The News and Observer. VOLUME XXXVIII. ITIHIMLIIAIIiIIOIUtgiMteiIIKItiaUMffIWfIIIimiWMIMMINIMMKtinLferAYMHIIWrAMID/AYIIIiiYS AN AWFUL TRAGEDY THE STEAMKK ELBE SI NK AND 3HO Or IIER I’ VSSKVLKKS A\l> ( It EH DROW.IEO. ONLY TWENTY PERSONS SAVED. The Accident Occurred is the North Sea Fifty Miles trom Land—The 11l- Fated Teasel wn* Bound Lorn Bre men to New York, and Had on Board 40« Human Souls—The Name of the Colliding Vessel not Yet Certainly Known. London, Jan. 30. — Lloyd's agent at Lowestoft wires at 6:12 p. m. as follows: “The Elbe sunk in the north sea after coming into collision with another steamer. Twenty of her people have been lauded here by a fishing smack. These include the second mate and pilot, who express fear that the loss of life is rerv great." A later dispatch tinted 7:45 p m says the Elbe sank fifty miles off U>w*stoft and 880 of her passengers and crew weie lost. A still later dispatch from Lowestoft says of the 248 passengers and 160 ofli cers aud crew of the Elbe, all were lost except twenty who succeeded in getting into a boat and were picked up an t brought to Lowestoft by the fishing smack Wild FI wcr. Lowestoft is ore of the chief fishing stations on the Suffolk coast of England The name of the colliding vessel as yet unknown. Tl e Elbe saded from Bremen on her return to New York yesterday. * A Litter Account. London, Jan 30—The North German Lloyd Steamship Ella*, bound from Bre men fi r N< w Yolk, was sunk in a eol lisioti with a small steamer fifty miles off Low* so ft » ;*r!y this morning, rhe earned 38 1 souls But tweutv-oho sur vivors have He n Hi d* d, but a few oth era toav soli i•( ■ afi r *-*f in ore of the ships small best*. At 10 o'clock this evening the unnr. '•' < i ;.. !•■ t W‘,s vivcU » harde, German'pilot; G een ham, English pi’ot; Hoffmann, l.ugen, Schlegel aud Vevera, sal* on passengers: Bolt hen, a steerage passenger, and .Miss Anna Bu« cber. In a .Most Pitiable rendition. Hoff man’s home is in Nebraska His wife aud boy w. nt down with the ship All of them were in a pi Gable condition. The p sst ngers were hut half clothed. Their few garments were frozen stiff, their hair was coded with ice, and anx iety and < ffort hud exhausted them so completely that they had to b * helped ashore The offics rs and sailors were fully dress*d, but the r clothes had been drenched a d froz u, and they had been almost p.ralyz d with cold and fatigue. They had be n ashore three hours in fer*'tin y had recovered sufficiently to tell the story of the wreck Their a* - counts agreed upon the foil wing I points : Story of the Wreck. The Elbe left Bremen on Tuesday af ternoon, The few hours of the voy. go before the disaster were uneventful, at 4 o’cfixk this mor ing tie wind was blowing very hard at d a tremendous s*a j was minnm*. the morning was unusu ally d .r \utu. rous 1 ghts were seen in all dire tions, s’twiug that many ves- | eels w»re ncarov. The Captain, there-I fore, ord* mi th t ro« k* ts should be sent up at regular intervals to warn the craft to keep *llr. of hi Kite's oui'C * It was n* ar to six o'clock ; vd the Elbe waa some fifty miles off L >vcstoft coast of Suffolk, whin the lot k out man sighted a steamer 'f about 1 500 ions appr aching. He ga e the word ad, t■> a piecaution, the number of rockets wert d lib', it aud they were suit up at short ml rv Is The warning was wph out effect. The steamer came on with uncheckid s was si: n. The sh«a k t:\u:s«d everybody. The st*ersge was in a }anic in a mo ment aud men, w. men and children half dressed, *: fi* ther night clothe*. t ,me crowding up the com panion ways They had heard the sound of rushing water as the other 1 a 1 earner backed off, and had felt the j E tie lurch and settle. They had grasped t e fad that it was then life or death j wi ! h thei , . nil aim* si to a man had lu viimb *1 t*» t e'r ter r. 