NliSNCE ENTERP IND E NUMllKIUr-30 INDEl'KNDKNCK, OREGON, Fit I DAY, lKCKMHKK 25. HH)8. FIFTKKNTII YKAK. OPERATORS ROB WESTERN ONE UNDER ARREST MAKE! STARTLING CONFESSION. Half doion Implications Aro Mad In Conflon of Arraal Giving tvl danc of Crook ad Work from Mon Una to California. Portland, Or., Deo. 11. Kociol sorvlro men la tho employ of tha Wftiern Colon TeloRraph Company have unearthed an aliened conspir acy among operator f railroad of fice Id the Northwest and Call fornla, thereby they declare steal ing have bean made within the pant 18 month amounting to many thou anda of dollar. lW'Kulnr Wetern Union operator are not Involved In tha conspiracy. Tho Mealing I charged by the de tective entirely against operatora In lno I a tod railroad office where there wa no check upon their work. At least one arrest ha been made, that of an operator at Rltxvllle, Wash. It la alleged that thla opera tor ha made confession Implicating balf a dozen other. According to the report of the de tective the smail group of which tho RltzvlIIe operator wa a member wa but a link In tho chain of conspiracy which extended from Helena to Sun Francisco. The mode of operation of the al leged conspirator was dimple. An operator at a sninll station where there was r.o checking; system would receives a message for another simi lar point, dike payment for the com pany, transmit the message and pocket the money, which wa sub sequently divided with the operator at tho receiving point. Some time beforo tho development of tho tele graphers' strike a year bro last Bum mer a similar graft wan unearthed by tho company, but with Its discov ery and the summary discharge of tho operatora Involved It came to an end. Will Hold Joint Inspection. Victoria. II. C, !. 10. Advice vror received by the suamer Km pre of China today that In eonae oueuce of arrangement regarding Japanese ImnilgratloD to tho UuMed Bute l)iwrn America and Japan tho Inspection of Japanese Imml grant to tbo United Htate I being earned out Jointly by lb American tnd Japnneae officials. Million ! n ftiixar. Washington. Dee. 11. rtgurea by tb Bureau of BUtlatlc ahow tha tho average Amarlcan conaumo balf of hi wolght of sugar oach yar and Unrle Ham' augar bill average million dollar a day. Tho total consumption of sugar In the United State In 1(07, a shown by a report Issued by tbo bureau, roacbod 7.0S1V k;,T6 pounds. tJKXETUlT IMOX ASSUMES OF- KICK OK IMIKHIDKNT OK IIATTI ort au I'rlnce, Dec. 10. General Antoln" Klmon, tbo newly elected President of Ilaytl, took the oath of office at 10 o'clock this morning a bo palace In the presence of foreign diplomat, tho officer of tho Amerl ran and Italian warship and tho lliytlan official of state. Senator I'atilln, who presided at tho session of rongres which elected Genera Hlmon President, officiated and d maided that tho President respect the constitution and other law o the republic. 1-ator, t tho reception which was held. M. Carteron, tho French min ister, ad.lret.sed (ho President on be half ow the diplomatic corps and of ficially presented the respect of tho foreign ministers. M. Claud, min ister of forHgn affairs, gave astir ances of the government' Intention to maintain the most cordial rela tlons with all government. FLEET LEAVES FOR SUEZ Starts on Ijonjcest of Entire Trip Around World. Washington, Doc. 22. Rear-Admiral Sperry, commanding the Amer ican battleship fleot, has cabled tho navy department that the fleet do parted Sunday from Colombo, Cey lon, for Suez, The fleet has begun the longost single let? of Its world cruise through the Indian Ocean, the Arabian and Red seas. Excavations Iteveal Hurled City. Washington, Dec. 20. An Ameri can. Pomepll is gradually being brought to light, according to the annual report of CharleB B. Walcott, secretary of the Smithsonian Institute. Under a special congressional ap proprlation, the work of excavating a prehistoric buried city at Casa Granda, near Florence, Ariz., has been conducted by Dr. J. Walter Fowkes. Already a number of struc tures have been discovered, but the largest one excavated during the year was a building 200 feet long with 11 rooms, the massive walls enclos ing a plaza. In the central room there Is a seat callod by the Pima Indians "Tho Seat of Montezuma." The ruins at Casa Granda were found to be very much more extensive than was an ticipated. Test for Cruisers' Coal. Newport, R. I., Dec. 20. The