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About Heppner gazette. (Heppner, Morrow County, Or.) 1892-1912 | View Entire Issue (Feb. 10, 1910)
68 DEAD EN A MEXICAN MINE "Violation ot Rules by Smoker Cause of Terrific Explosion. Sixty-Five Bodies Removed From Mine and Three Die in Hospitals Forty Injured Many Due to Working Where Did Not Penetrate. Escapes Foul Air V Laredo, Texas, Feb. 8. One of the T' greatest disasters in the history of Mexico mining took place today in the Palau coal mine, at Las Esperanzas, Mexico. The toll of human life which paid . the penalty of negligence on the part . of some miner, according to the latest reports, is placed at 68., After an offi cial report showing 63 dead, twelve ad ditional bodies were recovered, bring ing the total to 65, and three others ' have died in the hospital, making the grand total of victims thus far 68. The explosion occurred in No. 3 shaft of the coal mine of the Esperanzas Mining company and is attributed to . the ignition of gas from the flame of the cigarette of a miner. Smoking is contrary to the rules. The miners, mostly Mexicans and Japanese, had assumed their places .just after 7 o'clock. At 8 :30 o'clock those at work above the ground heard a loud explosion and almost instantly vast cloud of dust and smoke issued from the mouth of the mine. When the onlookers realized the meaning of the disaster, assistance was immedi ately forthcoming. . , As soon as the air in the shaft could be purified sufficiently to permit res cuers to descend, many volunteers were ready to risk their lives in an elevator . to succor their stricken brothers below. Cage were sent down, loaded to capacity with miners bent upon rescue, 'On the firsthand second levels every theng was found intact and the men -working in these places were safe. The rescue party went down to the third level and as soon as the air could be sufficiently cleared they entered the drifts and began a search for the dead and injured. Scattered about in vari ous positions in the workings they found the bodies of the men suffocated The rescures worked in relays. Af ter six hours' work 63 bodies had been removed to hospitals. The injured owe their escape to the fact that they were working where they were protected from the rush of foul air. State rep resentatives sent a detailed report of the explosion and a deduction as to the probable cause to the governors of Coahuila and Saltillp. They instructed the local authorities to take such ac tion as they deemed necessary and to investigate thoroughly the cause of the disaster. The Palau mine is one of the best -equipped coal mines in the Republic It has an adequate ventilating system and is provided with electric lights Mining officials are at a loss to account for the presence of mine damp in the workings. Half of Force is Spared. Drakesboro, Ky., Feb. 3. Thirty three miners are known to have been killed, two are missing and 15 are in jured as ' a result of the explosion in the Browder coal mine near here yes- terday. There were 100 men in the two w intra of the mine at the time of the explosion, but the 50 in the west wing escaped uninjured. Thobe in the -east wing felt the full force of the ex plosion. One or '.wo of the injured are in a critical condition. Of the dad about half were white men, all Americans, and the remainder negroes. U. S. May Dissolve Big Firm. Chicago, Feb. 3. Oliver E. Pagin, special assistant attorney general, did not leave here today, as was expected, and it is said he will remain lor some time. The presence of Mr. Pagin in the Federal building gave rise to re ports that the government would file civil suit to dissolve theNational Pack ing company within a short time. The .Federal erand jury continued its in vestigation into books and documents of the National Packing company. Primero Victims Number 75. Primero, Colo., Feb. 3. Monday's mine explosion in the main mine of -the Colorado Fuel & Iron company -claimed a total of 75 victims and left 35 widows and 65 fatherless children These facts were determined late this afternoon, when the official canvass of the camp was completed and the names of the misBing men checked with the .company's pay roll.' Fifty bodies have been recovered. No opionion was ex pressed as to the cause. i Board Discusses Claim. The Hague, Feb. 3. Before The Hague court of arbitration today .rep resentatives of the United States and Venezuela exchanged memoranda on the dispute regarding the claim of the Orinoco Steamship company against the government of Venezuela. The steamship company, a New Jersey cor poration, filed a claim for the alleged .arbitrary repudiation of certain conces sions by the Castro government. Wells Fargo Stock Sold. New York, Feb. 3. It was said in :authoritative c'rclea today that the American Express company had pur chased the Southern Pacific Railroad company's holdings of Btock in the We'ls-Fargo Co., which is taken to in dicate that a merger of the two ex press companies is