North Carolina Newspapers

The Weather Today: Rain. The News and Observer. VOL. LI. NO. 12). Leads all Worth (Carolina Dailies in Wows and Circulation , MRS, SOFFEL FULLS FIGHTING FOR . LOVER Stands Up With Two Revol vers Both Spitting Fire. BULLETS BEGIN TO RAIN Her lover PalU and Slio Turns Her Weapon Against Her Own Breast. EDWARD BIDDLE IS IN JAIL DYING John Biddle is Desperately Wounded. Mrs. * Soft el Shot Through the Breast, Will Re cover. The Trio Brought to Bay by Eight Officers. (By ihe Associated Press.) Pittsburg, Jan. 31. —Edward Biddle is in jail dying, John Biddle, riddled with buckshot an 1 in a precarious condition, and Mrs. Peter K. Soffel lying in the hospital with a self-inflicted bullet wound in the breast is the setiuel of the sensational escape of the Biddle broth ers from the Allegheny county jail, aided by Mrs. SotYel, the wife of the jail war den, on Thursday morning. Th> story of l the close of the Biddle tragedy, which fame to an end at 5:4.'* o'clock this af ternoon is a thrilling one. The scene was a snow covered road, two miles east of Prospect, Butler coun ty, near Mount Chestnut, and the exact place was at McClure's barn, where two double team sleighs, filled with eight offi cers. three of them Pittsburg detectives. John Roach, Albert Swinehart and Charles McGovern, met the two Biddles in a one horse* sleiugL, stolen at Perrys ville, and at once opened fire on the trio. The Biddles returned the fire after jumping out of the sleigh. Mrs. Sotfel was shot through the breast. Edward Biddle was shot in the left arm, in the breast and in one leg. John Biddle was riddled with buck shot in the breast, and head. The Pittsburg officers were met at Butler this afternoon by Deputy Sheriffs Rainey and Hood, and Officers Prank Holliday and Aaron Thompson, the latter under command of Chief of Police Robert Ray, of Butler. The officers wore certain that they were on the tight trail. It was only a question of time when they would catch up, to the escaping condemned murderers arid their companion. The Biddles and Mrs. Sotfel ate dinner at J. J. Stephens, at Mount Chestnut, five miles < ast of Butler. They had made a detour of tlie town of Butler, and after going several miles east turnead north and then west. The Pittsburg officers, only a fetV miles in. the rear, took the wrong road for about eight miles, but when they found their mistake they made up for lost time by telephoning and telegraphing ahead for fresh horses. I They reached Mount Chestnut not less than half an hour after the Biddles and Mrs. Soffel. At this point William Wat son, storekeeper, had fgtsh horses await ing them, and the chase for life began 1 again. The two sleiughs with the eight offi- ■ rers aboard, started westward, and met the Biddles and Mrs. Soffel at McClure’s barn, two miles from Mount Prospect, the Biddlet* having learned that they were almost overtaken, and taking what • hey considered the only chance they had, drove eastward and met their doom. The Pittsburg and other officers were armed with Winchester rifles and re volvers of large calibre. They shot to kill and their aim was perfect. The Bid dles tried to kill to the last of their strength, but not one of the eight offi cers has a wound as the result of the battle. When the detectives got. within about sixty yards of the fugitives they opened fire. The Biddles promptly answered with shotgun and revolvers. Mrs. Soffel, too, stood up in the sleigh with a re volver in each hand and blazed away at her pursuers. When Ed. Biddle fell and she saw she was about to be captured she fired a bullet into her breast. An exam ination by physicians show that she will recover, as the bullet was deflected by her corset and the wound is comparative ly slight. v Ed Biddle got a bullet in the breast, which penetrated his right lung and will probably end his life before morning. John Biddle may recover. Ills wounds, though numerous, failing to reach a vital j spot- The escape of the officers is miraculous. The Biddles have demon strated on several occasions that they are good marksmen, and why they should have failed to bring down their men is a mystery. After the Biddles f<> 11 to the snow covered ground the officers picked up ihe apparently lifeless bodies of Mrs. Soffel and the Biddles and came back to Butler, bringing the stolen sleigh, patched up harness aiul worn out horse that the trio had tried so strenuously to get away with toward Canada and llb < rty. Iton't count your chickens until they are big enough to bluff a eat. FHE HOUSE RISES TO DEFEND ITSELF Senate Threatens Invasion of Its Prerogative. A