.THE ASHEWIiEE CITIZEN.
Associated Press
Leased Wire Reports.
THE WEATHER:
YOL. XXVI., NO. 28.
BELL TELEPHONE
New JCorporatlcn will be Or
yantzcd to Take Over Stocks
"prpotU Companies
CAPITALIZATION TO
' BE BILLION DOLLARS
Marks Long Step Toward Mo
nopoly of Long Distance
Talking Business
BOSTON, ijJov. 16. A Jons stride
toward the complete control by one
corporation of all wire communication
in the United States was made today
in the acquisition toy the American
Telephone and Telegraph company of
the Control of the Western Union Tel
egraph company.
In order to maks the absorption
complete, the Incorporation of a new
billion dollar company, it is said, will
be necessary to include the 1592,475.
400 of bonds and stock of the Amer
ican Telephone company, known as
the Bell company, and the outstand
ing 1165,000,600 of-bonds and stock
of the Western Union.
The acquisition of the necessary
stock and voting rights of the West
ern Union by th& Bell company has
been In progress for about six months.
The work has been conducted quietly
and only a sufficient amount to insure
control, said to be flfty-one per cent
was taken over.
Step For Economy.
The offlce,rs of the . Bell company
regard the step as one of economy
solely. !
They point out that ever since the
telephone has been a factor in hu
man life, it has had to compete with
the telegraph. Lines have been paral
leled and there has Been an Immense
amount of duplication. The officers
of the telephone company believe that
the. merger will save the Bell com
pany f 75, 800,000 in new construction)
which, U will also enable utilization
t 4lifftlt)Mi;jWie..oX-lres for both,
telegraphing nd telephoning.
The history , of the Western Union
date bark to before the Civil war
but the 13eU company Is of compara
tively recent origin. Both companies
pursued the usual method of absorb
ing smaller companies. Tht small
companies acquired by the Western
Union have been lost in oblivion. 1
DP.UOGtfiY DFftRMY LIFE
Of
Report Shows Nearly Five
per Cent, of Entire En
i listment Deserts
CANTEEN ABOLISHED
WASHINGTON, Nov. 16 Continued
extensive desertion tn the United
States army during the last fiscal year
forms the leading feature of the an
nual report of Adjutant General Alns
worth concludes that only strict en
forcement of Severe penalties will di
minish materially the practice of tak
ing "'French leave" on the part of
i he soldier.
He regards as rather alarming the
fact that the number of desertlonB
during the last fiscal year was greater
than in the preceedlng twelve months.
Of the whole number of enlisted men
4.87 per Cent deserted during1 the lust
llscal Vear while the desertions of the
preceedlng year amounted to 4.59 per
cent. General A'nsworth says the
abolition of the canteen, the monotony
of Garrison life the tncreaslng amount
of work and study demanded of a sol
dier, aijjfthe ease with which remu
nerative employment can be obtained
In clvir life' ,In these prosperous times
are cause's of the evils mentioned.
The percentage or 'desertions among
the white troops Is about ten times
greater than among the colored men
In the service.
Of the 'men who deserted during
the ye&r, 013 were apprehended an
315 surrendered.
On October' 15 the actual strength
of the army Including the Philippines
scouts was 81,7?8. while on the same
day one' year previously the actual
strength was 78.160. On October 15,
109, there were 7.350 vacancies in
the army, compared with ,558 on the
same day of 108.
-i NORFOLK DRESSING I P.,
j,
NXRFOLK Va., Nov. 16. With
Norfolk decorated In flag and bunting
everything Is In readiness for the
opening here tomorrow of the sec
ond annual convention of th Atlantic
deep waterways convention. The
convention will continue for four days
the big .occasion being"' the ' visit .of
President Taft on Friday'.' ,
W EST Eft N U 1 0 H
TELEPHONE LINES
OF THIS SECTION
FORMING MERGER
Powerful Interests at Wot k to
Complete Combination of Rural
Systems With View of Connec
tion With Independent Concerns
he consolidation of the independ
ent telephone companies in this sec
tioni comprising the Weavervllie Tel
ephone company, the Barnardsvllle
Tc It-phone company, the Cherokee Tel
ephone company and the WJaynesvllIo
Telephone company, is the aim and
object of certain powerful interests
now working to that end. A Cltlaen
representative In Barnardsvllle yester
day received confirmation of the state
ment that the companies mentioned
had been approached by parties Inter
ested In the consolidation. .It was
learned also that the companies ap
proached had signified their willing
ness to form an organization which
would be mutually beneficial, and
would ensure more extensive service
than Is now possible with single lines.
