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I L L I A M H . B E R N A RE
Editor and Proprietor.
"WILMINGTON, N..X.
Fbiday,
February ?, 1899.
THE NICARAGUA CANAL.
A short while agdthe country was
practically united on the question of
the Nicaragua Canal and Congress
1 was so favorable to it that several
committees wero appointed to visit
the line of the canal, to make inves
titrations as to feasibility, cost -&c,
I and report. . Their reports differed
- somewhat as to the feasibility of the
proposed ronte, cost &c, but were
of such a nature as to have no doubt
as to the feasibility of the scheme,
orthattho wrk could be done with
something in the neighborhood of
$100,000,000 or less. But action
was staved off on it from session to
"session, (although it continued to
be regarded with favor) until Sejjia
tor Morgan, who has been the lead
ing spirit in its advocacy in the Sen--ate,
succeeded in having the bill
called up and passed.
Fnr'fiftv vears this scheme or
, 1 .
, some other scheme for a canal be
tween the two oceans has been
thought of and more, or less dis
cussed in this country, and there
has been talk enough on it within
the past five or six years to build it,
af talk could do it.
It passed the Senate aftevhard
work of several years, but) when lit
went tothe House of Representa
tive? it struck a snag in the Speaker,
. who has never been favorable to it
and who used his power to prevent
it from getting before tie House
for-eonsideration. It was also met
with the cry that we could not
"with 'the present ; condition of our
finances; with a large deficiency, .and
1 prospective demands for a good deal
. more money than there is in sight,
' incur any new obligations requir
ing large expenditures, and there
fore the canal and ship subsidy bill
must be shelved for subsequent pro
ceeding and when we might have
some money to do something with
out going upon the market as a bond'
seller. .
. Mr. Cannon, Chairman of the
?
House Committee on Appropria
turns, iihinks we will for the .next
1 two years at least need everyj dollar
we can rake and scrape to jpjay the
. cnrrent expenses of the Government,
to take care of .our increased army
and navy, and pay for the fun we
are having in Cuba .and in the
Philippines. That's all so.no doubt.
Cuba, with the disposition shown to
hang on there, and the Philippines
will prove, very costly investments,
and if the Nicaragua Canal has to
wait until we get out of that mess
and see some way to build it without
issuing bonds, it may as well be in
definitely postponed.
But there are some gentlemen in
Congress who are of the opinion
that ; if that canal was ever really
desirable and there ever was a g'obd
reason why this Government, should
"interest itself in its construction,
that time is now, and the reason
stronger now than ever. One of
r -these is Mr Hepburn, of Iowa, who
I has had an agreement with Senator
Morgan and has drafted a bill some
what different in phraseology but
'substantially the ' same,, which the
friends of the measure have offered
as a rider to the Sundry Civil Ap-
propriation bill, intending to thus
force action upon' it. Referring to
this movement, by the friends of the
s bill the Washington correspondent
of the New York Journal of Com
merce and Commercial Bulletin says
CI 1 . T" 1
ooeaser neea always exercises a
close watch over propositions invoiv-
ing large expenditure, ne nas never
favored the Nicaraguan Canal project
and has neglected to provide for its
consideration in previous Congresses,
when there has been a strong demand
from his party for its enactment. The
pressure is more intense than ever this
winter, in view of the powerful argu-
, ments in favor of the canal derived
from the new responsibilities of the
- junuea oiaies in tne .uast,. A. plan is
: under Cnnsidaratinri In cmtiintr (ha
,tXposftron-before both houses without
the aid of the Speaker. This plan con
templates the addition of the Hepburn
bill to the river and harbor appropria
tion bill. The river and harbor bill
has passed the House and is before the
" Senate x Committee on Commerce.
N Senators are being heard daily in favor
of the items put in the bill by the
t Jtiouse in iavor oi tneir states and
' additional items which they consider
.necessary. If the Hepburn bill which
' practically places it in the discretion of
: .the President to build the Nicaraguan
- Uanal under (government authority,
' should be attached , to the river and
- narbor bill in the senate, it would go
' back to the House for approval along
witn tne other (senate amendments.
. Speaker Reed could not prevent consid
eration, and could not exercise much
control over the -matter, except by ap-
pointing House conferrees who were
. resolutely, opposed to the appropria
tion. It is doubtful if he goes this
length- if it is made apparent to him
that the majority in both houses sin
cerely desire the construction of the
canaL If. this plan is not adopted,
there is grave doubt whether the canal
bill is Allowed consideration in the
House, and time is found for the con
sideration of the conference report in
me senate. ;.
a When Mr. Cannon was turning
. the cold shoulder to this gi and
"- Z scheme, a member from Michigan
declared that we must have the
;. canal if yre had to "mortgage pos
1 - terity for it." Mortgaging posterity
:? is. not a very nice proceeding but it
! will be much bettor to mortgage it
for something that it may get some
..benefit from, than to mortgage it to
f seize tho territory of some 9,000,000
more or less of "semi-savages" who
."will never paj interest on Ihe invest
." rnent; and wfll be a source of end- ,
ess trouble and expense
to posterity. ;--;. rlv
Geographical hneff" have a good
deal to dO with this recently sprung
opposition to this canal. While the
whole country would ; be benehttea
it, the South - Atlantic ana
Gulf States will be the most di-
. A 1
rectly benefitted and some oi tne
statetmen up there are not disposed
to spend money on a scheme which
would give the South the commer
cial advantage that this canal would
give her. .
