Newspapers / The Weekly Star (Wilmington, … / Feb. 25, 1898, edition 1 / Page 1
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.00 A YEAR. IN ADVANCE. ,88888888888888888 !" 1 8888888888388838 .q.noW9 25SS5S8658S5asS ' 88888888888ll8i j 1 ' 8888888888888888$ j ' 83888888838838 . ,... t "aSS5g8g8te88g 7 ' 8888888383388888 ; "ta3aasaa8888 5 82886888883338888 i -TT 3888888888888888 'I w ? 5 Ii I 1 i 1 J ! 1 : : j ; J ercH at the Pott OOce at : - Second Out Ma ilmtgtoo, N. C, er.l SUBSCRIPTION P ICE. Th, subscription price of the We ljBUrbu 8 month! " " 80 MjOING WHAT THEY DEPRECATE During the last Presidential oam- paigu. in fact ever since the silver question became a ciean-cut issue m our politics, a stereotyped cry of the .gold organs was that the free silver advocates were trying to ruin the i , cretlit of the Government and de stroy the confidence; of investors in American securities. According to them the advocates of free silver .sere afflicted with a craze for "fiat money" and "dishonest dollars," as they characterized the silver doll&r, which although a "dishonest dol lar" in their estimation, is a good enough dollar to discharge debts be tween American citizens, good to pay for things' bought, to pay taxes, good for all- purposes save to pay to the holder of Government obliga tions, or to the foreign holder of American securities, lhere wasn t i i : m .a. a any sense in mis, ana mere wasn t any excuse for it, because the writers in the organs which talked that wav knew it was false, and that when they represented the friends of free silver as enemies to the pub lic credit and working to ruin it, they were indulging in unmitigated Inlander of millions of the American people who would go as far and do as much to sustain the public credit a any man living. There was only one palliation for this slander, if there was even one, and that , was ! that it was done when political ex citement ran high, when the battle faxed warm, when the issue was ioubtful and men resorted to des perate " and sometimes dishonest methods to save themselves from defeat. This is at least a charitable construction to put upon that kind of campaign Idiocy. But there are organs which are indulging in the1 same kind of rot I now when there is no election pend ing and when they have not even the oenscr of campaign excitement. The adoption by the Senate of the Teller resolution seems to have fared them up and put them to doini; the very thing which they jtoleaa to deprecate, that is to shak ing Gonfidence in" American securi ties. One of these is the Chicago Tribune which relieves its pent up feelings thus : "Senators like Vest, Cockrell, Tel- and Stewart would be only too Bv as would Bryan to see the government destroyed and its honor stained ineffaceably. They are unable to bri:iL' that about. But they do all they can to impair the credit of the United States at home and abroad. The distrust of American securities shown by foreigners is evidence that they have not been altogother unsuc- Mccfi.l U. 1..... ..;!, Analrma " This i3 simply unmitigated idiocy, 'ithout the excuse of campaign ex citement, or without any excuse at ill, and is so entirely unreasonable tjiat no sensible person who knows (anything about this country or the aerits of the controversy about the money question, would attach the slightest importance to. What mo tive could men like Senators Vest, Cockrell, Stewart and Teller have in destroying the public credit, and why should they and Mr. Bryan be I nappy to see the "honor of the Government stained inaffaceably?" Could all this happen without their I raftering by it in common with other citizens? These men have stood be fore the American people" for many fears. and have; stood where the arch-ligjht feel upon them and if they have achieved reputation for ything it is for the boldness and ?ndor with which they declare their ifiipJes, and the spirit with which py defend them the very antithe- ' of knavery. But these men do not stand alone. thev ha hfihind them 6.500,000 American citizens, ior whom they eak, and for whom they spoke mer. en they advocated the adoption of t resolution by the Senate. If Iy were conspiring against the "edit and honor of the Government they have a following so pow- fal that it may get control of the povernment of the United States, then how will it be, if it be true at thcHp KAnt.ors are plotting inst the public credit and honor? it a creditable thing for a leading an, which aspires to the reputa- of having some sense, and which s to be anxious to preserve the hlic credit, anil honor, to be pub- declaring that both hang by N) a ulenrh.r throarl? Ia it a rea sonable thing to do to herald it to the world that a majority of the United States Senate is laboring to destroy the eredit and the honor of thcrOovernment, when those who are so laboring have behind them 6, 500,000 votes, with a fair prospect of adding considerably to that num ber .before the next elections come around? When suoh a Btatempmt i made by a respectable paper, the probabilities are that people who have confidence in such paper, and little knowledge of the American people, might fight shy of American securities, and be anxious to get rid of any they might have, and thus this hysterical organ - is contributing in as far as its influence extends, to do the very thing