the shaft which ia filled With a hnse volume nf flama Th.M Is considered to be no possibility for tne unfortunates to escape. Details of Disaster Meager. : Details of the disaster are meager. The Cumberland mine is near the vil lage of Union, about 60 miles north of the town of Nanaimo. Tbs only telegraphic communication bom Un ion is by a single government wire, and little is known of tbe tragedy in tbe mine except that a terrible explo sion occurred in No. 6 shaft of the Cumberland about 11 o'clook this morning. Following the explosion the shaft caught fire, and the 65 miners who were working half a mile from the entrance were caught in Ja death trap. A relief party from No. 6 shaft made a brave but futile attempt at a rescue. They were headed off by the fire and could not reach the imprisoned men. The attempt at rescue was made through No. 5 shaft, but the flames prevented any development of the per ilous venture. The Cumberland mine is one of the pioperties of the Union Colliery Com pany, situated near Comox and reached from Union bay by the private colliery railway crossing the Trent river on which the memorable bridge disaster occurred a year or two ago. It has been singularly fortunate here tofore in immunity from disaster and was counted an especially safe mine to work in by reason of the character of the formation in which the coal is found there, and the manner in whioh it had been opened up. No. 6 shaft, the scene of the disaster, was bottomed in October, 1898, at a depth of 814 feet. It ia well constructed and tim bered, with a mud wall, the pit bot tom being timbered with 12x18 sawn hulks, built solidly together, 16 feet wide and 12 feet high. The shaft is located close to the railway, and the ventilation of the mine is effected by a 14x5-foot Guibal fan, which, when run to its full capacity, gives 85,000 oubio feet of air circulation per minute. The air enters by the haulage slopes and is divided into . seperate splits, the main split being at the point where No. 2 branches off-the main slope, part of the air going down eaoti elope. Further down each' of these slopes the air is again split, and sent to the work ings east and west of the respective slopes. - A second explosion ooonrred in No. 6 shatt tonight, but it had been ex pected, and all the men had left the workings. There were no casualties. This explosion prevents any further efforts being made to resoue the en tombed miners through No. 5 shaft. Killed by a Tiger. Indianapolis, Ind., Feb. 18. Albert Neilson, aged 15, employed as an ani mal keeper at the Zoological garden, in this city, -..as killed by a Bengal tiger today. He entered tbe tiget's cage and was attacked by the beast. A terrible struggle followed, in which Neilson was torn in a hundred places. Red hot irons were thrust into the blood thirsty animal, but not until seven bullets had been fired into its body did it release" its hold on it vio tim. Neilson was dragged from the cage more dead than alive, and was hurried to the city hospital, 'where he died as he was being carried in. The tiger was not fatally wounded. Neil son had been employed by the Zoo company three years. He was in charge of the lion's cubs, and it is sup. posed opened the tiger's oage by mis take. Generals to Retire Today. Washington, Feb. 18. Generals J. H . Wilson, Fitzhugh Lee and Theo dore Schwan will be retired tomorrow, the last named on bis own applicaion. Colonel A. S. Daggett, Fourteenth in fantry, will be promoted to a brigadier generalship, succeeding Sohwan, and will be retired immediately. May Arrest Without a Warrant Pittsburg, Pa., Feb. 18. In tbe suit i jonn a. Bennett against secret serv ice Agents Flynn and Berriman and Deputy United States Marshal W. S. Blair, who were charged with malic ious trespass assault and battery in connection with the arrest nf t.ha nlain. tiff, Judge W. M. Achin, in the Unit ed States court, handed down an im portant opinion. He makes a prece dent in aeoiumg mat united states marshals or their derjntien nan mat. arrests in emergency cases without warrant. Found Dead on the Desert ' Tuoson, Ariz. Feb. ' 18. George Tfneatley a well-known mining man and two Mexican miners were round dead in their tent, one mile from the mining camp of Schultz, 30 miles from Tuoson. When found the parties had been dead for several days. lndioa tions point to death from charcoal fumes. Some believe that the men were poisoned. Tbe body of one o'. the Mexicans was being consumed by fire when the remains were disoovered. MOSCOW PAPER SUPPRESSED. For the Publication of University Bulletins 320 Students Have Been Arrested. St. Petersburg, Feb. 20 lhe min ister of the interior. M. Sipiaguine, on Saturday ordered the suppression for three months of the Novosti Dnja. a Moaoow newspaper, wbich has violated the prohibition against the publication of