The ultimate object of the combination
is connection with the eastern and
western independent companies
through their toll lines. When per
fected the organization will establish
exchanges all ulong the new C. C. and
O. railroad, which will doubtless op
erate its system by telephone.
The moving power in the consolida
tion is said to be the Stromberg-Carl-
son Supply company or Chicago. This
company has been active In the con
solidation of Independent farmers'
telephone lines In the North und West,
and while Its representatives would
not admit their connection with the
company, there is reason for stating
that the Stromberg-Corlson people arc
at least interested In the present move
ment. The organizers have been In
this section for several days.
When Mr. Howland, president of the
Weavervllie Telephone company and
builder of that system, was asked yes
terday If his company had been ap
proached by the representatives of
the Independent merger, h stated
that such a proposition had been mrttlj.
to him, and he believed, all the other
companies. It was his understanding,
he said, that all the Independent tele
phone lines In this section ha'i prnc
tlcully agreed to form one company,
with the view of connection with other
Independent lines. Mr. I low land a inn
stated that similar organization were
being effected In various parts of the
EX SECRETARY GAGE TQ
E
Will Make Wedding Trip to -
Point Loma to Hear More I
Mrs. Tinlgley's Doctrine
SHE IS DIVORCEE
SAN DI EGO, Cal.. Nv. 16. The en
gagement of former Secretary of the
Treasury I.yman J. Gage to Mrs. Ada
Ballou, who is young enough to be his
daughter is reorted here. Mr. Gage
is 73 and his fiancee is perhaps less
than half that age.
'I do not think Mr. Gage wished It
to be. known before the ceremony,"
Mrs. Ballou sold when asked about
the report. "Have you seen our new
home at Point Ima? Isn't It splen
did? No, we shall take no honey
moon trip, hut shall just settle clown
at our new home as soon as we are
married.
"Mr. Gage has made a Thesophlst
of me. I knew nothing about it until
he began to explain' it to me. Now I
am a firm believer In the truth of the
teachings of Mrs. Tingley, and I shall
become a member of the association."
"I am sorry that the secret of my
engagement to Mrs. Ballou leaked out,
but of course there is no use In crying
over 'spilt milk. As the secret Is out
It's all right," said Mr. Gage himself.
"The date of the wedding has not yet
been definitely settled, but will prob
ably be within a month. After we
return from our trip we will live at
Point Lomo. across the bay where our
new home Is being rapidly finished.
The view of the harbor and the city
from our place Is lovely."
Mr. Gage Is very happy and fs re
ceiving congratulations from all oer
the country. Mrs. BalKou is tall and
stately, with pale blue eyes, white skin
and a mass of glowing red hair. She
sings and plays the piano well, and
has the reputation of being one of
the most fascinating women In the
city.
The- announcement of the engage
ment was given out to local newspa
pers by a strange woman whoso Iden
tity cannot be discovered".
Mrs, .Ballou married a Mr. Crane of
Pittsburg about six years ago. She di
vorced him after a short time ,
ASHEVILLE, N.
country. Consolldatlou of this char
acter, he said, had a tendency to Im
prove rural telephone service and was'
highly beneficial to the farming inter
ests. Mr. Howland gave The Citizen to
understand that when the Weaverville
line was extended to Burnsvllle it was
his intention to us., a telephone dis
patch system for operating the trains.
Ha would, he said, be glad to lve the
consolidated companies the use of his
telephone lines.
HI INDICTED FOR
RECEIUEN MONEY
Warrant Issued for Mrs.