under way. McCarthy reigns supreme San Francisco's Mayor Sweeps Away All Trace of Precedents. San Francisco, Feb. 4. San Fran ciso is in the hands of Mayor Mc Carthy and his cohorts. Commencing with the throwing out of office of mem bers of the board of police commission ers and following that up with the de capitation of the members of the board of education, the newly-elected mayor practically completed his reign of ter ror the fore part of the week when he lopped off the heads of 15 more of the Taylor commissioners, and in the early hours of the morning had 15 of his own men sworn in. Neither the ousted commissioners nor any of their at torneys knew what had happened until long after the transformation had been effected. , It is not the beginning of the end, but it marks what Mayor McCarthy said upon his installation into office that he proposes to run the city after his own manner. In short, he wants to control absolutely and without ques tion, the patronage of the city, and failing to convince the commissioners that they should resign, he has brought it about by more tyrannical methods, Saloonmen, members of the Royal Arch, a liquor dealers' association, and heads of various union bodies of San Francisco, make up, for the most part, the newly appointed commissions, so that it is easy to see who is going to rule the jooet for the next two years, at least. It is going far, perhaps, to say, that San Francisco is to be the Paris of America, but the complete disregard that McCarthy has shown for the in tent of the charter, to say nothing more, is proof positive that he will permit nothing to stand in his road. His motto might easily be "rule or ruin." Already there are indications that the ousted commissioners will not stand idly by. Some of them, it is true, have decided to quit peaceably, but others, and notably the board of education, has decided to test in the courts the right of the mayor to turn them out of office. Action in this test case was begun today. TARIFF WAR AVERTED. Agreement Reached With Germany on all But Meat Inspection. Washington, Feb. 4. Concessions by both the United States and Ger many have averted a threatened tariff war. Negotiations have been concluded between the two countries which settle the qestion of a minimum and maxi mum rate with the exception of the cattle and dressed meat issue. This was eliminated from the present nego tiations and will be taken up later in separate diplomatic representations. Under the agreement maHe today Am' erican minimum rates will be exchange ed for the entire minimum list of Ger many. The result is considered advan tageous to both countries. The State department to lay issued a statement, which in part is as follows: ' By the understanding arrived at, there will be no tariff war and no in terruption ol the .enormous commerce passing between the two countries. The magnitude of this business ap pears from the statement that in the calendar year just closed the direct interchange of commodities between Germany and the United States ex ceeded $409,000,000, and, allowances being made for German importations through other countries, the actual vol ume is possibly in excess of $500,000, 000. Honesr Engineer DUIiked. Chicago, Feb. 4. City Engineer John Ericson told the Merriam commis sion, which is investigating municipal expenditures, that he had never been encouraged by the officials above him in his effort:) to prevent the wasting of city funds. He said that on one oc casion when he said $300,000 was too much to pay for a new pumping sta tion, Mayor Busse said that the soon er he (Ericson) got out of the city work the better it would be for him. The mayor emphatically denied this. Eric son expects to be fired. Valuable Witness Found. Chicago, Feb. 4. That the govern ment has found a valuable and well in formed witness in the beef trust case in the person of a former trusted offi cial of a large packing company was the report about the federal building. This man is said to be on a pension at present but has consented to tell the jury all he knows in return for immun- ty. Two more employes of Swift & Co. were subpoenaed today, and others, it is said, will follow. . Glare, Report; Meteor? Quincy, III., Feb. 4 A meteor is supposed to have struck near here at 1 :- 30 o clock this morning. It aroused the whole city and caused buildings to tremble. Those about the streets saw a great glare in the sky, and heard a report as of an explosion immediately followed. Burlington, la., Feb. 4. Reports from Keokuk and Hannibal state that at 1 :30 o'clock this morning the West ern sky suddenly was lighted with a great glare and a minute later was followed by a heavy shock that caused the earth to tremble. It is supposed to have been a meteor, but may have been caused by the explosion of dyna mite in a mine. Body Lashed to Mast. Crissfield. Md., Feb. 4. The body of Captain W. A. Bradshaw, of the oyster boat Effie Smith, was found lashed to the mast of his wrecked ves sel