Hanna will take care oi nis sud-
sjdy bill. . . ! ,
NOT MUCH IN IT.
Wo suppose the adoption of the
McEnery resolution will, for the
present at least, close "the Philippine
incident in the Senate. As there
was little hope, of getting any-,
thing better adopted, this is, per
haps, better than nothing, but is so
thin and practically means so little
that we cannot see why any expan
sionist should hesitate for a moment
as to voting , for it.
It simply, declares that it. is not
the purpose of this country to an
nex or -to permanently hold the
Philippines., but to so govern them as
to bo most ' conducive to the inter-.
ests of this country and to the people
of those islands, . this country, of
course, to be the judge of that. Un
der this resolution we mav hold
them for five, ten, fifty, a hundred
or any number of years, but if we
find upon trial that holding them
does not pay, that it is not to the
"interest" of this country to hold
them, then we may declare that the
"semi-savages" have . been suffi
ciently educated upon the sub
ject of self -government and turn
them loose to hoe their own
row. We can make colonies out of
them, and govern them with mili
tary satraps and bayonets, and we
mav do this until we set tired of it
or find it doesn't pay, or we may do.
anything else but annex them. They
can never be assimilated and have
all this nice talk about ! that thing
must be relegated to the archives
We can, if we see fit, under this
resolution, sell them, if we can find
a purchaser who is satisfied with
the-title we can give, for there is
nothing m the resolution to pre
clude that,nso that taking it. as a
whole, as a conciliator, and a definer
of the purposes of this government,
there is nothing in this resolution
that the most rampant imperialist
can object to, nor any thing in it that
the anti-imperalist can' congratu
late the country upon. ,Some of
the anti-expansionist Senators voted
for it as something a little! better
than nothing.
WH) TIRES. I
We have discussed wide tires on
vehicles, especially vehicles for
heavy hauling, more or less in
these columns and called attention
to some1 of the numerous advan
tages over narrow tires. The fol
lowing, which we find in the Ka-
leigh Post, over the signature of
W. C. McMackinj who has had
good - deal; of experience in road
making and is pretty good author
ity, is both interesting and instruc
tive: L i
"Will eood. well built macadamized
roads stay in condition if narrow tires
are used?
"No I The damage done by the use
of narrow tires is enormous. The con
tinued wear from the narrow tires
causes ruts and depression in the best
material, 'which fills with water at
every rain, softens the rock and
hastens the wear, - and, therefore, the
narrow tires and water are two great
enemies or good roads.
"Many experiments' have been made.
both by the United States Department
of Agriculture and by experiment sta
tions with narrow and wide tires, m or
der to. thoroughly and scientifically
ascertain tne value, oi wide tires
compared" with narrow ones.
"These tests were made on meadows,
stubble land, corn and cotton ground.
plowed ground, and on dry and firm
roads to very wet and soft ones; the
result in every instance is in favor of
wide tires by from 20 to 100 per cent
"The principle of wide tires should
be acknowledged in America as in
other countries. - - .
"Europe prescribes the use of wide
tires by law. Austria has 4 inch
tires; France 3 to 10 inches; Germany
4 inches; Switzerland 6 inches, and so
on. Wide tires roll and harden the
roads, either clay or rock, and keep it
in good condition while the narrow.
tires destroy them.
- "A team that can draw 2.000 nnunda
on a wagon with If -ineh tireliSan just
" 1 J A ,r . a - .
-as easily uraw o,ow pounds on o incn
tires, and at the same time work the
road. Good roads are an absolute ne
cessity, and we are going to have them
for every man, woman and child of all
nationalities in North Carolina (except
one man in Wake county) wants them
and are begging .for them; then why
not take steps at once to educate our
people up to the standard of wide urea.
ues some memoer oi tms legislature,
who wants his name to live as Jn6. L
Macadam's, start the wheel and he wil
at once place himself on a level with
A. B. Choate, Isaac B.f Potter, Jno.-M.
Htahl, W. Jf. HerstorfiT, Chas. P. Man
aerson ana others." . ,
Some States have gone so far as
to make 'wide tires compulsory after
a certain date', while others "have
adopted the course of encouraging
the "wide tira. by exempting such
vehicles as have them f rom 'taxation
for a number of years, but it seems
strange that .when the advantages
are so manifest either compulsory
or encouraging legislation should be
necessary, but ihe people who have
hauling or driving :to do, would
adopt them as a matter of self-in
terest, even if not influenced; by
desire to thuscontribute to the bet
terment of the roads they use. '
A blind man has accomplished the
feat of footing it ,1.600 miles over
snowfields in Alaska. There are plen
ty of people with good eye-sight who
couldn't see any. fun.m that.-"-, .
