THE NEWS IN BRIEF
Items of Interest Gathered By
Wire and Cable
—■ ■■ ♦
GLEANINGS FROM DAY TO DAY
X4v9 Items Covering Evento of More
or Less Interest at Home and
Abroad,
The Chamber of Commerce of
Petersburg have secured an option
on the Index-Appeal of that city and
jjjjl buy the paper in order to boom
rate on all railroads in Virginia ex
cept the Norfolk and Western goes
. into effect April 1st.
Mrs. Mary Farmer was electrocut
ed at Auburn, N. Y., Monday morn
ing for the most brutal murder of
Mrs. Sarah Brannon, last April.
William Brant Eyster, of McKee
Rocks, Pennsylvania, is now of the
opinion that he is the long lost
Charlie Ross. He discovered that his
foster parents, who are now dead,
were not his real parents. Charlie
Ross was kidnapped 35 years ago.
Four persons were killed and five
fatally wounded near Pittsburg, Pa.,
last Saturday by a head-on collision.
Gunjiro Aoki, a Japanese, and Miss
Helen Gladys Emery, the daughter
of .Archdeacon Emery, of the Epis
copal Diocese of California, were
married at the Trinity Church,
Seattle, last Saturday. They came
(from California, where they could
not be legally married.
Three dry kilns just outside of
Norfolk burned Wednesday, consum
ing a fine lot of timber. The loss
is estimated at $20,000.
An offer for Willie Whitla to go on
the vaudeville stage at $1,000 a week
has been received by his father, who
merely remarked: “They will have to
go higher than that.”
Lawrence R. Boyle, who had been
for 20 years the staff of the Boston
Gllobe, in a fit of despondency last
Saturday night, shot and killed his
wife and hi nself.
The State of Georgia has aban
doned the former method of leasing
convicts from the penitentiary and
an order has been issued against
putting chains on women convicted
of misdemeanors.
Dr. W. M. Ader, a North Caro
linian was shot and mortally wound
ed in the late Indian uprising ' iq
Oklahoma.
The Southern Life Insurance Com
pany of Fayetteville, N. C., which
came so near being wrecked by the
Seminole disaster, has been absorbed
by the Jefferson Life Insurance Com
pany of Raleigh, and policyholders
are thereby secured and the stock
holders get about 90 per cent of orig
inal investments.
In Raleigh, N. C.. the citizens Dem
ocratic ticket won Tuesday in a very
exciting municipal primary, carrying
all before it but one alderman.
At Cumberland, Maryland, last
week, a woman dying of blood poison,
in token of the intense love she bore
for her nurse, requested a kiss. The
nurse complied, but caught the dis
ease and died a few days laterv
The Confederate Veterans * Re
union will be held this .year at Mem
phis from June 8th to 10th.
San Francises is said to be put
ting $12,000,000 annually into slot
machines.
The United States Commissioner at
New York has decided that Jan Jam
off Pouren was a revolutionist and is
not lo be extradited to Russia fpj
crimes committed,
< A man said to have murdered a
girl in Indiana 32 years ago, was
recently found living in Texas, map
*nd wealthy.
Foreign Affairs,
ISix thousand persons were rend*
•red homeless, and 30,000 domestic
animals were drowned by late heavj
floods in Southern Russia,
The French bark, Jules Henry blew
tip at Marseilles Thursday and IS
men were killed. It was a petroleum
carrier and being inspected when il
is believed the fumes of empty tanks
caught from the inspectors light.
The last batch of U. S. troops lefl
Cuba Wednesday noon to return to
America, leaving the islanders again
to govern themselves.
Accused of embezzling upwards of
$51,000 from the Russian Govern
ment, a man believed to be Isaac
Yakovlev Matsaenko was arrested in
Philadelphia Tuesday night.
Count Zeppelin and a small party
ascended in His airship at Frieder
ickshapen, Germany, last week, and
were caught in a hurricane. One
motor refused to work and he could
not safely land until he spent 1]
hours in the air. He then landed in
a 35 mile gale.
Washington News Notes.
April 1st was the first check is
suing day for President Taft and $5.
625.01 is the sum.
President Taft has approved The
Baltimore Sun’s suggestion. of a new
system of accounting for the Govern
ment departments.
After April 1st no opium in anv
form whatever can be legally shipped
into the United States except it be
strictly for medical purposes.
A tornado struck Fort Deposit,
Ala., last Sunday destroying several
houses in the vicinity, producing one
fatality.
