-SECOND BLIZZARD
STRIKES CHICAGO
Work of Cleaning Away Previous
Snow All Undone.
Thousands of Curt of Coal in Term
inal Yards, But Cannot Be De
livered to Consumers Reserve
Supply of Fuel Almost Gone Sit
uation Is Almost Desperate.
Chicago, Doc, 30. Slowly and pain
fully emerging from two previous
.heavy enow storms, followed by ex
tremoly cold weather and intermittent
, -snow for two weeks, Chicago and con
tiguous territory tonight was swept by
.another fierce blizzard, which nullifies
all the work of clearing away the de
bris of the earlier storms and leaves
the transportation eompanies aghast at
the task facing them.
With 9000 cars of coal at its doors, on
-sidings and terminal tracks, Chicago is
on the verge of a fuel famine. Bail
roads and dealers admit tonight the
condition is alarming.
The city already has consumed 60 per
cent of its reserve fuel, and by the
most rigid economy will be cold within
;flve days unless the situation is relieved.
The railroads had hoped, with good
-weather, to get in some of the coal, but
tonight's storm means that they will be
Rinable to move a pound for two or
three days at the best. The snow to
aiight is driven by a high wind, which
means heavy drifting and increased
trouble for the railroads.
The storm blockade is felt seriously
in the grain and provision trade. This
was made apparent today when wheat
that was good enough for December do
livery sold on track here at three cents
junder the December price. The buyers
were unwilling to take chances on get
ting the wheat into elevators and avail
able for delivery before the close of
"business next Friday. This was for
grain actually within the city limits.
It was asserted on the Board of
Trade that one of the western roads
leading out of Chicago has more' than
8000 loaded cars of grain on its various
.sidetracks, which it is totally unable to
move in either direction. The condition
applies to other roads, perhaps, in a
lesser degree. ,
ENUMERATORS' TEST EASY.
Census Director Durand Sets February
5 as the Date.
Washington, Dee. 30. Any person of
good judgment, who has received an
ordinary common school education, can
readily and easily pass the test to be
given applicants for census enumerat
ors' places on Saturday, February 5,
the date set by United States Census
Director Durand, according to an an
nouncement from the census bureau to
lay. This will be a comforting assur
ance to the several hundred thousand
persons who are believed to bo con
templating application for the places.
It was emphatically stated at the
bureau that the test will be an eminent
ly reasonable and practical one, similar
to that applied to applicants at the
twelfth census. It will consist of fin
ing out a sample schedule of population
from a description in narrative form of
typical familitft; and, in tho case of
enumerators whose work will be in the
rural districts, they will be called on
to fill out an additional sample schedule
of agriculture, from information fur
nished by the census bureau.
All persons, whether women or men,
who desire to become census enumerat
ors, must be- citizens of the United
States, residents of the supervisor's dis
trict for which they wish to be appoint
ed; must bo not less thnn 18 nor moro
than 70 years of age; must be physically
jible to do the work; must be trust
worthy, honest, and of good habits;
must have at least an ordinary educa
i tion, and must be nblo to write plainly
and with reasonable rapidity.
Those who can comply with these re
quirements are invited to put in their
applications, as there will be at least
5S,000 enumerators' places to be filled
ly the middle of March in preparation
for the enumeration beginning April 15.
Application forms, with full instruc
tions as to filling in, and complete in-
formation concerning the test and the
method of appointment can be secured
by writing to the supervisor of census
for tho supervisor's district in which
the applicant lives. All applications,
properly filled in, must be filed with the
supervisors not later than January 25,
as any received after that date cannot
te considered.
Davenport Is Sick Man.
San Diego, Doe. 30. Homer Daven
port, noted cartoonist, is suffering from
a serious nervous collapse, ne came
here last week in the hopes of building
up his shattered nervous system. He
lias not been feeling well for some time,
and felt the pressing need of change of
scene and climate. He accepted the
invitation to visit the home of Mr. and
Mrs. A. O. Spalding, at Point Loma,
where he is now under the care of a
physician, by whose advice no visitors
are received, arid all correspondence is
left untouched.