today. The crew of three men are missing. A BRIEF DAILY REPORT ON THE WORK OF Washington, Feb. 6. The contro versy over the use of benzoate of soda as a food preservative was resumed to day before the house committee on ex penditures in the department of agri culture. Representative Moss, of Indiana, at tacked the referee board, which had upheld the use of benzoate of soda against the decision of Dr. H. W. Wiley, chief of the bureau of chem istry at the agricultural department. "If Dr. Wiley is not competent to pass upon these matters he should be discharged," said Mr. Moss. "There Bre two sides to that," re plied Mr. McCabe, who "added that be knew of no manufacturer who had abandoned the use of benzoate of soda, Several manufacturers who did so tem porarily after Dr. Wiley's decision re sumed after the board's favorable rul ing, he said. The rivers and ' harbors bill is at tracting the acute attention of practic ally all of congress just now, as it is understood that it will be reported out either Tuesday or Wednesday. Every representative wants to know just bow large a share of the "pork barrel" is to go to his district.. There was an all day session of the house committee to day to hear statements in behalf of a lot of inteiests from different parts of the country. , The question whether the governor of one state shall be required to extra dite a person, under charge ol crime, on the information process, as well as the indictment process, was under dis cussion in the senate more than two hours today. No action was taken on the bill under consideration, which would compel recognition of the in formation process. Senator Flint introduced in the sen ate today a bill appropriating $1,000,- 000 for the purchase of a site and the erection in Los Angeles of a subtreas- ury building, which ah all be used for a custom house, appraiser s building and an assay office. Washington, Feb. 4. Senator Hey- burn today completed bis criticism of the postal savings bank bill in the senate, but aside from his speech, lit tle progress was made in the consider ation of the measure. It will be be fore the senate again tomorrow and Senator Carter, who is in charge, ex pects a vote not later than next Thurs day. Mr. Heyburn declared that the bill had been drawn so loosely that, if en acted, it inevitably must result in scandal. It should, he said, be safe guarded more carefully than some past legislation, and he instanced the cor poration tax law, which, he said, al ready had been proved unsatisfactory. Declaring his objections to the bill, he said that there was no provision for securing deposits, that in providing for secrecy regarding deposits the bill dhtt made it impossible to find invest ment for the postals avmga fund. "Never in years has any session of congress done as much work as the present one," said Representative Dwigbt of New York, Republican whip in the houBe, in a statement to- j day. "Congress has been in session less than six weeks since December 1 and in that time the bouse has passed the army, urgent deficiency, District of Columbia and agriculture appropria tion bills. We have also redeemed two pledges of party platform by pass ing bill to establish a bureau of mines and mining and to admit Arizona and New Mexico. Washington, Feb. "3. Secretary Bal- linger was criticised on the floor of the senate today for sending a communica tion to the senate inclosing a bill pro viding for an insane asylum in Alaska. Although Mr. Ballinger said he transmitted the measure in obedience to the direction of the president. Sen ators Heyburn and Bacon succeeded in obtaining annulment of reference in the bill to the committee on territor ies, on the ground that neither a cabinet officer, nor even the president himself, had authority to introduce a bill in the senate. Senator Klkins today- made bitter complaint in the senate concerning the treatment he received in connection with his resolution providing for an in vestigation into the high cost of food. He charged Senator Aldrich with a desire to shield the tariff law and the trusts in the inquiry, and he intimated that hereafter he might be an "insur gent" if his wishes did not receive more respectiul consideration. The discussion was precipitated by Senator Stone, who Boon after the re porting of the Lodge resolution to in vestigate the cost of living, in mock solemnity, raised the question whether the committee on contingent expenses had yet reached the Elkins resolution which had been adopted last month. Responding, Mr. Kean 'said that prob ably the measure would be amended and reported soon. Taking the floor, Mr. Elkins com plained that the finance committee had reported the Lodge resolution after a day's consideration, whereas his own measure bai been held up for a month. After a short but torrid open hear National Coal Reserve Sought Washington, Feb. 3. The coal fields of Alaska are the subject of a lengthy bill introduced in the house by Dele gate Wickersham, of