I
THE ASHEILLE CITIZEN.
THE WEATHEB
BAIN.
Associated Press
Leased Wire Reports.
,VOL. XXV, NO. 141.
A8HEVILLE, N. C. WEDNESDAY MORNING,. MARCH 10, 1909.
PRICE FIVE CENTS.
USTOFViraSIS
LEGISLATURE OF
08" QUIETLY GOES
Gen. Stoessel 111
MR. MEEKS CLAIMS
COOPER JUSTIFIED IN
KILLING CARMA CK
INSURGENTS GALL
NOW PLACED AT THE
HIS1ITE1FEIN
OUT INTO HISTORY
Changes His Mind About the
Application of Unwtitten Law
as to Printed Utterances.
Tornado" Which Destroyed
Practically Harmless Session
Heavyweight Champion of the
That Is. They Ask For Bread
Brlnkley. Arfc. Grows In
its Horror.
Adjourns With Usual Scenes
of Dissolution
World Says Ho Will
Meet Jeffries
ON THE PRESIDENT
AND ORl A LEMON
TOTftJJFTlTT
7.;;v.:- w,
isI " ' Y,
BRITISH COLUMBIA
And Get A Doso of
'Possum. t
DIPLOMACY IS NOW
THE WATCHWORD
v;
CATHOLIC CHURCH
ESCAPED DAMAGE
Standing Directly In the Path
of Storm It Now
Stands Alone.
(By Associated Press.)
nniNKLEY, Ark. March 9. Thlry
or more lives were snuffed out, sixty
pooplp wer Injured nd property esti
mated to be worth one million dollars
was destroyed as a result of the torna
do which wrecked this little city last
nlKht.
Church Escaped.
The tornado hovered about the city
only a few minutes, but Its work of
destruction was complete. The Ho
man Catholic church, standing direct
ly In the path of the storm alone
escaped damage or destruction and
stands tonight a grim sentinel on a
scone of desolation. Main street and
Cypress avenue, the two principal
thoroughfares of the town are I m pass
able and are piled high with wreck
age from end to end. Every busi
ness house is in ruins and there is
hurdly a home that has not at leant
suffered the loss of a roof or wlng-
The Alllngton hotel was totally de
molished. Eighty guests were regis
tered there, but all escaped uninjured
The Brlnkley hotel, Southern hotel
and Kelley 'hotel were all destroyed
without loss of life.
Relief Work.
Relief squads have been at work all
day caring for the dead and Injured.
The Hock Island and Cotton Belt rail
ways have placed cars at the disposal
of the relief committee and many peo
ple are leaving Brlnkley seeking a
temporary refuge at other points
nearby. The dead were sent to Helena
from which point Interment will take
place.
Governor Donaghey arrived from
Little Roek trHs afternoon in response
to a call .from the citizens' committee.
He-has the eituattpn.weli in band and
ays food; 'clothing and shelter are
the things most needful. Hundreds of
people are homeless and are wander
ing about seeking a temporary abode.
Three special trains arrived from
neighboring towns today bringing re
lief workers, physicians and nurses.
The Catholic church has been con
verted into a hospital and here the
doctors and nurses are caring for tht
Injured. The citizens of Helena have
generously offered the use of their
homes for the destitute.
MURIEL WHITE LANDS A
REAL COUNT IN BERLIN
(By Associated Press.)
PARIS, March . The engage
ments was announced today of
Muriel White, daughter of Henry
White, the American ambassador, to
Count Herman Scherr-Thoss, an offi
cer of the Royal Prussian Cuirassiers.
Miss White met the count only a
few weeks ago while visiting Mrs.
Reynolds Hitt, wife of the secretary
of the American embassy at Berlin.
The count Is the eldest of four
sons of Count and Countess Scheer
Thoss, of Dobrau, Prussian Silesia,
and is heir to both the title and th
extensive estate which the family
owns in Silesia. The count is twenty
nine and Miss White twenty-flv
years of age. The marriage will
probably take place in May.
Count Scherr-Thoss is described as
a handsome and dashing officer of
sterling qualities. In spite of the
snddeness of the count's wooing.
Ambassador and Mrs. White appear
to be completely reconciled to the
mutch.