'hey clung tO-ether its group*, f eing the e< Id and at rm and cried aloud for help, « r p ayed on their knees for deliverance The officers and crew were e dm. For a few monituts they went among the terior stricken groups, trying to quiet ! them and encouraging them t<> hope that the vessel might lie saved. It was soon apparent, however, tha* the Elbe was set t ling steadily. The officers w ere eon vinced that she was about- to founder and gave erder to lower the tioats. Three Boats Lowered. In a short time three boats were got alongside, but the seas were breaking over the steamer with great force and the first boat was swamper! before any -1 body could get into it The other two boats lowered at about the same time, were filled quickly v Ith members of the crew and some t assengers, but the num ber was small, as the boats could hold onlv twenty persons each. The bod carrying the twenty one per sons who landed at Lowestoft put off in j such haste from the sinking steamer that nobody in it noticed what became of the j other iKiat. The survivors believe, how ever, that she got away safely. They say that they tossed about in the heavy seas for several hours la*fore they sighted the I Wild Flower. The little smack bore down outlum at one** and took them aboard. They were exhausted from excitement and exposure. Several of them were in a | state of collapse and had to be carried aud dragged from one Boat to the other. The HOman's Bravery. Miss Anna Buecker, the only woman in the party, was prostrated as soon as j they got clear of the Elbe. She lay in i the bottom of the boat for five hours with the seas breaking over her and the water that had been shipped half cover ing her body. Although her physical strength was gone, she showed true p uck, however, anl did not utter a w >nl of complaint, and repeatedly urged | her companions not to mind her but look ; after th tn-elv»s H ffm n’s !*g was hurt severely while he was changing | boats. « The survivors cannot say too much iu ! praise of the Wild Flower’s crew, who gave them every possible attention Upon landing, the survivors were | taken in eh rgo by B. S. Bradb *r, the German c • s d at l/>woM«.ft, who s*pnt some to tin' Sailors' Home md others to the Suffolk hotel. Miss Buecker, who t-« k p;i'-»a .• only to Southampton, will probably be able to go to Loudon in a d y or two Pro lit hi i the Colliding Steamer Rottk dam, Jan. 30 —The Steamer G; at hie, fro in Rotterdam for Aberdeen, has returned to Maaaluis. her stern hav ! ing been stow in hyeomi g into collision ! with an unknown vessel at, 5 o’clock ! this morning thirty miles from Hook, Holland. Sue is not leaking It is sup ! posed that the Elbe is the steamer with which theOrathie was in collision List of Passengers on Board. Following is a full list of the passen gers on the Elbe when the ill fated ves sel sailed yesterday from Bremen: First class, Fritz Appel, Munich; Hugo Becker, Ohemitz; Director Baumann, Berlin; I Mrs. Ibrmimz Saner. Falmouth; Mss Miss Amon Fischer, Washington, D. O ; John B. Vineke, St. Charles, Mo.; Ohar les Wix, New York; Mrs. M. C Conners, South Dakota; Henry N Castle, Hono lulu; Dorothy Castle, Honolulu; Mrs. Ivlipfel, Brandenburg; Louis Thewett, Wien; Messrs. Schnell, Dueren, Ernst and Heeren, New York; Domingo Fnre ter, Guatemala. S c >nd class Mrs. Louise Kuhn, New York; Jake Frank, Buffalo; Kugen Sehlag- n, Fuert •; Emm i Schlegel, Fuerth; Mrs. Sophia Rhodt'S, Washing j tou: Eugene Rhod s, Washington; Oarl Hoffman, Grand Island, Neb.; Mrs. Anna H ffman, G'and Island. Neb. ; H« nry Hoffman, Grand Island, Neb. ; i E luard Moskovie, Ejierjess; Esteria J Goldner, Epcrjess; Mr. Lockhart, New ■ York; August Sander. E-sen; Peter Pomier>k , K tsanits; Miss Clara Wein ; gartner. Fohingen; Mr . Andrew Brie bach. Amsterdam; Mrs Vattier Ktane, Andrew Vi'ti-r Krane. A raster- i , dam; Julius Rosenbaura, Beilin; Adolph Island, New York; Ernest Maseberg, Lmisiana; Kurt. Kleinsclimit, Helena, j M-«nt ; Carl Nussbaum. Berlin; J >hu i Geiliciier, Winona, Minn.; Simong ! Sehw* lzer, Berlin; Rudolph Nolte, L<‘ip sie; Dr. Dittrich, Leipsie; J. H Hahn, Leip-ic; Jan Yevri, Leipsie; K> tO3 Mor, Leipsie; Frank Miskolez, Leipsie. .Mr. lioliimia’s Story. laiNDos, Jan. 30 -Carl H >ffman, who came ashore in the Wild Flower, said in an interv ew: “Mv home s in Gran 1 Island, Nebras : ka. I had my wife and boy of seven with me on the Elbe. 1 am utterly wretched, fori became separated from ■them and hardly d ire hope that they ' have b* eu sav» *1 "1 am abroad :, of Peun sylva'ia. I The attitude of the Democratic party toward the question involved in the bill was introduced by Mr. Holman, who j asserted that the party had always frown j ed upon every attempt to settle