Alaska, provid ing that 15,000 acres of the best coal bearing lands of Alaska be set aside by the United States in perpetuity as the national coal reserve. Provision is made for the withdrawal of 6,000 acres each from the Kstalla and Ma tanasuka districts, and 6,000 more from the Kenar and Peninsula areas. ing, followed by an executive session of an hour, also filled with dissension, the house committee on merchant mar ine and fisheries today voted, 10 to 7, to report favorably the administration ship subsidy bill, as introduced by Rep resentative Humphrey, of Washing ton. Washington, Feb. 2. A lively po litical debate occupied nearly the en tire time of the house today in defense of the bill to amend the census law so as to provide an enumeration of ani mals slaughtered in country butchering establishments and of hides produced in such establishments. Mr. Crumpacker, of Indiana, ex plained that this amendment was to give accurate information on the sub ject, upon which there has been much political discussion. With this amend ment and others providing for an enu meration of lands under irrigation and in relation to irrigation projects, the bill was passed. , Should the postal 'savings bank bill become a law it would greatly endan ger, if not destroy, incomes to the amount of hundreds of millions of dol lars, declared Senator Heyburn today. lhe Idaho Senator was engaged in a general discussion of the bill in con nection with an amendment presented by Senator Smoot for the regulation of the removal of postal savings deposits i t ' irom Dantcs. He contended that, inasmuch as the fund under the bill would reach fully $700,000,000, it would enable the board of trustees to dictate the rate of in terest throughout the country. . "In other words, the government purposes to go into the loaning busi ness," he said, "and intends to fix the rate of interest at 2 per cent." In view of this fact, he asked what the effect would be on incomes derived from funds invested at 5 and 6 per cent. It was announced at the State de partment today that either a complete agreement or a rupture between Ger many and the United States on the present tariff negotiations might be expected tomorrow. Washington, Feb. 1. A running fire of criticism was poured into the for estry department in the house today when the agriculture appropriation bill was under consideration. The session was devoted to the forestry schedule. Representative Taylor of Colorado questioned Chairman Scott as to the reason for including in the forest re serve lands without forest on tbem. Mr. Scott said ex-Chief Forester Pin- chot had asserted that such lands could be planted with trees. Do you know," declared Mr. Tay lor, "that at elevations of 7,000 and 8,000 feet it will take 500 years to grow a forest, and at higher altitudes the time required will be longer?" In his own state, he said, land worth $200 or $300 an acre was included in the forest reserves. However, in no instance was an ap propriation for the bureau of forestry reduced by the house. To protect the government postal employes on the trains and prevent the loss of mail by fire, Representative Carey, of Washington, is in favor of the government buying its own mail cars and contracting with the railroads for their hauling. He has introduced a bill that authorizes the postmaster general to proceed with the work of contracting for these cars to put them in use as rapidly as possible and to have all railroads fully equipped with them by 1915. Washington, Jan. 31. Postal sav ings banks were discussed at length in the senate today. Carter of Montana, leading off with an argument in favor of the bill for which he is sponser and Heyburn hinting plainly that he would oppose it. Saying that the United States is the- only first-class power which has no postal banks, and recal- ling frequent platform pledges, Carter proceeded to answer objections. He denied that postal banks would menace the present banking system, saying the latter could not reach re mote rural districts. He said postal banks would encourage thrift, draw money out of hiding and induce for eigners to deposit money in them, in stead of sending it abroad. He con tended that the new system would only be an elaboration of the use to which money orders are now put, that it was as constitutional as the money order system and would be a source of strength to private banks. The army appropriation bill, as re ported to the senate today, carries $95,440,568. which is only $142,860 more than is appropriated in the bill as it passed the house. The law for the present year carried more than $102,000,000. Land Grant Report Waits. Washington, Feb. 2. In response to the Chamberlain resolution, regarding the suits to set aside Oregon land grants, Attorney General Wickersham Bent a letter to the senate today, stat ing: "To comply with the resolution, it is necessary to secure certain detail ed information from Oregon. This in formation has been sent for, and as soon as it