RESOLUTION ADOPTED Inquiry to be Made Into a Claim by the Senate. NEGROTIATING RECIPROITY TREATIES This Is the issue, the Senate Holding That Those Affecting Custom Revenue May be Negotiated Without Con currence of House. (By the Associated Press.) Washington, Jan. 31. —The House to day prepared to defend itself against what it considers the threatened invas ion by the Senate of its prerogative in the matter of revenue legislation by di recting the Ways and Means Committee to investigate the subject and report to the House its conclusions- The action of the House was the outgrowth of the j agitation iu the Senate's claim that re- | ciprocity treaties affecting the customs revenues can be negotiated with the con currence of the House. The resolution adopted was the Taw ne.v resolution. It was reported to the House by Mr. Dalzell from the Commit tee on Pules. Mr. Dalzell said that the question in- ; volved one of the highest and most sacred privileges of the House. As it concerned the relations between the two bouses he thovtght action should be deliberately taken after the subject lmd been duly considered by a commit- . tee. Mr. Underwood. Democrat, of Ala- 1 bama. also a member of the Committee ] on Rules, joined with Mr. Dalzell in urging the adoption of the resolution } The settlement of the disputed question iin favor of the House, he said, was j I necessary if the lower house expected i Jto preserve its constitutional preroga tive. The resolution was adopted without j division. Mr. Dalzell followed this reso lution with another from the same com- Jttee to make the oleomargarine bill a special order for Monday next to con- j Untie until disposed of. Mr. Richardson, of Tennessee, the j minority leader, saw no reason why this ; : piece of legislation should be picked out. j and given priority over other bills j Air. Underwood, of Alabama, was Op ' posed to the proposed legislation aurl j declared that its opponents should be ' gin the fight now on the adoption of the special order. Mr. Grosvenor, of Ohio, also declared himself uncompromisingly opposed to j the proposed legislation and all kindred ! legislation. On roll call the special order was adopted 132 to 71. Air. Richardson, of Tennessee, presented as a matter of privilege a resolution reciting the pen dency in the Senate of commercial trea ties and bills affecting customs duties land revenues and declaring it to be the j sense of the House that such treaties and bills invaded one of the highest pre rogatives of the House. Air. Payne, the majority floor leader, made the point of order that the resolu tion was not privileged. He contended that until the Senate actually sent to the House a bill or negotiated a treaty which invaded the rights of the House nothing should he done which consti tuted a matter of privilege here. Mr. Richardson, however, contended that the House should not wait until an overt act was committed. He cited the report made to the House by the late Randolph Tucker, of Virginia, and that made to the Senate by Senator Allison and the late Senator Voorhees in support of his contention. Speaker Henderson pointed out that Mr. Richardson's resolution did not con tain a single averment that there had been au actual assault on the rights of the House and ruletj that the resolution was not privileged. The House adjourned. ELECTIVE BY THE PEOPLE. - Term of Cilice of Commissioner of Agriculture Fixed at Four Years (By the Associated Press.) Richmond, Va., Jan. 31.—The Constitu tional Convention did a good day’s work today. The chair announced the appoint ment of Messrs. Watson and Meredith as additional members of the Committee on Eiual Revision. On motion of Mr. Brax ton the report of the Committee on Cor- porations was made a special and con tinuing order by the convention for 10:30 o'clock a. m. on Tuesday. * The report of the Committee on Agri culture was then taken up, its consid eration was completed and it was refer red to the convention. Some sweeping amendments were adopted. The most significant one was that making the Commissioner of Agri culture, elective by the people, aud fixing tb «• lenji ot office at four year*. Another was that striking out the ad ditional members of the Board of Agri culture. aud leaving it constituted as at present, except that the president of the Virginia Polytechnic Institute shall be 1 member of it. RALEIGH. NORTH CAROLINA. SATURDAY MORNING. FEBRUARY 1. 1902. LEGAL ASPECTS OF THE TARIFF BILL Congress has no Right to Levy Such Tariff. THUS ARGUES IVIR MORGAN # Free Trade in All the Union Under the Flag. FILIPINOS HAD A GOOD GOVERNMENT Mr. Morgan Urges the Establishment of an Executive Department For the Control of the Philippines. A Brush With Tillman. (By the Associated Press.) Washington, Jau. 31.