Ford on Evidence of Big
Pour Defaulter
CINCINNATI, O., Nov. 16. Charles
L. Warrlner, formerly local treasurer
of the Big four railroad, Is in Jail
tonight and a warrant Is out for the
arrest of Mrs. Jeanette Stewart Ford
on a charge of receiving $1,000 of the
$643, OW which Warrlner Is accused of
embezzling from the railroad.
The warrant aguinst Mrs. Ford was
issued tonight on application of prose
cutor Hunt, who was closeted most of
the clay with Warrlner. The former
railroad officer Informed the prosecu
tor, It is said, that he had given part
of the money abstracted from the rail
road to Mrs. Ford and that the last
payment was made on October 1.
tWarrl,ncif appeared in the afternoon
t UterionlnaJ court and pleaded not
guilty of the Indictment returned yes
terday charging him with embezzle
ment and grand larceny. Ills bond
was fixed nt $20,000.
The four men who had come to hi
assistance when he was first arrested
did not renew their pledge unci War
rlner was taken to Jail.
OFFICIAL
DEM ANDS PART OF FINE
MPDSED ONTHE TRUST
Has Filed Claim for Share
of Two Millions Paid
Into Treasury
IS NOW RAISING HOWL
WASHINGTON. Nov., 16. No offi
cial notice w ill be taken by the treas
ury department at least for thepresen'
of the controversy w hich hasurisen be
tween former Assistant Secretary of
the Treasury James It. Reynolds, now
a member of the tariff board and
Richard Parr, a deputy nurveyor at
tached to the New Tork customs
house.
The meat of the controversy ap
pears to he the derire of Mr. Parr to
obtain a moiety of the fine Imposed
uiMn the sugar trust for the alleged
frauds In the Introduction of sugar In
to this country. It developed today at
the treasury department that Mr. Parr
last spring presented to he depart
ment a statement of these alleged
frauds In which be laid claim to such
an amount as the treasury might allow
him for the discovery of the frauds.
The claim was to be paid out of the
fine imposed upon the sugar trust,
which amounted to about $2,000,000.
The department ha.-) taken no action
on that claim. Secretary MacVeagh
was not prepared to say today wheth.
er favorable or unfavorable action
might be taken on It in the future.
It can be said on the authority of
of high treasury officials that practi
cally no change has taken place in the
pa.rt few weeks. The inquiries are be
ing conducted by the depart
ment of justice with such assistance
as the treasury department may give
it
James B. Reynolds, who Issued a
statement last night In response to
the statement of. deputy Surveyor
Parr, said today that he had nothing
additional to say. Whether the
treasury department will request or
direct Deputv Surveyor Parr to with,
hold any further statements he may
have In mind could not be ascer
tained. ,
Secretary MacVeagh declined to en
ter into the controversy in any way
and would not -ay. even, thai any In
tlmatipo would be gives. ju Mr. Parr
that ,arguments In newspapers were
distasteful to the department
C-, VEDNESDAY MORNING, NOVEMBER 17, 1909.
, ,. . ?3n Q
COME fiitHr tH.. jt I
too ffr rn SV- rCiSiP
'
-f.---;; pi r -i f
. ii-. art oW. VH
",jS J
EXTENSION TO BURNSVILLE WILL
BE READY IN EIGHTEEN MONTHS
Mr. Howlan4 Pressing Forward With Weaverville Line Confident of Making Con.
nection Ultimately with C. . C. and 0., Line at Galax. Capital Waiting for Invest-.
me nt in Western North Carolina
"The Ashevillo and East Tennessee
railroad will be completed to Hums
vllle within lKimonths."
80 said yesterday the president of
the railway company, Mr. It. 8. How
land, and ho accompanied this im
portant -,and notably welcome an
nouncement with the positive assur
ance that all necessary funds would
be ready when needed.
The statement nmde by Mr. How
land come from ens who has care
fully estimated all the difficulties
which might com In the way of a
railway development -for which Ashe
viUo haa longed for- tjisny years and la
made after practical esperlenoe with
that portion of the line between here
and Weaverville whose success has
been far greater than any one anti
cipated. Money Cooling Forth.
