1
Oregon Legislature
Opens 28th Session
State Capitol, Salem Ben Selling,
of Portland, wag elected speaker of the
house of representative at the opening
of the 28th legislative assembly Mon
day by a vote of 37 to 22 for Allen
Eaton, of Eugene,
The Selling forces remained intact
and voted solidly for their man on the
first ballot. Likewise the Eaton
strength was undisturbed by the
efforts of the oppoBiton.
Selling had 87 votes on the first
ballot. Cardwell, of Douglas, one of
his supporters, was absent. Eaton had
the remaining 22 votes.
The four Democrats, including Miss
Towne, the only woman member, voted
for Eaton.
Selling had the support of the Mult
nomah delegation with the exception
of Gill. On the other hand, Selling
gained the vote of Stewart, of
Wheeler, who previously had been
counted with the Eaton forces.
Upon Eaton's own motion the elec
tion of Selling whs made unanimous
mSISmSm
Ben Selling, of Multnomah County,
Speaker of House.
j
and Selling was escorted to the chair
by Eaton himself, and Hinkle, of Uma
tilla. . Chief Justice Moore administered
the oath arid the new speaker lost no
time with Bpeechmaking. He imme-
i diately proceeded with the organiza
tion. The following namtd attaches were
elected by the house : Chief clerk, W.
F. Drager, Sulem; journal clerk,
Harold A. Wilkinn, Portland; reading
clerk, Dudley, R. Clark. Portland;
calendar clerk, Charles Erekine, Bend;
sergeant-at-arms, H. T. Bruce, Port
land; doorkeeper, George Miller,
Baker; mailing clerk, W. S. Mc
Adams, Independence.
The speaker appointed Joseph F.
Singer, of Portland, assistant sergeant-at-arms.
The committee on rules also
W. F. Drager, Salem, Chief Clerk of
House.
was named. The committee is com
posed of Forbes, Jeffries, Eaton, Lewis
and Hinkle. The committee on resolu
tions is formed of Handley, Irvin, Rit
ner, Davey and Hare.
The house reconvened at 2 :30 in the
afternoon and immediately went into
committee of the whole for the elec
tion of clerks and other officers. Dav
ey, of Malheur, wag chairman of the
committee and Olson, of Multnomah,
secretary.
Before reporting back to the house
the committee voted to destroy Its rec
ords and pledged its members to keep
secret the vote and other proceedings
of the committee. It was not until
then that someone noticed that the
newspaper reporters had been present
II the time and had taken notes on all
the proceedings. Whereupon the re
porters agreed not to use the informa
tion with the understanding that they
be admitted to future so-called secret
meetings.
The committee of the whole reported
back to the house the result of its de
liberations. The speaker then ap
pointed his committees on rules and of
resolutions and named Gerald Knewes,
Edward Heenan and Farrell Olds as
Pget. .
Crawford FileB Report.
Salem Former Attorney General
Crawford has filed with Attorney Gen
eral Brown special report in which
he recommends an appropriation of
$8000 to defray the expenses of litiga
tion now pending which includes the
Hyde-Benson and Pacific Livestock
cases, in which the recovery of title to
lands alleged to have been secured by
fraud is sought. At the time the at
torney general made his report, the
ease against the Pacific Livestock com
pany was held up by demurrer. This
demurrer hag now been overruled.
State Capitol, Salem Disposing of
preliminaries with celerity, the state
senate early Monday afternoon per
fected its permanent organization, and
the announcement of committees made
it ready for active work.
W. Lair Thompson, of Lakeview,
was elected president without serious
opposition, although Senators Dimick,
of Clackmas, and Kellaher, of Mult-
monah, voted for Senator Wood, of
Washington county. Mr. Thompson
also voted for Senator Wood. The
vote was, Thompson 26, Wood S. ' As
was predicted, I. N. Day, of Mult
nomah, was elected temporary presi
dent and John P. Hunt, of Marion,
temporary secretary.