—An extended speech upon the pending Philippines tariff bill was delivered in the Senate to day by Mr. Alorgan, of Alabama. While he discussed in a general way the pend ing measure, he devoted his attention particularly to an amendment to it which he offered last week- He maintained j that the enactment of the bill as it j stands now would not be a constitutional remedy for the situation which the situation is designed to relieve, but with the adoption of his amendment the bill would .stand the closest scrutiny of the courts. The Alabama Senator did not discuss the present phases of the Phil j ippine question, devoting his entire , speech to a Consideration of the legal ' and constitutional questions raised by the presentation of the tariff measure. An hour and a half was devoted to consideration of a measure providing for the increase of the salaries of judges of , the United States courts, but no action j was taken on ihe bill j The bill was opposed by Senators | Berry, of Arkansas, and Blackburn, of Kentucky, the former saying many peo ple thought the justices were not worth SIO,OOO a year. Senators Spooner, of j Wisconsin, McComas, of Maryland, Haw* i ley, of Connecticut, and Fairbanks, of I Indiana, supported the increase. When the Philippine tariff bill was i taken up Mr- Morgan argued that Con gress had no constitutional authority to levy a discriminating fariff either upon imports or exports between the United j States and tile Philippines. "I believe in the doctrine of free trade i in all parts of the United States, whether covered by the Constitution, the Hag or both,” he said. Air. Morgan contended that an export duty is plainly forbidden, even though, in the case of the Philippines, the duty was levied there- Speaking of the claims which had been made that there was no lawful government iu the Philippines, Air. Mor gan with great earnestness said, "there is a government there and he was glad to say a very good government, suitable to the character of those people and the circumstances in which we found them.” Air. Alorgan, in referring to the work of the Philippine commission, their per sonality and ability, paid a tribute to the late President McKinley, who, he said, was the happiest man in the world in making selections of men for, respon sible positions. At cue point Air. Tillman asked: "Did you say we are in the Philippines with the consent of those people?” Air Morgan replied saying that he did not propose to be interrupted just for the amusement of the Senator from oSuth Carolina. Mr. Morgan urged the establishment of an executive depart ment for the control of the Philippines. After an executive session the Senate adjourned until Alonday. GOOD ROADS DELEGATES. Representatives From Western Counties to the State Convention. (Specia to News and Observer.) Asheville, N. C., Jan. 31.—President Frauk Loughran, of the Appalachian Good Roads Association, this morning appointed the following delegates to the Good Roads State Convention at Raleigh: Burke county, Thomas Moose; Hender son county, A. Cannon Lincoln county, Samuel Burgin; McDowell county, Dr. M. F. Morphew; Swain county, R. L. Leatherwood; Transylvania county, J. J. Minor; Gaston county, M. P. Eddieman; Haywood county, J. M. Hiatt; Madison county. C. A. Nichols; Catawba county. A. A. Shuford; Polk county, H. E. Gray; Jackson county, D. E. Davies; Buucombe county, M. L. Retd, Thomas Wadley Raoul, John A. Nichols; Rutherford j county, C. C. Gettys; Cherokee county, J. | H. Woods; Graham county, W. P. Rowe; | Clay county, J. C. Herbert* Macon conn- 1 ty. John C. Wright. TWO FROM WILMINGTON Four Men Suep&cted of Due West Robbery Ua- j der Arrest. (By the Asociated Press.) Abbeville, S. C., Jan. 31. —Sherili Lyon, j of this county, brought iu today from Cal- j l.un Falls four mu; suspected of the rob- | Eery of Due West postoffice. The give ih. ir names as follows: J. W. Casey, ot Boston; Gus Breed, of Baltimore; Joe Alford, and W. N. Brooks, of Wilming ton, N. C. The men are in ail awaiting identifi cation by Post office Agent George Smith. PROPERTY WORTH II MILLION IS IN ASHES !The Fire Subdued at Five in the Morning. AIDED BY VEERING WIND —. f Atlantic Hotel’s Proprietor Himself Aroused His Guests. I . | NO LIVES BELIEVED 10 HAVE BEEN LOSF Buildings Destroyed the Atlantic Hotel. Colum bia Buildirg, Albemarle Flats and a Block of Stores. Loss Half Covert d by Insurance. (By the Associated Press-) Norfolk, Jan- 31.