VOL. VIII.
COLUMBUSp;,TTO
'v .
NO. II,
COUNSEL QUARREL
Operators Deny They Derive Benefits
From High Price of Coal.
CHAIRMAN STOPS PERSONAL TJLTS
l
Physicians Testify That the Work of
Anthracite Miners is Not as Un
healthy as Represented.
Philadelphia, Special. Having occu
pied nearly three days in calling wit
nesses totestif y, the Delaware &. Hud
son Company closed its case before the
Coal Strike Commission Tuesday after
noon and-the commission's attention
then was called to the conditions exist
ing in and about the collieries operated
by the Erie Company. This corporation
managed the Hillside Coal and Iron
Company and the Pennsylvania Coal
Company, and its counsel 'before the
commission is Wayne MacVeagh, of
Philadelphia, and Major Everett War
rjen, of Scranton. : j
6ne of the principal witnesses call
ed before the commission was Thomas
F. Torreyj general coal sales agent of
$ho D'elaware & Hudson Company at
New Yorkj who testified that the com
pany he represents is deriving ijo bene
fit from, the present abnormal price
which the public is paying for its fuel.
Amcng other witnesses called by the.
Delaware & Hudson Company were two
physicians who gave testimony tend
ing to show that the occupation of a
mine worker is not so unhealthful as
physicians for the miners have
stated,
a Teal estate agent I who testified to the
amount of property owned by
miners
of the company arid' an "employe of the
Delaware & Hudson who made! an in
vestigation; of wages paid to bituml
, r nouth: iiiinersvrhich Showed their pay
was under that received ; by the an
thracite miners.
General Wilson, owing to the illness
of Judge Gray, again acted as , chair
man of the commission and was sev
eral times i called upon to intervene
in the personal tilts between opposing
counsel over the admission of certain
evidence. . '
Major Everett Warren, for the Erie
Company, in his statement, says the
miners have it in their power 10 earn
large wages, that-the demand for an
eight hour day is "mot unreasonable"
and that a 2,240 pound ton iVimprac
ticable. Major Warren says the Erie
Company has no objection to labor or
ganizing but said the local unions de
stroy individual effort, curb anibition,
restrict earning capacity, encourage
:idleness and discontent, breed Jack of
-m?pect of authority and destroy dis
cipline." Capt. W. A. May, 'of Scranton, the
.general superintendent of the two com
panies, was. the first witness for the
Erie. Before the strike of 1900 the Wit
ness said, the relations between him
and the men were verypleasant indeed.
Captain May was still on the stand
vben adjournment was taken. . .
Hired to Commit Murder,
.Roanoke, Va., Special:- Details
rejiched here of -a tragedy .near, pram
well,; a Jittll town in the coal fields of
Wesf Virginia. Mrs Maggie Riley is
alleged to have promised to pay her
son Hiram' and Arthur Eller a sum of
i)oney , to kill . a- woman named Mary
Clark. : The men it is charged went to
the Clark woman's home " and shot her
to death. Eller and young Riley, -together
with'; Riley's mother, .were ar
rested And , lodged in the county jail
charged , with .murder. The womeri were
ocemies and had trequenuy quarreieu,
. fh'n t;- ip.albusv was the
cause-' of the killing. ; -
Norfolk ' et Western Appointments.
Roanoke Va., Special, The Norfolk
Western Railway officially annDunc-
M the following appointments:' C.rS.
Churchill, chief engineer; J. C. Ca ssell, ,
ve? entlyv resigned . as- generally suppos- v
tf, -is? made' assistant vice president'
as d general manager; Theodore Low,
resigned as superintendent of the Nor-;,
folkdivision,, becomes ' real estate
agent; - Jose B. Lacy,, -paymaster,: is
iade assitant treasurer, .All with head
ua?tersat' ' Roanoke. Treasurer W. G, .
m Philadelphia. .; ;
' Coal Companies Combine.