three scout cruisers Salem, Chester and Birmingham, which are being put through various tests to deter mine the relative efficiency of the turbine and reciprocating types of engineB, will be given some long sea runs ..bout February 1 for the pur pose of testing coal endurance. Each will be sent out with bunk ers full, 1400 tons, and will be re quired to make a run of 2000 miles at a uniform speed of 20 knots. Upon returning here the coal remaining will be weighed to determine the amount consumed. . OUR NATIONAL CAPITAL Interesting Event of the Week in WiiMiaington, 1). C. Washington, D. C. During tl. examination of Southern lumber manufacturers before the ways and means committee. Chairman Payne mudn It very apparent that he is strongly In favor of admitting for eign lumber to American markets free of duty. Mr. Payne has given Intimations to this effect heretofore but never so pointedly a Saturday, when ho undertook to lecture a Southern lumberman for asking for protection on his product, when his state persist In voting the Demo cratic ticket. Tho testimony of E. D. Motcalf, of Auburn, N. Y., representing the In ternatlonal Harvester Company, said his company is bo well entrenched in the 'agricultural Implement business that It does not need the tariff, end that it is immaterial to it how the tariff is changed. He did not deny that the International Harvester Company manufactures over 60 per cent of the agricultural machinery In the United States. C. P. Taft Out for Senate. Cincinnati, Dec. 21. Charles P. Taft left today for Columbus to open headquarters from which he will carry on his contest for the office of United States Senator in succession to Senator Foraker. Mr. Taft de clares that there is no truth in the atories that President Roosevelt is opposed to his candidacy. For Eczema, Tetter and Salt Rheum. The Intense Itching characteristic of these ailments is almost instantly allayed by Chamberlain's Salve. Many severe cases have been cured by It. For sale by P. M. Klrkland. A remarkable Increase in the value of mineral production since the be ginning of the new century is an nounced in 'a report of the geologi cal survey on the mineral resources of the United States. This includes all of the principal mineral prod ucts, representing an annual output of over $2,000,000,000, an advance of more than 100 per cent in less than ten years. The President returned to the sen ate without his signature the resolu tion fixing the boundary line between Colorado and New Mexico with a message giving a his reason a re port of the Attorney-General to the effect that the bill made material changes in the line, shifting five post-offices from one jurisdiction to another. Representative Mondell, of Wyom ing, speaking in the interest of the coal mining interests of Wyoming, asked that the duty on coal be kept where it is, saying that the Rocky Mountain miners could not compete with the Canadian coal producers without reducing wages If the tariff 1b reduced. SOME MEN IN CXITKft BTATKH NAVY III ruv.MNu io.ntkh Mitrs iinif p i niiiiLTi'i',r,inni "''" n IllrlV I jtlllir I 'I'lll'y of rnnttruritng monst llLII UilLllllLl ,Hhlp. blift than anythl PROMINENT MEN ANXIOU WIL SON TO REMAIN. Judg Balling' of loattl Is Slated for Portfolio of Secretary of tho Interior Charlos Nagtl for 8 c ro tary of Commore and Labor, Waahlngton, Doe. 11. Cabinet builder at tho national capital and those who havo moved to Georgia aa a part of tha entourage of President elect Taft, aro uc,cedln In placing on the anxious bench public men In all action of the country who have been looked upon a aspirant for portfolio. The announcement of the appoint ment of Frank H. Hitchcock to bo Postmaster-General, followed by that of Senator Philander C. Knox to be Secretary of State, and the generally accepted report that George W. Wlckenbam, of New York, Is the choice of Mr. Taft a Attorney-General, Indicate that the slate la being made, unrapldlya ndthata n nmi nce- ment of the entire Cabinet may bo expected before long. There seems to be a reasonable certainty that In addition to those named, Secretary Wilson will con tinue a year or more as the head of the agricultural department; that Secretary Garfield will retire from the Cabinet; that Judge Richard A. Balllnecr, of Seattle, will be given a place, probamy mat oi secretary of the Interior; that Luke E. Wright will retire from tho Cabinet