The great strike in the post office
department which had cut off Paris
from the outside world last week, has
been called off. Both sides were dis
posed to be conciliatory.
Commissioner Bingham in asking
for a secret service fund for the city
of New York, says a dishonest police
commissioner can get a million- dol
lars in a short while by letting bad
ness alone.
Representative Edwards, of Geor
gia is the author of a bill to reduce
the pay of congressmen from $7,500
to $5,000. He is willing to serve at
that.
Beid Whitford of the TLS.Fjnfidneer
aging overflows of thaf
Two piers of the Havana Centraj
Railroad, Havana, Cuba were burned
last Saturday entailing a loss of
$1,000,000._
Woman Blackmailer Peppered With
Shot.
Washington, Ind., Special—A wo
man was shot Tuesday night as she
picked up a decoy prepared after
Banker N. G. Read had received a
letter demanding that he deposit $30,
000 at a designated spot. A man who
accompanied the woman escaped un
hurt, and the police are looking for
him. The woman was peppered with
birdshot. The woman, besmeared
with blood, was taken to jail, where
she was identified as Miss Zella Clark.
She has been employed as a domestic
z~it ft XTXXT/1C!
II kJX Vi XiAJ111 VAkJ*
Brooklyn, N. Y., citizens asked that
the city take over the East River fer
ries.
Charles M. Schwab predicted steel
I prices will go lower before they ad
, vance.
Former President Roosevelt paid
ft farewell visit to his old nurse before
his departure for Africa.
Justice Truax declared he was not
disposed to grant a separation to a
man who admitted he spanked his
wife.
| The old J. B. & J. M. Cornell Com
I pany, engaged in steel and iron «on
I struction, passed into receivers’
hands.
| A little American superintendent,
attacked by two big mutinous mates
1 on a West Indian steamship, whipped
them and made them prisoners.
I Organizers of the Workingmen’*
I political party, a new organization,
1 say it will Tiold the balance of power
, In the important election next' No
vember.
| The bill providing that no aliens
' shall be allowed to fish in Hawaiian
1 waters, aimed at Japanese fishermen,
1 has been passed by the Territorial
Senate.
! Milliners and manufacturers of
feathers employed counsel to fight
I the bill Introduced Into the Legislat
j ure at Albany, N. Y., for the further
I protection of wild birds.
I Thirteen Governors of States, fifty
. United States Senators and 1^0 Rep
] resentatives in Congress have in
dorsed the proposition to change thei*
date of the inauguration of President
from March 4 to the last Thursday In
April.
United States Senator Shelby M.
Cullom, of Illinois, the new member
of the Senate Finance Committee,
which will deal with the Payne tariff
bill, and one of the most conservative
members of the upper house, declared
himself in favor of an Income tax.
PROMINENT PEOPLE,
The Shah of Persia is in financial
itralt*,
Ex-President Roosevelt will be his
own barber on his African trip,
Captain Baldwin and H, H, Clayton
will attempt to cross the continent in
. a balloon.
Bishop Greer presided at a m ating
In Trinity Chapel, New York City, in
the interest of the child,
Dr. Stephen S, Wise in a speech
placed the blame for child labor in
the South on Northern capitalists,
Forced to abandon his concert tour
by an attack of rheumatism, Pader*
ewskl, the pianist, went to New York
City,
John Mitchell addressed the eon*
gregation of the Free Synagogue,
New York City, on "The Industrial
Unrtit."
Myron T. Herrick, of Ohio, declined
for business reasons the post of Am
bassador offered to him by President
elect Taft.
The Duke of the Abruzzi left
Genoa, Italy, for Marseilles, prepara
tory to starting on his expedition to
the Himalayas.
Cipriano Castro informed President
Gomez of Venezuela of his desire to
return and live as a private citizen,
but has not received a reply to the
letter. ’
President Taft, Chief Justice
Fuller, Governor Hughes, Mayor Mc
Clellan and others took part in exer
1 cises at Carnegie Hall, New York
City, in memory of the late Grover
Cleveland.
President Taft, in an address at
memorial exercises in New York in
honor of former President Cleveland’s
memory, compared his Democratic
predecessor with Lincoln in devotion
, to public trust.
THE CENT SCHOOL.
A Cent School Is so called because
the children -who come to it bring
each one a cent, clutched tightly in
a little (hand, or knotted in the corner
of a handkerchief— a daily offering.