—A heap of smoking ruins is all that remains today of the Atlantic iHotel, the massive Columbia office building, which adjoined the hotel, the Albemarle flats and a block of stores in the center of the city. The conflagration, one of the greatest in the history of Norfolk, broke out shortly before 2 o’clock this morning and when linallv subdued over half a i million dollars worth of property ha,d J been destroyed. The loss is believed to j be fully covered by insurance. The flames started in the Columbia, | which is the largest but one of Nor- I folk’s office buildings. It was a struc j ture six stories high and was built iu | 1892, by Davis Lowenberg, its owner. The fire was first 'discovered at.i;ss o’clock this morning and shortly after wards over 1,000 gallons of whiskey stored in the building exploded with ter rific force, tearing out the front walk The firemen were driven back by the explosion and before they eould get a stream of water on the flames the entire building was afiire. Hardly fifteen mig!.it£s later the north wall, which was over 7a feet high, fell in, completely an nihilating the home of the Virginia Club, which adjoins the building on the north. From the outset it was evident that the immense Atlantic Hotel was doom ed. J. Hull Davidson, its pjroprletor, personally made the rounds of the rooms and aided by his assistants aroused every guest in the building. To this is due the fact that so far as known no life was lost, although about 300 people were asleep in the hotel when the alarm i was sounded. j The little army of half dressed men ! and women refugees from the flames el | bowed their way through the crowded [ streets. In their hands they carried such small belongings as they were able (o save in-their flight. The flames soon spread to the live story Albemarle apart ment house opposite the Virginia Club, which was quickly destroyed, and then to the entire block facing the Atlantic and running from Plume street to Main street. Within an hour this block was annihilated- The flames finally were subdued through the hard work of the tire de partment and the shifting of the wind, which veered to the northeast just as the fire had gotten a grasp on the big department store of Watt, Rettew & Clay. Live coals rained on the Mer chant and Miners and Bay Line ware houses. the piers and the Wholesale uo liou store buildings of Talbot, Hudson and Brady, and driving the Western Union operators from their offices in the Dodson buildings. All these structures were saved. The lire was subdued at f* o'clock this morning. The origin of the fire is not known. The blaze was first discovered in Brown’s Case, which occupies half of the Columbia building, by a policeman, who immediately turned in the alarm. The whiskey which exploded was inthis case. All the Atlantic Hotel guests es caped, though J. 4). Ready, of Brook lyn, N. Y., had a close call. The Watts, liettew & Clay building was saved, al though the stock was damaged by water. In the Atlantic Hotel building were the offices of the Southern. Baltimore and Ohio and Norfolk and Western rail roads. The offices of Nottingham <£ Wrenn, wood dealers; the Equitable Life Assurance Company; Dodson’s drug store; Vermillion’s liquor store, and Solomonsky’s tailoring establishment. In the Columbia building were the case’s, office of Brown & Nedds; the of fices of D. Lowenberg, the owner, and of numerous real estate firms, lawyers, physicians, architects and contractors. In the block destroyed with the Albe marle were Johnston's chiua store; Carey & Dean, tailors; Hatch & Dean, furnishers: Motter, Deweitt & Co., brokers: Stephenson & Taylor, brokers; the Norfolk and Western foreign freight department and the offices of the Vir ginia. Tennessee and Georgia Air iLue. While in most eases valuable private papers were saved, a large quantity of ersonal property of unknown value was lost. The loss to the owners of the At lantic Hotel is about $250,000. covered by I insurance, and of the Columbia building $90,000, on which there was $35,000 in surance- The Virginia Club was a fash ionable institution and its quarters were handsomely furnished. LATER ESTIMATE OF LOSS. The loss will approximate $900,000, possibly half covered by insurance. The buildings burned were: The Atlantic Hotel, for which with its* site Mr. O. M. Randolph, who is associated with Air. R. Lancaster Williams, of Rich mond, in the Ocean View Railroad, re cently paid $310,000. The Columbia buildiug, which cost $50,- 000, everything in the- offices in the building destroyed, loss over SIOO,OOO. The Albemarle apartment house, owned by Mr. George