BALLINGER CENTER
OF FIERCE BATTLE
Ex-Governor Pardee Is Leader of At
tack on Secretary of Interior.
-Californian Roundly Scores Him for
Giving Away Power Sites Makes
Impassioned Plea for Roosevelt
Policies Ex-Senator Turner De
fends Action of Secretary.
Spokane, Aug. 12. With the Btage
carefully Bet, the actors prepared in
their lines and an ovewhelming audi
ence in its place, the Ballinger battle
royal burst upon the National Irriga
tion congress yesterday afternoon.
The man who, in the language of
an enthusiastic Californian, "ripped
things wide open" first was Dr. George
C. Pardee, ex-governor of California.
Pardee attacked Richard A. Ballin
ger, secretary of the interior, with a
fierceness only exceeded by that of
George Turner, ex-senator of Washing
ton, who took up the cudgels in defense
of Secretary Ballinger. Tnese two
became the principal actors in the lit
tle drama which was enacted after the
appearance of the secretary.
Dr. Pardee told of the activities of
ex-Secretry Garfield, who, under the in
structions of President Roosevelt,with
drew from public entry many tracts of
land under the beilef that these lands
should be held for the people. Now, he
said, Secretary Ballinger has again put
up for entry these lands, and each tract
has in its boundary a water-power site.
"I do not oppose private enterprise
in the development of these sites,"
said Dr. Pardee, "but I do oppose giv
ing away immense r'ghts to private
corporat o is which in a few years will
hold the same political control over
cities and states that railways now hold
as a result of the magnificent gifts
made them when they were asking for
help to construct. We do know the
corruption which has resulted from
railway control. Shall we now hand
cut to a new form of corporate power
an entirely new form of power over our
institutions?"
"The thing to do," said the former
California governor, "is to withdraw
the water-power sites, as did Roose
velt, and hold them for the people.
Dr. Pardee, when seen later, fur
nished technical descriptions of dam
sites which he said proved conclusively
that dam sites which have been taken
up under Secretary Ballinger could not
have been taken up under Garfield.
LAND OFFICE BUSY."
Lands in Flathead Reservation to Be
Allotted to Fortunate.
Spokane, Aug. 12. The drawing for
government lands in the Flathead res
ovation will be held at Coeur 'dAlene
today, beginning at 10 o'clock in the
morning and lasting for three days.
A total of 6,000 names will constitute
the list of winning homeseekers and
these names will be .drawn at the rate
-of 2,000 a day until Sunday. The total
registration in the Flathead reserva
tion was 80,893.
Promptly at 10 o'clock the 19 cans
containing the applications will be
opened in full view of the public and
the letters will be raked over by gov
ernment officials as in the Coeur
d'Alene drawing.
After the letters are properly mixed,
Mips Christina Donlan will step into
the arena and draw the first number.
After the first number has been drawn
Miss Donlan will be assisted in choos
ing the numbers by Miss Helen Ham
ilton and Miss Margaret Post. The
same formula of registering the win
ners and informing them will be used
as in the drawing for the Coeur
i"Alene reservation lands.
Twenty government employes are
busily engaged in arranging the names
of applicants for Coeur d'Alene lands
whose names did not appear on the
winning list. After the names have
been placed in alphabetical order em
ployes will check the names of the win
ners, with the total number registered,
and if it ia found any of the winners
registered twice their names will be
thrown out and the succeeding num
bers moved up.
Celebrate St. Louis Centennial.
St. Louis, Aug. 12. Preparations
are rapidly progressing for the coming
centennial of this city, and the event is
arousing great interest throughout the
country, especially in the Middle West.
The program for the centennial cele
bration, which will be held here during
the week from October 3 to 9 of this
year, to commemorate the one hun
dredth anniversary of the incorporation
of St. Louis, has just been issued.
Balloon, airship and aeroplane races,
under the auspices of the Aero club of
St. Louis will be held.
No Debts and No Taxation.