THE CITIZEN IS CRIPPLED
Owing to the failure of the electric
power, caused by last night's storm,
The citizen's linotype machines were
put out of commission, and the paper
went to press, in a sadly crippled
condition, The public is therefore
asked to overlook today's shortage of
newi
At l.o'clock this morning the lino
type operators abandoned their machines
and went back to the primtive method
f setting type by hand and candle light
MASS OF SMALL
BILLS WAS PASSED
Will Go On Record As
Having Caused No Disturb
ance of Commerce.
(8peclal to The Cltlxen.)
RALEIGH. N. C, March . Final
adjournment of the general assembly
took place amid the stir and merry
making usually incident to such oc
casions at 2 o'clock this afternoon,
two days past the constitutional limit
for which members can receive pay.
The records show that during the
session there has "been just 1.819 bills
of public and private character and
67 resolutions passed. Probably few
legislatures, however, have enacted so
few bills of general state-wide Inter
est and application. The senate and
house, for the Until day were each In
i - "
session for about four hours,
most of the time being spent
In merry-making as the lawmakers
waited for the enrollment of the final
grist of bills for ratification.
Many Tabled.
Both houses broke the record for
tabling bills, sending large numbers to
the table In rapid succession, among
the number being the house joint res
olution passed last night carrying
$10,000 for the Btatue of Zebulon B.
Vance to be placed In statuary hall,
Washington, This was tabled by the
senate after It had. passed the )xouse
by a rlsliitr unanimous vote. The up
per branch of the assembly deemed
this all too Important and large an
appropriation to go through the legis-
(Continued on page three.)
DARKNESS OF
ENVELOPED ASHEVILLE
Falling Trees Put the City's Electric Light Plant Out of Business For More Than
One Hour. Cars Stalle d and Streets Are Deserter! by Pedestrians Who Fly
From Wrath of Ju piter Pluvius.
Enveloped In complete darkness,
while the rain poured In torrents and
only the flashing lightning pierced
the gloom, and the wind howled a
sort of requiem to the disaster and
frightened passengers In street cars
on suburban lines walled In despair
of ever getting home, Ashevllle had
one of the experiences of Its life lust
night between 8.30 p. m. and 2.10 a. m.
when the steam plant of the Ashevllle
Electric Co., run at full tilt, distributed
a current feeble In comparison with
the high power voltage which had
been suddenly shut off from the
Weaver power plant by a tree falling
on the cables or the rain undermining
poles.
Total Darkness.
Never before has the city experi
enced such a collapse of Its electric
light and power system, or under iui h
disagreeable circumstances. When
the lights failed the rain was pour
ing, and overhead the dark clouds
shut out any possible glimmer. from
A,
tea statue
SUPREME COURT OF MO.
OIL CD'iFI REHEARING
Standard and Republic Com
panies Must Discontinue
Business in State.
STANDARD TO APPEAL
(By Associated Press.)
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo., March 9.
The motions by the- Standard Oil
company of Indiana and the Repub
lic Oil company of Ohio for a re
hearing of the ouster suit recently
decided against them and for a mod
ification of the judgment were ovei
ruled by the Missouri supreme court
today.
The position of the Waters-pierce
Oil company was upheld, the motion
ot iihjt attornerJwionersi tor n abso-
lute ouster of the 'Mississippi com
pany being denied, the compliance
with the court order recently filed by
the company approved and the judg
ment of ouster against it being sus
pended. PLUTONIAN
the moon or stars and the occasional
flashes of brilliant lightning but add
ed to the gloom which grew as the
Plutonian darkness continued. The
dependence of the city on' electricity
was amply Illustrated when Patton
avenue and business streets showed
hardly a glimmer of light to Indicate
that hundreds of people were In stores
and offices and hapless pedestrians
struggling on their way floundered
Into the street hardly able, In some
cases, to tell where they were. In
one or two stores oil lamps saved the
proprietors. A great silence came on
the town and as time went on and
no relief came the superstltlously in
clined felt the "goose flesh" creeping
over them.
Transportation Stopped.
Rtreet hacks crept slowly on their
ways, the cabmen not being able to
see those who would hail them at
times. Only the automobiles with
their flaming eyes made headway In
the superlative night and blinding
rain. Street cars, dependent for pow
er on the. big hyriro-electrlc plant
whose artery was severed, stopped lit
erally In their tracks wherever they
chanced to be about 8.30 and there
they remained for a weary time. In
some ianes being stalled far from th
square and far from any refuge avail
able to the passengers who finally
grew genuinely alarmed at the pros
pect of not getting any where before
morning. Men "cussed" with a fluency
which showed that practice makes
perfect.
