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About The Hood River glacier. (Hood River, Or.) 1889-1933 | View Entire Issue (Aug. 18, 1894)
The Hood River Glacier. It's a Cold Day When We Get Left. . VOL. 6. HOOD RIVER, OREGON, SATURDAY. AUGUST 18, 1894. NO. 12: 3(eed iiver Slacier. -PUBLISHED KVIRT SAT (7 BD AT MORNING T The Glacier FablisMng Company. SUBSCRIPTION PRICE. On. year. ,.ff M Six months..-..'-,;; 1 nc Three month. . .........., SO BnKl.eop; (Cast. THE GLACIER Grant Evans, Propr, Seoond St., near Oak. - Hood River, Or. Shaving and Hair-cutting neatly dona. Satisfaction Guaranteed. CUT THEM IN TWO The Great Northern Reduces Its Elevator Rates. . IT CAUSES CONSTERNATION. Elevator Men Are Alarmed, at They Think Mr. Hill's Policy Means Ruin for Their Interests The Cut Is In the Interest' of Discontented Farmers. 04UTH, Minn., August 10. The East ern Minnesota, a part of the Great ' Northern system, to-day issued a circu lar cutting charges of handling and stor ing wheat in terminal elevators at this point in two, in order to help the farm- ers of the Northwest, who have been growing more and more discontented aa a result of the decrease in prices. Own ers of the other elevators at once called on General Manager ; Farrington and threatened to have the certificates of the Great Northern elevators uled off the Duluth board if the schedule was put into effect. Mr. Farrington ' dared them to do it, paying they would take their , business elsewhere if they adopted such . a foolish policy. .t T he elevator men are in consternation, aa they think J. J. Hill's new policy means ruin for their ; interests, which involve millions. Mr. Si Hill, according to Mr. Farrington, looks upon a terminal elevator as he does a ireight shed, and wants to ' make no charges at all for handling and storing wheat. He would have abolished charges altogether but,. for the ruin it, would ' have brought to elevator interests. , The elevator men are thoroughly alarmed. It is claimed Duluth and Minneapolis mills will be injured by the change. FAMINE-STRICKEN COREANS. A Movement Is on Foot In This Country to Send Them Relief. New York, August 11. The move ment to send relief to the famine-stricken Coreans has already taken shape, and is being vigorously pushed. In response to the offer of the Christian Herald of New York, to contribute 1,000 barrels of flour to any cargo that may be sent to that country, the Corean Minister, Ye Sung Soo, yesterday telegraphed to that paper the following from Washington : " Your noble and generous contribu tion of 1,000 barrels of flour substan tially starts the movement to relieve my starving countrymen. My heart is full of gratitude to you for your prompt as sistance, and I shall' notify my govern ment of the relief that may be expected from this country. It fills my heart with pain and regret that my starving coun trymen and prostrate government can not find means to transport the contri bution you have so generously started. In a day or two I hope I shall be able to advise you whether the shipping port shall be New York or San Francisco. The latter port would be better." Dr. Louis Klopsch of the Christian Herald has forwarded the following dis patch to Secretary Gresham, inviting the assistance of the government in for warding the proposed cargo: " The pathetic appeal made by the Corean Minister in behalf of his starving people provokes widespread sympathy. If means of transportation can be se cured, a large cargo of grain for the re lief of these starving multitudes can be provided. Will the United States gov ernment undertake the transportation from either New York or San Fran ciBco?" It is further proposed to secure the co-operation of the various boards of trade and exchanges throughout the country, and especially at San Francisco and Chicago. The cargo, when com pleted, will probably clear from the former port, and it is believed that a guarantee of immunity from seizure, either by China or Japan, will be granted. Steamer Empress of China Ashore. London, August 7. The British steamer Empress of China, Captain Archibald, from Vancouver via Yoko hama for Shanghai, is ashore at the lat ter port. It will be necessary to dis charge all the cargo before she can be floated. The Empress of China is a vessel of 8,000 tons register and a regular trader between Vancouver and China and Japanese ports. She belongs to the Canadian Pacific Railway Company. , Barbci'Shop NORTHWEST MEWS. Washington. Tekoa wants bids on $11,400 6 per cent funding bonds. Ex-State School Superintendent Brvan is to be principal of the Aberdeen schools. The sum of $20,000 is being disbursed by a special agent among the Indians at Tekoa. . The money is due them from the government. Townships 28, in ranges 31, 32, 33 and 34, E. W. M., in Lincoln county will be open for settlement September 5, 1894. This comprises 49,117 acres along the Columbia river. Actual settlers will have ninety days from September 5 in which to otter their tiling. Spokane 'county has a surplus of .re sources ftverr liabilities amounting to $103,31)9.47, according to the nnanciai statement for the year ending June 30, 1894. The indebtedness of the county amounts to $512,902.86, of which $483, 000 is bonded indebtedness and $29,- 902.88 floating. On Hood canal points fir logs have ad vanced $1 per thousand, and are selling at from $5.50 to $6.50. This is the result of the increased activity in the foreign lumber demand, and some conservative mill men say that if less had been said about the increase in business there would not have been any anxiety among loggers to secure an advance. me in crease . in the price of logs brings the price about back to the prevailing prices of 1893. The offer of school district No. 58 of Clark county, of $1,6000 funding bonds, has been accepted by the State Land Commission, subject to approval by the Attorney-General. Secretary Cowen has submitted a report to the commission exonerating Charles Browder, ex-Auditor of AVhitman county from careless ness or collusion in the matter of dis counting delinquencies on State land contracts. The land selections made in township 23 north, 5 west, and township 16 north, 8 west, were approved and ap portioned to the graht for charitable. educationable, penal and reformatory institutions. Oregon. T7rr.iYi an ' 'irtirvmTir uritVi T?orAlvor J- Clark of tne Oregon Pacific it was learned that the road is still holding its own, with prospects somewhat brighter for the future. During the month just closed between 4,000 and 5,000 ties have, been removed and new ones placed in their stead, and the extensive repairs begun some months ago on the Willam ette bridge at Albany have been com pleted. The system inaugurated by Mr. Clark soon after his appointment, has been carried right along until now the road is in a better-condition both physic ally and financially than it has been for over two years. The receiver pays cash for everything, and all bills for material and supplies are discounted, a thing which has not happened for years, ras senger traffic for the past month has im proved wonderfully over that of former years. Trains of four' and five cars are run regularly and carry from 100 to 300 bay-bound passengers daily. In his annual review of the salmon business, just issued, Mr. Kinney of As toria savs : "After many weeks of un certainty and an almost confirmed be lief that the pack would be smaller than that of any previous year in the history of salmon-canning on the Columbia river, the season of 1894 is about to close, and it is safe to estimate the total pack at 10 per cent in excess of last year's figures. JJuring the earlier portion of the season the gen eral belief in the four-year-run theory was rudelv shaken bv the comparative scarcity of fish, while the destruction of wheels in the upper river materially in creased the probabilities of a much-di minished catch, btui another cause lor uneasiness was the fact that until quite recently seining was practically useless, owing to the vast volume of water which for weeks rushed down the uoiumoia river and its tributaries. Trap-fishing was also exceedingly poor because of the freshet and the resultant muddy state of the water. It will be readily seen, therefore, that nothing short of a phenominally large run of salmon dur ing the latter days of the season would enable canners to reach even last year's figures. But within the past thirty days the shortage was rapidly decreased, the catch having been greater than for any corresponding period for many years past, considering the quantity ot gear in use. DYNAMITE AND THE DAGGER. Santo Says He Was Tired of Looking on an Infamous World. Paris, August 11. The mother of Caesario Santo, the assassin of Presi dent Carnot, has written to Mme. Car not asking her to intercede with Presi dent Casimir-Perier for the life of her son. The mother received this letter from Caesario : " Dear Mother I write you a few lines in order to inform you I have been con demned to death. What must you think of me? You cannot think I am an as sassin and malefactor. You know my good heart, and my tenderness was al ways shown to you. Well, my heart is the same to-day. If I have committed this act, it was simply because I was tired looking on such an infamous world. I thank the priest for coming to me, but 1 do not care to coniess. I salute you, my brothers, sisters and others, with a thousand kisses." Creedon and Fitzsimmons. St. Louis, August 12. Dan Creedon, the Australian middle-weight now play ing at one of the theaters here, received a telegram from New York this evening, asking him if he would meet Bob Fitz simmons at the Seaside Athletic Ulub in a six-round go for $1,000. His reply was that he would meet Fitzsimmons for any purse and a side bet of $1,000 to a finish, at 158 pounds, and that no other proposi tion would be entertained. A VETO MESSAGE. President Cleveland Exercises His Great Prerogative. CAPTAIN WELLS NOT RETIRED For Reasons Roth General and Specific He Finds It His Duty to Call a Halt The President Reviews the Military Record of Captain Wells. Washington, August 8. President Cleveland gave to Congress a clear state- ment of his views on special legislation for the retirement of army officers in a veto to-day of the bill for the relief of Eugene Wells, late Captain of the Twelfth Infantry. The bill authorized the President to appoint the beneficiary a Second Lieutenant of