Belgium Republic Due7
Brussels, Dec. 30. Socialists in the
chamber of deputies today opposed the
civil list of the king, which amounts to
$600,000, and reaffirmed their allegiance
to a republic. M. Rover declared that
the royal chateaus had been turned into
sanitariums. The appropriations, how
ever, were adopted by a vote of 100 to
29. The king's civil list is the same
pa flint ernrted to Leopold, the new
sovereign declining the Catholic party's
suggestion of an increase.
Guaranty Bank Test Due.
Lincoln, Neb., Dec. 30. Governor
Haskell, of Oklahoma, today appealed to
Governor Shallenberger, of Nebraska, to
join Oklahoma and Kansas in a legal
test of the guaranty of deposits acts
of the three states.
SAYS KNOX IS TO BLAME.
Zelaya Says Secretary Has Been Sys
tematlcally Misinformed.
Mexico City. Doc. 31. "Mr. Knox
is not my judge. I am answerable only
to my government."
Jose-Santos Zelaya, who arrived this
morning from Salina Cruz, thus replied
to a question tonight as to what atti
tude ho would assume should Secretary
Knox seek to extradite him from this
country. Zelaya refused to discuss such
a probability, but strongly intimated
that the secretary of state would not
have the right to request his presence
in the United States.
The former dictator's baggage in
cluded two valises bulging with Ameri
can gold, and a third filled with paper
money.
"I have no feeling against the Ameri
can people at large, nor the govern
ment," he said. "Secretary Knox has
been systematically misinformed, and
public opinion in the United States has
been prepared against me, but the real
facts must become known in time, and
it is to time I trust for my vindication.
"My relations with the preceding
American government were exceedingly
friendly. The situation contains many
unfortunate conditions. Secretary Boot
had the complete confidence of Central
America, and his policies were drawing
the people closer together politically
and commercially. 1 am afraid the at
titude of Secretary Knox is undoing all
that work throughout Latin America.."
Vnlfivn aiiM Amprican marines -en
gaged in several recent battles in Nic
aragua, and tnat or mem were
killed, lie said:
"Do you know that there were 400
Americans fighting with the insurgents
at Ramaf Do you know at the battle
of Colorado Junction, on November 1,
the bodies of 20 American marines were
picked up by our forces, all dead, and
all from American gunboats anchored
in the river to protect American inter
ests! The official explanation given me
was that these men were deserters."
WIRELESS PLANS STOLEN.
Great Britain Mourns Loss of Years of
Work and Secrecy.
London, Dec. 30. The wholesale
theft of wireless plans, models and
sketches which, in the hands of an ex
pert would reveal all the workings and
innermost secrets of the wireless serv
ice of the British navy, is charged
against Eichard Knowlden, who was
placed on trial at Portsmouth today.
Knowlden is a draughtsman attached
to the torpedo schoolship Vernon. In
bis room were found no less than 80
plans for wireless improvements and
coding books of the most confidential
character.
The authorities attach the greatest
importance to the arrest, for they con
tend if the documents abstracted from
the Vernon had reached foreign govern
ments all the labor of recent years
given to the perfecting of a wireless
system for the British uavy would have
been rendered practically fruitless.
Valuable Ore Find Made.
Denver, Dec. 31. According to an
assay made today by Herman Fleck,
professor of chemistry of the Colorado
school of mines, the largest known body
of pitchblende in tho world has been
discovered in a mine at Central City,
Colo.
The discovery was made December 21,
and the assay made by Professor Fleck
shows, it is asserted, that the ore runs
almost treble the highest percentage of
all uranium ores ever discovered.
It is said the strike was made by the
regular force of men engaged in taking
out gold ore, and the assay, it is
claimed, ran 85 per cent pure, whereas
the previous best record was 30 per
cent pure.
The mine is owned by Bishop Matz,
of Denver, and is leased to Philadel
phia capitalists.
Offer Taken Back Again.