Out Willi Candles.
One tower of light alone shone as
a lighthouse of cheer and good hope,
the stately, high perched Battery Park
hotel whose many windows winked
with bright light as always because
Proprietor J. L. Alexander has his
own electric power. The glimmer
ing lamps of the approach showed
the way to a refuge for Haywood
street wayfarers. By and by the
Standard Oil got its Innings when
candles were dug from almost forgot
ten places and grocers routed out by
clamoring people broke a few rules by
opening their stores and dispensing
pristine petrified parafflne to the
clamorous one looking for "The light
that failed."
Tough on The "Cittern.
The collapse of the light and pow
er' circuit dealt a damaging blow to
The Cltlien which made a "stagger"
with randies, but these could not sup
ply the essential power for machines
which were vnnable to ran even after
OF COURSE JiE
WILL GO ON STAGE
Sends Word To the Parade
Committee That He
Will Be There."
(By Associates' Pi-ms.)
VICTORIA. B. C March . "Jack"
Johnson, the ; colored "heavyweight
champion pugilist, and his white wife,
a former Philadelphia woman, who
jhrew In Iter lot with him after his
flght at Bydnejr, arrived this morning
by the steamer Makura from Sydney,
Johnson unreservedly declared his
willingness to' tneet Jeffries or any
other man. Johnson said to an Asso
ciated Press representative:
"I am willing to meet Jeffries; I
am willing to meet any man In the
world, and I do not think any one
can get a derision over me, much less
put me out It tires me to hear this
talk about Jeffries claiming the cham
pionship. When a champion leaves
the ring he's ail ex-champlon.
"In all the notices I have seen It
all what Jeffries takes. What's the
matter with what Johnson will take.
I'm the champion, ain't If I want
a winner end loser's end. I don't
care what It Is, sixty and forty, or
seventy-five and, twenty-five, but
there's got to be a winner and loser's
nd." "
If jtojtynjjtful? seeardlBg t? thejtr-
rangoments jriade by Johnson, wheth
er any flght could be brought on with
Jeffries, Ketchel or any other man
within six months. '
(Continued on psgs ssvsn.)
SHORES
LAST NIGHT
the lights came back because of the
weak current and therefore The Cit
izen was obliged to go to press with
out much valuable news matter, local
and Associated Press.
Jx'vled on Auto.
Necessity proved the truth of the
saying that It Is father to Invention
for when darkness eclipsed the lights
of The Auditorium where Dr. Russell
H. Conwell had barely begun tils lec
ture on the general subject of cheer
fulnes and the felicity of laughter and
the lecturer proceeded to talk despite.
"Fathers" Dr. W. L. Dunn, Allermiin
Htlkeleather and Manager P. II.
Branch levied on Dr. Dunn's passing
auto and yanked It Into the lobby
where kts twin lamps were turned to
throw their rail lance on the speaker
who was thus posed as In a spot light,
the fan shap'-d light developing tin
pan of the audience seated In the cn
ter of tho building but leaving those
beyond the mnge of Its "choke bore"
path In the dark.
No I .a nips Trimmed.
In all partx of the city were those
akin to the unv.lse virgins, those who
neither had lamps trimmed and
burning nor any lamps at all or w n
candles but who took refuge In ve
hemently calling over the telephone to
the offices "f the electric company to
inform those In charge that the llifht.
were out, a fact of which they were
painfully aware. Superintendent I. P.
Keeler as soon as he saw that the
light failure was not due to a trlvul
accident which would pass away In
(Continued en sage four.)
WASHINGTON, March Weath
er forecast for North Carolina and
Virginia: Rain.
I A SA M.S
s
(By Associated Pnsse.)
NASH K VI 1.1. K, Tenn.. March I.
Justification of homlckle was extend
ed today to cover editors who attack
private or public men, by General
Meeks of counsel for the defense In
the Cooper-Bharp trial for the murder
of United States Senator E. W. Car-
mack. The sensation was sprung
during (Jpneral Moeks' gpwch to
the jury. Previously Lp had ex
pressly disclaimed the belief that
auy editorial attack justified kill
ing the writer lint when wanned
up to his .'iibjeet with a burst of
eloquence he said :
"ou talk of the liberty of the
preas yiiy gentlemen no man
lives who believes more firmly in
the lilierly of tho press than I do.