university bulletins. A secret cir cular has been issued reminding all the newspapers that the prohibition is now effective. Information has been received here that 320 students have been arrested in Mosoow. nresumablv the whnla as. sembly whioh obstructed the lectures among tne students. Eighteen stu dents were arrested here, but were sub sequently released. Pending a decis ion in their case, however, they were forbidden to re-enter tbe university. Sixteen additional arrests were subse quently made. Tbe forestry institute, near by, held a meeting and declared the institute closed until the sentences aaginst the students should be revoked and military law repealed. The institute of railway engineers, by a vote of 230 to 100, declared for obstruction. The military and medi cal academy students met, with the permission of General Kouroptkin, the minister of war, the latter merely warning them that he could not pre vent the operation of military law if obstructionary tactics were adopted. Of the 800 who were present at the meeting only 150 favored obstruction. LEFT $70,000,000. Huntington's Estate Has Since Increased $10, 000.000 Pays $700,000 Inheritance Tax. New York, Feb. 20. Executors of the estate of Collis P. Huntington, have deposited with the controller a certified oheck for $700,000, to cover the amount of the inheritance tax which will be collected by the state. The deposit indicates the worth of the estate at tbe time of the testator's death to have been approximately $70,000, 000, which has now been increased about one-Beventh, making the present worth $80,000,000. The size of the cheok indicates that the Huntington estate in value will more than double the estimate placed upon it at tbe time of the death of tbe California pioneer. Owing to tbe rise in railroad securities during the last six months, the Huntington estate is now worth almost, if not quite, $10, 000,000 more than it was when tbe will was offered for probate. As the inheritance tax is based upon the value at the time of the death of the testa tor, the estate would now seem to be woith approximately $80,000,000. No accurate idea as to how the Hun-I tington millions are invested has yet been made by the executors. TRIED BY A MOB. Tennessee Negro's Jurors Hanged Him He Confessed, Implicating Others. Dyersburg, Tenn., Feb. 20. An un known man broke into the residence of Dr. Arnold, a prominent physician here, yesterday, and struck Miss EliCa Arnold on tbe bead and side with a hatchet. She fainted without seeing the assailant, who became frightened and fled. Bloodhounds followed the trail from the young lady's room to the honse of a negro named Fred King, where a hatchet was found in a bureau drawr. King and two other negroes were arrested but the latter were re leased. A mob formed and would have lynched King but for the plead ings of Dr. Arnold, who insisted upon having better evidence of guilt. A mob formed today and took King from tbe jail and tried him before a jury selected from the mob. He confessed, implicating several other negroes, and was then hanged. Another negro named Beebe has been captured, charged with complicity in tbe assault, and probab'y will meet the same fate. NEGOTIATIONS BROKEN OFF Danish Government Will Not Sell Us Danish West Indies. London, Feb. 20. "The Danish gov ernment," says the Copenhagen corre spondent of the Daily Mail, "has sud denly broken off all dealings with the United States regardjg the sale of the Danish West Indies. This ia due to a satisfactory offer made by the Danish East Asian Steamship Company to as sist and in the future to administer the islands. The American government has been notified as to. this decision." The Copenhagben correspondent of the Times says: "From a competent source, I learn that tbe Danish West Indies will not be sold during the present parliament ary session. The syndicate will form a new trans-Atlantic steamship com pany and undertake other commercial enterprises in connection with tbe islands, whose excellent ports will be, it ia presumed, invaluable when the Nicaragua canal is finished. 'The negotiations are still uncom pleted, but they will be settled before October, and the negotiations with the United States will then be dropped. Skagway to Dawson. Tacoma, Feb. 20. Advices have been received here that the White Pass & Yukon road have purohased the property of the Canadian Development Company, to take effect April 1. By this extensive acquisition of property the railroad eompany practically ex tends its line from Skag Jvay to Daw eon, r This practically gives the White Pasa Railroad Company tbe control of all the waterways to the interior, aa it also controls tbe Atlin route. , he n nor oo Chaffee Is Not to Join the Ger man Expedition. THE GOVERNMRNT FACES A CRISIS State Department May Try to Dissuade Berlin Authorities From Undertaking