St. Taul, Dec. 31. The railroads to
day withdrew their offer to abide by
the Chicago conference and re-employ
striking Rwitchmen as soon as they have
places. The embargo on wheat ship
ments in some small towns of the state
by the Great Northern road was re
moved. Railroad officials s:iy that the
strike is over so far as they are con
cerned. It was reported tonight that
the old switchmen will go "back to work
on the Great Northern at Butte tomor
row. The Northern Fae.ific says that
conditions on that road are satisfactory
at Butte.
Submarine Saves Lives.
Toulon, Dec. 31. The submarine
Cigogne performed a remarkable life
saving feat in a recent storm. The
boat was practicing divifig in the open
sea when the commander saw a fishing
boat suddenly sink. Tho submarine im
mediately dived under the fishing craft,
of which the masthead alone was above
water. The valves were operated quick
ly, and the Cigogne rose to the surface,
lifting the boat and holding it above
water long enough to take off the crew.
Dickinson at San Juan.
San Juan, P. R., Dec. 1 . J. M. Dick
inson, American secretary of war, ar
rived today on tho converted yacht
Mayflower.
Manv persons gathered at the wharf.
The visit of the seeretarv has been the
occasion of elaborate decorations. See
retarv Dickinson has been on an in
spection of Santo Domingo, giving es
pecial attention to revolutionary con
dit ions. He will also make an inspee
tion of Porto Rico.
Seattle Discovers Leper.
Seattle. Dee. 31. For the second
time within 20 years a case of leprosy
was discovered in Seattle today, and the
victim ordered deported to the govern
mont leprosy colony in the Hawaiian
islands. Eric Govern, a Scandinavian,
who has spent the last 12 years is
Alaska, is the afflicted man.
NEWS NOTES FROM THE
NATIONAL CAPITAL CITY
TREATY PLEASES WU TING FANG
Chinese I Iplomat Thinks It Good So
Far A It Goes.
New York, Dec. 29 In conference
with Wu Ting Fang, formerly repre
sentative of China at Washington, in
regard to peace and the possible means
of achieving its blessing, the Publish
ers Press obtained the following inter
view: "I am glad to speak of inter
national peace and justice upon the eve
of my return to my own country after
having succeeded in concluding a treaty
of arbitration between my govern
ment and the United States. That is a
good step.
"I am glad it is taken, but in my
judgment the treaty does not go far
enough, though it was the best that
could be made at present It is ex
actly the same as the 23 other treaties
concluded by the government of the
United States with foreign powers
during Mr. Roosevelt's last term as
president These treaties reserve for
forcible settlement when diplomcy
fnil all mention affectinff the vital
rights, independence or honor of the
contracting powers. While nations
that are armed insist upon this policy,
other nations that are not sufficiently
armed are not having their rights re
nnrtrl Mv countrv. for instance.' is
not sufficiently armed and has been
compelled to begin the reformation or
its army and navy. China loves peace
hut other nations do not love peace
enough to keep peace, so China must
acquire armament tnat it reany aoes
not want to acauire. China is re
forming its army and navy for self de
fense entirely, not for aggression.
CAN'T REACH HIGHER-UPS.
Taft's Brother Is Their Attorney, and
Roosevelt's Relative Is Manager.
Shrevenort, La., Dec. 31. Declaring
that if Mark Hanna had died six
months sooner, he would not have been
tried and sentenced to jail for having
represented a corporation that had a
case pending before a government de
partment, ex-Senator Burton, of Kan
sas, today severely criticised President
Taft and former President Roosevelt.
"The men higher up in the sugar
fraud cases will never be molested, be
cause Mr. Taft's brother is attorney for
the sugar trust, and Mr. Koosevelt's
brother-in-law is virtually the mana
ger," declared Burton. "The sugar
trust is the most powerful agency in
federal politics. It exercises more
power in forming the national policy
than any other agency. To it I owe
the trial which resulted in my impris
onment.
Burton was tried and sent to nail for
a brief term for having represented a
corporation which had interests in the
hands of one of tne teaerai depart
ments. "I first incurred the enmity of Roose
velt," Burton continued, "for having
threatened to oppose his Cuban policy,
which meant letting in Cuban sugar on
a basis that threatened to throttle the
infant beet sugar industry.