But when a man in an editorial
notation turns the liberty of the
pram into license and undertakes
to defame and defile you and your
family what are you going to do!
The prosecution will tell you yon
havo your recourse iu tho courts.
Y es and vou get a judgment for
$25,000 against a man not worth
the price of a plug of tobueco. 1
that satisfaction ?
"Ob. gentlemen, I tell you that
the streets of this, our city have
run red before with the blood of
men who improperly used other
men's names in public prints."
Five Hours Speech.
General Sleeks devoted five hours
to the sjHKH'h. He painted tho de
fendants us the finest types ot
southern aristocracy and breeding,
ileclared no crime had been com
mitted when Senator Carinnek was
shot to death and cloned-with a
dramatic appeal to the. jury to
tum!55ofo' this ganaur old sol
dier," Colonel Cooper
8o great was the throng which
ried to crowd into the court room
his morning that the architect of
he building appealed to tho judge
and declared that there was danger
of a serious accident Judge Hart
lurried! y sent deputies into the
ridors and soon cleared them en-
irly
General Meeks began by saying
hat Colonel Cooper was shameful
COURTS RULINGS ILL
CASE AGIST STANDARD
i
i
Judge Anderson Requires .
it to Show Illegal Rate j
Knowingly Accepted
AMKN-rf INDICTMENT
Hy AsMxiated Press. I
CHICAGO. March . The govern-
i
ment's case In the
re-trlal of the
Htandard Oil company of Indian
which so far has fared unfortunately '
n Judge Anderson s court, narrowly
death blow today. Judge ,
averted
And'-rson held that the government
must prove as alleged In the Indlct-
ents that there was a standard rate
for oil shipments between Whiting.
ml , and East street, fit. Louis at the
Ime of the offense with which the de-
ant Is charged and that the defend
ant knowingly accepted a lower rate.
The court declared that the govern
ment must convince him that It would
be able to prove this.
At tho request of Assistant District
Attorney Wllkerson. court unexpect
edly adjourned until tomorrow to af
low time for the preparation of ar
guments to show that the required ev
idence will be forthcoming. Judge
Anderson's ruling will, It is said, com
pel the government to ssk for leave
to amend the Indictment Although
the government counsel did not di
rectly state that a refusal to allow
this amendment to be made would
be a death blow to the prosecution,
their admissions made this Infer
ence obvious.
ly treated by Captain Fitr.hugh
.yesterday" He accused him "said
Meeks "of not paying his debts.
They tried to make you believe
that he embezzled funds as clerk
and master of chancery. What
has that to do with the killing oi
Cannack V
"The state has charged" said
General Meeks, "that the defend
ants knew the ronto that Senator
Cannack daily followed and the
time that he left for his apart
ments Now how could the de
fendants know this time or route?
Senator Carmock's own stenogra
pher said she did not know where
Senator Cannack lived,"
Concerning Editorials.
As to earmark's editorial, General
Meeks Mid:
"When man sits earmark did,
behind the editorial eounter ot pa
per and writes, day after day, edi
torials that attack and assault a man
who Is not himself In an edltrrlal po
sition, he becomes Insulting and there
la no greater Insult possible."
The attorney next, went Into the
Incident of the pistol scabbard found
In Senator Carmack's overcoat pock
et and denounced the state's attorneys
for Insinuating that the counsel for
the defense "planted" the scabbard
there. He said the state knew that
Major Vertrees loaned Senator Car
mack the revolver with the scabbard
on It
"We have proven," he went on,
"that the meeting of the parties was
purely and undoubtedly an accidental
encounter. 1 We hold that the guilt or
Innocenne f these defendants, .must
rest upon the state of mind they were
In at the time the meeting took
place."
" Counsel described the note which
Cooper Indicted to Carmack but did
not send It, he said:
"That noto was to be the declara
tion of war and until that note was
sent by Cooper and received by Car-1
mack, Cooper understood and Car
mack understood that there was to he
(Continued en psgs sevsn.)
MRS. LEAVITT GRANTED
i
Court Frees Her and Gives
Her Custody of Children
Plead Non-Support.
LINCOLN, Neb., March . -Ruth
Bryan Leavltt, eldest daughter of Wil
liam J. Bryan, was toduy granted a
divorce from Wllllaj Lcavltt. She
alleged non-support. There was no
defense. Mrs. Lcavltt was granted the
custody of the two liifjilrrn.