Harrisburg, Pa., " Special. Applica
tion was made ' at the State Dejpart
menV.for a charter for the Easter: i Se
xurities Company," which, it is. saioy
is to be the vehicle, for the consclida
ticn. of theJ anthracite coal interests of
Pennsylvania, v The application - cora
Matter is made 4mder a law passed by
th': Legislature, of 1901. The- notoma1
capital of ithe cdrporation'is $l,00tk -
THE WILCOX TRIAL".
Sitter and Cousin of Dead QJrl Qlve
i Their Testimony.
Hertford, X Special. The State is
nearly ready to rest in the trnal of
James E. Wilcox for the murder of
Nellie Cropsey.
Miss Ollie Cropsey, the pretty sister
of the dead girl, was the first 'witness'
to testify Friday. She tpld a ? very
forceful story. Her testimony was di
rect and full. In part he- said: l'Ella
Maude Cropsey was my sister. She was:
19 years old and weighed 110 pounds,
when she disappeared. We lived in
Brooklyn, N. Y., before coming to
Elizabeth City, where we arrived.- in'
April of 1898. 1 had four sisters, Nellie,
Lettie, Loula and Mamie. W. H. Crop
sey is my father. We met Jim Wilcox
in June, -1898. He sent Nell his' card,
"twp weeks from that- time and asked
her to go driving and she. went. From
that day on he began to call on her.
took her riding and sailing. He called
Thursdays ;and Sundays. He gave her
presents of : flowers and pictures. He
went sailing alone with Nell twicer She
was scolded for accompanying him.
During the summer before ' the .disap
pearance of Nell she and Jim began to
quarrel. They had been friendly up to
that time. They were at outs in Sep
tember. Nell, attended Stuart's meet
ings during that month. I sat inside
the room one night and heard Nell aayi
to Jim: 'Jim, if you are going to act
like this, you stay at home.' I knew
they were quarreling, and, not caring
to hear it, I left. They had not seen
me. Jim went to the Stuart meetings
sometimes with Nell and- sometimes,
by himself; but often did not go, except
to wait outside for Nell. Nell joined
the church on the 13th of October.
From some time in September vtULthe.
23rd Of October Jim and Nell quarreled.
At times they did not speak. After
October they were on better terms and
spoke-regularly. The Elizabeth City
fair was in progress about that time.
Jim sent two tickets so that Carrie
and Nell could go. He was at work.
Jim, Nell; Carrie and myself all went S
to the fair one day. Jim and Nell were
friendly till November 7th, when they
quit speaking to each other. Up to that
time they had been going out together
but all connections were severed-then.
He kept on calling . at the house.
"On the night of November 7th Wil
cox spent a few hours at our home.
He and Nell were at outs. He left at
9 o'clock. When he took his hat to go
Nell said: 'Pull, Jim, pull meaning
'go, and followed him out to see him
off, as was her custom. Nell returned,
looked in on : us, said good night and
retired to her room. Jim came on just
.the same, but Nell never spoke to
him. One day after the 7th I saw;Car
rie, Nell and Jim coming up the street,
Carrie was next to Jim. I do not know
whether Nell and Jim spoke that day
or not.
"We sat in the dining room. Nell
sewed on a jacket -that she hoped . to-
wear .to New York Jim and Roy, were
not on speaking terms. Jim was moody
and talked but little.He started into
space and kept looking at his watch.
He appeared to. be restless. By 10: 45
all except Jim, CRoy, Nell and myself
had left the room. Jim arose, picked up .
his hat and said: 'It is 11 o'clock and
I mu3t go. My mother does not allow,
me to stay out after 11 Before this
time Jim had asked for water. I toUl
him I would get him a glass. He said,
'No he jnight poison it When hegot
up to go we all rose and, while ; he
rolled a cigarette, Roy caught Nell's
chin in his hands and said: 'Nell, you
Jim glanced his eyes ht Nell and tJien.
at me. He went into the hall and
turning, said: 'Nell, I want to see you
in the hall.' She looked at me. and 'fol
lowed him out.; I never- saw her again.