is received the report will be transmitted to the senate." He added the information was being gathered. Senators Ask for Report. Washington, Feb. 1. Senators Bourne and Chamberlain united today in a request to the life saving service to cause an investigation to be made by an unprejudiced officer into the wreck of the Czarina in Coos bay. The senators also requested the improve ment of facilities and service along the Oregon coast i CEREAL TRUST FORMING. Twelve Biggest Breakfast Food Mak ers May Combine. Chicago, Feb. 2. The hungry pub lic, turning from prohibitive meat and other foodstuffs to cereals, is apparent ly in for another hard shock, as there is every indication that a great com bine in cereals is1 on the verge of com pletion to be followed immediately by a general boost in prices. Snowballs and sand seem about the only things left that cannot be cornered. Advices from Minneapolis today and tonight are to the effect that a great holding company is forming to take over several of the largest cereal fac tories in the United State in short, to form a trust in breakfast foods. Ac cording to tnese reports, these com panies probably would be in the com bine: Northwestern Cereal corporation. Minneapolis Cereal & Milling Co. Fruen Wheat Food & Milling Co. Minne-Paul Cereal & Milling Co. Malta Vita Food Co., Battle Creek. ' Petti john Pure. Food Co. All Iowa plants of the United Cereal Co. It is further declared that in addi tion to these concerns, seven white flour mills in the territory adjacent to Minneapolis would be in the merger and that there was a possibility that two of the large baking concerns of Minneapolis also would be included. Thomas W. Hicks, of the National Financing Company, said today : "There 12 cereal-producing firms in this country, where one holding com pany could handle the entire output We seek at present to combine these 12 firms and avoid the throat-cutting which has been going on for years and which has caused many failures. For instance, Battle Creek, Mich., which has been the center of cereal-producing, has been the victim of 42 failures in three years. "The -way things are going at pres ent, the cereal output is a losing prop osition for the food companies. It is a continual fight for contracts and the result is that the jobber is the only one who makes the big money. LUMBER PRICES ADVANCE. Demand by Railroads Given as Cause of Rise. Los Angeles, Feb. 2. Rough Ore gon pine lumber has advanced $1, to $22 and $26 a thousand feet. Shingles have advanced 25 cents, to $2.25 and $3 a thousand. Shakes are up, $2, to $20 a thousand. "The reason for the advance in rough Oregon pine," said J. F. Mullin, of the Montgomery & Mullin Lumber company, today, "is the heavy demand of the railroad companies for this lum ber. Not only in the United States is the demand heavy, but it extends to China, where they are dofng an im mense amount of railroad building. The railroads UBe so much lumber that they practically make the market When there is a great amount of railroad building the price of lum ber goes up. The outlook for the lumber busi ness is higher prices. There has been tendency toward higher prices since the slump caused by the financial de pression of a little more than a year ago." Three More Bodies Found. Marshfield, Or., Feb. 2. Three more oodies of the Czarina wreck victims were found today. One was near the mouth of the Umpqua river, a second at Ten-Mile creek and the third oppo site tne wreck. - The bodies are not yet identified. This makes nine bodies that have been found. It was thought by some that the headless body found several days ago was that of Harold Millie, but the father, C. J. Millis, could not identify it, and tne remains were buried as an unknown. A watch is kept for more bodies. Paulhan Makes Flight. Denver, Feb. 2. Thirty thousand people swarmed into Overland park to day to see Louis Paulhan in an exhibi tion flight in bis Farman biplane. After three preliminary attempts, Paulhan twice encircled the mile track. That the exhibition was not more successful was due to the crowd itself. They broke down fences, swarmed over the field, and the police had difficulty in clearing sufficient space to allow the machine to start Gale Wrecks Schooner. Norfolk, Va., Feb.2. With a north west wind blowing at 52 miles an hour, the three-masted schooner Frances, Captain Coombs, from New York to Jacksonville, Fla., was washed ashore on the Hatteraa coast this morning and was pounded to pieces. Fourteen men are supposed to have been lost before the life-savers could reach the vessel. None of the bodies have been washed ashore. Gait 41 Miles a Second. Cambridge, Mass., Feb. 2. Forty one milee a second is the speed at which "Comet A, 1910" is traveling from the earth, according to statement announced at Harvard college observ atory today, from Lick observatroy. The telegram says that Albrecht pho tographed the spectrum of the comet and found the sodium lines displaced, indicating the