"After the passipg of a few years,
Taft comes along with his Philippine
policy. Capital had begun to turn to
the beet sugar industry again, and the
Philippines industry scared it away.
' ' Roosevelt opposed my Cuban policy,
and at the same time he feared I would
head a delegation at the national Re
publican convention for Mark Hanna.
If Hanna had died six months earlier,
there would have been no charges
against me, and I would still be in the
senate."
Knocks Estrada; Boosts Madriz.
Washington, Dec. 28 Estrada is a
bully, a troublemaker, an ingrate, and
is unprincipled and uneducated,, ac
cording to John T. McCall, a Californ
ia mining engineer here today . from
Central America. McCall said Madriz
was a natural leader also that he was
talented gentleman and a fine execu
tive. He said Madriz was held in high
esteem by the better class of Nicarag
uans, those not under Zelaya's thumb.
Screens to Save Trout.
Washington, Dec. 30. Representa
tive Hawley called the attention of
Secretary Ballinger today to a com
plaint made by the Umatilla County
Angling Club Association that trout
have been killed by the wholesale in
reclamation service canals and ditches
ef the Umatilla project As a remedy,
Secretary Ballinger gave instructions
that district engineers should have the
intakes of the ditches and canals pro
tected with screens.
Stock Gambling Is Next.
Washington, Dec. 29. President
Taft proposes, if possible, to arrive at
a means of preventing unnecessary
stock market trading in the future de
liveries of wheat corn, cotton and
other products. The president has in
vited a number of officials to confer
with him on the subject, among them
Secretary Knox, Attorney General
Wickersbsm, Representatives Scott
and Lovering, of Massachusetts, and
Commissioner of Corporations Smith.
Ballinger Inquiry to Be Joint.
Washington. Dec. 31. The Ballinger
Pinchot investigation will be conducted
jointly by the house and senate, ac
cording to an announcement made by
administration officials today.
Senator Nelson, of Minnesota, has
been mentioned as a probable member
of the joint committee that will look
into the charges and counter charges
brought against the department of the
interior and the forestry department by
Washington officials and various pub
COAL LANDS, FARMS, TOO.
Mondell of Wyoming Prepares Bill
Providing Agricultural Entries.
Washington Dec. 28 Representative
Mondell, of Wyoming, chairman of the
committee on public lands, has intro
duced, and will press to consideration,
a bill providing for agricultural en
tries on coal lands. The bill is intend
ed to make available for agricultural
development the surface of the areas
underlain with coal, much of which
will not be developed as coal property
for many years to come because of the
inaccessibility of the deposits. More
over, the bill is drawn with a view to
permitting double use of all such land,
one man to use the surface for farming
purposes, another to develop the coal
beneath.
The bill provides that lands known
to contain coal shall be subject to
homestead, desert land or Carey act
entry, the rights to the coal to be re
served to the United States, together
with the right of prospecting and min
ing. No desert entry made of such
lands, however, shall embrace more
than 160 acres, and all homestead en
tries shall be made in conformity with
the requirements of the dry farm home
stead law, except as to acreage in
volved. Persons entering such lands may ob
tain patent to the surface rights.
The coal deposits, under the bill, are
made subject to disposal by the Unit
ed States under the coal land laws, and
the United States or its grantees shall
at all times have the right to enter up
on lands so patented for the purpose of
prosecting for, mining and removing
the coal, but the owner of the surface
shall be entitled to damages resulting
from such coal development The
surface entryman, howevet, is given
the right to mine coal on or under his
land for domestic purposes at anytime
prior to the disposal of the voal by the
government.
JAPAN SEEKS NEW TREATY.
Ambassador Uchida Hopes Immigra
tion Law Will Be Revised.
Washington, Jan. 1 Among the first
official acts of Baron Uchida, new Jap
anese Ambassador, will be a series of
steps leading to a proposal to the
United States for a modification of the
Root-Takahira agreement which im
poses limitations on the immigration of
Japanese laborers to the United States.
While the subject is now being
spoken of in a conservative vein, it is
said that such a duty is one of those
especially imposed upon the new Am
bassador by his government
It is also reported that Japan wishes
to terminate in 1911 its treaty of com
merge and navigation with the United
States.