She and Jim had not spoken since No
vember 7th. , r
; "I closed the ddor behind them as-
Vhey went out. Roy and myself stood ,
by the fire till 11: '30, when I told him it
xj C T, J rrr Ua.i!lW 'Vrtll':
xxraa tifnft fhr him -to go. He Said: YOU
neednbt get snappy about it. Jim and
Nellie are. in the hall yet We went in
to the hhll-and - found thd doors' open,
but Jim and Nell were not in sight. I ;
remarked that it was strange that Nell
had gone up and left me to lock up. I
went to my room and retired. .Nell, was
not there. I dozed off, thinking sheand
Jim were in the parlor. About 1 o clock
I gave;the alarm. We searched every
where, but in - vain, for Nell. ' During
the evening when the sub j ect of suicide
was brought up, Nell, said she would
hot like to drown, for ; her hair would
be such a fright. It would -be fnszled
up. She thought she might like to
.Miss Carrie Cropsey followed" Miss
OUie. She corroborated much of the
JT- . ' '.': 1 : - i r , x . . . . : : . . . -i TrTT
T . . l - . . ,
latter's evidencei Among other things
she said: T asked Jim why 'he and
Nell quarreled. He said: 'Shelias quit
going to the door with me. I have de
cided to dropr he Tuesday night Jim
heard us talking about him. He told
me that listeners never heard any
good of themselves. Nellie had asked
me why I did no call him ... squatty..
I said that I feltbiike an elephant the
night we went toLhe skating rink. We
aEsked Jim to ui 'die our horse on
Tuesday. He saidSwas tired of being
lackeyV " ilog
Messrs. H. T. Greenleaf , Sr., and H.
T. Greenleaf, Jr.; civil engineers, were
put 'in the stand to, furnish figures of
-distances. The body of Nellie Cropsey
wasv found in four feet of water at a
..distance of 300 feet, the exact place
.being 200 feet to the left of the house,
300 feet out. ? ;r
Among those who testified this after
noon were: Leonard Owens, who met
Wilcox? on his way from the Cropsey
home the night the girl disappeared;
Mayor .Wilson, of Elizabeth City, be
vfore i rwljom the defendant had . appear
ed; Sheriff Reid, of, Pasquotank coun
ty, wn6 arrested Wilcox, after the dead
body 'iras found, and W.H." Cropsey,
the father of Nellie.' . By Mr. Owens'
te"stimdhy, ; Wilcox had about 20 min
utes : to dispose of - from the time he
leftitevProP?eyPr(in,tilI he met- hinr,
several , hundred f eet-
i -l M UUUi V U . W V" M TV U J
a wo v
Wilcox-
seemed-o,bB perfectly natural at the .
was ve"ryv indifferent biit admitted that
it was b& way.
Caleb :ParkerUestified. He said that
he had, passed the Cropsey place soon
after 11 ' "o'clock' on the night of the
20th of Novembers He saw a man and.
woman Hot abont equal size . moving
along.thesidewalk. He did not know
who theylwere;r' :
Ollie. M6ades swore that he slept with
Wilcox Ubfct night, but never kriew
,au;.i.uiu:'j.iuuif vuct uiuct..uc ncui ll
sleep, tilltihe next mornirfg. He vsaid
that Wilcffct had oh the Same pants in
court thathe wore then; This factras
contradicted later by Misses Lettie and
OUie Cropsy, who were put on the
stano iortnt purpose. : -
Fightiiig fri '6r9K6:7
1
Madrid, By Cable. Fighting is pro
ceeding between the troops of the Sul
tan of Morocco and the forces of the
pretender to the throne, according to
a dispatch received, by the Globe from.
Fez. The followers of the pretender
are said to be overcoming ; the im
perial troops. The correspondent of
The Globo adds that the '. inhabitants,
of Fez have risen against the Sultan
and that anxiety reigns at ' Rabac,
where the Europeans are in fear of
an immediate attack. The Sultan's
representative at Tangier has been or
dered to seize cattle and to dispatch
reinforcements' to the Sultan.
Abram S." Hewitt Dead.