Plains, Mont., Aug. 12. Out of debt
and with no taxation for the fiscal year
ending April 30, 1910, is the record of
the loral municipal organisation. At
the last meeting of the council a reso
lution was passed and approved by the
mayor providing that no tax be levied
for this year, and the clerk was in
structed to so notify the county treas
urer. This action was taken after as
certaining that the revenue from other
sources than taxes would be ample.
Still No Trace of Boat.
Simonstown, Cape Colony, Aug. 12.
The British cruiser Fort returned
here today after an unsuccessful search
for the steamer Waratah, during which
a distance of 1,320 miles was traveled.
BRiTAIN LOSES GRIP.
Will Accent American Domination to
Save Empire.
Chautauqua, N. Y., Aug. 16. The
British empire io momentary danger of
destruction at the hands of Germany
and ready, merely for the asking,
to
accept the dominance of the United
States and see the empire's real seat
of authority transferred to Washington
is, according to Colonel S. S. McClurc,
editor of McClure's Magazine, the sit
uation which is now confronting the
country's statesmen.
Colonel McClure called the parting
of America from England in 1776
disastrous mistake, and read a state
ment from Lord Roseberry in which
that statesman predicts that, if Eng
land and America had not separated at
the time of the Revolution, the seat of
the great British empire would have
already been transferred from the Brit
ish Isles to what is now the United
States and those islands would have
simply been the sacred historic shrine
of the great world-empire of the Eng
lish-speaking people.
"The United States should secure
the dominance of the British empire,'
continued Mr. McClure, "for the ask
ing The present situation of England
and Germany is that of two farmers
living side by side, one of whom is
first rate prizeftehter. has trained his
DeoDle to be prizefighters and says to
his neighbor, who has been peaceably
engaged in cultivating his estate
want some of vour property and I'm
going to have it.' The possible de
struction of the British empire, which
thiB means, is the most terrible prob
lem before us today."
ROBBERY AS TRADE.
Santa Clara Gang Proposed to Loot
Many Banks.
Santa Clara Cal., Aug. 16. Still
concerning their identity, but talking
freely of the daring $7,000 robbery in
which thev were the principal actors
Friday, the two boys captured at Sun
nvvale by Sheriff Langford were
brought here for arraignment on
charge of robbery.
To Sheriff Langford, who captured
them, the young men made a startling
confession. Joe Willetts, who appears
to be leader of the gang, said he and
his companion had planned a series of
bank robberies that would have created
a reign of terror in financial circles
So far had their plans matured, that
on Thursday, with a hired automobile
awaiting their return, they entered the
First National bank, in the heart of
Oakland, and calmly weighed the
chance of makine their escape with a
fortune.
"This Santa Clara robbery was only
an experiment," said the youthful rob
ber, after making this revelation.
"We intended, if it was successful, to
go after a bigger and richer institution
next time and to clean up big money
before we were through.
"We purchased a machine in Oak
land and had it remain just around the
corner, as we did in B'riday's job. Carr
and I went to the First National bank
about 12 o'clock and looked the place
over. We were well armed, and if
there had not been so many clerks and
bo many people passing outside, we
would have held up the cashiers and
tellers and tried to escape with all the
money in sight."
TWO TRAINS CRASH.
Over 40 Hurt in Wreck on Denver &
Rio Grande Road.
Colorado Springs. Ten persons are
dead and others expected to die, be
tween 40 and 50 are injured, three en
gines are in the- ditch, two baggage
cars, including the contents, are
smashed, and several passenger coach
es are badly damaged as the result of
a headon collision between east bound
passenger No. 8 and west bound pas
senger No. 1 on the Denver & Rio
Grande railroad, near Husted, 13 miles
north of this city at 10 :25 Saturday
morning. The wreck was due either
to a misunderstanding of orders by the
driver of the first engine of the north
bound train, or to his having mistaken
a switch engine standing on the siding
at Husted for the train he was to pass
at that point and which he later
crashed into.
Lecture to Pay Debt.