to ns ana , "
CAPT. DAT WILL EETIEEJ' r
'or some time Capt. Day, w j
Governor Eussell ; appointed Super-
intendent of the-Penitentiary, to
succeed Mewborne, resigned, showed
a disposition to contest the rigintofH
the Legislature to remove JhMftut
it seems that h has taken a second
thought and has concluded to re-.
oognize the authority of voe iiegis-
dtnmio dispose of the penitentiary
question in acijordancVith what
it deems best and will therefore be
governed by its action. "This was
the wise course for him topursue
under the circumstance, for how
ever anxious he- may have beeitio
hold on to the position, and had he
determined to contest tne maiier,
there was nothing to prevent the
legislature from abolishing the
office, and then there would have
been nothing left for him to con
tend over. Of course - he could
have drawn his salary for the time
he served, but that is all.
An bffice once created does not
necessarily exist forever, for the
creating power can-also abolish. An
appointment does' not give a fee
simple title to the office or deprive
the power that created it of the right
to interfere with it during the pro
spective, term of the appointee, how
ever regular the appointment . may
have been; It is well, however, that
this matter has been settled,' for
such contests are generally unprofi
table to all concerned and they are
especially unpleasant when they are
between members of the same, politi
cal household.
Having' disposed of this it iak now
to be hoped fht the Legislature
will do some good solid legislation
to solve the penitentiary problem, and
prevent the convicts from being an
incubus on the tax payers of the
State.
Ohio men are always falling into
something. When they are not fall
ing ipto offices they are falling afoul
of each other. One has just varied
the routine somewhat by falling heir
to a big fortune, in England, but as
this is one of those fortunes that we
so of ten read about there is no par
ticular reason for hurrying to con
gratulate him.
- About 30,000,000 of visiting-cards
passed through the post offices of
France during the first week of last
January. This means that nearly
one half of the French people paid
visits by mail, which is a very con
venient way to do it, and not par-
ticulary boring to any body.
A Kentucky man. named Carter,
who should have been named rider
instead of Carter, claims to be the
champion long distance rider of the
world. He says that for twenty
years he has ridden an. average of
thirty miles a day or 248,000 miles
on horseback. - ,
One of the attractions at the Paris
Exposition will be an artificial vol
cano, a mountain-covered with trees,
which will belch our flames and
Bure-enough lava. . This will give
Sarah Bernhardt an opportunity to
tackle a little volcano near home.
Mr. Porter, the President's special
messenger who fixed up the business
with Gen. Gomez, has .gone to
Europe on a secret mission. Per
haps he is going , to try his hand on
Aguinaldo through some of his Euro
pean friends.
"The white man's burden" in the
Philippines, for the present seems to
be more oi a frolic in shooting down
the yellow man.
England is having 119 now war
ships built.- If this thing goes on
most of England will be on sea after
awhile. '
j.ne ice men oi Tennessee are
working to' form a pool. A nice
mi m www
pool, that -will be to dabble in.
Wilmiogtonians. Attending Mardi Oras.
The New Orleans Picayune of Sun
day has the following to say of some
prominent people from Wilmington,
who are attending the Mardi Gras Car
nival in that city:
Major General Luke 0Connor, of
the Order of Victoria Cross, London,
Eng. is among the distinguished for
eign visitors in the city to attend the
carnival festivities, and at the same
time to see the city. The general is
accompanied by Mrs. D. O'Connor
and Miss M. O'Connor, of Wilming
ton. .Mrs. O'Connor is the wife of the
genenil's brother, who until a few
years ago, was in the United States
army. j
General O'Connor and his party are
guests of the St Charles Mansion, on
St. Charles street, and will be here
several days.
"I wanted to see New Orleans and
the South," said the general. "That
is what brought me, and not the car
nival, wnich I nave seen a great
many times in tne south ot France. '
Ihe trip is one of pleasure strictly,
the general devoting most of his time,
since retiring from the English army
wrywio, wj int veiling..
Mr. Jno. Farmer, whojives on
Fourth between Brunswick and Bla
den streets, had his leg broken
recently- by slipping and fall
pig on the floor of his home. The
bottoms of his shoes were slick with
ice and snow and in an unguarded
moment he supped with the above
result.
Though several are due, none
of the river steamers came in yester
day. The local agents sayjthey are
waiting for the weather ' to moderate
sufficiently for loading at 1 the various
places at which they are tied up. The
little river schooner Mary O. was the
only arrival yesterday; - Si U
MANY APPEALS YESTERDAY;"
Demand f or Fuel ana , Provisions on
Mayor Evefl Greater Tbaa da Toes
V- - day-l"nnd8 Exttansted. r :
The demand on Mayor Waddell for
fuel and provisions for the poor of the
city was even greater yesterday than
the day before, over four hundred ap
plications for necessaries having been
made either by telephone or in person
to him at the City Hall. . In fact,' so-
heavy .was the rush that not only was
the entire time of the Mayor consumed
in attending to the requests, but Chief
Parmele and Lieutenant Skipper spent
most of the day in locating and re
cording the numerous houses to which
the articles were to be furnished. As
n Monday and Tuesday, all the city
carts were used in this work. '
In the afternoon Mayor Waddell
found it necessary to announce that
all. the funds furnished him for char
itable purposes nad been exhausted,
out m everyv case the appeals were
listened to and as far as possible were
granted. " There s, however, now, no
available, money for this purpose, but
the Mayor wishes it announced that
all contributions in the work of caring
for the poor will be judiciously ex
pended and all articles will be' carried
free of charge tO-homes of the poor in
the city.