Mrs. Leavltt and h-r mother ap
peared In the court of Judge Conish
and both
tleged that Ix-uvltt had not
contributed to the support of his wife,
Th,,rc wa n" defense.
T
N. C. MAN ENDS LIFE
WASHINGTON, March . Heart
broken because his dream of having
an Inter-continental railroad connect
the Americas had never materialised,
Hlnton Howan Helper, former United
States consul at Buenos Ayrcs. com
mitted suicide here today. He was a
native of North Carolina.
Mr. Helper was found dead In an
obscure boarding house on Pennsyl
vania avenue with a towel securely
tied around his neck and with the
gas Jet turned on. He was an author,
railroad projector and civil war vet
eran. He vainly sought means to carry
out his project planned more than
forty years ago for a Three Americas
Railway designed to connect the
straits of Bering- and Magellan.
Conference Causes Brother
Taft To Miss One of
Eames "Farewell."
, (By Associated Press.) .
WASHINGTON, March ,Prr!.
dent Taft was given an opportunity
today to declare himself on the "ln
eurgenf" movement ta revise the
rules of the house. Diplomatically he
side-stepped announcing how he ttoiHt
but In doing1 so he missed luncheon
and about half ot the concert ot Mme,
- ...... .. nyr . rv IIVUHK. ... ,
sttsnd In company with Mrs. Taft and
their guests. '' t ;
Representative Pnyne. of New Tnrk,,
chalramn of the .commutes on ways
and means, sought the support ef Mr.
Taft for the Misting order of things
ss represented by the Cannon regime,
end the Insurgent cause was advoua
ted by representatives Gardner, of
Massachusetts; Madison, of Kansas,,
snd Nelson, of Wisconsin. ' Ths visit
of the "Insurgents" delegation to the ,
executive offices consumed most of ths
afternoon. . The three "Insurgents"
hsd heard It charged that Mr. Taft
Intended to Join hsqds with the house
organisation In the Interests of gutting
the tariff bill through as soon as po
slble. Orestly disturbed hy these re
ports' they hurried to the white house
to urge Mr. Taft to take soft scat
on the fence and leave the nghtlnt to
them.' When they cams out'et ths
executive off Ices, Mr. Gardner declar
d with isn exhibition .of con&dtavo
that the Insurgents were no longer in
a compromising moot, te' , ,
"We ars-Himly Impressed, tha Mr,
Taft ta not opposed to change of ths
rules," eald Mr. Gardner, "but ha to
a little fearful that a- contest! now
would cross i the' line and Interfere '
with the passage of the tariff bill." ' '
Mr. Payne was with the preifdent
only a few minutes." When he left
the white house ha was not In a
communicative; mood concerning the'
raid on the rules. He said that he
had told Mr, taft that the tariff bill, .
would be ready to report on the first
lay of the session, but that ha could,
not prophesy what would happen If
V- na-u.nl Atianlln JUtfirilllAn. Iff . K A :
house were to continue. , ,
DR. CHARLES J. ELIOT
HEARD IN FINE ADDRESS:
AT BIRMINGHAM, ALA.
Discusses "Government by
Injuneton." Saying Elee- J
tive Office is Best
18 COMING THIS WAY.
(By Associated Press.)
Ill KM INGHAM. Ala., March . Dr.
Oharlen W. Kllot, retiring president
of llnrvard university, who spent ths
day here, will leave early tomorrow
for the University of Alabama at
Tuscaloosa. He will pn-lve Ashe
vlllc March 20.
Dr. Eliot's principal sddress today
was at the high school auditorium
where lie discussed "Government by
Commission." He maintained that tho
highest efficiency In municipal govern,
ment Is accomplished by small gov
ernlng bodies placed In office by unl
versai suffrage. He gave results of
his Investigation In Galveston and oth
er Texas cities which are under com
mission form of government, saying:
"In Galveston there are now no
sinecures. The cltlsens get a dsy's
work for a day's pay from every em
ploy of the city something that Can
be said In few instances In my home
city, Cambridge,' and cannot be said
In any case In Boston."
Dr. Kilo was given'' a luncheon at
the country club by the board of edu
cation and tonight Mr. and. Mrs. W.
P. a. Hsirdlng nterUlnod 'la. feonot;
ot Dr. sod Mrs.. Eliot