To what extent Japan will ask for a
modification of the Root-Takahira
agreement has not been learned.
Mexico Acts Within Rigets.
Mexico City, Dec. 30. The Mexican
government has acted wholly within
its rights thus far and according to its
legal methods in the matter of the
American railroad conductor, Cook,
said Charge d'Affairs Bailey, . of the
United States embassy, here tonight
"The crime with which Cook stands
charted. " continued Mr. Bailey, "is
not bailable under the Mexican laws,
and they have a legal rigt to keep Cook
in custody six months before rendering
a decision. He has been in jail four
months. The case is waiting the re
turn of the letters rogatory from Gen
eral Manager Clark of the Mexican
line, which have to do with the charac
ter of Cook."
Mexico Not Aiding Zelaya to Escape.
Mexico City, Dec. 28 Government
officials today denied the rumor that
Senor Enrique Creel's mission to Wash
ington had failed and Mexico would
therefore aid Zelaya to escape.
Whether Senor Creel's mission is suc
cessful or not the officials declared,
Mexico intends to side with the United
States in the settlement of the trouble
in Nicaragua. The minister of fore
ign affairs denied the existence of
plans to take Zelaya aboard a Mexican
gunboat and transport him from Cen
tral America to some European coun
try. Oppose Probe By Congress.
Washington, Dec. 29 President
Taft's views as expressed in his annual
message to congress that a Congres
sional investigation of the sugar frauds
might prove embarrassing in view of
the inquiry now being made by the de
partment of Justice and the Treasury
Department finds a warm advocate in
Attorney-General Wiekersham. He
made it clear today that he was op
posed to any such inquiry pen ling the
endeavors of the two departments to
punish the guilty and to recover the
money wrongfully withheld from the
government
Dennett Asks For Probe.
Washington, Dec. 30. Representa
tive Maguire, chairman of the house
committee charged examination of the
accounts of the Interior Department
announced today that at the reqaest of
Land Commissioner Dennett hi com
mittee would investigate charges re
cently made by Representative Hitch
cock, of Nebraska, of improper pur
chase of furniture by the general land
offica cut of the fund provided for the
investigation of public land entries.
WORK OF POSTAL DEPARTMENT.
Fourteen Billion Pieces of Mall Posted
In Course of One Year.
Washington, Dec. 29. Some idea of
the postal service of the United States
and the magnitude of its business can
be gained from a brief review of the
salient facts disclosed by the latest an
nual statistics. These figures show
that the service now has about 325,000
employes, and that these employes han
dled during the last fiscal year nearly
14,000,000,000 pieces of mail. The num
ber of postoflices in operation is 60,144.
There are 26,652 domestic transporta
tion routes, aggregating 448,618 miles in
length, with an annual travel of 542,
151,121 miles. A delivery service by
carrier is provided on 40,628 rural
routes, and in 1440 cities and towns.
Ordinary postage stamps to the number
of 8.712,907,031 were sold during the
year, and domestic money orders to the
value of S491,074,844 were issued, me
total receipts for the fiscal year 1909
were $203,562,383.07, aa increase of
8.31 per cent over the reeeipts of the
previous year. The total expenditures
amounted to (221,004,102.89, an increase
of 6.07 per cent.
In its early days the postal service
was self-supporting. For 30 years, from
1789 to 1819. it failed only once to yield
an annual profit, but in recent years, al
most without exception, tnere nas Deen
a deficit. So long as the deficit amount
ed to only a few million dollars, and did
not increase in proportion to tne growtn
of the service, it attracted little atten
tion; but when, in the last few years, it
leaped to upward of $10,000,000, ana
finally in 1909 exeeeded $17,000,000, or
dinary business prudence suggested
that the causes be definitely located.
The loss on second-clas mail matter
has been increasing for many years, un
til it now amounts to $64,000,000.
The loss from rural delivery, a serv
ice begun hardly a dozen years ago and
of unprecedented growth, reaches as
high as $28,000,000.