New York,;Speiiai:--Abram S. Hew
itt, former mayor ' of lew York and
Representative Yn; Congress from 1874;
to 1887; died at! 6 o'clock SUhday morn
ing. He r was in his 81st year and had
been critically ill for ten days. With
him at .the moment; bf his death were
hls Vife, 'hiSr three; ? sonsj: and; three
'daughters; , MrvHewitti who had; been
in feeble health' for some months,, was
attaeked rith obstructive Jaundice on
January 8th, and frpm the first it was,
recogriized ,by his attending, physicians
that there was practically no hope for
the aged patient's recovery. Only his
wonderful vitality, kept him alivcv until
this morning. ; , t ; - '
v .' ! Steamsr Goes Ashore,!
. . Gibraltar, -By Cable. The North Ger
man Lloyd steamer Lahn, .Captain
Malchbw, from Mediterranean ports
fnr Npw York: went, ashore at .4 o'clock
Sunday nornihg at- Tumara,; 10 miles
east of the Rock of Gilbraltar. There
was a "heavy fog and rain was falling
at the time.' Aboard the steamer' are
300 sailors and 200 emigrants. She is m
no danger and is -waiting for high tide
to get off. The Lahn is stern on to the
sea. The weather is moderate, but.;thcre
U a heavy ea ' : ' : ' , -:
pdltor Wounded.
Gainesville, Fla., Special. City. Edi
tor P. AlRuM was CUt sunuay ;iui-:
I ingby Linotype Operator Sauls a. gasn
:; 5 inches long ana inree-iuuuuo
iinch deep.being made in his neck Rum.
5 -T VtT-,nTYiP where he lies
in a: dangerous condition. Details are
unobtainable, because Mr. Ruhl tenot
permitted to talk and Sauls has disap-
peared. Mr. Ruhl is city tax assessor
and is promiueuLij
I
f-1
nil- v.n nrnnflfipfl
to establish tne;
feroni -system oi; wireless telegraphy
between ekin and JaUv i.;. ;;.; ;. j ;
Truth will have to get up pretty
ikriyi io t& jnorning. tQ :he stronger
than some of the current fiction. ,
OR INJURED.
Powder Charge' Explodes on Board
the Massachusetts.
CAUSED BY PERCUSSION PRIMER,
Which Was Accidentally Discharged
While the Breech on an Elght-incti
Gun was Open. '
Washington, Special. Admiral Hig
ginson cabled from San Juan, Puerto
Rico, that -by an explosion of powder
in the 8-inch - turret of the battleship
MawachusettsV five men were killed
and four injured.
None were commis-
sloned oftlcers. The
text of A.dmiral
Higginson's dispatch is as follows:
"San Juan, P. R. Secretary of Na
vy, Washington: Powder charge ex
ploded accidentally in 8-inch turret
Massachusetts. Cause being, investi
gated by, board.. Dead, A. liendrick-'
son, boatswain mate;.cF. H. Loess-r,
apprentice; S. F. Malinowski, lands
man; K. J. Piatt, ordinary seaman.
Robert .Rule, ordinary seaman.
Injured: W. W. A. Schert, apprentice; .
A. S. Tacke, coxswain; J. G. Patter
son, ordinary seaman; A. N. Dassett,
ordinary seaman." ; " j , r ,
The records of the Navy Department
show that of the jdead Loesser and
Hendrickson lived in New York, Malin
owski, Chicago; "Piatt, in Troy,:N. Y.,
an(LRulein Mount Washington,' O. Of
the w ounded - Dassett, landsman, H en
liited' at Durham, N. C.,.Juiy ;20, 19011
Next of kin Newton Dassett; father,
1003 Pettigrew street, Durham, N. C.
Patterson was from Pittsburg, Tacke,
from St. Louis and Schert from Chi-,
cago. . , -:"; ..----;-
v It is realized here that it wUljbeYery
. diQicult for,: the- board " referred , to in
Admiral .'Higginson's dispatch to, as
certain the cause of the explosion, $ or,
from the heavy casualty list, it is sur
mised that the entire turret crew was
either killed or; disabled. -The 8-inch
guns are next ' "in size - btlbw the 13-
inch turret guns carried by this battle
ship and just above the rapid fire, gun
limit. So their charges were not con
tained 'in' fixed mettalic cases- andi the
powder'' was put up in canvass bags.:
The regulations require that the pow
der bags referred to should 'be " con
veyed from the magazines ' to;- the
breech of the gun in can-like metal
receptacles to guard against just this
kind of an accident. -
ANOTHER ACCOUNT, i
San Juan, P. R., By Cable. Five
men were killed and four others were
wounded two of them probably fatally,
by the explosion of a powder charge
of an- 8-inch gun on board the United
States battleship Massachusetts ;' last
week, while at target ' practice i off
Culebra Island. .'