th*' mat i »er. This was vig rousiy denied by ’-•* r. Catehings, who criticised Mr. IT-1 man's j “previousness’’ and asserted that the statement was untrue. Mr. McMillan, (Dem. t, of Tennessee, joined in the eolh.qnv, which was con ducted with much gesticulation and de nunciation. and pounding of the Speak er’s gavel, w hich was finally ended only byjhe effors of the Sergeant at Arms. The demand for the previous question o i the passage of the resolution was see i ended by a vote of 138 yeas to 121 nays, | and then, before the desire i vote was ! taken upon the passage of 'the res >lu j tion, a, modification was accepted by i Mr. Catehings, and il was agreed to by i unanimous consent. I Prov isions of *he Resolution. As adopted, the resolution provides , for general debate up to adjournment of j ! to-morrow’s session, which shall begin : at 11 o’clock, and itt whatever time t’ e ; committee of the District of Columbia shall not occupy < f Friday's session. Saturday’s session a ■so, beginning at 11 j o'clock, shall *-e devoted to the consid eration of the bill i. dor the five-mi;.ute rule until 4:30 o’clock, when the vote { j shall he taken on i(s passage. The debate from ’the beginning had proceeded amidst much confusion the ! members crowding about the speakers j and thronging the area in fr uit of the desk, but ail that was t othing to the uoise that, accompanied Mr. C. tellings' | effort to close. He said the rule did not i commit the House to any settlement of the question; the only question involved ! was as to whether or not the House would proceed to consider tho bill and he could not understand why so much ex I cifoment should be occasioned over a simi.le order of business. Diverting to the merits of the case, Mr. Catehings said he understood there were members on the il or who would not i e sorry if the government’s rights and interests were sacrificed, and the practical question facing the House wa*. should au effort t*e made to get the money due the government ? lie be { lievt'd that the House would ho recreant to every trust if it faileil to make every effort in that direction The gentleman from Indiana (Mr. Holman)'said Mr Catehings. had as.-ertrd what was no? tnn; that, the D moer.t io pirty had frowned upon every attempt to - ♦‘tt!*-* or compromise the debt. I Scene of Iu mull. A th s Mr. Holm *n was on h:.s Let. shotting andgesticul -t ng violently, and b df a hundred n euib- rs crowded ah in the Speaker, whose voices were d own* i i by the tumult, to which the Speaker pro tern. (Mr. Harrison of Tennessee.) added by a vigorous rapping • f th * gavel Mr Catehings asserted that (he jour nals of the 48th and 49th < ongre-ses would show that two committees, **ne » f them presided o\er by his colleague, Mr Outhwaite, had renort- T b !ls for the sit tlenient of the ijuestion. Mr Holman: “They won't show any thing of the kind ” Mr. Catehings “Tiny vil show it. and I know wnat l am ta’king a' out. if we had Lad rules to tome considera tion the bills would hive ja-se l, but they could not be reached.” Mr. McMillan aud Mr Outhwaite were now on their feet and shouting their ! views. Mr. McMillan said the Ht use had refused to pass the bill-. Mr. Catehings—"The Hoa e did not refuse to pass the bill* thei were not considered.” Order Restored aud the Bill Bead, Emily, by appealing to members to restore order aud directing the 8 rgeant at-arms to reijuest th- m to take their : seats, the speak* r pm tempore >uccee ted in r« storing some thing like order, at dj Mr. mgs cone uded, w.th a n* w expression <>r opinion ti x two days w. ie : all sufficient for an elucidation of every proposition that could properly arise in ! the consideration of tha measure. The proceedings to the modification of the rule as above indicated followed with less excitment and then the House re solved itself into committee of the whole to consider the Reilly bill. The bill was read in full to empty benches. The debate was begun by Mr Reilly in favor of the,bill, and by Mr. Harris. (Democrat) Kansas, in opposition, and their speeches exhausted the day's ses sion. Mr. Hated reported the agricultural appropriation bill for the year ending June 30, 1896, and it was placed ou the calendar. The House adjourned at 5; 15 p. m. AN EXTRA SESSION. - One Will be