So far along did the senate get with
its work resolutions were introduced
by several members and three mes
sages were recieved from Governor
West. The only exciting race was
that between Glenn 0. Holman, Theo
dore Rowland and James Church for
calendar clerk, tight ballots were
W. Lair Thompson, of Crook, Klamath
and Lake Counties, President of
senate.
taken without any candidate having a
majority. Then a recess was declared
and when the session was resumed Mr,
Holman's name was withdrawn. On
the next ballot Mr. Church was elected
by a large majority.
The senate was called to order at
10:20 o'clock by W. D. Wood, dean of
the upper house. I. S. Smith, of
MarBhfleld, nominated I. N. Day, for
temporary president; Dan Kellaher,
moved that the nominations be closed,
and Mr. Day was elected by a unan
imous vote.
W. Lair Thompson, of Lakeview,
nominated John P. Hunt, of Marion,
for temporary' secretary, and there be
ing no other nominations, Mr. Hunt
was declared elected.
John W. Cochran, Multnomah County,
Cruel Clerk ot senate.
Upon motion of Burgess, of Pend
leton, the temporary president, a com
mittee of three on credentials, com
posed of Von der Hellen, of Jackson';
Hawley, of Benton, and Smith, of
Josephine.
Burgess, Perking, of Multnomah,
and Hollis, of Forest Grove, were ap
pointed a committee on permanent or
ganization. The report of the committee on cre
dentials called attention to the va
cancy in Douglas county because of the
resignation of Senator Neuner to be
come district attorney. Order of bus
iness was outlined in the report of the
committee on permanent organization.
Nation Asked to Kill Peats.
State Capitol, Salem Declaring
that carnivorous animals having their
habitat in the public landa of the state
cause losses in livestock and poultry
aggregating $15,000 annually, Senator
Burgess, of Umatilla, has Introduced a
resolution providing that the legisla
ture memoralize congress to appropri
ate $300,000 for suppressing these an
imals. The rules were suspended and
the resolution was adopted. The sen
ator said that In spite of large amounts
paid out as bounties, it had been found
Impossible to suppress coyotes, wolves,
wildcats, cougarB and bears in many
of the states.
West Portrait to Be Hung.
State Capitol, Salem It is probable
that the legislature will provide funds
for a painting of Ex-Governor West,
to be hung on the north wall of the
house chamber, west of the main
entrance. Representative Gill Is plan
ning to introduce resolution to that
effect. This will be in accordance with
the customs of the past. There are
now in the senate and house chambers
painted portraits of all the governors
that have served the state. The pro
posed Gill resolution will carry an ap
propriation of $600.
rr 1
Revival of V. S. Industries
Shows Great Improvement
Chicago Material progress of in
dustrial activity in the United States
was emphasized last week by carrying
out of many plans of expanded opera
tions. Railroads placed orders for rolling
stock, steel rails and track supplies ag
gregating $6,670,000. Inquiry for
more than $10,000,000 more of these
necessities are pending among the
larger systems.
Reports from day to day indicate
that railroad shops, the steel and
kindred lines and a large number of
miscellaneous industries throughout
the country have re-employed upward
of 40,000 men since the new year be
gan. The United States Steel corpora
tion's increase of 512,051 tons in un
filled orders in December, the first
monthly gain in business since last
AuguBit, shows the favorable effect of
the Eastern freight-rate decsiion. Or
ders placed since January 1 constitute
additional tonnage, bo it is fair to
assume that the increasing volume of
steel demand will lead to steady en
largement of mill operations.
New projects aggregating between
$5,000,000 and $6,000,000, involving
plant additions at some of the Eastern
steel mills, new steamships and the
resumption of enterprises retarded by
the war, were announced last week.
Far more than a Btraw of financial
encouragement is found in the an
nouncement that the Pennsylvania
Railroad company has arranged to
bring out a $100,000,000 bond issue in
March. While a large part of the
issue will be used for refunding pur
poses, much of the proceeds will be
utilized in meeting physical require
ments of the system. The St. Paul
railroad offering of $29,141,300 bonds
reflects a substantial program of new
construction.
Pittsburg Steel found no difficulty
in selling $5,000,000 bonds, which is
another indication of easier finances
and the quick sale of the Argentine
nation's $15,000,000 notes is a strong
indication of the receptive character
of the investment market.