". The following is the. list of the dead:
K. J. Piatt; 369 Eighth .street, Troy
S. F. Malinowski,'' 1438 Ontario ave
nue, Chicago, Ilh -, ' r i ,
F. H. Loesser, 313 East 86th street,
New York.,1 ' - ' ' " '
Andrew- Hendrickson, Norway.
' R. R. Rule,- Walnut Hill,;.C.lncinnati.
The .. following . men were seriously
injured: v , " ' . ..
A. N. Dossett Durham, N.C. ' 1
J. G. Patterson, 32 Soho,streetv Pi ttfe.r
burg; ;" :
W. A. Scheft, 365 Cleveland; avehu'e,
Chfca&o ' . 4- ' r" V
A. S. Tacke, Miami.- street, St. Lotiis.
.A PERCUSSION PRIMER. ' . i
Details of the explosion were obtain
ed when the Massachusetts" ( arrived
here. LThe explosion, occnrrecl' in the
starboard aft the 8-inch turret, shortly
before noon, and was duetto the acc'i-
dental discharge of a percussion primer
while the breech of the gun wasiopen.
The full charge exploded in the turret.,
and killed or injured; all the. crew of
the gurif-numbering nine men. Ensign '
Ward W. Wortman, who was in charA.
of the turret, escaped injury; though r
he wi&-standing near 'the scene of the
explosion. ' T" V ';
v Iilagniflcent discipline- was immedif :1
ately shown by the oftibers andicrew of
the battleship. Captain , Harry. ; .Lee,
commanding the marine guard oft; the
vessel,-' and Ensign Clarence A. Abelei
immediately flooded ' the turret ; with
water and Lieut. Chas. F. Hughes and -TCnlwein
went below to the
magazine,' picking np powder charges,
and preventea iunner expiasiuus, nuuc
Lieut. i William CJ Cole and ; Gun- Gap
tain Stoneman entered the turret iand
withdrew the charge from the" other.,
gun, whose breech was open. " The sur
vivors of the gun's crew when res
cued were burned,; mutilated and nearly
dead. ". .V' ' '' - "-''-""' '":-':v-"
: One man whose clothing wason fire
jumped overboard. i v "- r
In less "than r minute after .the ex
plosion three streams oi v.ater were
pouring into the turret, preventing the
charge :in the other 8-inch gun from
exploding. , N , . - , '
KILLED
PROMINENT PEOPLE,
The Crown Prince of Germany is 13 ,
skillful violinist. - ; ;
Colonel Thomas Wentworth" Higgin.
son has jtfst celebrated his seventy v
ninth birthday;: ' - ,
- Joaquin Milier, the 'Poet of the Pa"-t .
cific Slope' has, it is said made a for
tune out of, Texas real estate; ' . v. . ,
The eminent" German' playwright!
Gerhardt Hauptmahn" recently.- cele
bra ted his fortieth birthday. ; He was
born at Obersalzbrunh rln'Silesia; BLis.' -
fabwasa hbtelkeeer ; v . .
-'President Hadley of Yalej is' the first!
man in his position to ;taln?: Sh? active; ,
part in college. athletics.; He reeently
played in the .Yale tennis tourna'ment
easily be'atihg -his opponent; ' ; y r
Senatbr 'Mitchell has presented to'fUa , ;
President Major ' WUliam Hancock
Clark, of Pof ttahdbre.the oldest liv- :
ing desceirdaiit of Colonel Clark, of; tjie- y
Lewis and Clark expedition. : . ,
Commissioner - General 'Sargeaiit of r '
Washington who .was Grand Master.' j ?