The Associated Charities and other
charitable institutions kept up their
work also yesterday and the suffering
of many destitute families was alle
viated.
SLAUGHTER OP WOODCOCK.
At Least Five Hundred of These
Game
Birds Killed Baring the Freeze. '
There has been a great slaughter of
woodcock, the finest of American
game birds, in this vicinity, during
the past few days. Driven from their
usual feeding grounds by the freeze,
they have sought sustenance on the:
running streams where the earth was
soft enough to be penetrated by their
prehensile bills . in their search for
worms, on which they feed almost ex
clusively. Shooting woodcock .'under such
circumstances is not real sport. The
birds are usually too poor for eating ;
it is frequently difficult to make them
rise; and when they do their flight is so
sluggish that they fall easily to the gun
of the amateur sportsman, who would
miss four out of five shots if he were
hunting woodcock in ordinary weath
er when the birds are at their best, both
in flesbTand flight
It is estimated that at least five hun
dred woodcock have been killed in
the neighborhood of Wilmington
during the past five days. The unu
sually large bags made by . the hujaiers
may be accounted for by the fact that
the birds have been driven by hunger
from their usual haunts,' and, have
been concentrated in a few .favored
spots.
BRUTAL ATTACK BY NEGRO YOUTH.
Made Oa Two Small White Boys Without
Provocation Yesterday Afternoon.
Charles Crawley, a negro youth
about 15 years of. age, who works in
one of the Front street colored barber
shops, was arrested by Policeman
Winner near corner of Front and
Dock streets about 4 o'clock yester
day afternoon for making a violent
and brutal attack with a brick upon
Ernest ' Peschau and Joe ; Smith,
two young and prominently connect
ed white boys, much smaller in size
than himself.
The boys, in company with several
others or about the same age, were
snowballing the negro in a good na
tured manner, when he turned upon
them, 'Tick in hand and inflicted two
severe gashes in their heads, which
bled profusely i
They went to Dr. Bellamy and had
their wounds temporarily dressed,
after which they appeared at police
headquarters as witnesses against the
negro, who was given a severe lec
ture and remanded to the guard house
to await trial at this morning's session
of the police court.
Several4 white men witnessed the
brutual assault, and had it not been
for the prompt arrest by Policeman
Winner they might have taken -the
matter in their own hands and ad
ministered : a severe chastisement to
the negro.
Aftermath of The Storm. ,
Many of the business houses and
offices in the large buildings with flat
roofs were receiving disagreeable re
minders yesterday .that the storm was
over and the snow was beginning to
melt. A number of the occupants ef
stores and offices were surprised about
noon to find that the snow, which had
drifted into the hundred and one little
cracks and crevices in the roofs,
had melted and was pouring through
the ceiling from above. Others an
ticipated the coming evil and had their
roofs cleared of snow early in the
morning. No damage of any conse
quence," however, has been reported
from this cause. '
THE
Mo DEB N WAT
Commends itself to the well-informed,
to-do pleasantly and effectually sf hat
was formerly done in the crudest-manner
and disagreeable as well; To
cleanse the system and break up colds,
headaches, and fevers without . un-
fileasant after effects, use the delight
ul laxative remedy. Syrup of Jigs.
Made by California Fie Syrup Co. f
T
Point Peter and Water St. Depots Closed.
Yesterday the depot at Point Peter,
the Wilmington terminus of the C. F. .
and Y. V. was closed and ' all the
contents and the freight . cars on the
yard were transferred to the A. O. L.
yards. The Water street C. F. and Y.
V. depot was closed at 1A.M. yester
day according to announcement ,
? For Over FlflT Tears. ;
. . .. .
Mas. WnreLow' Soothtro STBuxhas
been used for over fifty years by mil
lions of ' mothers for their children
while teething, with perfect success.
It soothes the child, softens the gums,
allays all pain, cures wind colic, and is
the best remedy for Diarrhoea, It . will
relieve the poor 'little sufferer imme
diately. Sold by Druggists in every
part of the world. Twenty-five cents
a bottle. - Be sure and ask for "Mrs.
Winslow'i Soothing Syrup," and take
.no other. ; ,.-- . t f
yiGOROUSlPBMESTH
Against the- Abplition of - the
First t Criminal Courtv :
: Circuit, i
PETITIONS SENT TO RALEIGH.