These tangible developments of in
dustrial activity and financial confi
dence are of greater importance than
they have been at any time since the
change in business for the better be
came evident the latter part of No
vember. Lumber and cotton, the two indus
tries which suffered severely during
the depression, also have shown
marked improvement. Sales of lum
ber for export amounting to more than
$2,000,000 are reported in Kansas
City. Exports of cotton are increas
ing, and the fact that the $100,000,000
loan fund has been called on to do duty
only the utmost insignificant propor
tions is indicates that the' South is'
rapidly solving its own financial prob
lems.
German Strategy fails
and Causes Heavy Loss
Petrograd The following official
communication was issued Tuesday
trom general headquarters:
"On the left bank of the Vistula,
both day and night, January 10, the
Germans attempted, without success,
to attack our line at several points,
but were repulsed everywhere by our
tire.
"In an attack in the region of the
village of Samice, east of Skiernei
wice, the Germans reached our barbed
wire entanglements and began to
shout : Do not fire : we are yours !
"However, as similar strategy had
been employed before, therefore the
vigilance of our troops was not de-
ceived by this maneuver of the Ger
mans and we directed against them a
destructive fire and delivered a coun
ter attack, repulsing the enemy and
inflicting heavy losses upon them.
"In Galicia the cannon and rifle fire
has been kept going and we remain in
contact with the enemy."
Pope to Act if War Gains.'
Rome Information was obtained
here that in case of Italy's interven
tion In the war, the Pope has agreed to
recommend that diplomatic represents'
tives of enemy countries accredited to
the Holy See leave Rome, while the
Italian government, on its part, under
takes to guarantee a continuance of
the Pope'g telegraphic and epistolar
correspondence with the entire world.
The agreement is the result of negotia
tions between the Vatican and the gov
ernment, in which Agliardi, bishop of
Albano, acted aa intermediary.
State Sues Santa Claus.
North Yakima, Wash. Lucia A.
Crangle, of Olympia, assistant state
labor commissioner, has filed a com
plaint charging Mrs. Henshaw, pro
prietor .of the Michigan Cafe, with
violating the eight-hour law for
women, in connection with the serving
of a Christmas dinner to poor children
Christmas Day. A patron of the hotel
paid for the dinner.
Mother-Teacher Victor.
Albany, N. Y. A teacher may not
be dismissed because Bhe absents her
self from the public schools to bear a
child, Commissioner John H. Finley,
Of the state department of education,
has decided. The decision definitely
determines the status of mother-teachers
in the state, as under existing
laws there is no appeal.
German Fleet Is Ready.
Copenhagen The entire German
high seas fleet is massed at Wiihelms
haven and Cuxhaven, ready to sally
forth u meet the British dreadnaughts.
The port of Kiel has not a single first-
plftajl llMlt finlw few nhftnattA VAoanla
remaining. j
f i ' .4, , fl
View of Scarborough, on the east coast of England, which, together
bombarded by the German raiding squadron of cruisers.
THOUSANDS DEAD
IN EARTHQUAKE
Italian Villages Destroyed; Big
Buildings Damaged.
Statuary at Rome Cracked, Street
car Line Quit King Goes to
Scene of Catastrophe.
London Reports early, Thursday
morning are that 15,000 persons are
buried in the ruins of Avezzano alone.
King Victor Emmanuel has gone to
the afflicted district, and troops are
being rushed to do relief work.
Rome Italy again has been visited
by an earthquake of wide extent,
which, according to the late advices,
has resulted in the death of 12,000
persons and injury to possibly 20,000
more in towns and villages destroyed.
The shock was the strongest Rome
has felt in more than a hundred years.
The town of Avezzano, in the Abruzzi
department, 63 miles east of Rome,
has been leveled to the ground. Here
8000 persons are reported to have been
killed.
In many small towns surrounding
Rome buildings were partially
wrecked, while at Naples a panic oc
curred and houses fell at Caserta, a
short distance to the east.
From below Naples in. the south to
Ferrera in the north, a distance of
more than 300 miles, and across almost
the width of the country, the undula
tory movement contained for a consid
erable period. "
In Rome it was thought at first that
two shocks had occurred, but the
seimographic instruments in the ob
servatories showed there was only one,
which beginning at 7 :65 o'clock in the
morning, lasted from 22 to 30 seconds.