and again take a post In the diplomatic service. Within the last few days the nama of Charles Nagel, of Missouri, has been discussed In connection with the secretaryship of the Department of Commerce and Iabor. Probably the most difficult place remaining to be filled is that of Sec retary of the treasury. Among those men mentioned are ex-Governor Myron T. Derrick and Representa- tlvo Burton. Washington. Dec. 11. Tho navy ho desir- or bat- ng yet built or ven designed Hwnrr. On plan presented by the Na.al Heard of Construction rail for elg'it 14-lmh gun and a displacement of IS, 000 tons, wbll another plat) pro vide for leetv II Inch gun and a displacement of 16,000 ton In the M-lnrh gun hlp the tntcknv of lh turret, aldo and barbette armor 111 be thicker than In tbe lMnch gun chip, giving better protection than the latter will enjoy. The navy department U pretty well committed to tbe all-big gun tblp plan and Congrro may consider It favorably when tbe matter la prop erly presented. Tho apeed of tho new ablpa I Intended to be from SO 1-4 to 10 1-1 knot an hour un der trial condition of load. .Mother Kill Children. Montpeller, Idaho, Dec. 20. Three death, to which a fourth may be added, are the result of a mother' deranged mind and the quick action of a deadly poUon. Mr. John Rosen, tbe wife of a well-to-do rancher, living a few mile from thl city, Saturday morn ing administered strychnine to her three children, a baby of four and two son aged aeven and ten year, fter dissolving the drug in wine. She then poisoned herself. Mr. Rosen, who wa In the barn yard at the time, entered the houae oon afterward and discovering the condition of affair, sent the oldest boy to a neighbor for help. Death Boon claimed the mother and young est child. The father followed the son who had gone for help and found him lying In the road llfelesa. WOOL HEN WILL POOL fiOTED JOURNALIST DIES Major Orlando J. Smith, Founder of the American Pres Association. New York, Dec. 20. Major Or lando J." Smith, founder, president and general manager of the Amerl can rress Association since isbz, died at his home in Dobbs Ferry to night. Major Smith had been ill Bince September, at which time he was operated upon for cancer of the stomach, but throughout his Illness he retained his interest in dally events. Major Smith was a prominent fig ure in American journalism for 40 years. Few men were better known in the newspaper world. After ac tive service in the Civil War, in which he. rose from the rank of pri vate to .ajor, Major Smith became editor of the Express, Terre Haute, Ind., removing the paper in 1878 to Chicago. In 1882 he founded the American Press Association. Major Smith possessed the broad est of minds. He was keenly in terested in life and its problems in all their manifold praises. He found relaxation from material cares in the tudy of religion and philosophy and economics. He embodied his views several volumes which have re ceived scores of attention from the World's thinkers. The most prom inent of Major Smith's books are: A Short View of Great Questions' ; The Coming Democracy"; "Eternal- sm"; "ualunce ana 'Agreement, Between Science and Religion." Major Smith is survived by a widow, two daughters and a son. The last named, Courtland Smith, is vice-president and assistant general manager of the American Press As sociation. Shortly after the holidays the Sen ate probably will decide where it will place marble busts of two of its vice-presidents, Roosevelt and Fairbanks. Mr. Roosevelt's career in the Senate was extremely brief, and although it ended about seven years ago, up to this time no bust of him has been made. Senators Lodge, Knox and Bacon have been named by the senate to represent that body on the Joint con gressional committee on the inaugur al ceremonies. Hoarse coughs and stuffy colds tha may develop into pneumonia over night are quickly cured by Foley's Honey and Tar, as It soothes inflam ed membranes, heals the lungs, and expels the cold from the system. P. M. Klrkland. Warship Maine Sails for South. Norfolk, Va., Dec. 21. A special from Fortress Monroe, Va., says: The United States battleship Maine, flagship of the third squad ron of the new Atlantic fleet, sailed today under sealed orders for the south. She is presumably bound for Venezuela. The armored cruiser oNrth Caro lina sails today for Charleston Bay. The cruiser Montana Is expected to pail Wednesday to join the North Carolina. j A Dangerous operation is he removal of the appendix by a surgeon. No one who takes Dr.King New. Life Pills is ever subjected to tbie1 frightful ordeal. They work so quietly you don't feel them. They cure constipation, headache, bilious ness and malaria. 