If the oent is forgotten or lost on the
way, the child goes home for another*
that is all* and has a scolding for
carelessness into the bargain. The
llttiest children go to it—used to go,
WENT QUIETLY TO DEATIT
Mrs. Fanner, the Principal in the
Brennan Murder, Suffers the Death
Penalty For Her Deed.
Auburn, N. Y., Special.—Murmur
ing a prayer for her soul, Mrs. Mary
Fanner was quietly led to the electric
chair in Auburn prison shortly after
6 o’clock Monday morning and exe
outed for the murder of Mrs. Sarah
Brennan at Brownville last April.
The execution of Mrs. Farmer—the
second infliction of the death penalty
on a woman by electricity in this
State—was affected without sensa
tional incidents. Father Hickey,
spiritual adviser of the condemned
woman following the execution gave
The first contact lasted a full min
ute, the voltage starting at 1,840 and
being gradually lowered to 200, then
raised again to the full limit of 1,
840 volts. The current was applied
at 6:05 o’clock. The current was
shut off and a strange sound—half
moan and half murmur, came from
the woman’s lips. Dr. Gerin and Dr.
Spitza applied the stethoscope to the
heart while Electrician Davis felt the
artery in the neck. Muscular action
was noted by the physicians, and
again the current passed through the
woman’s body for a period of a few
seconds. Once more the physicians
stepped forward and applied the tests
to determine if life still remained in
the limp figure in the chair. For the
;hird time the State electrician sent
the current through the bod}'. The
first contact was said to have produc
ed death but there were still musculai
movements.
The physicians report that the
autopsy disclosed that Mrs. Farmer
was normal in every respect and that
the brain showed no lesions that
would indicate a criminal tendency.
The crime for which the woman
forfeited her life were vejry horrible. |
She lived just across the street from
Mrs. Brennan and envied the Bren
nans the neat little home they had
gained by industry and economy.
Mrs. Brennan was seen to cross the
street to visit Mrs. Farmer and was
never seen to retam. The facts were
that Mrs. Farmer brutally killed her
with an axe, chopped up her body
and hid it away. She then forged a
deed to the home and impersonating
Mrs. Brannon, in whose name the
property seems to have been deeded,
went before the proper officials and
had the deed regularly recorded. She
then moved into the home at once.
When Mr. Brennan returned home in
the evening and asked for an expla
nation the deed was shown him and
he was toid that Mrs. Brennan bad
gone away. Mr. Brennan called the
police to his aid and a search .soon
found the ghastly victim of the crime
and unearthed the horrible scheme.
Crazy Snake Still Messing.
Oklahoma City, Okla., Special.—A
detachment of Crazy Snake's band of
belligerent Indians was surrounded
by deputy sheriffs Monday afternoon
near Crazy Snake's home, and a live
ly battle ensued. More than 200 shots
were fired and one Indian was killed.
Eight Indians were captured and the
remainder fled with the deputies in
pursuit. There were about 50 Indians
in the band, and they had taken re
fuge in a house. The deputies had
tracked them for some distance. Ad
vancing from all sides, the posse fired
a volley at the frail house. The In
dians rushed out, scattered among
the trees and made a valiant defense.
The posse, fired steadily, advanced
and routed the band. None of those
captured is seriously injured but it is
said that a number of other Indians
were hit with bullets. Crazy Snake’s
band apparently has broken up into
numerous small groups.
Telegraphic Briefs,
The Silver Service Commission of
Mississippi has decided to have the
likeness of Jefferson Davis or* one
csntre piece and Beauvoir on the
other in the eilver service that the
State will give to the battleship
named in her honor.
The 0th annual convention of the
Y. M. C. A. of North and South
Carolina was held last week in Char
lotte, N. C.
Silly Canard,
On last Saturday morning it waa
flashed over the wires all along the
line that the U. S, Battleship Missis
sippi had been blown up at Guanta
nama, Cuba. The ill-fated Maine
came quickly into mind and the re
sultant war with Spain and ours was
a nation on tiptoe of expectation.
Message after message said it was so
reported, till finally before noon the
report was declared only a silly
conard. The Mississippi is safe and
the 750 men said to dead are living
and happy.
Mrs. Boyle Makes Sensation.
Pittsburg, Special.—Making a sen
sational and foolhardy attempt to
escape from a train going at the rate
of 30 miles an hour; denying that she
had a hand in the kidnaping of little
Willie Whitla; asserting that she
v1* n.°* Anna MlcDermott, of Chicago;
saying that numerous other stories
are absolutely incorrect, and through
I it all strictly maintaining the great
1 o* «y»tei7 tl»At surrounded her.
then visited the Mediterranean Club,
where his name was entered on the
visitors’ book.