Called Unless the Demo. crats Pass a Financial Measure. Special to News and Observer. Washington, D. G, Jan. 30. There will be an extra session of Con gress. i Every one now seems certain it will be held, since the President’s message. A bill embodying his recommendations may pass the House, but that is doubt- ; fill. Even if it should pass the House, it will die in the Senate. The Demo | crats here will not support the bond issue, though nearly all the Repub licans favor it. Mr. Sherman and his followers are understood to l>e in favor of it and the strongest sup- i porters it has arc Republicans. It is not believed that any Southern Senator will support it, though th-' Louisiana and Maryland men may Senator Voorhees and other silver men, while anxious to pass a financial i measure, will not vote for the bond issue \ unless the bill provides also for some recognition of silver. Tlie Republicans, a few Democrats and the Pre si fit nt are averse to anything but a straight, bond bill. With them it is bonds bonds, j bonds—all the time bonds, an 1 nothing but bonds. “vVhv don’t the Democrats g> t to gether ?” is often asked. The answer is simple: Three-fourths of diem are hon estly in favor of silver legislation, or some other plan that provides for an in crease in the circulation. They have con victions upon this matter, and will not - sacrifice them. On the other hand, the , , President and one-fourth of the party believes that any silver legislation at this time would be dangerous and ruinous, and nothing will do but to r* plenish the j stock of gold in the Treasury by selling gold bonds. Cad any difference be wider? The Re publicans s’aud off and refuse to help j pass any proposition that is not selling ; bonds for gold. Except a few iu the ; ! South and West, they are all in favor of | the bond issue. Senators Teller, Dubois j and other Westerners are as much op : posed to the g 11 business as North Car j olina Democrats, and will tight it. The bill may, as I said, pass the House, but j it will die in the Sen to unless all signs fail. What then? An extra session of Congress. The I Democrats will bo “out on first base,” ! and the Republicans will go “to the bat.” j What will they do? One of two things: 1. Authorize the issue of bonds For ; gold, or 2. Be unable to do anything, through I the same radical d ffereuce of opinion that has checked Democratic action. ! My opinion is that they will do some ! thing. Outside t.f Teller and Dubois, they can control their silver minority, and oven they can 1*: induced to keep ; quiet in certain contingencies. Bes dcs,' it is very easy for a party that is built up on the idea that the government ought to help individuals, uni give special privileg* s to special class s to 4 get together ” The classes that are helped ar.* small and th y have a common end. But a party that opposes all special privi’eges, like the Democratic party cannot so ens ly ; control its membens and make them bury fife time convictions. A few of i them will betray their priucip’es, but most o 4 ' them will die in the ditch before surrendering Gold bonds iu g ! t make te uporary relief, but the withdrawal < f five huo dred mill on dollars in Trssu a notes cannot nring p rmanent help a y vherc except t > the money cet t»'. s N a a few' D*'m >er:tt* nope th :re will b:» •! i extra session They tWnk it wouhl hurt the Republican party more than i‘ won Id h* Ip them, hy .-hew ng that th* y arc * ant'd body aud -oil ly l he money p *\v. r. ■* T ♦ T e Republicans will organize the Sen i a e Butler is said to h tve jiromis dto b«l ', if he is given c- rtain patronage a-ui a b g chairmanship. 0* * * Clement Manly, Eq, o' Winston, is here on professional 1 usiuoss An Appeal will be Taken. W vsHtXGTON, Jan. 30. Commi— oner of Pensions Lnehren to-day slid th it he woum ap|x j al the case of Judge Lmg to the Goun of Apjtt'als of the District of Oolumbi i a-' soon ns judgm nt was entered. Spaa king of Judge Bradley’s d* o’-ioi, he said there w is a> b isis either in !;* v or hrrv that he so-got to vote last November, of whether he was inward!