Mr. Howland Is very optimistic
about financial conditions in this sec
tion. Hf said yeslerdny:
"More money will come to tho
South In th nexi three years than
EMPLOYES RESPONSIBLE
Fl
Blame for Mighty jer Cent,
of them Can Be Laid at
Door of Railroad Men
NEW YORK, Nov. 16. Negligence
of railroad employe Is responsible
for eighty per rent of all railroad ac
cidents, according to W. U Park, of
Omaha, Neb., general superintendent
of the Union I'.o illc railroad who
spoke before the .mnual meeting of
the New York unci New Knglund As
sociation of Kallroitd (Surgeons here
today.
'If we would r. vent accidents on i
our railroads" continued Mr. Park,
"we must weed out the Irresponsible,
shiftless and lneaiicltated employes.
There must be a linn discipline. The
unworthy workmen must go, and the
labor organizations must be Impressed
with the Idea th.U their mission is
not to munage tin- railroads, but to
man them."
Other speaker included President
VV. 11. Trui sduli- of the Ui kawnnna;
(Jeorge W. Oavld. chief engineer of
the Chicago anil Alton and J. 1. M.
Hamilton, Topeka, Kansas, counsel
for the Bsnta F-.
FOIJX)WKl ItoliHKIW WIFF.
CHICAGO, No.. It Jchn Ells
worth was arrestt-il today charge dwlth
a 3,000 robbery i. t Florence, N. J.,
on Noiember I'. Detective Ellis H.
Parker, of Holl N. J., followed Mrs
Ellsworth to Oil. ago and arretted
Ellsworth In a park while he was bid-
ding his wife and two children good
bye before cpntlmilng his flight.
WASHINGTON. Nov Is. Fore
cast: North Carolina: Iyocal rains
Wednesday; .Thursday ' fair, colder
moderate southwest to north went
a'inds. .
etfjl5s5
Next!
has come In all the years since the
Civil war. People will be surprised at,
developments. The West," said Mr.
Howland, "has been developed and
capital la now turning to the South.
In thle section will le new railroads,
the opening of lines to reach the
great mineral beds, the establishment
of manufactories, and the utilisation
of th vast wealth of water power
now wasting."
Mr. Howland said that he had just
received a letter from ft banker of
Paris, France, inquiring about oppor
tunities for investing In- railways in
this section and : the 4hto lettejr, Um
dlcated .that European tiHt '""W
sc eking an outlet here."
Means Competing line.
The immediate matter of interest
to Buncombe county In what Mr. How
land says lies, of course, in the as
surance of the extension of the A. and
K. T. railroad In a. short time to
Uumsvllie and then ro a connection
with tho C. C. and C. railroad at Ga
lax. It Is needless to- point nut the
BECAUSE NOT EXCLUSIVE
i Pastor who Tried to Make to
Demorratic Loses Flower
! of His Flock -
i
NEW YOIIK, Nov. lfl. Contending
that their rights as church members
and as a clut had been trampled on
by their pastor, tho Hev. Ourdon H.
Kgglestun, twenty-two young men of
the (Jreene and lield avenues, Hrook-
j lyn, yesterday walked out of the Hun
iluj school declared themselves and
thelr assoc iation no longer a part of
the church.
The athletic club, the Vlncens asso
ciation, has met In the gymnasium In
the basement of the church every
Tuesday evening. It was governed by
the boys themselves, though a direc
tor. Wulter Hue, acivlsed them In af
fairs of importance. On April (t last
the boys Introduced the blue shall sys
tem. Ily It three negative votes were
i enough to keep out a would-be mem
ber. The pastor, who recently came
to the c hurch, opposed the plun. He
called it unchristian-like and out of
harmony with the principles of the
c hurch. About a week ago he desired
to get three boys Into the club. But
they are still in the knee-breeches age,
and for that they were blackballed.
The pastor and the board of ses
sions promptly ordered the boys to
abolish the blackball. They refused to
do so and were dropped from the
rhurch organization.