which it professes to deprecate. But the base part of this whole business is that the Tribune doesn't mean it, doesn't believe it, and is raving out of Bheer oussedness be cause the men it raves against hap pen to belong to a party that it doesn't belong to. If the result of the adoption of this resolution should be that for eign holders of American securities would send them back to us, and decline to invest in any more it might be doing good in an unex pected way, a sort of blessing in dis guise, as it Were; for the fewer of our securities held abroad and the more of them at home the better for this country. In noticing an inter view of Mr. Ihman the other day we quoted him as saying that it was fortunate that we had gotten posses sion of so many of our securities which had been sent back, for now we were much less in debt to Euro pean security holders than we were five years ago. This he construed as one of the signs of future pros perity, because we are getting in better shape and are lesss dependent upon European money lenders and security buyers. It will be a good day for this country when the sell ing of our securities abroad ceases, and they find a market here. If this be one of the effects of the adoption of the Teller resolution, as the excited Tribune intimates, then it will be a good thing and every one Who would be glad to see this coun try self-reliant and independent of foreign security speculators should rejoice at it. '. MINOR MENTION. The Philadelphia Ledger a few days ago printed a synopsis of a re port made by a Massachusetts cot ton mill which has a branch m Georgia, from which it appears that the Georgia branch has four ad vantages over the Massachusetts mill, namely, cheaper wages, longer hours, lower taxation and lower cost of power, and therefore the Georgia branch can manufacture the same class of goods as the Massachusetts mill, sell them at the same price and make a fair profit, while the Northern mills would have to sell below cost. The Ledger concludes that if this be the case generally, it will be only a matter of a few years when the New England cotton manufacturing industry must be, transferred to the South. Bu$it entertains the opinion that;tnis iB notthe case generally, and that' even these advantages, if general, may not be permanent. It thinks that in time, when the manufactur ing industry attains larger propor tions in the South, there will be labor organizations .and as a result wages will go up and the hours of labor be reduced; that as the com munities grow in wealth taxation will increase, and that the cost of power will be a local matter, gov erned by local conditions. Others who discuss this question take the same view, and think this will save the industry in New Eng land. But" this is grasping at straws. There is a very material difference in the conditions North and South. The mills being distributed as they are in the South, with few of what might be called manufacturing cenT ters, the work of organizing labor cannot progress inlhe South as it has in the North, even if operatives were inclined that way, which they are not They do not bank much on unions, n"d it will be good while be fore they do. Taxation may in crease but not to cdmpare with tax ation in the North, and even then our mills will be in a condition to stand it, and as for the power, that IS unlimited with the numerous streams available, while in some sec tions theproximity of the mills to the coal mines assures a permanent supply of cheap fuel. There is one mill in Alabama with cotton fields on one side and so close to the coal mine that coal is delivered at the mill for 48 cents a ton. Of .course this is an exception, but many mills get all they want at from tl to $2 a ton, and there is no reason to be lieve they will have to pay much more for years to come, 'According to Secretary Wilson, of the U 8. Agricultural Department, the people of the United States im port annually about $400,000,000 worth of agricultural products, the larger part of which could be grown in this country. In an agricultural way we export very little save of the foodstuff order, wheat, corn, meats, Ac. These are large in the aggre gate but not so much larger than our imports. But if we are to have commerce with other countries we must continue to import many things which we could raise at home, although we may have been doing this to excess, for the simple reason that we have never tried to raise them. We have an illustration in the success of tobacco culture in Florida, Havana tobacco, as they oall it, grown from Cuban seed. Up to the time of the breaking out of the war we were dependent upon Cuba altogether for that particular kind of tobacco which experiment shows can be grown quite as well in Florida as in Cuba. And so with a good many other things. The culture of sugar beets and the manufacture of beet sugar have progressed so well that it is only a question of time when we may become an exporter instead of an importer of sugar. And so with wool, of which we should raise every pound we need, save the coarse, cheap wools required for special purposes, which cannot be profitably grown in this country. We ought to raise all the silk : we need, and probably will some tinie, but it takes people a long time to catch on to now methods after they have got into the rut habit