artillery, to be placed on the retired list for disability without the usual examination by a re tiring board. The President writes : Appointments to the army under author ity of the present legislation which named the proposed appointees, and the purpose of which is the immediate re tirement of the appointee, are open to serious objections, though I confess I have been persuaded through sympathy and sentiment on a number of occasions to approve such legislation. When, how ever, it is proposed to make the retire ment compulsory and without reference to age or previous examination a most objectionable feature is introduced. The cases covered by the special en actments referred to are usually such as should, if worthy of consideration, be provided for under general br corpora tion pension lawB, leaving the retired list of the army to serve the legitimate purpose for which it was established. A recent decision in the House of Repre sentatives upon a bill similar to the one now before me drew from a memoran dum of the House Committee on Mili tary Affairs the declaration that hun dreds of such bills were before that com mittee, and that there were fifty prece dents for the passage of the particular one under discussion. It seems to me this condition suggests such an encroach ment upon the retired list of the army as should lead to the virtual abandon ment of such legislation in sound policy and good administration. There are facts connected with the case covered by the -bill now before me which in my judgment forbids its favorable consider- j ation: The President then reviews the mili tary record of Captain Wells, saying that in the fall of 1870 he was charged with conduct unbecoming an officer and a gentleman. . The specifications were that while intoxicated he had violently as saulted other officers at Fort Fetterman, Wvoming, and struck one on the head with a billiard cue. Before his trial he took advantage of an act just passed to apply for hi? discharge, which was given I ! 1 ,L. l . liLJ t mm aiiu wiw cu&rgea wuuurawu. xu 1885 he was appointed a Second Lieu tenant against the protests of other of ficers, and in 1887 was charged with being drunk on duty and with conduct to the prejudice of good order and mili tary discipline in refusing to obey the commands of his superior officer ; was court-martialed and dismissed in 1887. The message continues : " Since that time repeated efforts have been made to vacate this judgment and restore the dismissed officer to the serv- , While a number of committees in Congress have made reports favorable to such action, at least committees have recommended a denial of legislative re lief. Both of these reDorts were made on behalf of the Committees on Military Affairs by distinguished soldiers, who after patient examination, and with an inclination to be not only lust but gen erous to a fellow-soldier, were con strained to recommend a refusal of the application for restoration. I am im- f tressed with the belief that the legis ation of the kind proposed is of ex tremely doubtful expediency in any save very exceptional cases, and I am thor oughly convinced by the facts now be fore me that the discipline and efficiency of our army, as well as justice to its meritorious members, does not permit my approval on any ground of the bill herewith returned." - DISGRACEFUL. RIOT. Churches Are Demolished by a Mob in Quebec, Canada. Quebec, August 8. This city was last night the scene of a disgraceful and riotous demonstration. The French Bap tist mission has recently been estab lished in this city with its headquarters in a building on Bridge street. A mob gathered around the building, and an at tack was begun upon it with stones. The attack was a fierce one, and the windows and doors yielded to the shower of stones pelted upon them. The poor preachers, cooped up in the building without any means whatever of defense, could not venture out, and were held prisoners for some time, until a force of police came along and cleared away the mob, which numbered 6,000, composed mostly of French Catholics. The mob went to the building occupied by the French Angelican mission. This place too was wrecked. By the time the police got this far the rioters had moved on, and were at the Salvation Army bar racks. Here another fusilade of stones took place, and the nronertv of the 1 Army sustained considerable damage. The police here also arrived too late to make any arrests, and hearing that the rioters had again made for the Baptist mission, they started in cabs for that place, where they arrived just in time to prevent a second riot. The streets were cleared, and the missionaries were I escorted to their homes by the police to prevent further violence being offered them. There is every reason to fear a recurrence of trouble, and the fact that a similar disturbance led to rather seri ous results, a few years ago, gives rise to the gravest apprehension on this scoref The city has been quiet to-day, but an outbreak is feared should the Salvation Army attempt to parade the streets. LATEST WAR NEWS. Japan Closely Watching the Movements of Russia. London, August 8. A dispatch from Tuen says a Chinese cruiser has captured a Japanese trading