Wilmington Bar, the Business Men and
" Magistrates Want No' Interference
.1 With New Hanover's; Present
t. .. -Court System. ; . L
The Wilniingtan Bar and ethers in
terested in the civil and criminal
courts of New; Hanover county haye
ascertained with considerable surprise
that there is another bill pending in
the General Assembly to abolish the.
two criminal circuits and establish two
superior court districts in lieu of them
a change to which the - people of
Wilmington are heartily opposed, i
Petitions' vigorously protesting
against any interference with the First
Criminal Circuit, of which the New
Hanoveu. court is a part, were circu
lated yesterday and freely signed by
leading citizens. Three petitions were
forwarded to the New Hanover Repre
sentatives at Raleigh yesterday after
noon. . One was signed by probably a
half hundred leading business men,
another by all the magistrates of the
county and the third by . members of
the Wilmington Bar. ,- All three peti
tions were exactly alike. The lull
text together with the names of the
Wilmington attorneys who signed the
petition are as follows, to-wit :
To the General Assembly of North
Carolina: .. ,.
The undersigned members of the bar
and other citizens of New 'Hanover
county having learned that a bill
is pending before your body for. the
abolition of the two Criminal Circuits
nd the substitution of two additional
Superior Court districts in lieu of them,
most 'earnestly and respectfully beg
that the First Criminal Circuit be re
tained. For a long number of years
the criminal business of New Han
over county has been divorced from
the' civil, thereby insuring the speedy
and effectual trial of criminals ancLthe
speedy disposition of civil mat teas..
I his has greatly decreased the costs
of the?courts of the county and has in
every way tended to the curtailment
and suppression of crime. With a
judge fully equipped to administer the
law and a solicitor in every way quali
fied to meet and faithfully discharge
the duties of his position (as a happy
result of our late election) this county
has never been in a better position for
the clearance of its jail, the suppres
sion of crime and the quick dispatch of
all civil matters that may come into
the courts.
We do not see therefore why this
happy and entirely satisfactory ar
rangement should be disturbed and. a
new field entered upon. We. again
therefore most earnestly ask that the
present judicial arrangement in this
district be in no manner interfered
with.
Signed: Bellamy & Bellamy, Jno D.
Bellamy, Frank McNeill, Herbert Mc
Clammy, A. J. Marshall, E. S. Martin,
Iredell Meares, Bmpie & Empie, Thos.
W. Strange, JL. V. Grady. . ?
A 000D DAY FOR WOODCOCK.
Driven From Their Feeding Grounds by
the Freeze Large NumberKilled
s Around Town.
Yesterday was an ideal day for
hunting, and many Wilmington
sportsmen donned their hunting cos
tumes early in the morning and went
out for a day's shooting in the territory
adjoining the city.
In the small area of swampy ground
back of the mill of the Cape Fear-
Lumber Co., in the city limits, some
thirty woodcock and a number of
snipe were killed Monday morning.
Mr. Walter Smallbones bagged a fine
woodcock and two snipe; Mr. H. Q,
Smallbones got two of each, but re
turned after being "bogged" up to his
knees ; some young men bagged fifteen ;
the Wilmington "small boy" actually
brought five woodcock to bay with
slingshots. : These latter were, , of
course, not wing shots. r
. Messrs. John H. Beery and H. McL.
Green rounded up the swamps and
bays near the mineral spring, on the
turnpike, and brought down twenty
five woodcock,
Charlie Duffy, a well known young
Nimrod, bagged five woodcock and a
rabbit near Smith's creek. He was
out but a short time. ,
Yesterday Messrs. Frank H. Sfced
man and Arthur ('-Buck") Hill tra
versed quite an extensive territory in
the near-by country and returned in
the afternoon with ample evidence of
their ability as marksmen.
Mr. WtA. French returned to the
city about 4 o'clock yesterday after
noon with 47 woodcock as the result
of only a few hours hunt He was
probably the most successful sports
man, who "went to the woods" dur
ing the entire' day. -
In addition to all these, there were
hundreds of others who came in late
in the afternoon and took great pleas
ure in reciting their experiences.
THE DAMAGE TO TRUCK.
Strawberries Not Injured Lettuce, Cab
bage and. Radishes Seriously Damaged.
Mr. Steinmetz's Estimate.
, .... '..'.'..
f ' ' " j. " .
Mr. C. M. Steinmetz, of Rose Hill,
secretary of the .Eastern ; Carolina
Truckers and Fruit Growers Associa
tion, was here several hours yesterday.
In conversation with a member of the
Stab staff, he said that, so far - as he
has been able to ascertain, the dam
age, to - truck . by the recent; severe
weather is very slight, owing to the
fact that plants ' were covered with
snow before the extremely cold wave
reached this section. Strawberries are
he thinks, not hurt ataH. The lettuce
is probably the most badly damaged
crop. Cabbage, radish :au4 similar
plants are also injured or killed out'
right A number of truckersJn this
immediate vjcinity report losses
by reason of damage to crops of this
characters Howevef, it is' not gener
ally believed that the loss to truckers
in this section will be even' as heavy
as now estimated. - -
THE
Mercury RegtereigRye iDe-
" grees Above Zero at a
ALL TRAINS: BLOCKADED.