London, Aue. 16. Lieutenant Ernest
II. Shackleton, the Antarctic explorer,
will lecture in the United States and
Canada, commencing the tour in
March. 1910. He will receive a re
cord fee, but the money will not go
into his pocket, but will be used to
pay off debts amounting to $70,000
contracted during his record breaking
expedition. The Daily Express re
proaches the British government for
its ingratitude in declining to contrib
ute to the cost of Lieutenant Shackle
ton's expedition.
Smallpox in Ch'le.
Santiago, Chile, Aug. 16. There
are 348 smallpox patients in the laza
retto. The authorities have dictated
severe measures to avoid carrying in
fected persons in public coaches, and
have also prohibited the exposure of
smallpox corpses in churches for fune
ral services and their accompaniment
to the crematories. The land inspec
tion board has discovered an illegal
disposition of lands to a Japanese col
ony and has forbidden the sale.
Earthquake in Japan.
Tokio, Aug. 16. A disastrous earth
quake shook the Japanese provinces of
Nagoa Saturday and it is feared the
list of casualties will be heavy. In the
province of Omi, 400 houses were raz
ed. No particulars regarding the num
ber killed are available, as all commu
nication has been cut off.
HAPPENINGS GATHERED IN AND
AROUND WASHINGTON. D. C.
WU MUST GO.
Picturesque Chinese Figure in Wash
ington Is Recalled.
Washington, Aug. 14. For the sec
ond time in his diplomatic career Dr,
Wu Ting Fang, the Chinese minister to
the United States, has been recalled
from the Washington mission, and has
been directed to proceed home, where
it is expected he will be assigned
other work.
to
Dr. Wu's successor will be Chang
Yin, Tang, known as a progressive'
in Chinese political affairs. He has
seen diplomatic service in India, Eng
land, Thibet and the United States.
Dr. Wu's retirement from Washing
ton removed a picturesque figure from
the capital. Probably no diplomat
better known tban he, tor he is a pop
ular talker and his pungent wit and
bright sallies have been heard and read
with interest at many places.
During the Boxer troubles, Minister
Wu, in connection with Yuan Shai Kai,
then TaoTai of Shanghai, was success
ful in getting through a message to the
American minister, Mr. Conger, who.
with his colleagues, was in the legation
compound in Pekin, and whose fate
was a matter of great concern to the
state department.
An answer from Mr. Conger demon
strated that he had received the mes
sage sent by the state department and
that all was well with the legation offi
cials. It is pointed out as a peculiar
coincidence that Wu should be recalled
at this time, soon after the downfall of
Yuan Shai Kai, his friend.-
Wu's sympathies were with the
United States during the Boxer
troubles, and this led to his recall.
Only an intimation from this govern
ment that his beheading would be
offensive to the United States, it is
believed, prevented his summary death
at the hands of the Chinese authorities,
The new minister, Chang Yin Tang,
from April, 1898, to February, 1899,
was consul-general at San Francsco and
some years ago was attached to the
Chinese legation in Washington for
short time.
OFFICER PLAYS TORPEDO.
Escapes
From Submarine,
Whitehead Tube.
Through
Washington, Aug. 10. The navy de
partment has recevied word of a won
derful performance of Midshipman
Kenneth Whiting, in command of the
submarine Porpoise, now in Manila.
For the purpose of demonstrating the
possibility of an escape, from a sub
marine through a torpedo tube, Mid
shipman Whiting, who is an expert
swimmer, had his vessel lowered to the
bottom of the bay near Cavite. Far
under the . water, probably 60 or 70
feet, Whiting crawled into the torpedo
tube. The end of the tube in the boat
was closed behind him. The tube in a
submarine is closed or opened on the
outside by a port, which is moved by
powerul machinery. When under the
water there is a great in-rush of wa'er,
filling the tube as the torpedo flies out
Whiting, within the tube, got a hold
on the port, ine orncers inside tne
vessel turned on the power and the
port was swung out. Whiting went
with it, cleared himself of the torpedo
tube, and then let sro. flying upward to
the surface of the water. He was un
injured by his experience.