L. Arps, valued at abmn and lost SIO,OOO. The Johnston China Company, with n costly stock occupied the' ground floor and loss SIO,OOO. The building owned by Mr. C. W. Sants, valued at $12,000. Motter Dewitt & Company, bankers and brokers, occupied two floors of the building and lost valuable papers. The building owned by Mrs. Sarah All - mond, occupied by Stephenson & Taylor, ieal and estate, other tenants, loss $lO,- 000. The buildings occupied, by Hatch &. Dean, men's furnishings, $15,000; L. B. Carey, merchant tailor, SIO,OOO. L. G. Blick, florist, and three buildings on Plume street in the rear of the Vir ginia Club, $20,000, TO REDUCE CAPITALIZATION. Cotton Dack Corporation Director* Recommend a Drop of 920,000,000. (By the Associated Press.) New York, Jan- 31. —A meeting of the recently elected board of directors of tho United States Cotton Duck Corporation wan held here today, when the follow ing officers were elected: Trenor L. Pork, president; J. Spencer Turner, of New York, William H. Wel lington, of Boston, David H. Carroll, of Baltimore, and J- Southgate Lemmon, of Baltimore, vice presidents; Charles K. Oliver, of Baltimore, treasurer; David H. Carroll, of Baltimore, secretary; John R. Oorsey, of Baltimore, assistant sec retary; James E. Dorsey, of Baltimore, assistant secretary; James E. Hooper, general manager. S. Davies Warfield, of | Baltimore, was elected chairman of the board -1 The board adopted resolutions recom ! mending the stockholders to reduce the j capitaliation of the company from $50.- i 000,000 (equally divided between pre ferred and common stock) to $30,000,000 (equally divided between said stocks), the reduction to be accomplished by re tiring treasury Stock to the extent of $10,000,900y0f each class; authoried by the certificate of incorporation but still . unissued, j A meeting of stockholders will be held on ten day’s notice to act upon the above preposition. HE TRIED TO SUICIDE An Old Man Uses a Pistol on Himself. An Irishman From Ntw England Homeless and Without Work Found on the Street. At Rtx Hospital. Homeless, without money and with jo 1 prospect of work Patrick Got man, au aged | white man, attempted suicide on ihe | streets of Raleigh yesterday morning. I Officer Hayucs, while on Fayetteville I street near the capitol yesterday morn j ing met an old man and saw blood stains j about his head and face. He lurched | aiound as if staggering and the officer, thinking that perhaps he was drunk took hold of the man. But the old fellow was not drunk. Blood about the forehead showed where he had used a pistol on himself, and the ball had apparently penetrated partly into the skull. He was at once taken to the station .louse and Dr. J. W. McGee, Jr., the city physician, was called to his aid. Being! attended to he was found to be in such a'condition ns to require treatment at Rex Hospital, where he was taken. Patrick Gorman is the man’s name, and according to bis statement he is an Irish man and is seventy-four years old. He came to Raleigh from Massachusetts where he had worked ir. the cotton mills, hut could And no work here in desperation he sought admission to county poor house but as this cares only for the poor of (he county he could not. On Thursday morning he sought Chief of Police Mullins at ihe Mayor’s office, and tcld him he was here sick and penniless. Chief Mullins told him that he might find a place ir. the ‘county poor house, but that as the city had no authority to send him to the county home lie should see the county authorities. There was a look of hopelessness on the old man’s face, as be uiid the Chief that he had already asked for a place there. ‘They can do nothing for me,” he said, “because 1 have not lived here a year. I can’t get work and I don’t know what I am going to do.” Besides this he told that he had tried to get work in some cotton mills, but could get nothing to do. He was told that if he was sick it could be arranged to have him put in a hospital on a phy sician’s certificates, and that this was the best that could be done under the circumstances. The old man left, ami the next inci dent came when he was found yesterday morning with the wound in his head. Gorman is a well preserved man for his age, but is rather deaf. Tt is supposed that after making further attempts to get work or to get aid of some kind bo became desperate and used a pistol on himself. The Luckenbach Floated. (By the Associated Press.) Philadelphia, Pa., Jan. 31.