In these two items alone tne postal
service now suffers an annual loss of
more than the entire national deficit of
the last fiscal year.
The most striking fact disclosed by
recent investigations is the tremendous
loss on account of second-class mail.
While this class of mail provides a rev
enue of little more than 1 cent a pound,
the cost to the government for its hand
ling and transportation averages 9.23
cents a pound. The annual loss thus
incurred, as already stated, is about
$64,000,000. The growth in the quantity
of second-class matter sent through the
mails has been extraordinary. Since
the passage of the act of 1879 prescrib
ing conditions under which publications
may be mailed at second-class rates the
weight of such matter nas increased
more than 1300 per cent. Last year
it amounted to over 700,000,000 pounds.
MEXICO MUST CHOOSE.
If Diaz Recognizes Zelaya, Will Lose
Friendship of United States.
Washington, Deo. 29. While soms
persons believe that Secretary of State
Knox has been too severe and undiplo
matic in handling Zelaya, the ex-presl
dent of Nicaragua, there are those on
the inside who know that Mexico, with
the "blood-thicker-than-water" prece
dent has offered a deliberate insult to
the United States, and may have to be
called to time with the rest of the
little row breeding dictatorships of Cen
tral and South America.
While the state department had a
tentative understanding with President
Diaz through Enrique Creel, special
commissioner, regarding permission for
Zelaya to board the Mexican gunboat
Guerrero, it is said here that any effort
on the part of Diaz to entertain the
man who has apparently stolen millions
from his country and committed all
manner of outrages on friend and foe
alike, will be considered as an un
friendly act, to say the least.
The abuses heaped upon the plain
people in the Central American so-called
republics has been a matter of knowl
edge to the nations of the world for
decades. The wonder is that Europe
has not called upon the United States
to exercise some sort of jurisdiction
over the little "Central American trouble-breeders,"
The most serious side of the situa
tion is the turn taken by Mexico in
harboring the fugitive Zelaya. The
state, war and navy departments are
watching with calm deliberation the de
cision that shall have been reached by
Diaz as to whether or not he shall
choose between the friendship of Ze
laya or the friendship of President Taft.
Four Miners Dead In Explosion.
Centralia, 111., Dec. 29. Four miners
were instantly killed in a coal mine
near here today. The bodies of the
men were taken from the gallery soon
after the accident. They were badly
crushed by the falling coal and timbers,
and the limbs of one of the men were
found some distance from the trunk,
having been blown off by the explosion.
The cause of the accident is unknown,
but it is supposed that a small pocket
of gns caught fire from an open lamp in
the hands of one of the miners and ex
ploded the coal dust that filled the air.
Crazed by Storm Troubles.
Philadelphia, Dec. 29 B. H. Bail,
second vice-president and freight traf
fic manager of the Reading railroad,
suddenly became insane in his offices
here today. Ho was removed to an
asylum. Bail is known to have been
greatlv worried by the traffic demorali
zation caused by the recent storms that
have swept the Atlantic seaboard. His
efforts to keep freight moving during
this period are believed to be partially
responsible for his collapse.
Satolli Cannot Recover.
Rome. Dec. 9. The condition of Car
dinal Satolli. who is suffering from
nephritis, complicated by an attack of
blood poisoning, is unchanged. The
attending physicians say he will prob
ably lintrer several dnvs. His recovery
is considered impossible. Messages of
svmpsthy continue to pour in from all
over the" world, and particularly from
friends in the United States.
STORM COSTS
MANY MILLIONS
Tidal Wave and Blizzard Spread
Death and Ruin.
Thirty-two Cities Left In Darkness-
Much Wreckage Comes Ashore,
Indicating Marine DisastersMany
Lives Believed Lost; and Proper
ty Damage Immense.
Boston, Dec. 28. Three million dol
lars is the estimate today of the loss in
and around Boston by the tidal wave
and blizzard which swept over New
England Sunday. Five million dollars
is the estimate of the damage along
the New England coast.
Fifteen liyes were certainly lost, if
the five-masted schooner, the Davis
Palmer, went down, and it is believed
that many more perished at sea.