Crops Show Decrease.
Washington, Aug. 11. An indicated
winter wheat total yield of 532,920,
000 bushels, as compared with $437,
908, bushels, finally estimated last
year; an average of winter wheat of
90.3 against 90.1 a yiar ago; corn,
84.4, against 82.5; spring wheat, sJ1.6,
against 80.7, and oats, 85.5, against
76.8.
This summarizes today's crop report
of the department of argriculture.
The comparative figures for corn in
clude 89.3 last month and 82.6 as
the average of August 1 for the last
0 years. The preliminary returns for
the winter wheat yield indicate about
5.5 bushels per acre, compared with
4.4, as finally estimated last year.
The condition of spring wheat is com
pared with 92.7 last month and 81.1,
the 10-year average on August 1.
For comparison the oat crop averaged
88.3 last month and 83.1 for 10 years
on August 1.
The proportion of last year's oat crop
in the farmer's hands on August 1 was
about 3.3 per cent, or 26,232,000 bush
els. Plan Gompers Welcome.
Washington, Aug. 12. In honor of
the return in October of Samuel Gom
pers, who has been in Europe studying
continental labor conditions, all the la
bor organizations of the Eastern states
will unite in a monster parade in this
city, if the plans adopted by the Wash
ington Central Labor union at a meet
ing last night are carried out. October
15 is the day fixed for the celebration.
The day will culminate with a meeting
in Convention hall.
Smokers Are Protected.
Washington, Aug. 10. Purchasers
of Philippine tobacco hereafter will
have a government guarantee as to its
quality and cleanliness, as a result of
an arrangement made by the bereau of
insular affairs, with the Philippine
government. Every package imported
into the United States will be stamped
with a certificate indicating the qual
ity of the material used and the work
manship. The arrangement was made
to insure strict compliance with the
new Philippine tariff law.
REPORT IS DENIED.
Montana Power Sites Were Not Ex
tended Under Ballinger.
Washington, Aug. 14. "At no time
during the administration of Secretary
Ballinger have any power sites been
filed on in Montana," said Acting As
sistant Commissioner Schwartz of the
general land office, today.
The statement was issued as a denial
of the report that in the Bozeman,
Mont., land district, one Jermiah Col
lins, on June 11, filed on 15,868 acres
of land, valuable for power sites, in
the interest of large power companies.
The statement says that neither Col
lins nor the Collins Land company had
made any such filing at Bozeman or
elsewhere.
"The only water power site on the
watersheds of the Missouri river not
now under the control of the govern
ment under Secretary Ballinger's orders
of suspension, are sites which have
been in private ownership for several
years," says Mr. Schwartz, "and two
additional sites which are improved and
developed to run the streetcar system
and lighting of Helena and Butte and
the mines in Butte.
"These two sites are in the posses
sion of the Helena rower & Light
company and the Capital Improvement
company, one having a dam 85 feet
high and the other 120 feet high, across
the Missouri river.
"As to the application on June 11,
of President Ramsey, of the Riverside
Land & Stock company, for 100 and
68-hundredths acres, it was rejected by
the local land office and rejection sus
tained in this office."
EAST WILL BENEFIT.
Lands Across the Sea to Gain by De
velopment in This Country.
Washington, Aug. 13. Predicting
that the Far East will be especially
benefitted by the continual steady de
velopment of the resources of this
country. Baron Takahira, Japanese am
bassador, left Washington this after
noon for Seattle, where he will Bail for
Japan. The baron returns at the direc
tion of his government and has an
nounced his expectation of returning
to Washington in the fall. He will as
sist in work preliminary to revising
the Japanese treaties with the powers
of the world, which become operative
next year.