—The steamer 1 S. V. Luckenbach, from Charleston, for] Philadelphia with lumber which went 1 aground last night in Delaware Bay, was floated and arrived here today. PRICK FIVE CENTS. BUSINESS HALTS ON m WEATHER Southern Trade Conditions Are Unsatisfactory. PRICES ARF. IRREGULAR This Applies to Cereals, Products and Cotton. FOREIGNERS BUYING COTTON FREELY Confidence in a Small Crop is* Still Undimin ished, Staple Cotton Goods Continue Quiet. Snow Brings Hopes of Large Grain Yield. (By the Associated Press.) New York, Jan. 31. —Bradstreet’s to morrow will say: The future may be said this week to , have profltted at the expense of the present. 111 other words, current weath er conditions such as heavy snow falls East, West and North, tend to check buying, except of purely seasonable goods at retail, and to limit slightly the vol ume of demand in wholesale lines. On the other hand, the covering of the en tire Northern half of the country with a blanket of snow has bettered the sit uation of the winter-sown crops and the 1 outlook for spring as a whole has, tbere j fore, been greatly improved. No diminu tion in confidence ia a laige spring business is reported, though Southern trade advices continue unsatisfactory. Northern and Western buyers are call ing for deliveries on spring account much earlier than usual, an encouraging feature as indicating that unsold stocks of witter goods are not excessive. Other developments of the week are in tho main favorable. Iron furnaces in the Chicago district have greatly resumed. Considerable irregularity is noted in prices of cereals, hogs products and cot ton. After the late heavy decline in prices has come several reactionary movements in wheat, which tends to dis courage export demand. Wheat strength ened, early in (he week on Bradstreet’s report of a heavy decrease in the visible supply, but weakened later on improved winter wheat crop prospects. Cdrn has displayed rather more strength than wheat, a number of diverse irifiueuces operating, while in oats the feature was a spectacular break of 5 cents per bushel on one day, most of which was, however, later regained. Uncertainty still rules In the market. Confidence iu a small yield Is still uu ,diminished, though current receipts throw discredit on minimum estimates. Trade advices at home and abroad con tinue good, and the foreigners are cer tainly buying the staple freely. Staple cotton goods are si 111 rather quity, but reports from the jobbing trade East and West are favorable particularly as re gards printed fabrics and ginghams on spring account. Business failures for the week number fio2, as against 236 in this week last year. Failures in Canada number 48, as against 27 in this week a year ago. COMPARATIVE COTTON STATEMENT. New York, Jan. 31.—For the week end ing January 31, 1902: Net receipts at all United States ports during week, 204,633;, net receipts at all United States ports during same week last year, 191,046; total receipts to this date, 5,869,792; total receipts to same date last year. 5,331,589; exports for the week, 237,946; exports for same wefek last year, 150,256; total exports to this date, 4,532,032; total exports to same date last year, 3,958,744; stocks at all United States ports, 889,749; stocks at all United States ports same time last year, 895,837; stock at all interior towns, 630.732: stock at all interior towns same time last year, 717,092; stock at Liverpool, 991,000; stock at Liverpool same time last ’ear. 747,000; stock of American afloat for Great Britain, 279,000; stock of American afloat for Great Britain same time last year, 195,000. TOTAL NET RECEIPTS. New York, Jan. 31.—The following are the total net receipts of cottou at all ports since September 1, 1901: \ 'Galveston 1,621,329 bales: New Orleans 1,676,857; Mobile 135,449; Savannah 945,- 806: Charleston 227.491; Wilmington 238,- 959; Norfolk 356,515; Baltimore 62,954; New York 120,860; Boston 79,811; New port News 11,464: Philadelphia 21,542; Portland, Ore., 6,970; Brunswick 90.844; Fernandina 4,.150; Port Arthur 27,375; Port ownsend 91,154; Pensacola 133,108; Vancouver 21,554: San Francisco 14,200. Total 5,869,792. TOTAL BANK CLEARINGS. New York. Jan. 31.—Total bank clear ings for the week ended January 30, *2.157,122,942. increase 59 er cent: out side New York, $748,956,589; increase 13.6. . FargeGoes Ashore. (Special to the News and Observer.) Washington. N- C., Jan. 31. —The lum ber barge Minerva, with a cargo of three hundred and fifty thousand feet of lum ber, has gone aground at the bridge here, stopping all traffic on the river. The Minerva was bound from Eureka Mill to Philadelphia. We have had four days of hard rain accompanied by a northwest wind, and in some places the river is out of its banks.