* pi* a-ed to see Jim Yooug sud Gizzard French leading the “Pwfform” movement TO ANNULITSCHARTER HEARING OF CASE OF STRIKERS AGAINST BROOKLYN STREET CAR COMPANY. THE COMPANY ASKS FOR TIME. The Affidavit Set* Forth That the Com pany ha* Forfeited it* Charter by Failing to Properly Operate it* Line* During the Strike, Employing I n xkiiied Labor and Overworking it* Employe*—Attorney General Grants the Company Till Monday to Answer. Albany, N. Y , Jan. 30. —The hearing before Attorney General Hancock this morning upon the application of John Giblin, master workman of District As sembly 49, K. of L, and Andrew Best, master workman of District Assembly 75, K of L , to commence an action against the Brooklyn Heights Railroad, was set for 10 o’clock this morning. Gibliu and Best were present, attended by Congressman elect William Sulzer and i James A. Dennison. Raphael J. Moses j was also present in the interest of the strikers. Editor Grab.il. of the Mercury, John H. Fife, of New York city, and Thomas McGuire, of Amsterdam, general of the executive board K. of L , were : present as spectators. The Brooklyn Heights Company was represented by Thomas S. Moore, of Brooklyn, and William C. Trull, of New York city. The application asks the Attorney i Genera! to begin an action to annul the (charter of the company for failure to properly operate its lines during the strike. Mr. Moses addres.-ed the Attor ney General saving ho did no! appear is the petitioner, but h* decided to be j present, being interested iu the ease as the e.mnsel obtaining the mandamus issued to compel the companies to run its cars. The Uomptiuy *s A never. Mr. Moore asked au opportunity to put in answer ng affidavits for the company. This wcu d take two or three days. Pres ident Lewis was eo busy and couusel m> tied up with legal prom din s that noth ing could ho arranged in the way of a rtply on the short notice given. Col. Dennison answered that the com pauy was only seeking delay. The charges now laid were identical with those made before the State Board of Arbitration and before Judge Gaynor. nd ; the counsel had had three distirct op- I portuuities to answer Every day’s de lay meant hundreds of thousands of dol i lais lost to the public aud a tremendous inconyenieuco. It also involved big losses to merchants. The counsel were notified at the earlitst hour Tuesday m *rning and the company's officials tainly hsd time to ma»;e a denial. Col. Dennison said he would make his cive largely on President L' vis’ admis sions, At'o ucy General II incock a u >uuccd that he would hear the arguments and if it became necessary to get additional papers an adjournment u.»u you’d be taken. t’oi. Denuison’s Argument. *Col. Dennison then began his argu merit, which h»> said was on behalf of the general public aud not merely i' *r the strikers. He asked n*i assistane*of the Attorney General n the effort to set tie aqm stion of wages or anything of that sort. The tl eory he brought" the . ad ion upon was to stop the enormous inconvenience and loss to th get.era! public. The ground upon which the Attorney General s\as asked to interfere was found under section 1,798 o f the Code. Fhe e mpanv had been guilty of acts sjiecitie under this s«c io iwh eh made t possible to annul its charter Iho situ i ii*m showed that the cimpan>, which *>riginally had three quarters of a mile of track, had leases of other roads wide!; gave it a'Hjut 300 miles of track and ho understood fi claimed a capital of £ 15.- 000,000. The company had been annual ly making agreements with its employes, but this year the negotiations begun in September had not been carried through. One of tlie main reasons for disagree I uient was t e failure of the company to 1 agree to a promise not to employ th-ir men more than ten hours a day iu viol; tion ut State law.-. Effect oi too Lone Hours. Col Dennison at this jK>iut re d fit article presented to tlie ctlie rs of h c mpany, bearing on the . übject, H'.il : showed that the pap r had been marked to show that tin* company rejected the sec ion. The men, aside from the laws, net d- d their full faculties to discharge their duties with safety to the public and j could not have them and work long hours. ! the company had wilfully put them : -elves in a p> sitiou so that ttiev could notope'ate tin ir read This was dote by d schargiug skillful electrical employes who had refused, in the event of as'rbe, to take motorruen’s placts. This act of the company had made it danger ous tor the motormeu to continue at work aud had precipitated the strike, j Tni- was a different si»u ition ftom a mere f.filure to operate the road. The company had enforced unlawful exac tions which disregarded the public’.