bark and taken her to Taku. All pilots have been warned not to guide Japanese vessels or to give them any information as to the waters ofjjthe coast. A copy of a Japanese edict issued since the declaration has been re ceived by the Central News correspond ent in Shanghai. It says the local au thorities will be held responsible for the lives and property of the Chinese sub jects remaining in the several districts. Russia's movements are watched very closely by Japan because of a report of a Russian-Chinese entente. The weather on the China Sea is so rough all the lat- ter's vessels have been driven to shelter. The Japanese cruisers are supposed to be concentrated at Uhemuipo. THE WEAKNESS OF CHINA. London, August 8. Captain Lang, a former director in the Chinese navy and supervisor of the building of many forts, said in an interview to-day : The Chi nese are well trained and excellent marksmen. China's navy is about equal to Japan's. The Japanese have more dash and spirit than the Chinese have, but all depends on how the Chinese are led. If they have confidence in their leaders, they will face anything without tear of death, if Admiral Ting led them, they would prove themselves splendid forces. Some of the Chinese officers, particularly those trained in America. are bright examples of everything that they should be. The lack of spirit is a great drawback to the Chinese troops. Regarding the Chinese forts, they are well to the fore. Wei-Hai-Wei are im impregnable, and no Japanese will dare to approach. Captain Lang said that his opinions were based upon the condi tion of things in 189U, when he left China. He feared that discipline had become lax since the European influence was withdrawn. "There is. now." he said, "no high European officials in the navy, although there are one or two English officers at Wei-Hai-Wei. If the powers allow a war, an outrage, Japan must eventually be utterly crushed."' . JAPAN'S NEW MINISTER.' '" Washington, August 8. Information received at the Japanese legation is that M. Sinichiro Murino, the new Minister to this country, will leave Japan to-day for his new post of duty. He is expected here the latter part of the month. The legation has not yet had a communica tion from Valentine Nowacki, the leader of the foreign forces of the Pennsylvania coke strikers, who proposed to offer to raise o.UUU soldiers for use in the war against China. It is pretty safe to ' say that, while jvowacki's oner will be duly annreniated. vet it would be oromptlv declined. The Japanese army has been brought up to a very high standard of efficiency, modeled very much after the tactics in vogue in wermany, and n tne former government sought the assistance of foreign troops, which is not regarded as probable, it is likely that efforts will be made to obtain them from Germany. i SUSPICIOUS OF ENGLAND. London, August 8. The Russian news papers are abandoning the idea of an amicable understanding between Eng- land and Russia with respect to Uorea, and are publishing anti-English articles. Especially suspicious of England is the Novoe Vremya, which declares that Eng land is secretly supporting unina, and that Japan will soon find this out. The London Daily 'News remarks that this language is noteworthy, inasmuch as the statements made, would not be per mitted to pass the censorship if the Rus sian government objected to them. . . JAPANESE PASSENGERS SEIZED. Shanghai, August 8. A dispatch says the Captain of the Chung Kiang, which arrived to-day,' made the following state ment with regard to the seizing of Jap anese by Chinese soldiers. While the ship was at Tunku the Chinese proposed seizing the Japanese passengers. They bound the Japanese and flung them over on the wharf. Li Hung Chang, when informed of this outrage on the British flag, commanded that the Japanese be returned at once to the vessel, and that the soldiers who made the raid be pun ished severely. ' , England's neutrality. London, August 8. An extra of the Official Gazette was published to-day, containing a proclamation notifying British subjects of the existence of a war between China and Japan and declaring Great Britain's neutrality. Lord Kim berley, Secretary for Foreign Affairs, has addressed a letter to the various govern ment offices, detailing the neutrality rules that are to be observed. These rules become operative in the United Kingdom August 12 and in the colonies and other British possessions a week after they have been published in the local papers. Headed for the Seat of War. Gibraltar, August 8. The Japanese warship Satisuata from Newcastle ar rived here to-day en route to Japan. The Satisuata will probably escort the three fast vessels fitted out as cruisers which were recently purchased in Eng land for the Japanese government. Open to the Public. ' Washington, August 7. Representa tive Richards of Ohio to-day introduced a bill providing that all sessions of com mittees and executive ReRsions of the Senate thall be open to the public. 1 BIDS FOR BONDS. Portland's Water Issue Bring Satisfactory Premiums. THEY WERE UNCONDITIONAL, Boston and Chicago Firms Offer 109.89 Other Straight and Close Offers ' Made Portland's Credit Good In All . Parts of the United States. Portland, Or., August . 