In the capital itself, so far as
known, there was no loss of life, but a
great deal of damage was done,
churches and statues suffering most.
For a time the people were stricken
with fear and there was a veritable
panic in the hospitals, monasteries and
convents. The buildings on both sides
of the Porta del Popolo, the north en
trance to Rome, threatened to fall, and
the eagle decorating the gate crashed
to the ground.
The obelisk in St. Peter's square
wag shaken and badly damaged, while
the statue of St. John Lateran and the
statues of the apostles surmounting
the Basilica are in danger of collapse.
The famous colonade decorating the
dome of the church of St. Charles Cat
inari was cracked. A large piece of
the cornice of the Jesuit church of St.
Agnatius broke and fell with a crash
which added to the fright of persons
in the neighborhood.
Ceilings in many of the bouses fell,
several persons being injured in that
manner.
Several streetcar lines suspended
operations because of the damage
caused by the earthquake.
At Torre Cajetani, about 37 miles
east of Rome, almost the entire village
was destroyed, while at Amara the
municipal building collapsed.
Tide Swelled by Gale.
Boston Features of the storm which
lashed Southeastern New England
Thursday were the unusually high tide
that swept into Massachusetts Bay in
the forenoon and the damage to tele
graph and telephone wires in Bristol
county, In Rhode Island and in Eastern
Connecticut. The tidal rise in this
city came within 1.22 feet of the
record established in the famous gale
of 1851, ' when : Minot's Ledge light
house was destroyed, and was the fifth
big tide in the last 15 years. Summer
residences were badly battered.
All on Scharnhorst Lost.
Amsterdam Information received
at Berlin is to the effect that none of
the officers or crew were saved from
the German crusier Scharnhorst, sunk
off the Falkland Islands by the British
squadron. Seven officers and 171 men
were saved from the Gneisenau, seven
men from the Numberg and four offi
cers and 15 men from the Leipszig.
ENGLISH CITY BOMBARDED BY THE
From numerous places in the .affect
ed regions calls for doctors and medi
cine are reaching Rome. Pope Bene
dict was reciting the thanksgiving
after the morning mass when the
shock occurred.
At the capitol two magnificent can
dlesticks fell and were broken. At
the Palazzo del Drago, where Thomas
Nelson Page, the American ambassa
dor lives, several cracks in the build
ing, which had already eixsted, opened
wider, and plaster fell, in several of
the rooms. '
Senators Approve Army
Coast Defense Measures
Washington, D. C. War depart
ment bills to strengthen the army and
create a reserve corps were taken up
Wednesday by the senate military com
mittee in open session with Secretary
Garrison and his aides present to ex
plain the various projects. Members
of the committee indicated by their
questions their general approval of the
measures.
Senator Dupont, however, objected
to the bill providing for the addition
of 1000 officers to the mobile army,
contending that it would create nearly
a thousand vacancies in the grade of
second lieutenant and provide for a
disproportion of colonels and lieuten
ant colonels.
Secretary Garrison said the bills
had been prepared in the war college
by his direction and that he had di
rected that efficiency of the army
should be the end sought. He said
statements of the reason of the appor
tionment selected would be drafted at
once for the committee.
Discussing the bill providing for the
creation of a reserve corps by grant
ing power to the secretary to discharge
competent men from the regular army
into the reserve at the end of one year
of service, Mr. Garrison said the pres
ent reserve system, which had pro
duced a force of only 16 men in two
yearB, was a "vacuum." His plan, he
believed, would bring to the army a
class of recruits not now available.
The secretary strongly urged the
enactment of the bill providing for the
officers' reserve corps.
Even with the other bills enacted, he
said, the department would be faced,
in time of war, with the problem of
providing officers for a force of 850,
000 men, and it now had no list of
graduates of military schools or other
civilians competent to take these posi
tions. The secretary said the enactment of
the coast artillery bill would bring
that arm of the service up to 50 per
cent of the strength it would have in
war. He said he had considered this
the most urgent matter, because the
isolated position of the United States
made its coast defenses of most im
portance. A single shot from a big
gun, he. said, would sink a $15,000,000
battleship, but no foe would take a
chance against the coast defenses in
order to drop a few random shells into
cities.
