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About The Yamhill County reporter. (McMinnville, Or.) 1886-1904 | View Entire Issue (May 31, 1901)
WASHINGTON GOSSIP. Serious Condition of Affairs in Alaska—Na. tional Homes for Disabled Soldiers, ! sit m - mum AMERICAN POLICY UNCHANGED. Still Endeavoring to Reduce the Amount ol Indemnity. San Francisco, May 24.—The presi j Storm on Lake Huron Claimed dent and Secretary of State Huy have [ Twelve Victims. been in constaut communication with Washington during all their Dispatches from our ONLY TWO OF THE CREW WERE SAVED journey West. foreign embassies have been con tinually arriving, and the Chinese Second Engineer and a Deckhand, lashed to situation has received sjiecial atten Wreckage, Picked Up by a Tug—Lat tion. The president has been anx ious lest the difficulties thrown in the ter Crazed by Suffering. way of an arrangement of some of the powers might lead to indefinite delay East Tawas, Mich., May 27.—The and a consequent increased indemnity wooden steamer Baltimore foundered be exacted. this morning in Lake Huron near In regard to the total amount of Au Sable, and 12 of her crew of 14 the indemnity the president lias con- were drowned. Two men were The national homes for disabled stanjy endeavored to moderate the volunter soldiers are open to regulars washed about in the lake for several demands of the powers to an amount and volunteers alike who have served hours, lashed to pieces of wreckage, which China might pay without in any war, the bourd of management, and were finally picked up by the financial ruin or territorial dismem in the discretion allowed by law, con cug Columbia and brought in here, berment. He lias thought that $200,- struing service in the Philippines as George McGinnis, a deck hand, one 000,000 was the maximum amount equivalent to service in a war. The of the rescued, went crazy from his j indicated by the best authorities The other survivor, consulted, and he has proved the proposition has been several times ad experience. vanced to throw the volunteer homes Thomas Murphy, of Milwaukee, sec ! willingness of this government to open to regulars without regard to war ond engineer, was able to tell the make sacrifices in the interest of service, and an amendment was offer story of the disaster. China and the restoration of former It was sometime after the Colum relations by cutting down our already ed during the last session of congress with that object in veiw. But it was bia had brought the shipwrecked men moderate claim one half if other defeated because of strong opposition into port before Murphy was re powers would admit a proportionate to endangering the rights of the vol vived sufficiently to tell his story. reduction. These propositions have unteers, and also because the regulars The Baltimore foundered about 6 not been accepted by the other gov have a national home at Washington, o’clock in the morning and he was ernments, though Great Britain has surrounded by beautiful grounds, an in the water until late in the after shown a disposition to a considerate ideal place, which is in part support noon. treatment of the affair. “We were bound from Lorain to ed by contributions of 13 cents de As to the method of paying the ducted from the monthly pay. There Sault Stc. Marie,” he said, “and had indemnity, none of the propositions in tow a large steam drill and scow. are in addition to these 30state homes thus far submitted suits President where the volunteers of the various When off Thunder Bay Captain Place McKinley. Two weeks ago he pro- states may find shelter in their old decided to turn about and run for | posed that each power should accept Tawas for shelter. When we arrived for its share of the indemnity the age. ________ off Au Sable the steamer struck heav bonds of China at par and with inter Commissioner Powderly wants the ily on her bottom. The seas broke head tax on immigrants coming into over her at the same time and carried est at 3 per cent, provision for meet the country increased to not less than away the deckhouse and the after ing the interest and for eventual pay $2. At present this tax is $1. He cabin, and finally the smokestack fell. ments being taken form the liken, the recommended to congress that the Both rails forward broke in two just salt duties and increased import taxes. The attitude of the British govern increase be made, not with a view of aft of the forward deckhouse, and we imposing hardships upon the new knew it was only a few minutes before ment, as set forth in the recent speeches of its representatives in par comers, but really to help them. He the steamer would go to pieces. liament, indicate that Great Britain, says the increase imposes no severe “ ‘It’s every man for himself now,” though not willing to go so far as burden upon those seeking homes in shouted Captain Place. We took this country, and it would insure the Captain Place's advice and every man this country in moderating the de accumulation of a