of the Brotherhood of,LoQpmotiye. FiW-
men ror seventeen years nas been pre- v
sehted by the order jwilyhtu" handsome; r
silver service of lUijces .U
Former President .gjeyn has beeff "
spending some months at;jlarenceron.'.
the Lake of Geneva, where, his children
go to school. When he first .wenfcj ,
there he was vso Worn Out that he pulHI ,
hardly speak, but his health was spja !
restored, -.-r 1 '' u:
I . The man who invented, the Swedish
safety match Karl Kiesejvetter, died
h few weeksago in Roumania in great :
poverty :.His "indention had brough :
him a fortune, which, however, he Tost
through unlucky., and , risky, railway
speculation. He was born in 1819 ' :
f As a sort of reward,' after-preventing ,
his relative from becoming ameinber -j
of '"a London stock-broking firmTiIving: .
Edward, has allowed Prince? Francis t
Teck $lj0,OOO;.a year, un
can obtain ame remunerative-pbsttiott- v
more in keeping with h standing R8:; ,;
WcaiWBi: yjL tuts-ivjai xllum jr v -: .?i 'j-
LABOR ,Qy
I Uncle Sam employs-hearly-7500 worn
en in the . various-, 4e0r tfcnts at
Washington. ' ' v
": A musicians'' urtion Is the Tatest ad
dition to then-anks. ofoislhBfed labor
-in Quincy, .111.;,: f, ,r,
Hotel and restaurant employes' un
ions haye doubled 'their membership
since January 11902.-
: At Bridgeporti r o.3PQfhuffers,
v polishers and plated, who 'struck sir
weeks ago, haveVpted iddturn to
work. j, v.r j
; I Broom makers' recently won a strike
for an' increase'' in wag&st Des
Moines, Ioiwa,t gaiping an -ase of
twelve per cent : ;
i Since 'the: cfafe " tecameBianized
Steel angviper St.
Louis,' Mo., haye secured. increases ia
wages hud-'orty
tTao-ipalasM 'ask
.for an advance ip lheg$ seven
rand a haft cents arf hour, sixto- cents
..aiday clieht hours. Xney-have been
jreceiyingS.,;
tkt Stfelitzi' Austria, the Goyernment
and pnimua4tie. tirqyido pensions
offered.
' lth-wotoen:t'eabhers. It the Port-
ageA'a'''xrairie; inmJua,'T5ciiuis, ei-
cepk otfe,. hvgoiie' on.iketo en
f brcei a demand 4or;betteir wliges'ji The
teachers are, suppbrteA biraotically
every leading man. in toii
'. fThe" Russian workers Mem JRp have .
scored a victory dt'Rostoff? 'They have
receivedrrearsof' 'paji'v haYeTbbtained!
the- 'dismissal of : the foreman who
caused Vhe trouble, and hayiobf ained'
aermit to celebrate JipjdaysvvY,"
GirlsYof 'elierbotl'ojiih'H
demandln iilShohttJV WSile'Sarn-.'
ng41jefj ai;e a-lfored ?2r5umelyAf-;
able to
Death; oltVsIafr?B?:Sisterv.'.
News of the d eath of Louise' ' Kos
cath R,uttkayp. at;BuSa-pesth jfias come
ftd I handr . Mrs.RuttyiiwasVster of
She was over eigh-siyeaJi - old..
After - the "rising against .Arj.a in
1853, ' furthered by; lssuth the- in
Englandhis mother and 5 thf sisters
were banished" !:and the mother. y soon
atter v diecV at Brussels, whllethb sis
ters ; came; to this cduntryl ' Of n the
three Mrs. Ruttkay rwas the last 'sur
him when he, died. -In :his last years
she kept up his correspondence with
his old .comrades in this country. .
ior iue?.rj oia scuooiieacnrg, auu umt
no pensi ,TielovO k should tee
earliCtQ a, y ek.and iwheni
they tcome xper'Lihey earn TO ?6
Louis Kossuth,. ,the Hunjlrapttriot,
'and wife M 1 the jate j"pse,ph.,ttkay.
vivor, and made herf home, in America
until 4881 when she- went .to li with
her' brother at -Turihj: and was with
-l t:'
if
: f