motion of the luminary. Jap Can't be U. S. Citizen. Richmond, Va., Feb. 2. Under an opinion handed down in the United States Circuit Court of Appeals today in the case of Namyo Fesspo vs. The United States, a Japanese in law is neither a white man nor a person of African descent and therefore is not entitled to naturalisation in this country. MINE EXPLOSION KILLS SCORES Colorado Coal Mine Scene of and Destmcllon, Death Seventy-Nine Bodies Found in Mass at Bottom of Shaft Nearly as Many More Believed to be in Mine and Little Hope Is Entertained That Any Are Alive. Primero,. Colo., Feb. 1. Seventy nine bodies of the victims of yesterday aiiernoon s explosion in tne frlmero mine were found piled in a mass at the foot of the air shaft shortly after mid night When the explosion occurred the men evidently made a rush to escape through the air shaft and were suffo cated as they battled with one another for freedom. It has been shown by the time keeper's records that there were 149 men in the mine at thetime of the ex plosion. Few are thought to be alive. The main shaft of the mine is ,com dletely wrecked. The mine authorities telegraphed an order to Denver early this morning for 80 coffins. , One man only has been found alive. He is badly injured and has not been identified. The explosion occurred in the mine of the Colorado Fuel & Iron company at 4 :30 o'clock yesterday afternoon. Three men at the mouth of the mine were killed by the force of the concus sion. Both fans with which the mine was equipped were shattered, but were re placed and J. H. Thompson, superin tendent, and a rescue party entered by the main air shaft but were unable to reach the main shaft which was com pletely blocked. The party returned to the surface after securing five bodies, which were badly burned. A party equipped with oxygen hel mets replaced them and continued the search for more bodies. Miners were rushed to Primero from Trinidad, Saundo, Starkville, Sopris and Coke- ville, and labored frantically to clear the main shaft relieving each other every few minutes. MoBt of the victims are Slavs and Hungarians, although Electrician Will Helm is among the missine. The camp was a scene of indescrib able horror last night While every ablebodied man was taking his turn with pick and shovel to clear the shaft, the women and children, kept back by ropes, gathered about the Bhaft weep ing and calling loudly npon their loved ones who 'had not been found. Members of the rescue party say that the effect of the explosion under ground is indescribable. The bodies recovered were horribly burned and unrecognizable. One body was im paled on broken timbers. PARIS RECOVERS. Water Recedes and Work of Repair ing is Begun. Paris, Feb. 1. Improvement in the genera situation continues and the spirits of the Parisians are rising as the waters fall. Street hawkers are selling postcard pictures of the flood and the boulevards are once more eay with thousands. With the crisis past the mercurial French temperament faces the subsid iary troubles with a light heart but the papers already are warning the people that measures must be taken to avoid a repetition of the disaster. The prefect of the department of the Seine has issued instructions to the owners of flooded houses to clean and disinfect their premises to the satis faction of the municipal architects within 24 hours after the subsidence of the waters. The government has ordered the tax collectors to show the greatest len iency to delinquents, and the Mont de Pieto is extending pawn tickets for three months. Public and private benevolence continues to respond to the call of the sufferers. Theaters and societies are organizing benefits, while the various race courses are arranging a bisr meeting for the spring, the receipts of which will go to the poor. A resolu tion has been introduced in the cham ber of deputies asking the government to award special crosses of the Legion of Honor to those who have been con spicuous in the rescue work. Although the papers are printing columns of pitiful stories, a hundredth part of the horror never will be known. Many corpses have been swept down river, and occasionally a corpse is found in a boat broken away from some funeral procession. Suffrage Union Bars Meat. New York, Feb. 1. The Gotham beef party, named in memory ef the Boston Tea Party, was formed today by the National women s progressive suffrage union, which has been active in the campaign against higher cost of living. Mrs. Sophia Loebirger and others addressed an open-air crowd in Madison square. Mrs. Loebiryjer said she and her assiocates proposed to open public cooking schools in the streets, to teach cooking without meat Trust Attorney Testifies. Chicago, Feb. 1. The federal grand jury today resumed its investigation into the methods of the so-called "beef trust" Ralph Crews, general counsel for the National Packing company, tes tified. Documents and books belong ing to the National Packing company were examined.