On Iniat Tuesday nltfht thev held an
tridisiiatlon meeting in the gymnasium
(it,,.,ip(j to leave Sunday school
a body. Twenty-two of them yes-
terday appeared at the church. Four-
teen of the number, becoming timid,
SUNDAY SCHOOL STRIKES REAPING WHIRLWIND OF
remained outside; eight bolder boys tlons to the government or Koumania.
marc hed Into their rooms. After a 1 which It Is learned, proposed to assess
hymn had been sung the superintend- a double duty of American agrlcul
ent, Arthur Dcmerllt. Invited any or- j tural machinery coming direct from
ganluition which did not harmonize j the United BUtee.
with the Sunday school to leave It. j Just what the purpose of the Rou
one by one the boys went out to Join ' manlan government Is. In thus dis
thelr comrades on the sldewulk. 'criminating against American machln-
i cry Is not well understood here.
IllSBAVIVH M.M ACT.
WASHINGTON, Nov. 16 Follow
ing a family quarrel today James Held
of Krentwood, Hd shot and pron
ably fatally wounded hJs wife. Sarah, j age, which Is maintained by the South
end then put a bullet.' through hlslein Presbyterian churches In Mar
i i.,niv vie. Rid whs I land, the Virginias and District of
hurried to a hospital In this city. The j Columbia, tonight decided that 100.
ftelda were prominently connected In M0 would be necessary to restore the
Maryland. ' Institution.
magnitude of the service such a road
would render this county. It mean
not only competitive freight ratea,
the equivalent to saylny lower freight
rates, the opening up of the devel
opment of a new trade to Ashevllle,
a short haul to the great coal fields,
but a quicker route to Cincinnati,
Chicago, New York, Washington, and
other point For example oonntctlon
at Johnson City with ths fast train
of the Norfolk and Western railway
will make Ashevlll U hour from
Now YorH. . Clnotnniirt "will- ba eight
hoora nearer and Chicago can be
reached II hour earlier than now.
' The aub-commlttea. whleh was mp
pointed by a -.recent meeting of tha
business men and city offlolals has
had a conference with Mr. Howland
and Is at work on further data which
will form the basis of the presentation
to be made to the people In further
ance of the proposition to Issue 300
000 county bonds In aid or the rail
way construction tn return for an
equal amount or railway bonds,
RETALHTORY TARIFFS
Other Nations Find They too
Can Build up Turriff Wall
Against Our Products
WASHINGTON, Nov. 18, The
American Cotton oil Interests are gneat
ly perturbed over the prospect that
the French parliament will enact leg
lslatlon greatly Increasing the duty
on cotton seed oil, which is almost
exclusively an American product. The
American cotton oil company has tak-
I en the matter up with the state depart
ment representing that tho rrenon
expert tariff commission has already
recommended to the parliament that
this action be taken and that the par
liament seems greatly Inclined to favor
this course, ,
According to information received
her the plan of the French govern- I
ment Is to greatly Incrrease both Its
maximum and minimum rates on col
ton seed oil, so that should this gov
ernment, through negotiations be
come entitled to the mlnlmu-m rates
the producers In this country would
still be confronted with a practically
prohibitive rate. In any event, the
duty would be so high as to practlc
lolly prevent the competition of Amer-
! lean cotton seed oil with peanut and
other similar oils lurgoly produced In
the French colonies.
In view of these representations the
state department has been obliged to
call the attention of the French gov
ernment to this discriminatory attl
! tude, In the expectation that the
French government may reconsider
Its purpose.
j The state department has also ien
obliged to make vigorous representa-
TO RESTORE ORPHANAGE.
LYNCHBURG, Va.. Nov, J,--Tb
trustees of the Presbyterian orphan
PRICE FIVE CENTS.
FIRE FRUSTRATES
ATTEMPTS TOGET
All Hope of Rescuing Any o
Entombed Miners Alive ;
Is Abandoned
INTERIOR OF SHAFT
A RACING FURNACE
Kclolf of Bereaved Families Is
Now ;Enflag!ng ihoso '
In Authority
CHRRltY, ltt. Now 1. Troops
were called for today to prevent any
untoward demonstratfexn at ' ths Ht.