of doings things. As a thrifty, self-reliant nation we should endeavor to be in every re spect self-sustaining, and thus keep at home, the many millions of dol lars which we annually send abroad for imported farm produci The fact that young Mr. Leiter sent 4,000,000 bushels of his wheat to some other port for shipment some of the New York papers con sider evidence of railroad discrimi nation against that port. B t the probabilities are that it was simply a matter of business, and the roads running to other ports handled it for less money. There ib no ap parent reason why railroads running to . New York should discriminate against it in favor of other ports. A New York man claims to have discovered a process of welding cop per to steel, from which great re sults are anticipated by him and the money men who are furnishing the cash to put np a plant. A short while ago the announcement was made that an experimenter had dis covered the lost art of tempering copper so it would take an edge like steel. But these are days of dis covery and invention. It seems to be the policy of the authorities at Washington to deny everything. But it is useless for them to make any denial of the fact that they are now busy with prepara tions for intervention faa Cuban affairs. The McKinley administra tion at last realizes that ihe senti ment in thiscountry in favor of Cuba is tob strong to be longer re sist The wrecking of the Maine loos ened Mr. DeLome s tongue, who took occasion to say in New York that he loved this country and the American people next to his Own country and his own people, and that he rather regretted the writing of that letter. This will ha je a tend ing to lessen his popularity when he returns to Spain. j j Rear Admiral Belknap says it is remarkable that the Maine should have blown up in that particular harbor at that particular time. As she was there it would juave been still more remarkable if she had blown up somewhere else at some other time. Secretary Wilson, of the United States Agricultural Department, has discovered that within the past few years 40,000 Cubans hav come into Florida to engage in tobacco cul ture, which accounts for me great growth of the industry in that State. A British warship which ran aground near the entrance to the Suez Canal, will have to discharge her guns before she can bej floated. They shouldn't load their guns so heavy or discharge them before they get into shallow water. A Denver genius has invented a machine for making spanking easy, a seatless chair with an! electric spanker attachment, which does tho work when the offender takes the chair. He thinks it will be useful in the State industrial schools where spanking is still in vogue. j Speaker Reed is quoted as saying that "the time to act on this Cuban. matter is near at hand. " The fact is there has been too much acting on it' already, and too little brave, square business, : Secretary of "Agriculture Wilson has discovered that we get many of our Havana cigars from Florida. A little further investigation would reveal the fact that we get a good many of them from New York. 31. WILMINGTON, N. C, FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 25, THE RAILWAY COMMISSION. Exceptions to the Bell Telephone Company to a Reduction of Rates Over-ruled, i LOWER FERTILIZER RATES. The Standard Adopted Nearly Twenty Per Cent Reduction on Old Rates Order Reducing Corn Rates Revoked. . Special Star Correspondence. Raleigh, N. C, Feb. 18. The Railway Commission convened again this morning at 10 o'clock. The matter of adopting a standard fertilizer rate was first taken up. Traffic Man ager Culp of the Southern, Emerson of the Coast Lane, and Glover of the Seaboard, who have been in confer ence since yesterday, preparing a standard fertilizer tariff for the con sideration of the Commission, made their report. The Commission is now considering it. Mr. C'. E. Borden of the Navassa Guano Company, and Mr. Gilchrist of the Acme Company, are present and urging the adoption of the South Caro lina rate. This rate would, If adopted, be lower than the6f per cent, reduc tion recently ordered. Maior Wilson is present this morn ing1 and expects to testify before the 1 Commission. The Commission will not file a de cision in the matter bf the reduction of passenger rates at this time. To-morrow, Messrs. Caldwell and Pearson go to Washington to show, cause before the United States Su preme Court, Monday, why they should not restore the offices of the Commission, which they occupy, to Maj. J. W. Wilson and S. Otho Wil son, and also, why they should not be attached for contempt. Work on the construction of the Raleigh and Cape Fear Railway be er ins Monday next. The line of the road will be located at once. It is, said the Dukes are backing the opposi tion road and that it will be carried to Durham instead of Raleigh. The hosiery yarn mill of Durham was incorporated yesterday with a capital stock of $60,000. Mr. J. S. Carr is the largest stockholder. Special Star Telegram. The Railway Commission over ruled the exceptions of the Bell Tele phone Company to the order reducing telephone rates. The Bell Company gave notice of appeal. A five thour sand dollar bond is required to stay the order. The Commission, on motion of Dr. Abbott, issued a subpoena to the Southern Express Co. to show cause, March 