"I'm going to Japan on leave of ab
sence, the ambassador said, 1 do not
feel that I am called upon to say any
thing particular in regard to the rela
tions between America and Japan. For
two or three months after my arrival
I had to see almost daily publications
of some kind of unpleasant stories
about us, which I thought from the
outset fabrications of misinformed
persons which would disappear in due
time, as they did. Ever since then
everything has been of a right direc
tion and I have no doubt will continue
so forever."
Hold Water Power Sites.
Washington, Aug. 13. Secretary
Ballinger will report to congress in
December numerous withdrawals of
temporary water-power sites in West
ern states in order that proper legisla
tion may be enacted by congress to
preserve power sites to the government
and to prevent monopolies.
Acting Secretary Wilson today with
drew for temporary power sites 6,690
acres in Montana and Utah. In Mon
tana the following withdrawals were
made :
Along the Yellowstone river, 1,222
acres; along the Hell Gate river, 4,268
acres, and along the Judith river, 1,160
acres; in Utah, along Ashley creek,
240 acres.
Sues for Half Brown's Cash.
Washington, Aug. 11. The story ot
the killing of ex-Senator Arthur Brown,
of Utah, who was shot to death in the
Raleigh hotel here, two years ago, by
Mrs. Annie Bradley, will soon be re
peated in the Salt Lake City courts,
when Mrs. Bradley sues for half of the
estate of $125,000 left by Brown. Mrs.
Bradley will base her claim on the
proof she advanced at tne murder trial,
when she showed that her two children
are sons of Brown.
Water Fight Is Acute.
Washington, Aug. 12.--Interest is
acute here in the impending struggle
between Secretary Ballinger and For
ester Pinchot. and predictions are
freely made that one or the other will
be obliged to separate himself from the
government service. At the forestry
bureau today Pinrhot adherents ex
pressed the opinion that Mr. Ballin
ger's dismissal would come as soon as
it became generally known that he
has, as they believe, played into the
hands of the water-power trust.
Cost of Special Sess'on.
Washington, Aug. 12. The tariff
bill passed by congress last week may
have marked down some of the sched
ules, but at a conservative estimate this
enactment cost the United States treas
ury $4,000,000. The bill is silent as to
tne exact disposition of the money.
The pages of the senate will get $4,800
for the extra session and pages of the
house $1,500.
Wheat of State Ranks Hieh.
Washington, Aug. 12. In the gov
ernment crop report issued today the
figures by states include the following:
Washington winter wheat, preliminary
returns, production 16,951,000 bushels,
and quality 98 per cent. Spring wheat,
condition August 1, 1909, 90, and 10
year average, 85.
FRIENDS RESENT ATTACK.
Secretary of Interior Defended at
Ir-
rigation Congress.
Spokane, Aug. 13. John L. Wilson,
ex-United States senator from Wash
ington, and John Farson, millionaire
banker of Chicago, clubman and a so
ciety leader, broke into the limelight
before the National Irrigation congress
yesterday in defense of Richard A.
Ballinger, secretary of the Interior,
and succeeded in keeping the Ballin-
ger-Pinchot "feud," eo-called, in the
public eye.
The forepart of yesterday's session
did not offer, seemingly, the proper
opening for a continuation of the
trouble until Dr. Pardee, ex-governor
of California, rose to question a state
ment made by a speaker. Dr. Pardee
warmed to his subject to such an ex
tent that he soon brought in his charges
against the secretary of the interior
and accused that official again of per
mitting the opening for entry of valu
able water-power lands.
The afternoon session was hardly
under way when W. W. Farrell, of
Farrell, Idaho, took the floor and dur
ing the time allowed for discussion at
tacked severely the Washington Power
company, the concern which supplies
power to the city of Spokane. At the
expiration of his five-minute time al
lowance there were cries from all parts
of the building for Mr. Farrell to "go
on."
A Vrte was taken and finally the
Idaho man was allowed to proceed.
Ex-Senator Wilson was seemingly in
less of a bellicose mood. He started
reading from a typewritten manuscript,
but it became evident as he proceeded
that he had something on his mind
aside from his typewritten paper. Sud
denly he flung aside the notes on irri
gation, peaceful homes and deserts
that blossom as the rose.