Mr. Sprague and Mr. Roosevelt
then drove back to the pier, whence
Mr. Roosevelt went off to the Ham
burg shortly after half-past eleven.
The dock was crowded with people,
who gave Mr. Roosevelt an enthu
siastic farewell. The Hamburg sailed
for Naples at 12:20 o’clock.
Mr. Roosevelt refuesd to be photo
graphed and declined every request
for an interview.
Wednesday night at a dance on the
Hamburg, Mr. Roosevelt danced with
Miss Ruth Draper. Before withdraw*
i ing for the night Mr. Roosevelt ap
peared in the smoking room and chat
ted with the passengers for twenty
i minutes.
f When asked directly concerning the
rumor that an attack had been made
upon him during the voyage, Mr.
Roosevelt said that the only basis for
it was an “idiotic, excitable Italian”
used angry expressions to him while
he was on the bridge of the vessel
talking to the Captain. He said this
man made no attempt upon him what
ever and that he was promptly remov
ed and confined below the remainder
of the voyage.
**&•' - — - - - ^ -- -
As to ChilcTljabord
New Orleans, Special.—The South
ern child labor conference at its ses
sion here adopted resolutions embody
ing a number of important recommen
dations for legislation on the subject
of child labor in the South.
The following are the recommenda
tions in substance:
The employment in factories of no
child under the age of 14 years.
The employment in a mine or quar
ry of no child under the age of 16
years.
The employment of no child under
the age of 16 years in any gainful
occupation except agricultural and
domestic service unless such child
can read an ' write simple sentences
in the English language.
That no boy under the age of 16
nor girl under the age of IS y*«r&
except in agricultural or Ijinestic
service, be employed between the
I hours of 7 p. in. and 6 a. m.
An eight-hrur day law for children
under 16 years of age and for all wo
men.
Employment under the certificate
plan.
The employment by the State of
proper officials for the inspection of
all mines and factories with the pow
er to prosecute violations.
Thorough sanitary and safety regu
lations.
Making the conference a perman
ent organization.
In connection with the recommen
dation for employment under the cer
tificate system, the provisions of the
Kentucky law are indorsed.
At the morning session of the con
ference Oliver R. Lovejoy of New
York, general secretary of the Nat
ional Labor coaanitee, made an ad
dress stating that the South wants
capital, but that capital must conform
to reasonable statutes for the guard
ing of the welfare of children,
Three Negroes Murdered.
Elizabeth City, Special.—One of
the bloodiest brawls that has ever
been known in this section occurred
Thursday night at Columbia, Tyrrell
county, in which three negroes were
killed and one terribly wTounded.
Nothing was known of the trouble
until Friday morning when a white
man passing heard someone say,
‘‘Don’t cut me any more.” Upon
investigation dead negroes with blood
still flowing, razors and guns were
found on the ground, presenting a
horrible spectacle.
Adams-Batler Suit.
Greensboro, Special.—Friday’s pro
ceedings in the Adams-Butler libel
suit were rather dull and listless, the
greater part of the time being con
sumed in reading a number of depos
itions made by persons in Oklahoma
and Washington, the object being to
attempt to justify the publication by
the defendants of articles in The
Raleigh Caucasian reflecting on the
Sersonal and official integrity of
udge Adams.
• *
WAR IN HONDURAS
Guatemala and Honduras Again at
the Old Game of War—Situation
Viewed With Alarm in Mexico—
Presidents of Both Republics Ask
ing Explanations of Each Other.
Mexico City, Special.—Privato
telegraphic advices received here
Tuesday are to the effect that Guate
mala has concentrated a large portion
of her army on the Honduran fron
tier. The Honduran minister to Gua
temala demanded an explanation and
Was told that President Cabrera de
sired to check the exiled Honduran
revolutionists from crossing the bor
der and fomenting an uprising
against General Davila, President of
other quarters.
The situation in Central America is
regarded in Mexico City with pessim
ism in spite of various denials of
hostile intention. The latest reported
move on the part of Cabrera is
thought to have been taken to check
mate President Zelaya, of Nicaragua,
and President Davilia, who are said
to contemplate a joint assault on
Guatemala.
Servia Accepts Note.
Belgrade, By Cable.—The formula
agreed upon by the powers of Europe
and Austria-Hungary for the settle
ment of the dispute between the dual
monarchy and Servia, was accepted
by the Servian government Tuesday.