General Weaver, chief of the coast
artillery, told the committee that the
United States had expended $175,000,
000 on its coast defenses since 1888,
and that, in material, thev were the
best in the world.
400,000 to Meet Serbs.
London The Petrograd correspond
ent reports it is the general belief in
Russia that the projected new invasion
of Servia is due to the urgent de
mands of Hungarian statesmen that
something should be done to defend
their country, otherwise they threat
en that Hungary will look after her
self. It is said that an expedition of
400,000 men is being made ready un
der the nominal command of Archduke
Eugene of Austria, to which will be
attached a German general as the real
leader.
Albanians Plan Attack.
Athens The Albanian insurgents,
according to information which has
reached here, have occupied the
heights of Ritspol. They have placed
guns in position for use against Du
razzo, the Albanian port recently
shelled by Italian forces, and where
Essad Pasha and his troops, represent
ing the provisional government, are
stationed.
GERMANS
with Whitby and Hartlepool, was
Starving Chinese Sell
Wives to Buy Food
Pekin The ordinary suffering in
China has been so intensified by loss
of trade with Europe that in some
provinces the sale of wives and chil
dren is being carried on extensively.
The Manchus of Shansi province
have resorted to thisjpractice so gen
erally that President Yun Shi Kai has
issued a mandate in which he speaks
of the conditions as "heartrending."
"In former days," according to the
mandate, "the banner men (followers
of the Manchu banners) of Shansi
were supported by the Ta-ying gran
ary. But since the revolution they
have been dealt with in accordance
with the common rule, namely,jall sup
port has been withdrawn. The fac
tories of the banner- men have also
been suspended on account of lack of
funds. Therefore means of livelihood
have been greatly reduced. The win
ter will set in very soon, and it is ex
pected that the prices of foodstuffs
will rise. The aged and the young
will be starved to death, while the
stronger ones will wander from their
homes.
"Therefore we are very anxious
about them, and it is hereby ordered
that 2000 shih (a shih is 100 litres) of
rice from the Ta-ying granary of the
Shansi province be delivered over to
the major of the garrison, to be dis
tributed to the genuinejsufferers."
Czar Sends 1,000,000 New
Men Against Prussians
London That Russia has started a
new army of from 800,000 to 1,000,000
men toward West Prussia to co-operate
with the army invading East Prussia
and the forces on the Vistula, is indi
cated, think military authorities, by
dispatches from Petrograd which say
the Russians have reached a point 40
miles east of the German fortress of
Thorn, after defeating a cavalry de
tachment. It is believed that the plan iB to
crush the German forces in the region
of Mlawa, between the Russian army
in East Prussia and the one advancing
on West Prussia, and also to operate
against the lines of communication of
the Germans operating before Warsaw.
Allies Report Heavy Loss
In Aisne Valley lighting
London The German official report
issued at Berlin Saturday, says that
the entire north bank of the Aisne has
been cleared of French troops and that
the retreat of the allies was accom
plished only under the fire of German
heavy guns. A further announcement
from the main headquarters of the
German army says that as a net result
of the three days' fighting northeast of
Soissons about 6200 prisoners, 14 guns,
six machine guns and some revolver
guns were captured.
The further statement is made that
the French suffered heavy losses, from
4000 to 6000 dead French soldiers be
ing found on the battlefield.
British Gain One Mile.
Paris The Havaa Agency has re
ceived a dispatch from Stomer, dated
Januarv 10. which relatm a Rritiah
victory and an advance near La Basse
of one mile. The message follows :
"The British, by an impetuous at
tack, stormed the strongly entrenched
German position near La Basse after a
vigorous shelling. This is an import
ant strategic noint and its
represents an advance of one mile.
ine British losses were slight, but the
Germans lost heavilv. Manv Germans
were taken prisoners.'"
Silver Fox Found Dead.
Portlands' gilver fox is no more.
The little animal was found dead in
his cage at Washington Park zoo, a
victim of old age. He had been in the
zoo for many years and was one of the
principal attractions for children. For
some time he had showed signs of
failing. Silver foxes are so rare that
a good specimen is said to be worth
about $1000.