"There may be those that do wrong
in this land," he shouted. "There may
be water power companies that disobey
the law. But I want to say here that
I stand for Richard A. Ballinger and I
shall hear no man say he is dishonest."
Dr. A. C. True, director of the office
of experiment stations, spoke on the
scope and purpose of the national irri
gation investigations.
Ex-Governor F. R. Gooding, of Idaho,
tola of the work done in his state under
the Carey act. He said that in five
years the lands under ditch in the
Twin Falls projects has come to a point
where the best fruit crops in the West
ern states are produced through irri
gation. Paul C. Clagstone, speaker of the
Idaho house of representatives, made
a plea for aid from the congress in ob
taining drainage tor the lands in
Northern Idaho, not only to aid in re
clan iig the land but to fight the mal
arial mosquito pest in that region.
R. H. Thompson, city engineer
Seattle, read a technical paper
pumping for irrigation.
The only contest of consequence
of
on
at
present seems to be that over the adop
tion of the resolution asking for fed
eral bond issue of $5,000,000,000 to be
used in aid of irrigation. It is under
stood that the Washington delegation
will urge the adoption of th;s resolu
tion. INIIANA MAN FIRST.
Choice Flathead, Montana, Indian
Land Given Away.
Spokane, Aug. 13. Two thousand
names were drawn yesterday for the
Flathead Indian reservation, and Jo
seph Furay, of Warsaw, Ind., was the
winner of the lucky No. 1. A crowd
of 500 persons assembled to hear the
names of the winners and throughout
the day there was about the same num
ber around the drawing stand, many
coming and going.
The weather was cool and the sky
overcast at the beginning, but it soon
became extremely hot.
The first envelope was picked up by
little Miss Donlan at 10:30 and the an
nouncement of the winner was greeted
with a cheer.
Thereafter the drawing became per
functory. A striking oath was found
in the application of Miranda Dickey
of Pullman, Wash., who received an
excellent claim, and who swore that
she was 53 years old, weighed just 20
pounds, and put Goliath to shame by
measuring 53 feet, 125 inches in
height. Judge Witten allowed it.
Suit to Recover Lands.
Denver, Aug. 12. The Calumet
Fuel company and 13 individuals are
named as defendants in a suit filed in
the federal court today by United
States District Attorney Ward to re
cover SS0 acres of land, valued at over
half a million dollars, alleged to have
been secured through dummy entrymen.
The land is located in the Pueblo, Colo.,
land office district. One of those named
as a defendant is George W Kramer,
who has since died, vice-president of
the Denver fc Rio Grande railroad, and
president Globe Express company.
Russ'a Growing Anxious.
St. Petersburg, Aug. 13. Apprehen
sion has been aroused in political cir
cles here by the energy displayed by
the Japanese in pushing the construc
tion of the Autung-Mukden railroad,
the stragetic importance of which is
fully realized in St. Petersburg. Even
a greater degree of disquietude has
been caused by the Japanese plans for
a naval base at the mouth of the Turner
river. This is considered verging on an
infraction of the Portsmouth treaty.
Russian Robbers Foiled.
Fiume, Hungary, Aug. 13. The
General Credit bank of this city was
raided today by three Russians, who
shot down the cashier and rifled the
safe of $6,000. The men then fled. A
policeman succeeding in knocking down
the man who was carrying the loot but
the other two escaped.
OREGON MAN GETS
MRST LAND PRIZE
Isadore Selig, of Myrtle Creek, Lucky
at Coeur d'Alene Lottery.
Little Girls Are Kept Busy for Hours
Drawing Winning Numbers Be
neath Scorching Sun Double Set
of Numbers Are Drawn to Guard
Against Accident.