fund sufficient to started to save himself as best he mands of the powers, is inclined to construct suitable and comfortable could. Some of the boys took to the accept ours, which, if adopted, may buildings whenever needed for the rigging, but McGinnis and myself bring the pegotiations to a conclu comfort and safety of those awaiting lashed ourselves to a ring bolt in a sion. inspection, as well as for the adminis piece of the after cabin, and we were FLOODS IN TENNESSEE tration of the law relating to immi washed overboard shortly afewarrd. gration. The tax of $1 upon each im The strain was too much for McGin migrant makes up a fund used in ad nis and he went crazy before we had Eight Lives Lost and Millions of Dollars’ ministering the immigration laws. been in the water very long. Damage Done. He Last year this amounted to $576,688. tried to throw me off tiie wreckage, Knoxville, Tenn., May 24.—Mil- Admiral Dewey favors a neutral but I talked to him and encouraged lions of dollars’ damage has been isthmian canal, lieing opposed to its him to hold on. Twice he got loose done and at least eight lives lost in fortification. The neutrality of the and tried to drown us both, but each Upper Tennessee by the floods, which canal can be guaranteed by our fleet. time I succeeded in quieting him. I bgean their work of destruction when The canal is to be a commercial water told him a boat was coming to take a dam across the Doe river, at Eliza way, and neutralization, therefore, us off, and then I would get him tied bethtown, Tenn., gave way yesterday fast again. afternoon. Little mountain streams will mean its preservation. The tug Columbia lost a drill scow emptying into the Doe and Watuga Mrs. Jessie Benton Fremont, widow with six men on board just before rivers swelled these streams beyond of the “Pathfinder,” has a claim she picked up the men from the Bal- all proportions hitherto known, sub went out merging Elizabethtown, a town of ~ ' against the United States government tiniore. The Columbia for lands taken from her in Califor again this afternoon and found the 2,000 people, located at the junction, The men were taken off it and drowning three persons. The nia. These lands were appropriated drill. as far back as 1863 for military pur badly frightened, as they had neither Watuga pours its volumes into the poses. They had cost her more than boat not life preservers. Holston, spanned by many bridges, The lost steamer was rated at $40,- which were swept away. Railway $50.000, to say nothing of the interest since, and she has never been paid for (XX) by the underwriters, and was in traffic is entirely stopped on account them. Gen. Miles made an investi sured for nearly that amount. of all bridges crossing the Hoston gation, and he promises her right to being washed away. restitution to be unqusetionable. A serious condition of affairs is re- ported in Alaska in letters which come from army officers on duty in that territory, and especially from those stationed at Fort Davis. The forage at last accounts was nearly ex hausted. The price of supplies which must be shared by civilians as well as the army, has greatly increased, and there was every indication Chat those who had made money in Alaska would have every opportunity to sjiend it for the necessities of life. Coal, for in stance, brought as much as $60 per ton. NATIVE JUDGES INCOMPETENT. P. C. Knox is the eighth attorney general of the United States taken from Pennsylvania. At the communion service in one of the Presbyterian churches in Wash ington recently, the bread and wine were passed by two admirals, a gen eral, two supreme court justices and a former secretary of state. The private letter books of Robert Morris, the financier of the Revolu tion, were brought to light in M ash ington recently. In order to economize time and physical effort, Secretary Root has re duced his official signature from “Elihu Root” to “E. Root.” l> The trade balances in favor of the United States in its foreign commerce during the last three years have amounted to more than all the gold in all the banks and treasuries of Europe, including the British Isles. Wu Ting Fang was recently asked about the status of the legal profes sion in China. He replied, “Lawyers are prohibited in China.” Nome ii Very Discontent Caused by Appointment of Ameri. can Judges. Manila, May 27.