15th, why express rates on fish should not be reduced. Dr. Abbott said the rates are exorbitant. The order reducing corn rates is revoked. A rate of ten cents a hundred from Newbern to Raleigh is put in effect. Formerly it was fifteen cents. The standard for a fertilizer rate is adopted, which is nearly twenty per cent, reduction on the old rate. The order is as follows: Twelve miles and under, per ton. $1 : twenty miles and under $1 12. The rates increase ten cents j for each ten miles up to 150. Then it increases five cents per ton for each ten miles. On less than carload lots shipment rates may be made 20 per cent higher than above. This applies to all roads of the Atlantic Coast Lane, with the exception of the Cheraw and Darlington, the Wilmington, Colum bia and Augusta (10 per cent, advance) and Wilmington, Newbern and Nor folk, and to miscellaneous roads, save the Aberdeen and West End, the At lantic and North Carolina, and the Carthage railways. It is ordered that the joint rate on two or more roads not under the same management, shall be made a basis of locals of each road, less twenty per cent. ! Death of Mr. P. N. Hewin. The Stab notes with sorrow the death of Mr. Peter N. Hewin, a brother-in-law of Mr. E H. Sneed. He passed away at the residence of his brother-in-law, 116 Nun street, early yesterday morning. He had been confined to his room for several months. Mr. Hewin was often seen at the Sneed Company's furniture store, and at one time he was himself manager of a furniture store; first on Second street, and afterwards in the building now occupied by Mr. Sneed. The funeral will take place at 10 o'clock this morning from Mr. Sneed's residence. Cotton Facts. According to the weekly statement of cotton and naval stores, as printed ' L 'It -1 AT i m tne commercial columns ui me Star, there are at present 17,959 bales of cotton in the freight and compress warehouses here. Last year at a cor responding date there were 12,581 bales. There have been received at this nort since the opening of the cot ton season 297,610 bales, against 228,- i i ii . : 3 -i an 4Da Dales ior ine same penuu. ui ioji. The receipts of cotton yesterday were 568 bales; for the same day last year, 1357 The local market closed firm at 5tJc. Last year it Was firm at 6fc. A HORRIBLE ACCIDENT. A Young Son of Mr. Dennis Lennon Burned to Death in a Forest Fire. Abbottsburg, Feb. 18. Editor Star: Your correspondent learns, with deep regret, of the hor rible death of the 13-year old sonjof Mr. Dennis Lennon, near Bladenboro, last Tuesday. Mr. Lennon had sent his son to a neighbor's house, about a mile away , to warn him of the ap proaching fire. It seems the boy came near the fire and being stifled by the smoke went into the fire and it is supposed died in a few minutes. His dead body was not found until the next morning, when it was found some distance m the woods near a branch. ' The position of deputy collec tor, it is understood, will be given to John E. Taylor, now first assistant to the city treasurer. RUSSELL AND THE SOUTHERN The Governor Trying to Lease the Atlantic and North Car olina Railroad. ASKS SOUTHERN TO TAKE IT. Promises to Hold Up in His Prosecution Colonel Andrews is Considering the Proposition Other Raleigh News. Raleigh, N. C, Feb. 19. Commissioners Caldwell and Pearson will not appear before the Supreme Court Monday next in person. Mr. Caldwell says he is hot fully deter mined as to whether he will be pres ent, but that his presence is not neces sary. Mr. R. O. Burton, counsel for Major Wilson and Otho, and ex Judge Avery, counsel for the new commissioners, leave to-morrow for Washington to be present at the trial. ' John W. Graham, the president of the Farmers' Alliance, was in the city to-day and called on the Governor. It is said that Mr. Graham will be fiven the office of Commissioner of m migration when the Board of Agri culture meets. The office will be espe cially created for him. The North. Carolina division of the American Chemical Society meets in this city Tuesday. Prof. Venable of the University is chairman. Suit is brought in Wake court. against State Auditor Aver by the oyster claimants of Pamlico ounty. They sue to compel the Auditor to issue warrants for their claims, which amount to something like $5,500. The Auditor recently told the claimants that they would have to obtain relief from the Legislature. The penitentiary officials are of the opinion that the U. S. Government will make the prison here a Federal prison. w Special Star Telegram. The Executive Committee of the Teachers' Assembly elects W. T. Whitsett secretary, to succeed C. J. Parker. An invitation is extended the National Association to meet in this State next year. The Railway Commission met twice to-day. Nothing important was done. An important movement is on foot, but the Commission and the Governor and his advisers are mum. The Governor and the State Coun cil to-day considered the advisability of leasing the A. and N. C. road to the Southern ; no terms agreed upon. The Governor promises to end the prosecution of the Southern and stop investigations by the Commission if the lease is made. Col. Andrews is considering the proposition. The Gov ernor and members of the Council re fuse to talk. No successor will be elected .to President Hancock at the 'meeting this week. Superintendent