8. -An ' ad journed meeting of the Water Commit tee was held yesterday to receive pro posals for the purchase of $500,000 of water bonds of the city of Portland. Chairman Henry Failing presided, and Messrs. Frank Dekum, C. H. Lewis, C, H. Rafferty, C. A. Dolph, J. Loewenberg, H. W. Scott, L. Therkelsen, C. H. Ca rey, 1 C. H. Hill and R. B. Knapp were present. Nineteen bids were received. and thirteen agents of bond buyers were in attendance and were admitted to the meeting while the bids were opened. The proposals were for $200,000 of bonds, to be paid for and delivered to the pur chaser on August 15, and for $300,000 on September 15 ; the proposals to be for the whole or any part ot the ?ouo,OUO. The bonds, as is well known, bear 5 per cent per annum interest, are dated July 1, 1893, and are payable thirty years from date. The bidder was required to pay the accrued interest from the date of the bonds up to the time of delivery ; that is, the interest coupons up to that time are to be removed before the bonds are delivered. r There was quite a flutter of excite ment among the agents collected in the hall when the committee met, and one of them came in shortly after and asked to withdraw his bid. As there was no way of telling for a certainty which was his bid till it was opened, this could not be done, and he concluded to let the bid stand. ' . There have been so many attempts to get in bids at the different sales of bonds Which were indefinite, or which might be understood in more ways than one, that the committee has been obliged to reject all bids which imposed any condi ditions or did not comply strictly with the terms of the advertisement. Most of the buyers have come to understand that it was.no use to put in anything but " flat " bids. There was such a number of agents present that the. committee could not help wondering whether they were putting up any job or not, as some new scheme to avoid making a straight up or flat bid had been tried by some of the agents at every previous sale of bonds. Before beginning to open the bids Mr. Dolph said if any question was likely to arise in regard to the form of bids which should be considered, as had happened at the last sale, it would be advisable to settle the matter at that time. ' ' Chairman Failing said it "was under stood that the proposals were to be uncon ditional. There were to be no conditions attached to them at all. If the bidders were fully advised of this, he would pro ceed to open the bids. It may be remem bered here that the bids as a whole were the most satisfactory lot received yet. Only a few, mostly from persons who had not bid for Portland water bonds be fore and who apparently did not under stand their value, attempted to impose any conditions. The bids ran higher than was expected, and the premium re ceived amounted to $49,450, which was considered by the committee as a very successful sale. Bids came from all the Srincipal cities of the East Boston, ew York, Cincinnati, Chicago-which goes to show that the credit of Portland is good in all parts of the Union. THE NEW STATES. The Tariff Bill Interferes With Action Upon Their Admission. Washington, August 7. With the session of Congress drawing to a close and all attention likely to be concen trated upon the tariff bill, it is not con sidered probable the Senate will act upon either the Arizona or New Mexico State bills before the final adjournment. This was the understanding when the bills were reported from the Committee on Territories. The date of admission in the case of Arizona and the constitu tional convention in the case of New Mexico have been so deferred in the Senate bills that no change will be nec essary in case of postponement. The provision in the Arizona bill is for ad mission August 1, 1895, while the con vention in New Mexico is not to meet until July 1, 1895. Governor Hughes is of the opinion the bill will have to be changed to provide for a new constitu tion before it can pass the Senate. This opinion he bases upon the opposition he finds to exist in the Senate to the constitution adopted in 1891 on account of the irrigation and silver payment features. . . . : Based on the Guilford-Miller Ruling. Washington, August 7. The Secre tary of the Interior has affirmed the de cision of the general land office in the case of the Central Pacific Company against W. A. Calkrons, T. M. Morse, John T. Clark, Lea Burch and John C. Watts, involving lands near Shasta, Cal., and a large number of cases involving selections of lands made by the Union Pacific Company. The selections of both companies are held for cancellation on the ground that other parties in the cases settled on the lands prior to their selection by the companies. The deci sion in these cases is based on the recent Guilford-MilUr ruling. MOST IMPORTANT CAPTURE. Four Men Are Sure to Serve Time for - ' Counterfeiting. New York, August 9. When a safe and closet in the office of the secret serv ice division of the Treasury Depart ment of the postoffice buildings had yielded up substantial evidence of crimi nality this afternoon and W. P. Hazen, chief of the division at Washington, and W. H. Forsythe, one of the operators of the