Merry Toboggauers-Many Improvised
Sleighs Much Suffering Among the ;
, Poor Food and Fuel Mstrlb ; j -V,
nted Interesting Notes. -
; C Certainly hot since the establish
ment of the UV. -S. Weather Bureau
station here, and scarcely in the
memory of the oldest inhabitant, has
Wilmington experienced so extreme a
cold wave as the present one. Yes
terday the mercury played between 10
and 12 degrees above zero, and towards
night dropped to 9 degrees, with every
indication of falling still more before
morning.''" ' i" , H'
v The lowesLtemperature recorded for
February during any previous year is
10 degrees. This was on February 5th,
1886. The next coldest wave for Feb
ruary was in 1895, when the mercury
dropped to 10.2. The lowest tempera
ture for Wilmington during any pre
vious year since the establishment of
the weather station here is 9 degrees
above zero. This was on January 6th,
1884. ; ' : ,,.'. ,.
Sleighs and Toboggans Ont.- ,
Snow ceased to fall about qne'clock
yesterday, having: continued: at inter
vals since Saturday forenoon. There
was considerable sleigh-riding Satur
day afternoon but by far the largest
number were""dn Sunday afternoon
when the merry jingle of sleigh bells
was heard in well nigh everjr portion
of the city. They were almost all im
pro vised sleighs buggies 'and double
seated vehicles, minus wheels, mounted
on snow runners. They were also out
yesterday in large numbers, j All yes
terday, wUerever, there was a good
steep errade there were sled I and to
boggan riders galore. So that alto
gether the severe weather conditions
have not been without an abundance
of fun and merriment on the part of
those who were so fortunately situated
as to not feel the pinch of poverty.
Among the most popular resorts for
those seeking fun with their sleds was
what is popularly known as . "Catholic
Hill," Dock streetbetween Second and
Third, where a long and delightful
"slide" was available. Red Cross, be
tween Front and Water, and Grace
between Front and Water, were also
visited by quite a number of young
peopie witn sieas. Hiven . settled busi
ness and professional men and elderly
ladies, long since settled in the rout
ine of household duties, fell victims to
the craze for "toboggan riding." And
there is every indication that weather
conditions favorable to these features
of sport will continue for several days
to come. J
Quite a number.of young nien went
out to what is known as "Musquito
Pond" Sunday afternoon in search of
fee sufficiently strong to admit of
skating. Many of the most venture
some risked themselves upon the crust
which they found there and all went
merry as could be for a little while,
when one of their number broke
L through and went waist deep into the
ice-cold water. i
.1
Suffering Amongst the Poor.
The reverse picture of the effects of
weather conditions here amongst the
poor people is sad. indeed. . On every
hand where the poor element of
peple reside the suffering has been in
tense. However, only one death from
the effects of the cold has thus far
been reported. Reference is made to
that case in another column.
All day yesterday Mayor Waddell
had the city carts going as fast - as
could be, carrying food, fuel and cloth
ing, where needed, to the suffering
poor. Many of the benevolently dis
posed people of the city instructed the
Mayor to draw upon them for credit
able sums of money to be used in pro
viding food and fuel for the poor,
and it was on the strength of these
contributions, and his personal ac
count that Mayor Waddell procured
the food, fuel, etc., which he dispensed
to the poor yesterday. The Associated
Charities-also did all in their power to
aleviate suffering.
Mayor Waddell requests all! physi
cians and others to report to him this
morning any cases of destitution which
may have come to their notice, so that
assistance may ba given as early as
possible. ' j
. Business Almost Suspended. -
With the exception of the sale of
rubbers, gloves and, other articles of
wearing apparel for protection from
the cold, there was scarcely any trade
inmercantile circles yesterday, j Many
employers allowed their clerks and
others to go out and join the merry
throng who revelled in the snow.
The wood and coal dealers were; taxed
to their utmost capacity to supply ithe
demands for fuel, in fact it was imposr
sible for them to fill orders. -The con
stant attention of a clerk was re
quired to answer, the telephone
calls for wood and coal.. A number of
coal cart drivers failed to report for
duty, and the proprietors ' and : man
agers were seen in many cases mounted
on a cart delivering coal. InTanum
ber of instances where a family hap
pened to have a good supply of wood
or coal they .were so besieged! with
requests that they were forced to di
vide with their neighbors, selling the
fuel outright J '
. All Trains Blocked by Snow
Yesterday there was only one train
which went out from WUmington.
That was the 6.45 A. M. train
bound for Wilson, and there j were
only 'three or four passengers on
it It required two engines to push
even this train. There was no tram
from either Columbia .or Newborn
yesterday. The train due here at 5.50
P. M. yesterday from Goldsboro jcame
in about 10.45 .with probably a half
dozen passengers, who reported heavy
snows and severe cold weather all the
way up the road. There were neither
out-going or in-coming trains on the
Seaboard Air ; Line or C. F. & Y. V.
roads, and the main line of the South
ern road had only one train all day
yesterdayv1,;!' p-:"t v;-:; .-':,;;
;cfff'r. Notes ol Interest.. '
r 3?he present snow fal. is registered
by the weather ' station at 4 inches.