Dill will be given the management. E. H. Meadows has resigned as a director of the road THE BANKRUPTCY BILL Passed the House As Reported By Com mittee With Both Voluntary and Involuntary Features. By Telegraph to the Morning Star. Washington, February 19. After four days of consideration, the House to-day passed the bankruptcy bill re ported by the House Committee on Judiciary as a substitute for the Nel son bill passed by the Senate at the extra session last Summer. The bill is known as the Henderson bill, and contains both voluntary and involun tary features. It is considered less drastic than the measure passed by the last House by a vote of 157 to 87. The involuntary features, however, had but sixteen majority. To-day a motion to strike out the involuntary features was defeated by a majority of nineteen, and the bill was passed by a majority of twenty-five, the vote stand ing yeas 158, nays 125. Eighteen Re publicans voted against the bill and twelve Democrats for it. The Populists with one exception voted against it. To-day the bill was considered un der the five-minute rule for amend ment, but the reading of the bill, which contains eighty pages, only ad vanced through the first section and only one unimportant amendment was adopted. It related to the definition of a term in the bill and corrected an admitted inconsistency. It was only bv a slight inadvertence on the part or i . - : r o; i Tut ' the champions of Senator Mahony's (Republican, of JNew xorfc) amena ment to limit the operation of the measure to two years that this amend ment was lost. It was voted into the hill before 4 o'clock, -when the final vote was to be taken under the order, hut a motion to lay on the table a mo tion to reconsider was . carried by a narrow majority, the roll call extend ing beyond that hour, and the friends of the amendment allowed the motion to reconsider to prevail without a division, intending to let the vote come again upon the amendment. But a point of order was interposed to cut off this vote on the ground that the hour for taking the final vote had arri ved. Some parliamentary sparring occurred, but the point was sustained by the Speaker. Had the friends of tine amendment interposed a similar point of order against the motion to reconsider it also would probably have been sustained and the amendment would have remained in the hill. Coastwise and Foreign Exports Yesterday. The schooner Mattie A, Franklin, Capt. McDonald, was cleared yesterday for port of Spain, Trinidad, by Geo. Harriss, Son & Co., with a cargo of lumber valued at $6,095 and shipped by the Kidder -Lumber Company, Messrs. Geo. Harriss Son & Co. also cleared the Estelle, Capt. Hutchinson, for Salem. Mass.. with 387,000 feet of lumber from the Cape Fear Lumber Company. . The Clyde steamship Oneida, passed down the river with her usual weekly cargo of cotton, naval stores, lumber, etc., for New York. Mr. E. H. Meadows, of New bern, has sent in his resignation as a director of the Atlantic and North Carolina railroad. I - r. Ha 1898. THE WRECKED BATTLESHIP. Officials of the Navy Depart ment Still Discuss Spontane ous Combustion Theory. A SPANISH INVESTIGATION. Pieces of Torpedoes Found The Court of Inquiry Contracts Made With Wrecking Companies Con dition of tho. Injured. By Telegraph to the Morning Star. 1 Washington, February 19. The in teresting feature of the day's news at the Navy Department was the decision of the government to i allow concurrent investigations of the cause of the Maine disaster; for its own part mak ing an independent inquiry through the naval.court of inquiry already ap pointed, while permitting the Spanish authorities to make such investigations as they desire. This arrangement commended itself to naval men as fair to" all and at the same time as calcula ted to develop the exact facts in a manner that could not be questioned. There was a good deal of talk among the officials of the need, of speedy re lief measures for the benefit of the families of the victims of the explo sion. Under the Treasury rules the allotments of portions of pay to mem bers of their families made by the men who perished in the wreck must stop at once. It is not doubted that Con gress will do as it did in the case of the Samoan disaster, provide for a year's Say to the families of the sailors who ied at their posts. The difficulty, however, is that such a measure can not be passed at Once and meantime some of the families of the dead sailors will be in srreat distress. The subject has been taken up by Mrs. Long, and she has called a meeting for Monday to initiate the movement. It happened that by the rare chance of an unex pected change of paymasters recently, very little of the savings of the Maine's sailors went down in tne vessel. ADout two weeks ago Paymaster Littlefield, of the Maine, was relieved by Pay master Ray. The former came to Washington and has. settled the ac counts of the ship up to ' the time he left The record shows that Paymas ter Ray had on hand in his safe only about $3,000 in cash, probably gold, andajheckfor $6,000, which, of course is safe enough, without his endorse ment, against loss. Spontaneous Combustion Theory. Since the' spontaneous combustion theory has come so prominently to the front as accounting for the disas ter, the officials have been looking over the