Paul coal mine wheffTRKltodlea of ths
throe hundred men entombed by last
Saturday's disaster, are brought to ths
surface. Sheriff Skoglund of Dureau
cc unty telegraphed to Springfield ask
ing Oovernor Dlneeit to send several
companies of militia. So far, there
haa been no violence, and It, la hoped
by the presence ot ft. small guard to
prevent any ill-advised mov- oa ths
part of the miners, whose' feelings
have been wrought tp by ths loss of
their comrades. - i . .
While ths -entombed men, or mors
likely, their bodies, will be brought to-
tho surface Is doubtful. None' of ths
officers believe that any of th three
hundred entombed men are but
nothing more Is now actually known
about their fats than was known thu-
day of ths accident. '
(Ire Raging In Wiaft. -'.."
Firs In the wine today-was even:
mors Intents than It was When the men
were entrapped throe days -ago, and
no efforts could bs made to enter ths
shaft. ' Jr.f.--a;H.::i-".(
1 nrs chtef Horan of Chicago arrived'
todayywlth assistance and a supply of
hose and chemical fire extinguishers.
The seal over ths mouth' of the shaft
nr.. n.trniKtdf1 ami tt wn. IntAtiAft.tf -
to force" water and chemicals -down
MiTittf;f;'lisi5if'A'-HHt,rml!
plunged Into ths sand scattored on top
ot ths seat showed a temperature of
ltf-Uidli'atlt)g that tha heat in ths in
tefiWTJPtfis mlns must hse been
intense. ' '
"Jts nd use," said Chtef Horan. "To
lift ths lid today would mean 'that'
ths whols mlns would blase up and.
there would be no possibility of recov
ering even ths bodln. The coal de
posits would tabs fire and th timber'
supports would crumbl," ' -" ' "
Relief for Stricken Families.
; Ths pnly. progress made today, wet
In organising relief work, for ths many
destitute remnants of families.
In making the rounds of ths miners1
homes. Duncan .MDonal(l, president
of district No,' ii. United Wine Work-1
cm, today discovered that olghty-sl
of ths homes visited were with ths.
execution of small children, without
males. :,'-, ' .-" ;.. 1
only the most frantic of the'womn
who lost husbands ventured to visit
the shaft today, and these had to be
almost forcibly taken back-. Frequent
ly a puff of amoks Issued from a crov
Ice In the cover over the shaft. This
was taken as evidence of the fire rag
ing within. It was cold enough out
side, an Icy wind (weeping over the
prairies and whistling mournfully
through the superstructure' of the
mine. s '
Funerals of eight of the miners who
were killed Saturday were held today.
Two of these died while engaged In
rescue work. Beveral of the miners
on duty at thehaft left their work
to follow the processions to the ceme-
(Contlnnect on tae fotir.l
NEW EVIDENCE COIS TO
LI8HT IN W00DH1LLMUR0ER
Letter to Coroner From
Chicago Declares "Lamo
Bob" Did Not Kill 0 ill
E ASTON, Md.. Nov. 1. A clew t
the actual circumstances of the killing
of pretty Mrs.. Edith May Thompson
Wood ill at St Mlcnaels on June l,
mi,,.-,. mhiuu,. " , --
Robert Emmett Eastman, who com
mitted suicide, many have come to
light. Foreman Wllley of the cor
oner's Jury, In sorting old papers,
found an unopened envelope ad
dressed to "Mr. RaciclllTe, , Under
taker." It contained an unsigned let-,
ter dated and postmarked at cuicaso. ,
Jun it, the envelope bearing the
card of ths Saratoga Hotel Meatau--rant
company of Chicago.
"Bob did not kill the girl." the let
ter reads, "but It was as he says. Bhs , .
was killed by the other girt In the
party. She was not murdered, but It
was the result of a fight The girl
who used the bottle had no idea that
the girl would die. She la now pros
trate In a hospital. She did not die
at once, and was alive but unconscious
when Bob took her from fur boat to
his house, v It was not a murder, bu.
an unfortunate, accident. The girl
who struck the blow doe net even
knew that she was In the flght.
Detectives have been detailed , to,
took tor ths mysterious Writer.
BODIES FROM fiiE