—The discontent among the natives at the appontment of American judges and alleged dis crimination in the civil service in favor of Americans is finding expres sion, encouraged by some of the na tive judges, who are aware that the reorganization of the judiciary will result in the loss of their positions. Judge Neer, of the court of the first instance of Tondo, one of the leaders of what is beginning to he called the radical wing of the Federalists, de clared today that if such things con tinue there will be a second revolu tion. Some of the prominent Federal ists ridicule the prediction. The Philippine commission's selections of Judges were thoroughly considered. It is undeniable that most of the native judges lack the competence required. One of them has lieen re moved for malfeasance, and others are suspected of irregularities. The classifications of the civil service avoid discrimination, but the native and Spanish qualifications are not equal to those of capable Americans. Some departments are employing na tives at the risk of temporary incon venience. After a conference with General MacArthur, General Trias has under taken negotiations at I.uchan for the surrender of General Cailles whch is daily expected. Uncle Sam is making all the way from $40,000 to $60,000 a day in stamps upon stock bought and sold on the New York stock exchange. Every transaction has to pay whether it is a sale or pucharse. so that Uncle Sam catches the speculators “coming and going.” _______ _ Judge George E. Baldwin, United Yukon 1» Not Open. States consul at Nuremberg, Ger White Horse, Y. T., May 14.—Not many, in 1868 nominated President McKinley for the first public office he withstanding reports to the contrary, ever held, that of prosecuting attor the Yukon river is not open below Lebarge, but the daily clearance of ney. ________________ the ice is expected. Many scows and One Thouwnd Filippino» Freed. a great quantiy of freigh have been Manila, May 23.—General Mac- passed as far as Lebarge, the latter Arthur celebrated the surrenders of awaiting the arrival of the first Daw Lake Bennet is the insurgents Lascardo and Lacuna son bound steamer. by releasing 1.000 Filipino prisoners. not yet open, but that is of but little The insurgents are still in possession concern to the 1901 Kiondiker, since of the mining town of Paracole. North the White Pass <t Yukon route has Camarines. The nearest troops are solved the problem of lake and rapid navigation, as far as White Horse. at Indan, 30 miles away. Founder of Texs» Sifting» Dud. New Yew York, May 23 —Alex ander Edwin Sweet, founder of Texas Siftings, and a humorist of national reputation under the pen name* of ‘‘Colonel Bill Short-’ and “Rev. Whangdoodle,” died at his home in this city of heart disease, from which he had sueffred for several years. Ha was a native of Nova Scotia and 60 years of age. Szved i Bank From Burglar». Waverly, O.. May 27.—Dr. W. T. Wallace engaged in a duel with four robbers last night, and saved the First National Bank and the postoffice from being burglarized. The doctor live» on the second floor of the building and was awakened by the noise. He exchanged shots with the burglars and a trail of blood proved that hit aim was good. The crooks made their escape from town on a freight train. Quiet Seattle, May 24.— Advices from Rampart state that A. D. Campbell, deputy marshal at Nome, arrievd in Rampart from Nome the first week in M arch, after a trip of 26 days. He reported Nome very quiet and about 3,000 people there. There was considerable lawlessness at Nome, because of the fact that the town was not able to incorporate, and because of the opposition of gamblers and their kind. After the soldiers were withdrawn the chamber of commerce took up subscriptions to the amount of $12,000 to pay special deputy mar shals to protect life and property. After one month no money could lie collected, and the deputy marshals were discharged, and so the town was practically thrown over to the tender mercies of the thieves and thugs. Minister on Way a big desk, advantageously located lit* the monitor, an experienced and trust ed woman, whose duties include keep- Ig a record of the work of each girl, the filling of vacancies In cases of sickness, transfers of operators and the like. This responsible position may pay the Incumbent $12 a week, and is one of the almost unattainable goals toward which the ambitious telephone operator strives. Certain sections of the switchboard territory are under tlie supervision of a watchful supervisor, who keeps an eye on the girls and occasionally lends a hand when any one board Is particu larly rushed. There are six or seven of these, perhaps, besides a chief of th« toll lines and a supervisor of the trunk lines. A visit to this operating room is a revelation of the fallacy of precon ceived notions. One vould naturally suppose that a room in which 200 oper atives were constantly at work receiv ing and answering calls vould lie a pretty fair Imitation of pandemonium; Imt such Is not the ease in tact The place Is very quiet, almost silent. Tbiro Is no conversation In this hive of 200 busy women. Only occasionally and by giving close attention can one hear a murmuring voice saying "What num ber, please?” or “Busy,” or “Con nected.” About the only audible sounds are given by tlie "click" of the upturned "cams” as the call Is made, or tab rustle of skirts as the operators move in their sents, reaching for plugs, etc., or the faint buzzing murmur of scores of low pitched voices. Yet in this quiet place 200 girls are busy almost every minute all day long, maintaining a flow of conversation