records to find a. parallel case, as near as may be. The flagship New York was discovered- to be on fire March 9th, 1896. Smoke was issu ing from her main magazine. This was cleared of powder safely and it was found that the woodwork had been charred deeply. The cause was not at first perceptible, but it was soon discovered that an adjoining coal bunker was burning. When the hunker was opened the coal on top was not hot, but as the men dug down into the mass it was found tobe red hot inside. There was no manifesta tion of heat on the top of the hunker nor on any side save the one next the magazine. That startled the naval officers and the constructors made a considerable air space between the bunkers and the magazine. In the designing of the new battleships now on the stocks the lesson was kept in mind and everything possible was done to insulate the coal bunkers from the magazines. Raising the Maine. There is no abatement of the talk of the expediency of raising the Maine. Chief Constructor Hichborn is one of the most earnest advocates of the resurrection of the ship, from both sentimental and practical considera tions. He points out that the ship lies in a land-locked harbor, easy for the wreckers to operate in, and that, if she can be rebuilt at a cost of a mil lion dollars, the government will save four millions, the first cost of such a battleship with all of her equipment. Great Britain, he said, never aban doned a ship if there was the least chance to save her, and has not even yet abandoned the hope of raising the ill-fated Victoria, sunk in collision with the Camperdown off the coast of Syria several years ago. Commander Francis W. Dickens, the acting chief of the Bureau of Nav igation and Secretary Long's right hand man in the present emergency, said: "The Maine must he taken to an American port if there is enough of her bones holding together to warrant re moval, and id all likeihood that will be done. If the explosion was more disastrous than is now thought to be the case, if the hull is -so wrecked as to be beyond repair, then as much of the material as can be secured will be brought home and placed m a new Maine. It is to be remembered that great advances have beja made in ship building since the Maine was de signed, and a finer ship could be built to-day, but it would take time, and if any considerable portion of the ship is good, with a modernized battery and improvements in rebuilding the de stroyed portions, a magnificent vessel can be quickly secured.' Chief Engineer Melville" has de cided viewS in favor of the proposi tion to rebuild the Maine. "Even suppose this costs $1,000,000," said he, "a new ship equal to the Maine would cost nearly $5,000,000. The repairs could be made and tne ship put in service again m a year at the farthest. To build anew ship like her would take at least three years. With regard to the practica bility of raising the vessel, it is to.be remarked, that larger vessels have been raised which were at sea, where they were exposed to the waves, while the Maine is in a perfectly quiet har bor, One end resting in the mud and part of the other end above water. The Maine is in a shallow spot, as protected as a mill pond, and she is nnlv a six thousand tons ship. The British armor-clad Howe, of over ten thousand tons, was raised off Ferroi, Spain, in the open ocean, and H. M. S. Sultan, of over nine thousand tons, was raised and saved after she sank in the Oomino channel. " Enlistments Ordered. Orders have been issued for the en listment of 300 men for the navy to fill the vacancies caused by the de struction of the battleship Maine, and to complete the legal quota, The new men will be sent to receiving ships, from where tney will ne senx w snips in commission wherever needed. Commander-in-Chief Street, of the NO. 18 Union "Veterans' Union, has offered to the President the services of 10,000 men of his order for the defence of the country. They could be ready for action in forty-eight hours. Spaniards Want to Investigate. Secretary Long and Assistant Sec tary Day, of the State Department, had an interview with the President this morning which lasted nearly an hour. Mr. Day read a cablegram from Consul General Lee at Havana, trans mitting a request from the Spanish authorities in Cuba that the Spanish officials be permitted to join with our own people in making an investiga tion into the cause of the disaster to the Maine. The matter was discussed at considerable length, and the con clusion was reached that' while the government is willing to afford the Spanish authorities all reasonable facilities for conducting an investiga tion, yet it is thought best the-first in quiry shall be made by our own com missioners. The request of the Spanish govern ernment for permission to examine the wreck of the Maine reached the State Department last night through the following message from Consul General Lee : "Bovanai. February 18. Assistant Secretary Day, Washington: Sigsbee begins to-morrow with divers sent him from the United States to recover all bodies still left in the wreck qf the Maine, as well as personal effects of officers and men. and whatever else can be obtained in' that way. After that is completed the , Spanish govern ment would like to unite with ours in having bottom of ship and harbor in vicinity jointly