The heaviest snow previously recorded
is 12 inches on-; February -. 17th j and
18th, 1896. ' .
At 3 o'clock this- morning the mer
cury registered 5 degrees above zero.
wow: A".pARXjopyi:-.v".-:
THE lAf C. L.; SYSTEM.
C. F. and Y. V. Passed Into Hands of New
A. and Y. Officials at Midnight, Ac-
cording to ' Programme. .
According to previous announce
ment the railroad property and gen
eral management of the Atlantic and
Yadkin (formerly 0. F. & Y. V.) pass
ed into the hands of the new pmcials
and became a part of the A. C. L. sys
tem at midnight last night -And the
lest train to go out from the bid Water
street depot is due to leave at 8.50 A.
M. 0-dayi However, owing to the
damage, by reason of washouts, to
the road during the recent severe
weather it is feared that the train can
not be run. , j -.
A large force of hands is now en
gaged, in repairing a serious washout
not very far from Point Peter. It was
caused by the waters of the Cape Fear
backing up on the track by reason of
the swollen condition of the river in
the up -country. The train will be run
just as soon as the damage .can be
sufficiently repaired. - And the incom
ing train will be run- into the Front
street A. C. L. depot 1
Yesterday, afternoon Mr. Edwards
the clever and efficient A. Ci L. ticket
agent, took charge of the ticket office
of the'C. F. & Y. V., and after to day
all tickets on that road will be sold at
theFront street station.
As heretofore announced, the freight
traffic of the, Atlantic and Yadkin will
be conducted in future from the A. C.
L. freight depot. o ;
HAVE BEEN WELL CARED FOR
Many Destitute Families Provided With
Provisions and Fuel by Charitable
Persons Yesterday.
' Mayor Waddell was literally be
sieged yesterday with applications, for
fuel and provisions; by parties from all
sections of the city.; It was announced
in the morning papers yesterday that
all destitute persons who were in im
mediate need of the necessaries of life.
could have their wants partially if not
wholly supplied by applying at the
City Hall, and in consequence of this.
there was a general rush there during
the entire day. A large proportion of
the needy ones applied in person and
many made
telephone.
their
wants known by
As was the case on Monday, all the
city carts were busily engaged during
the day in delivering the donations at
the various places over the city from
whence the appeals came.
At five o'clock yesterday afternoon
about 300 families, most, of whom were
colored, had received help from May
or Waddell and the various persons of
the city who had sq generously and
voluntarily come to his aid in his
efforts to care for the distressed.' Sev
eral substantial " contributions were
handed to him yesterday.
Although the suffering of the poor
must have been- terrible during the
night previous, no fatalities - werefe
ported. -j j
In addition to the vast amount of
charity work done! by and through
the Mayor, the Associated Charities
also did a noble day's work and re
lieved many destitute families. They
are also under many obligations, to
citizens for substantial co-operation
received in their work, notably among
the donations being: the gift of forty
woollen blankets and other like ar
ticles by Messrs. J. H. Render & Co.
The churches also tried as far as
possible to relieve the wants of the
poor of their congregations, and pri
vate individuals in many cases dis
tributed much food and clothing.
.Upon the whole, j Wilmington has
well taken .care of her poor and many
homes have bee"n brightened by dona
tions, which in some instances pre
served the lives of the inmates.
Negro Child Froze To Death.
"A two month's old chiMof Charles
Miller, colored, who lives in Schutte's
alley, leading from Bladen between
Eighth and Ninth streets, was frozen to
death Sunday night, j Miller lives in a
very dilapidated building and as he
was unable to : provide fuel and bed
clothing sufficient for; his family, the
child froze to deafen in bed. The
parents knew nothing of it until they
awoke in the morning. Caroner Price
was notified and viewed the body, but
an inquest was deemed unnecessary
and the body was turned over to the
county authorities for burial. ,
' Mr. J. H. Westbrook, a promi
nent truck farmer of Rocky Point,
came down on the belated train yester
day afternoon. He says itis impossible
as yet to estimate the damage to small
truck on account of the cold, but
thinks the damage is slight ..!
Successful Gunning at Sloop Point.
Probably, the most successful days
hunt that has been reported during
the past 'several days of favorable
weather for that purpose, was that of
JMr. Henry J. McMillan, who returned
yesterday from: the splendid planta
tion of his father. Dr. W. D. McMil
lan, at Sloop Point, Pender county.";
Saturday he went up to spend . Sun
day with relatives and having been
snow bound until yesterday, he spent
Isat- Tuesday gunning and brought
to the city yesterday a string of, over
200 black-birds,' robins and doves, to
gether with about 85 ducks, of the
black, mallard and green ' wing teal
variety,: He says that his day's sport
would nave been even ! more success
f nl had his suddIv of ammunition
lasted.: vv j ' -
Bean the
Signature
rvsf."