between subscribers. It is a confusing sight to watch the face of the punctured boards, over which fly the nimble fingers, each with Its trailing white cord crossing scores of others till the result resem bles a snarl and tangle that would seem James J. Hill, chief in control of the Grout Northern, Erie, Burlington, and Northern Pacific railroad»—the latter in conjunction with J. I*. Morgan is in to defy extrication. And back of tnese practical control of more railwaj» than any other num in the wotl l. His dream figures and unwearying fingers are the is to own a line stretching from the Atlantic to the Pacific, and this would have supervisors, ever watchful, while the been realized hail he succeeded in his recent effort to secure the Chicago, Mil chief operator's eye seems to be every waukee and St. Paul. His friends are confident he will yet succeed in this pet where. Silently, swiftly, almost uner project. ringly, these 200 girls perform their Mr. Hill is (S3 years old. He was stu lying medicine near his birthplace in duties for hours every dny. and the Canada when his father died in 185(1. He went to St. Paul and became shipping thoughtless subscriber growls and clerk tor a packet company. In ten years he rose to he owner of a similar grumbles and swears. If by chance company with wide extensions, due to his genius for seeing the trading and trans there is tin instant delny or a mistake portation possibilities of a territory. His connection with railroads began in occurs. 1870, When he, on behalf of a syndicate he had organized, began negotiating with The trunk line boards nre provided the Dutch holders of $27,000.000 of defaulted bonds of a "worthless” railroad, the St. Paul and Pacific, which, with extensions, is now tile Great Northern. He with Illuminated buttons, which signal built lines of steamers on the great lakes and on the Pacific to the Orient, and "connected." "through talking," and by thus creating an outlet for the grain grown in the territory tapped by the ’busy,” by fitful glowing. The pay sta Great Northern made business for the road, which has not passed a dividend tion girls have extra duty to perform, since he became its president in 1890. Mr. Hill's fortune is estimated at $100,- as they must make out the message 000,000. rate checks on which are shown the exact time of beginning and ending Take the main exchange of a tele conversation. THE TELEPHONE GIRL. phone company in a big city for exam I xnert Work. She Work« Hard for Small Pay—A ple. Here, during tlie day. perhaps 200 "The business of making connec Visit to a Telephone Exchange. women toil daily. At night a fifth of tions,” says ail expert, “demands alert Our forefathers did not know the tills number are likewise busy. On ness and coolness of brain and hand. “Hello Girl.” That was their misfor Sundays, half the usual force Is on tune. How they ever got along without duty. And this Is so that John Doe It Is no position for a girl who is easily her Is a mystery. We Buffered under may. at any moment In the seven days rattled." "It would seem,” says a visitor to a like privation until a comparatively re and nights of unceasing vigil. Instantly cent period, but we do not see how we establish communication wheresoever city exchange, "standing before the did It and certainly we could not pos and with whomsoever he wills. Such boards of the exchange, that the girls never hud a moment of rest. They seem sibly do it now. an arrangement furnishes employment But few of the persons who have fre to no less than 350 operatives, perhaps, literally on the Jump all the time.” The quent occasion to ring up the girl at which Is but a part of the whole army business of making connections and “Central” in a business realize of clerks, linemen and other employes. calls Is not the only duty. The plugs must be replaced as well as Inserted. Then, too, many folks do not ring off, and the operator has to cut In and If they are through, as soon ns she get an opportunity. It Is said that girls brought up in city are more satisfactory than coun try girls In telephone exchanges. “The city girls are of more even tempera ment and slower to resent the occasion al harsh language that Is used by sub scribers.” says a supervisor. Usually a year’s apprenticeship Is re quired before a girl is regarded as first- class. A beginner gets about $4 n week. A first-class operator gets $9, a supervisor $19. These figures vary somewhat according to circumstances, but they are tlie prevailing figures In the large elite«. , A GREAT RAILROAD KING «J ameô J. HILL Crashed. Back to Japan. San Francisco, May 24.—A. Beck, United States minister Japan, sailed for Yokohama yester day. He came home on a visit a few months ago, but was attacked by the grip, and has not yet recovered from the disease. He exjiects that the sea THE TELEPHONE EXCHANGE. voyage and the change of climate will completely restore him to health. how much they depend upon the hum An exchange In a large city Is Warehouse Burned. Glendive. Mont.. May 24. — The Northern Pacific Company's large warehouse in which was stored 50,(XX) pounds of wool, tools »nd supplies, caught fire tonight, presuambly from a locomotive spark, and was de stroyed, together with a two story residence and a large number of cedar and oak piles. Loss, $100,000. The Danish West Indies. Copenhagen, May 21.