examined. LEE." The following is the answer sent : "Washington, February 19. Lee, Consul General, Havana: The govern ment of the United States has already begun an investigation of the causes of the disaster to the Maine, through officers of the navy specially appointed for that purpose, which will proceed independently. This government will aff ordjevery facility it can to the Span ish authorities in whatever investiga tion they may see fit to make upon their part. "Day, "Assistant Secretary." Secretary Long wired Admiral Si card to-day after his consultation with President McKinley, telling him briefly what answer had been return ed to General Lee's application in be half of the Spanish Government for permission to examine the Maine. He also instructed the Admiral to press forward as rapidly as possible the work of a survey upon the Maine's hull and to have the court of inquiry to proceed to Havana as soon as possi ble. It is scarcely expected at the depart ment that any information of value as to the cause of the exnlosion will be available until the court has begun the formal inquiry. The divers now at work in -the wreck are understood to be employed in securing dead bodies and in the .removal of ship's papers and small articles of value, so that it is un likely they would give any heed to the . bottom of the hull ouried, as it proba bly is, deep m the mud. Pieces of Torpedoes Found. The officials here intimate that the discovery of pieces of torpedoes is not to be taken in itself as evidence of an outside attack upon the vessel, for it is fully expected that of the eight tor pedoes on the Maine, some were more or less ruptured and scattered by the explosion which destroyed the ship. The apparent difficulty attending the sending down of divers to the Maine was relieved, if not entirely removed, by a statement to-day by Senor DuBosc, charge d'affaires of the Spanish legation, that a complete and harmonious understanding between Captain Sigsbee and. the authorities at Havana had been reached on the matter of divers, and that the Spanish authorities viewed the Maine as extra territorial that is, a part of the sov ereign territory of the United States, the same as a United States legation situated in foreign territory. With the Maine holding its status as extra territorial, all doubts as to work on the wreck are removed. The waters of Havana harbor are, of course, Spanish territory, and some con fusion had been aroused by the idea that this jurisdiction over the waters attached also to the wreck in its pres ent helpless condition at the bottom of the bay. i The Court of Inquiry. A dispatch was received to-day from Admiral Sicard, dated at Key West last night, speaking of the assembling of the court of inquiry, as follows: "Secretary of the Navy Bache sailed from . Key West for Havana with diyers and stores for the Maine. The Iowa comes to Key West on the 19th and the Sampson court of inquiry on the Maine assembles on the ar rival here of Marix. The Massachu setts and Indiana are at Tortugas. Fifteen officers and forty-seven men from the Maine have been distributed at Key West marine hospital and the army barracks. More are due here on the 19th by the Mangrove. I shall hold all at Key West pending the court of inquiry. No one of the twenty -one apprentices that the Texas took from New York city for the Maine was on board that ship. Captain Sigsbee forwarded another and revised list of the injured and the dead so far identified this morning as follows: One hundred and twenty coffins containing 135 dead bodies now buried ; nine ready for burial to morrow. f Contracts With Wrecking Companies. The contract for the work of saving portions of the Maine, and if possible raising her, was not closed to-day, al though representatives' of wrecking concerns were in conference with Navy Department officials through the day. Captain Lemly, whOu will frame the contract, said that progress had been made toward understanding the gen eral plan of operation, hut a final agreement had not been reached. Until to-day the Merritt and Chap man Wrecking Company and the Boston Towboat Company have been alone in the field, and the department understood they had combined their interests. This would have insured the government the double facilities of these extensive wreckers and would have given them .the con tract. But to-day the Luckenback Wrecking Company of .New York city entered upon competition for the work, and before the day closed it had made a bid. The other con cerns did not bid to-day, but expect to do so Monday. The plan proposed by them is to use the. large wrecking tug .Orion, of the Boston Company, in conjunction with the powerful cranes of tne Merritt Company. If this plan is adopted, the Orion will carry the wrecking material to Havana and then serve in transporting the heavy tur rets, guns and detachable parts of the Maine back to the Norfolk navy yard, where it is proposed to assemble the remnants of the ship. The Lucken bach Company propose a different plan. Their bid contemplates the use of large barges, hauled by ocean tugs, in bringing pans of wreck to Norfolk. ROYAL. BAKING potwpm 00. , HEW VOW. In other respects the plan of opera tions of all bidders is to assume the entire work of furnishing appli ances, divers, etc., and delivering such material as is saved at