Wreckage borne into Uoston naroor
today is believed to be the mute evi
dence of the loss of the schooner Davis
Palmer, bound from Newport News for
Boston, somewhere near the entrance
to the harbor. The wreck itself, has
not been located.
Cape Cod is still cut off.
With the restoration of communica
tion there, it is feared that a tale of
marine disasters and storm damage un
equaled in years will be related.
Thirty-two cities and towns were
plunged in darkness owing to the elec-
trie lighting service being cut off, and
wires of the telegraph and telephone
companies were laid lown in every di
rection. New York, Dec. 28. With the news
of the probable loss of the five-masted
schooner Davis Palmer, with her crew
of twelve men, off Boston harbor, and
of the wrecking of nine other vessels
along the Massachusetts coast, the
opening chapter of the toll taken on.
the sea by the storm that swept New
England Saturday night and Sunday
was bared to the world today.
The three-masted schooner Nantaska
was hurled ashore at Scituate and
probably will be a total wreck. Vol
unteer lifesa'vers with the breeches buoy
rescued her crew of ten men
The schooner Belle Holliday is
ashore at Brant point, exposed to the
fury of the sea. The fate of her crew
is unknown, but it is believed they
have been rescued. She is from Phila
delphia, loaded with railroad iron.
On the rocky shores of Martha's
Vineyard water-logged schooners are
being swept by every sea. They are
the A. K. McLean, a British vessel,
1 1 r . t i n I f ri'ii T t Vi A mKnv t n I T '1 1 i f .1
and the Stonington, Maine, schooner
Maud Seward, Port Reading for Provi-
dflnfatnB.n TVin nrowa hflrA hppn
taken off.
At Providencetown the sloop Benita
is aground, and in the flats at Plymouth
harbor are four small schooners simi
larly distressed.
STRIKE CONFERENCE FAILS.
Labor Leaders Off to Washington to
Seek Advice.
St. Paul, Dec. 28. Contrary to ex
pectations, developments today in the
controversy between the railroads of
the northwest and the striking switch
men, instead of resulting in an ami
cable settlement of the strike, resulted
in a wider breach than has existed
heretofore.
Not only have the switchmen declared
off all negotiations with the railroads,
but labor leaders say there is a strong
possibility of a general strike by all
allied orders belonging to the railway
branch of the American Federation of
Labor.
H. B. Perham, acting as chairman of
the railway council in session here, left
tonight for Washington to seek advice.
"There may be a more general
strike," said Mr. Perham.
President Hawley, of the switchmen's
union, asserted: "Several other mem
bers of the railway council besides Mr.
Perham left for their headquarters to
night to make preparation for a strika
of their respective orders."
Mr. Perham, in speaking of today s
developments, said:
"Friday we were on the verge of a
settlement, and we thought that the
matter would be fixed up today. . But
this morning the railroads presented a
mysterious change of front and as
sumed such an arrogant attitude that
we decided at once to have nothing
more to do with them."
Schooner Wrecks Light
Newport News, Va., Dec. 3. Having
been rammed and almost cut in two
by the four-masted schooner Malcolm
Baxter, Jr., the Thimble shoal light,
four miles east of Old Point Corn'or.
and near the trail of the "Horseshoe"
in Lower Chesapeake bay, caught fire
and was totally destroyed! The schooner
was inward bound from Hampton Road
in ballast, and was proceeding under
sail. Tho strong west wind and the
swift tide threw the vessel off her
course, and she crashed into the frame
lighthouse.
Legacy Heir Found Dead,
Seattle, Wash., Dec. 28. Patrick M.
Smith, aged 57, janitor of an apart
ment house, who was found dead in his
room last niht. received a letter from
friends in Ireland, saying that he had
fallen heir to $30,000. He refused to
return to claim his legacy, although an
offer to send $1,000 for his expenses
was made. The old man had become
despondent over his apptite for drink,
and felt that the money would do him
no good.
Count Tolstoi Tailing.
St. Fetersbure. Dec. S. The health
of Count Leo Tolstoi is again causing
anxietv, and physicians were sum
moned today from Moscon and Tula ta
attend him.