-, in let ests in the running of the cars at a high Titeof speed. In two years the i trolleys had caused 95 de ths aud over I 300 accidents. The men might work for : ten cent* a day if they chi s The dis regard of lives and property had ro suit' din drawing out 10,000 tTOops. lu , view of the wilful vi* »1 tt.ons ot thei w it was the duty of the Attorney General t-> take mi h steps as wcr.* neces ir* in Hie public's b. ha'f lue e mpany ha*i NUMBER 7. i violated a section of railroad law of 1898, which says the company e *uhl employ any inhabitant of the stnt *. In order to operate its ears the company had established ago n ies in many of the large citiea of the country to get the men needed to tak' the place of the f inner employes. This was a violation iof the public policy of tho State and of its charter. Jalge Gtynor intimatod : Hmt there were matters for the Attor ney General to consider iu the situs ! tion. The Company A*k* Time. When Mr. Dennison had concluded, Attorney Moore wanted time to nut lu answering affidavits He would like to have uutil Monday and might have something to say also to the Attorney General. Mr Moses objected to delay. He said j the counsel had had a month’s time t > prepare for all the great questions which 1 have arisen. Mr. Trull, for the company, declared that the laws furnished no ground for action by the Attorney-General agiitist the company Th re hid b.*en no single act of violence committed during the strike for wlrch t. le strikers were not respoosib’e. They had as-au'ted and carrie 1 away Amiricau citizens desiring ! to wo k and the answering affidavits would show it. Attorney General Hancock sail he would adjourn the hearing instead of ans vertag affidavits until Monday at 3 p. m.\ c nmsel for the p'titiouers to t>e served Saturday. OUR TB AI)E WITH Sl» \l>. The .Moilti* Vivendi will go into KNeet at Onee. Washington, D 0., Jan. 30 The Senate to-day confirmed the nominations of Peter B. Aruol, to he collector of customs at St. Mary's Gu , and George W. Wright, postmaster at M irion, Va, Secretary Gresham says that the modus vivendi betwei'n Sj>aiu and the United States at Mi!ri I jesterday wII go into effect immediately. The text of the bill proposed by the Spanish government as i published officially in Madrid, is a* foL io tiful but no official announcement w h yiven out No provi.-ions are b*>ing made for a b ind issue and none will be made until the President is convinced that Cong *-s wid not rescind to his ap peal for financial aid I’ul ss Congress responds promptly to the Pr< sidcut’a suggestion, he will, in the ex raise of his d sere!ion under the resumption act, dim t the issue of |IOO,- 090 000 bonds Under this act there are time k i ds of bonds he may issue, viz. Five j er (eu r b aids, which run ten years; four ; nd a Jptlf per cent bonds, which run iiftaen j**ars, and four |nr cent bond whi h run thirty years. As th- Pr sident in his recent message f.tv r d tin* fi ty year bonds the general be ief in official citeles is that, if bonds hi* i - icd, under the resumption act, th* y w.ll be four p r cent bonds to run thirty ye: r- Everything is contingent on the con dition <>f t he gold reseive and if the gold withdrawal diminish or cease altogether the President may not consider another bond i.- tie necessary at this tinto as the gc *r tl condition of the Treasury, with $15.0n0,000 available for expenses, and the con ia:it im »rovement, daily showing in th ■ reu- .pts, is better now than it has been b r the past two years. ( aion Superior Court S|>eci«l to the News and Observer. Monroe, N. C., JaD. 30. Union Superior Court is now m ses sion, his honor Judge Robinson, on the tiench and Solicitor Webb prosecuting. Hie Judge’s charge to the grand jury is nrononneed very creditable by all who heard it. lie transacts business with dispatch The docket is ueither large nor interesting. Yesterday the ladies of the Baptist Church gave a dinner and snpjier for the ls*»efit of the parsonage fund, and had in connection therewith, a baby show. They realized about SOS for their work.