This Cam paign Chinese Are to Blame. Washington, Feb. 20. Tbe United StateB government is facing a serious crisis in China, owing to the announce ment of the purpose oi Field Marshal Count von Waldersee to begin anoth er offensive campaign. General Chaf fee has been invited to join in the ex pedition, whioh is to be mobilized on a larger scale tban anything attempted in China since the allied army began the march to Pekin. The general bo informed the war department today, and the officials of the state depart ment have been advised of the situa tion. This German movement is viewed with absolute dismay here, for it is feared that it requires an immediate decision bv the United States govern ment of its whole line of policy toward the Chinese question. General Chaffee will be told that he ia not to partici pate in this campaign. He has been keeping the American forces in Pekin ever since the city was pacified, simply as a legation guard, and the German government is fully aware that tbe United States government purposely deprived the American contingent in China of its offensive military char acter and withdrew it from the control of General von Waldersee in order to hasten peace negotiations and prevent, so far as it could, the continuance of military movements against the Chi nese, which were baneful in their effect upon the peaei movement. So our government, not having ohanged its policy, cannot do otherwise than to cause General Chaffee to refrain from any participation in military move ments so long as the present peaceful conditions continue. But another very serious point under consideration is, not whether Chaffee shall join tbe German movement, but whether it is not the duty of our gov ernment to exeroUe all proper efforts to dissuade the German government from undertaking this campaign. The Chinese government is unfortu nately delaying the peace negotiations in an exasperating fashion, and is not responding in proper spirit to the effort of the United States government. Word has just come from Minister Conger which confirms the press ad vices relative to the Chinese declina tion to accede to the demands of the ministers in the matter of capital pun ishment of the leaders implicated in the Boxer movement. Mr. Conger's message gave it to be understood that the Chinese government had agreed to exile Prince Tuan and Lin without capital sentences; to recommend sui cide to Prince Cnwang; death for Yu Hsien and Chao Chi Chao; imprison ment and degradation from office for Chi Hani and Hsu Cheng Yu. It is said an edict has already been issued to execute these sentences. . A visit from the Japanese minister to the state department served to give color to tbe story that our government is casting about to ascertain how far tbe other powers party to the Chinese question would indorse this proposed campaign. It is impossible to secure exact information on the subject. Tbe whole subject, it is said, is to come be-v fore the cabinet meeting tomorrow, when the course to be pursued by the United States government will be de termined. It is said unequivocally by competent authority that the American military foices under no circumstances will .participate with the Germans in tbe proposed expedition, and, although it cannot be learned that General Chaffee has yet reoeived instructions to that effect, he undoubtedly will have threm wry shortly. Tbe United States gov ernment stands steadfastly by the prin ciples laid down in Seoretary Hay'a letter ot July 3 last. Collision at Sea. liondon, Feb. 20. Tbe Russian bark Hoppet, Captain Lindblom, wbich sailed from Hull February 14 for Sa pelo, has been towed into Grimsby with bows seriously damage! by col lision on the night of February 15, with the steamer Homer, from Libau. The Homer disappeared after the col lision, and is believed to have found ered, with the loss of 16 lives. Mexican Mine Flooded. Phoenix, Ariz., Feb. 20. Particu lars have been received here of the flooding of the Santa Rita mine, in the Bacatate mountains, 200 miles south of -Hermosillo. Four miners were drowned and their bodies have been recovered. Tbe flood was caused by the opening of a vein by a blast. The main tunnel was flooded, and while . miners in the upper end escaped, the workers in the lower end were caged like rata in a trap. Miners outside made desperate efforts to rescue their fellows, but without avail. Strikers Riot in France. Chalons Sur Soane, Franoe, Feb. 20. Striking metal workers marohed ' through the town today, compelling other factories to close, forcing open the doors and bringing out workmen, until the strikers numbered about 800. r men. . The gendarmes and troops were '' summoned and the rioters were die 1 persed with fixed bayonets, after the reading of the usual proclamation. . Fifty arrests wree made. Nobody was seriously injured.