—It is offi cially announced that the Danish West Indies have not been sold. As previously set forth, the negotiations are progressing on matters of detail, but it is not likely that the treaty will be concluded before the rigsdag and congress meet. ble, but lndi*i>emuible. medium of con versation. John Doe wants Richard Roe at the ’phone, and he wants him at once. John tings up "Central." “What num her?" comes the answer In tlie ho ft voire of womankind. “Ol’ me <1215.” Iu a moment John and Richard are exchanging words over miles of wire— or, maybe. "Line busy” throws John, who Is a busy man. Into a rage, and he says things under his breath almut the line always lielng busy when he wants to use It, and he almost persuades him self that the girl made up the excuse In order to get even with him for that little petulant remark of his the other day. "What do corporations care for their patrons so long as they get their money?” John demands In a rage. John Iloe Growls. Venezuela Objected to Arbitration. Caracas, Venezuela, May 23, via Haytien cable—Venezuela's refusal to accept the French protocol cover ing the renewal of diplomatic rela tions with Venezuela was due to the objection of Venezuela to a clause providing for arbitrating all pending claims which originated on account of the last revolution. Venezuela proposed coining to an agreement on a total sum without arbitration. If John's Instrument gets out of or der he sends a boy post haste to head quarters with a complaint charged with high explosives, while he executes a wardanceand chants anathemas on the company. Its operators, and the hello girl in particular. A hundred annoy ing things may happen for which the girl Is not responsible, but the patron public is very much Indebted to the girl at the telephone exchange that It gets such prompt, excellent, and un complaining service. de scribed, and it is a fair picture of all exchanges: Imaglue an immense room, probably oti the top floor of a big office building. Around three sides of the room per forated switchboards rise to within three or four feet of the celling. Before these boards, crowded as closely as they can sit, are the operators. Crown ing each head of brown, yellow, black or red hair is a metal bund, which bolds In place, over one ear, a small circular receiver. The operators wear black aprons to protect their garments, ami false cuffs serve the same purpose on the wrists. The switchboards along the walls represent all the Instruments In the exchange. In the center of the floor at one end of the room Is a shorter stretch of boards given over to pay ata tlon business. In another place Is a long board lettered with the names of suburban exchanges. Occupying the en tire width of the room, perhaps, at an other end, are the boards of the long distance service. Including outlying city and town lines for the use of which a fee Is charged. Here, perhaps, sixty girls are at work. In a separate room, or, usually, pa trolling the operating room, la the chief operator, who supervises the business of the floor untiringly. With the ex ception of two or three assistants, be Is the only male official in the room. Tlie other day an old woman bounced Into a city office with a notification that had been sent to her to the effect that a quarter's rates on some property of liers were due. Site asserted she bad paid them. A clerk got out the books to prove that she had not. and suggested that she had made a mistake. She still de clared. however, that she had paid. "Don't you ever make mistakes?” she Inquired. The clerk assured her that he did not. and Jokingly added: "The only mistake I ever made was when I got married.” She looked at him a moment and then said: "No; your wife made that mistake!” —London Spare Moments. Pigment« of Vegetable Origin. Tlie madder plant I h now cultivated on a great scale In Erance, Holland and Turkey for the sake of the beauti ful pigment» rose madder, brown madder, carmine madder and others— obtained from It. Other pigments of vegetable origin nre gamlioge, from the gum of a tree that grows In Ceylon, and Indian lake, front the resin of another kind of tree native to Bengal and Slam. Ant'quity of Druggist«’ Ncalea. A pair of scales, much like those of the modern pharmacists, la among the multitude of objects discovered thia year In excavations about thirty miles from Thebe« and recently exhibited In London. The scales nre finely finished, having a beam about four and a half Inches long. Nenrly every man who Is mean to wife, manages to create the Impression that he Is a martyr. When you are talking with people, do you divide the time fairly J many do not