Spokane, Aug. 10. When little
Helen Hamilton, niece of Mayor Boyd,
of Coeur d'Alene, walked into a pile of
105,000 yellow envelopes containing
applications for land of the Coeur
d'Alene Indian reservation yesterday
morning, shortly after 10 o'clock, the
great land drawing on the three tracts
of government land the Flathead, the
Coeur d Alene and the Spokane Indian
reservations was on.
Several hundred people stood around
the platform, on which Judge James
W. Witten, of Washington, D. C,
formally opened the drawing on one of
the last of the big tracts of Uncle
Sam's public domain. Unlike the rush
in squatter days, the modern method
of distributing land moved along with
the precision of clockwork.
When Miss Hamilton, daintily dressed ,
in white, bad plucked the hrst lucky
envelope from the mass and handed it
to Judge Witten and the name of Isa
dore Selig, of Myrtle Creek, Or., had
been read aloud, the gathering crowds
began to evidence increased interest
and quivering excitement.
A faint cheer arose and followed in
rapid order as Miss Hamilton, aided
by Miss Christine Donlan and Miss
Harriet Post, plucked the other lucky
envelopes from the pile. Men and
women, now anxious to hear the ver
dicts in the first 20 envelopes, crowded
up to the platform where newspaper
men and government clerks grabbed
at the bits of news-bearing names and
started them throughout the land by
special wires run to the drawing stand.
The who affair is a perfect deline
ation of the large scale on which Uncle
Sam conducts his official business. The
drawing for the first day closed at 4
o'clock. The mark of 1500 set by
Judge Witten as the labor for the
first day, was reached and the remain
ing 1500 will be drawn today. There
are but about half that many claims to
be given away, but the extra 1500 are
drawn to fill in where winners fail to
file by April 1.
IRRIGATION CONGRESS OPEN.
Large Number Gathers at Spokane to
Discuss Important Affairs.
Spokane, Aug. 10. The congress
opened with the "Irigation Ode," sung
by the Spokane chorus of 250 voices.
The address of welcome to the state
was delivered by Governor Hay, of
Washington.
On behalf of the city Mayor N. S.
Pratt spoke. He caused tha suggestion
of a sensation by charging private cap
ital with interfering with government
reclamation projects.
The response on behalf of the con
gress was made by George E. Barstow,
president of the congress.
It is understood that a number of
state delegations have declined to com
mit themselves in the matter of indors
ing a candidate for president. This
is true in the case of President Bar-
stow, who, although an announced can
didate, ha3 not been urged strongly for
a second term because of the feeling
that the honor should be "passed
around." Other candidates for the
president of the congress developed
during the day in the persons of ex
Governor Gooding, of Idaho; ex-Governor
Pardee, of California, and Con
gressman Mondell, of Wyoming.
The question of a next meeting place
has narrowed down to a fight between
San Francisco and Pueblo, Colo., with
Denver pledged to aid the latter.
The new constitution privilege, the
busniess-like basis so much desired by
the congress, was adopted without dis
sent. Agreement Seems Probable.
Stockholm, Aug. 10. No newspapers
were published in Stockholm today, the
printers having joined the general
strike yesterday. It is believed this
new phase of the situation will result
in arbitration being opened. Now that
the people have no way of disseminat
ing information regarding the situa
tion it is not believed the condition of
affairs can be tolerated long. There
are many indications that the strike is
near an end and it appears probable
that the men and the employers will
soon reach an agreement.
Six Die in Fire.
Chicago, Aug' 10. Fire which
swept away 20 residences in South
Chicago this morning burned at least
six persons to death. All the occupants
were asleep and the fire spread with
great rapidity. In the great confusion
it is feared several children were
burned to death in their beds. A ma
jority of the victims are Poles, who
lived in small tenements, closely
crowded together, with scant chance
for escape.
Wellman May Soon Fly.
Tromsoe. Norway, Aug. 10. Advices
received here from Spitzenbergen.
where the Walter Wellman polar ex
pedition is being prepared for an at
tempt to reach the north pole, say the
repairs to the balloon shed which was
badly damaged by a storm last June,
have been completed and a gaa appar
atus has been installed.