Norfolk. A government official isto make general inspection of the work as it proceeds. The Luckenbach Company claims that the use of barges will cost one-fourth less and will give better results. The tugs drawing the barges make eight knots an hour; the Orion makes ten knots. This difference is said to be im material, making a difference of only two days in the time of delivery at the Norfolk navy yard. r The Temper in the House. While the disaster to the Maine has created a temper in the House in fa vor of liberal appropriations for tho Navy and while it is un doubtedly true that the House in its present frame of mind would not hesitate to vote for two new battle ships, one to replace" the Maine, this temper is predicted upon the theory that the Maine was blown up by ex ternal agencies. If the result of the official inquiry should develop the fact, beyond peradventure, that the ship's magazine exploded from fire or other cause within her hull, it is be lieved a sentiment in Congress will be created against the expenditure of mil lions in the construction of -warships that may blow up at any time. It seems likely that a congressional va.-' vestigation will follow a report from the board of inquiry attributing the loss of the Maine to an explosion of her magazine, At Key West Key West, February 19. The con dition of the injured at the marine hospital and the barracks is slightly improved The injured men who ar rived on the Mangrove this morning in care of Dr. Clendennin, from the barracks, are suffering mostly from severe burns, but they are doing nicely. The eleven very seriously in- S.red who are still in the hospital at avana will probably be brought here in a few days by the steamer Fern. The battleship Iowa came up from the fleet to-day. arriving off here at 5 o'clock this afternoon. She had on board the commanders of the Massa chusetts and Indiana, who will be members of the committee to inquire into the disaster to the Maine. Rear Admiral Sicard came ashore from the New York on the Ericcson, probably to secure a place for the court of inquiry. GEN. LEW WALLACE Challenged ;to Mortal Combat by Geo. F. Oaks of Indianapolis. By Telegraph, to the Morning Star. Lebanon, Ind., February 19. Geo. F. Oaks, of Indianapolis, has written a challenge to Gen. Lew Wallace to mortal combat on the field-of honor. At the banquet here on Lincoln's birthday, Gen. Lew Wallace in a speech told of a personal interview with Lincoln "when General McClel lan had been forced back by Lee to Harrison's T-a"flig on the James river. Lincoln was sad, and Wallace inquired what was the matter. Lin coin said: "I must go to Harrison's Landing to tell McClellan not to sur render that army." General Wallace said: "Half an hour later, Lincoln was in a boat bound for Harrison's landing. This is the first time I ever related this fact." George F. Oakes, who was a private soldier m the First Michigan Infantry under McClellan, denounces the story as a fabrication and champions the cause of his dead commander: IN NEW YORK HARBOR. A Warship Supposed to be the Brooklyn Arrived Last Night Spanish Cruiser Still at the Outer Bar. By Telegraph to the Morning Star. New York, February 19. At 10.10 to-night the observer t Sandy Hook reported a warship was passing there, bound in, and that it appeared to him to be an American vessel. New Yore, February 19. The war ship is anchored about a half mile off shore between the point of the Hook and the Government dock. The ob server says that she stanTb high out of water and is well lighted up. She looks like a cruiser. The Sandy Hook observer says that the weather is so thick he can see very little , but is sure the warship is not the Vizcaya, and from her general appear ance he thinks it to he the Brooklyn. New York, August 19. The Span ish cruiser Vizcaya still" lies at anchor at the outer bar. A dense fog pre vented the vessel reaching her perma nent anchorage to-day. waraTwirelets. Fourth-class postmasters have been appointed as fol lows for North Caro lina: Elkton, A. E. Moore; Estelle, A. D. Willis. - Judge Gary, of Chicago, denied the motion of Luetgert's attorneys for a new trial and sentenced the sausage maker to life imprisonment. The London Spectator, in a long ar ticle, points out that there is no doubt of the existence of special relations be tween France and Spain, which have lately been strengthened. The London Saturday Review ex presses belief that France has allowed the United States to understand indi rectly that considerations of impor tance to her would not allow her to see Spain treated in an unfriendly manner. CONSUMPTION Tn the EDITOR : I have an absolute Cure for ' CONSUMPTION and all Bronchial, Throat and Lung Troubles, and all conditions of Wasting Away, ay its umety use moawii'ii m pp ly hopeless case have been permanently So oroof -oositive am I of its power to will send FREE to anyone afflicted, THREE BOTTLES of my Newly Discovered Remedies, upon receipt of Express and Postoffice address. Always sincerely yours, T.;"A. SLOCOM, M.O, i8j Pearl St., New Tor Whsn writtau the Doctor, plea meatfcm tUs l A jfcrfMKtiJilfo t m.11mssjsssssMMMMMMBBBB
The Weekly Star (Wilmington, N.C.)
Standardized title groups preceding, succeeding, and alternate titles together.
Feb. 25, 1898, edition 1
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