25c at all druggists. Scheme to Reut Ituyer Chief Topic at l'ocatello. Pocatello, Idaho, Dec. 21. If the plans of the National Woolgrowers' Association, the 45th annual conven tion of which will be held in this city January 14 to 16, do not mis carry, the name of Boston as the wool center of the world will suffer a fatal blow. Western woolmen, who compose a majority of the mem bership of the National Association, are pledging themselves to support a movement for the establishment at Chicago of a great central wool mar ket of their own. To consummate this plan requires a pledge of 25,000,000 pounds of wool. Already in the states of Colo rado, Wyoming, Idaho, Utah, Ne vada, Washington and Oregon 18, 000,000 pounds of next season's clip have been signed up. By the time the Pocatello convention adjourns it is predicted by those in touch with the movement, 30,000,000 pounds of wool will have been placed in a gi gantic pool, and Boston commission men who heretofore have been dic tating prices to Vestern flockmas- ters will find their occupation gone. CALIFORNIA WILL REFUSE TO PAY HIGHER RAILROAD RATES San Francisco, Dec. 20. Shippers and importers of California are ar ranging to unite in a state-wide pro test against the Increase In transcon tinental tariffs announced by the Southern Pacific and Santa Fe rail roads as effective on January 1. Op position will take the form of a score of mass meetings, held in the leading cities on December 30, when representatives of leading industries will set forth the grievances of the business men against the carriers. An executive committee appointed some weeks ago to deal with the question has announced this method of procedure as more desirable than an appeal to the courts, which was regarded as productive of delay, or to the Interstate Commerce Commis sion, which is powerless to take ac tion until such rate changes have taken effect. MINER KILLS HUGE BEAR WITH A. CHUNK OF ORE. Reno, Nev., Dec. 20 R. W. Booth, one of the pioneer mlnnlng men and journalists of Tonopah, had a thrill ing experience while examining a tunnel in one of his properties near the Big Southern mining camp yesterday. At a distance of 150 feet from the mouth he stumbled over what proved to be a huge brown bear. The animal had been driven Into the mine to escape the cold weather. Booth immediately realized his dan ger and grappled with the bear, club bing the beast over the head with boulder of ore. In this way the bear was rendered unconscious and finally killed. Christmas dance in the opera house in this city, given by Independence orchestra. Remember the days Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. Matinee and evening Sunday. Wonderland Theatre. 2tf. Holiday Novelties You,LL.findourdisp,a' I of Holiday Goods un usually large this season, and the values are better than ever before. t DOLLS, GAMES, PICTURE BOOKS, For tbe Children. . TOILET CASES, MANICURE SETS, POST CARD ALBUMS, COLLAR 4 CUFF BOXES, MILITARY SETS, SHAVING SETS, and an endls variety of trinkets suitable for present. HOLIDAY SLIPPERS FOR LADIES, HOLIDAY SLIPPERS FOR MEN. Why not make your wife a present of a fine linen table cloth with nap kin to match, or one of our FANCY HANDLE SILK PARASOLS. PRACTICAL PRESENTS will be appreciated by your friend because they are useful. Give your husband or your boy a SUIT OF CLOTHES or a . GOOD RAIN COAT or a pair of SHOES. You'll find our prices reasonable because we stick to the spot cash plan and are satisfied with small profits. SALEM, OREGON SALEM, OREGON OUR EXHIBITION of Christmas Merchandise is great spick and span new goods from the best manufacturers of America and Europe. New Dress and Waisting Silks, new Wool Suitings in the new directoire materials. We are showing the lates New York craze: the EmpressNippon Goats Also all the new styles in Directoire Suits, sheath Skirts, silk Petticoats, fine Furs, silk Umbrellas, kid Gloves in all shades, fancy neck wear and Ruchings. We show the strongest line of up-to-date new merchandise shown in this part of the world and at prices you cannot beat in Chicago or New York. r