The Kind Yon Haw Always Bought
IMPEACHMENT PROCEEDINGS.
Case Against Norwood Ended by His Resig.
nation Resolution to Impeach Jadge
. Brown Not Sustained. j
, Special Star Telegram. '-
Raleigh, N. C, FebVl4. The im '
peachment proceedings against Judge'
Norwood ended to-day by .the an
nouncement that his resignation had
been forwarded. Thin was a distinct
relief to the Senate, which was loath
to proceed to extreme measures.
The most 'sensational event of the
whole session was the introduction in
the House this morning of a resolu
tion to impeach Judge Geo. H. Brown
for ' .drunkenness. - The . resolution
charged that at a reception given to
members of the Assembly and their,
friends by the , Capital i Club of Ra
Jeigh, 'Judge Brown had become in
toxicated. A long list of witnesses
was appended. Lieutenant Governor
Reynolds and many Senators aud
Representatives being among them.
When the matter came up before the
committee this afternoon the witnesses -all
testified that he was sober on the
occasion mentioned. - Representative
White, who offered the resolution,
was permitted to- withdraw it . 5 Judge
Brown is considered'one of, the ablest
and purest men who has sat upon the
bench of this State, in recent years.
;; The Democrats caucussed to-night
on court districts and State librarian.
M. O. Bherrill, a one-legged , Confed
erate veteran, was elected State Libra
rian. '
DAMAGE TO EARLY CROPS.
Truck and Fruit in Georgia and
; Florida Hit Hard No Great Damage
In South Carolina. '
The Atlanta Journal says the cold
wave of the week which has been gen
eral throughout the South has played
havoc with the peach crop in southeVa
and middle Georgia. It is estimated
that one-half of the crop has been
killed, and the other half lias been
greatly damaged.
The cold further south says the
Charleston News and Courier, has
done considerable damage to early
truck crops. There will not likely be
any Florida strawberries for the New
York millionaires to buy at so much
per berry this month. Other early
crops have been set back in Florida
and Georgia, but in this j section there
was little chance for damage. Some
peas were up, ' but it is not thought
that these were seriously hurt: The
cold will make the asparagus crop a
little late, but as the other sections are
also affected this will probably not
affect either the size or value of the
Charleston product. J y
ADVICES FROM SOUTHPOPJ
Arrival of Steamer Alex. Jones. With Tow
" for Port Royal, S.' C. -
Special Star Telegram.
Southport, N. C, Feb. 13. The tug
Alex. Jones, with a rock-breaker in
tow, arrived last night from Ocracoke.
She left there Friday morning and ex
perienced very severe weather coming
down the coast. The Jone$ is towing
the rock-breaker to Port Royal,where
it is to be used in breaking but the rock
in. the river bed. . ; V
The revenue cutter Hamilton has
been in port for the last two. days,
during the heavy weather. . !
MAKING MORE ROOM.
For the Auditing Department . of the A.
C. L. Car Accountant's Oiilce Be
ing Moved Yesterday.
Yesterday the A. C. L. car account
ant's office fixtures were moved out of
the Coast Line office building across
the street to the Gieschen building,
corner Front and Red Cross streets.
As heretofore announced, this change
is made so that additional room may be;
provided for the auditor's office, and
is made necessary by tfie increased
volume of thebusiness of this office
by reason of he addition of the At
lantic and Yadkin Gate C.-F. & Y. V.)
traffic.
lj Excellent quarters have been fitted
up on the first floor of the Geischen
building for the Car Accountant and
his clerical force. It will be several
days before the work attendant upon
the change is complete.
- THE WEATHER Iti NEW0ERN.
Snow and Ice Fast Disappearing The
Mid-Winter Fair.
Special Star Telegram.
Newbbrn. N. C, Feb. 14. There is
a complete change in the weather here.
Snow and ice are disappearing, and the
indications are that Spring like weather
will prevail the balance of the month.
The Fair grounds and the race track
for the Mid-Winter Fair will be in per
fect condition-by the end Of this week.
All departments are complete and there
will be a large number of exhibits.
ALL TRAINS ON
REGULAR SCHEDULE.
The First A. and Y. Train Made Trip to
Mount Airy Yesterday Trains from
, Newbern.
All -the Atlantic Coast -Line trains
made regular schedule time yesterday
for both outgoing and incoming trains.
The train on the W. and N. road,
which arrived here from Newbern at
12:15 P. M., was the first since the
snow stprm. It was a double header
and left for Newbern on the 1 return
trip on schedule time..
The damage to the track of the At
lantic and Yadkin near Point Peter,
to which reference was made in yes
terday's issue, was sufficiently repaired
Tuesday night to admit of the run
ning of the regular passenger train to
Mt: Airy, which left at 8.50 A. M.
from the Water street depot, and re- .
turning at '7. 05 P. M., being the first-
Atlantic and Yadkin train to come
into the .Front street A. C. L. depot '
The Seaboard Air Line trains nave
been making tegular schedule time
since. Tuesday, and all delays incident
to the recent storm and freeze seem to
be a thing of the past "
i
71