Treasury Department, had talked of these treasures, a vastly interesting story of expert counterfeiting had been told. The evidence of the dangerouB character of the scheme of felony in the possession of the United States officers, and which formed a connecting chain in which not one link is missing, except a printing press, consists ol the lonowmg articles : One set -of counterfeiting engraved steel plates, front, back and seal for striking off United States treasury notes of the denomination of $10 of the year 1880, with a Webster vignette; letter check 13, signed, W. S. Rosecrans, Reg ister, and James W. Hyatt, Treasurer ; a package containing 1,200 notes from these plates ready for circulation, except . as to staining to simulate pocket wear ; counterfeiting fibre paper made in Eng land, or Connecticut, scarcely distin guishable from treasury paper and claimed as "highly dangerous;" enough of the same material to serve for strik ing off $1,500,000 of counterfeit notes ; special ink used in printing the counter feits ; a book of ink samples and silk fibre used in making the paper; sixty- six new counterfeit ten dollar bills, and . one ten-.dollar counterfeit stained and ready to be put in circulation ; thirty four stained counterfeit ten-dollar bills, with identification mark of the treasury operative upon them and sold to the -operative for $100; one set of counter- ' feiting engraved plates, front, back, seal and back number for striking off Mystic Kiver .National .Bank notes of the de nomination of $10, bank number 645 ; one set of counterfeiting engraved steel plates, front, back and seal, for striking off United States $20 gold coin notes, series of 1882, with a Uarheld vignette ; letter check A, signed B. H. Bruce, Register, and James Gilfallan, Treas urer. Four persons, who are in custody, are affected by these evidences of criminal ity. They are Russell B. Hoyt of Brooklyn, Samuel Massey of Brooklyn, . James W. Murphy of Bethel, Conn., en graver, regarded as the ringleader in the counterfeiting scheme, and Lorenzo O. Hoyt, a farmer of Bethel, Conn., on whose farm the counterfeiting imple ments were found. Chief Hazen said in an interview: I regard this case as the most im portant that has eyer. been handled bv any administration of the secret service division ot the Treasury Uepartment. " Kirst look at the evidence in the safe and closets. Could any set of counterfeiting paraphernalia be more complete? Of course, just now the prosecution deals with the Webster head plate, from which we have about $13,000 in notes, and with which the four prisoners are connected. But see what luck has come to us in the seizure of the Garfield $20 plates. As you see, there is no evidence on these of a single counterfeit having been struck from either set, and I believe that not one spurious note had come into circula tion from them. 1 he Garfield counter feit is a dangerous one. More so . than any others. Webster notes are marked in various ways, notably in the head vignette." ' . i ENGLAND'S STAND. She Will Not Attempt to Define What is Contraband of War. London, August 7. In the House of Commons to-day Sir Edwin Gray in reply to a question from Mr. Gourley, a prominent ship owner, said that Japan had promised that no warlike operations should be undertaken against Shanghai and its approaches on the condition that China does not obstruct the approaches to shanghai. Japan contends that the powers have no right to interfere with neutral vessels except in the event of a blockade, due notice of which should be given, or in case of carrying of contra band of war. It would be dangerous for Ureal .Britain to define by a general statement what is not contraband of war. Coal has been held not to be con traband of war as a rule, but it was possible in some cases that it might be come so. Great .Britain must adhere to the doctrine that it is not for fighters to decide what is and what is not contra band of war regardless of the well-established rights of neutral people. .. : UNION NOT RESPONSIBLE. Its Members Did Not Destroy Railroad Property In Chicago. Chicago, August 7. During the past week a committee of the American Rail way Union held several consultations with Mayor Hopkins. To-day E. W. Burns, a director of that organization and the head of the committee, ad mitted that the purpose of the commit- tee's visit was to furnish the authorities with information touching the damage claims of the railway companies. The union men say they expect to prove in many instances that the destruction of property for which damages are claimed was done by men employed by the rail roads and the General Managers' As sociation. They claim to be able to prove that the men arrested last Friday, charged with leading the riot and burn ing cars on the Rock Island tracks July 5, were at that time in the employ of the Chicago and Eastern Illinois road. They also claim to have other similar cases. Their object is to show that the union is not responsible for the riots and destruc tion of property. , River and Harbor Bill. Washington, August 7. The confer ence report on the river and harbor bill has been agreed to by the Senate. This completes the bill, and it goes to the President.