The formula was presented to the
Austrian government to the following
effect:
u First, Servia declares that hei
rights have not been violated by the
annexation by Austria-Hungary of
Bosnia and Herzegovina, and accept*
the powers’ decision to annul para
graph 25 of the Berlin treaty; second,
Servia will not protest against the an
nexation of Bosnia and Herzegovina;
third, Servia will maintain peaceful
relations with Austria-Hungary;
fourth, Servia will return her military
forces to normal conditions by dis
rharging the reservists and volunteers
and she will not permit the flotation
of irregular troops or bands.”
This note has been prepared at the
suggestion of the powers and will be
sent with the object of terminating
all misunderstandings between Aus
tria-Hungary and Servia.
Woman Prevents Lynching.
Chillieothe, Mo., Special.—Lynch
ing of two men accused of shooting
and mortally wounding Marshal Cara
way at Jamesport Monday "was pre
vented by Mrs. James Wood, the wife
5f a farmer living near Jamesport.
The men had been wounded by a
posse of farmers. A rope had been
procured and the farmers were string
ing up the prisoners in the yard of
the Wood home when Mrs. Wood
pleaded with the leader of the posse
to permit the law to take its course.
Her plea prevailed and the men were
taken to the jail at Gallitin, Mo.
Fanners have followed the third sus
pected man to the Grand river bot
toms, seven miles northwest of Chil
licothe.
Makes Valuable Discovery.
Minneapolis, Minn., Special.—Dean
George D. Frankforter, of the College
of Chemistry of the University of
Minnesota, says he has made a dis
covery by which he claims that the
United States will produce a hundred
times as much wood pulp paper as
was believed possible. It is eausing
interested discussion here. It is cer
tain that the discovery means that
every cord of fibre wili yield $10 on
by-products alone, and that most of
the 00 par cent of a tree now wasted
will be utilized.
Mexican Mine Disaster.
Eagle Pass, Tex., Special.—Thirty*
eight Mexican miners are entombed in
the coal mine at Minor, Mexico,
operated by the Coahuila Mining
Company, as the reault of an explo
sion caused frm fire damp. Up to
Tuesday none of the miners had been
rescued and it le probable all are
dead.
Eight Killed by Explosion.
; Chillicothe, O., Special.—rEight
workmen were killed and eight others
were injured Tuesday by an explosion
of several hundred pounds of dyna
mite at Indian Creek, near here,
where the Norfolk & Western Rail
road is double tracking. A crew of
men was unloading a car of dyna
mite when it exploded. The dead in
clude Charles Buchanon. Columbus,
conductor in charge of the work
train; M. Jonathan Floyd, Pride, 0.,
and John Hayes, Antonio, 0.
Hounds Track Murderer.
Thomasville, Ga., Special.—After a
week of constant tracking with blood
hounds, Mink Morris, who shot Sher
iff William Langston, of Leon county,
Florida, to death, was captured at
Coolidge, near here and is now in jail
at this place. Rewards aggregating
$1,100 were offered for the arrest. A
quick trial will be given the slayer.
Morris shot Sheriff Langston while
the officer was trying to arrest him, _
FIRE ATJNEWBERN
Conflagration Destroys $4,000 Worth
of Property.
Newbem, Special.—Fire Saturday
morning at 2:30 threatened for a time
the block on tbe comer of Middle and
Pollock streets, and gutted the
Hughes Building, a double story brick
building, occupied by the Delmonico
Cafe and the George B. Waters eigar
and stationery store. Soon after the
Gremen reached the Are an explosion
took place in the Waters store and
one of the colored helpers in the Are
department was badly cut by flying
glass. The loss is about $4,000 with
$1,200 insurance. Mr. Waters, it is
stated, had $1,300 insurance and a
Probing Deforestation.
Winston-Salem, Special. — Reid
WMtford, of the United States engi
neering department, has been in this
section several days to ascertain by
consultation with well informed citi
iens, as well as by personal investi
gations and examinations, the approx
imate amount of deforestation which
has taken place in Wilkes and ad
joining counties during the last 20
years; this is with the view of deter
mining bow this clearing of land has
influenced the water levels in the
Yadkin river, causing disastrous
floods, and at other times unusual and
long periods of low water; or, if de
forestation has not caused these con
ditions, tc And out what has. The
government seeks by some mean* to
prevent such disastrous overAows of
the Yadkin as are now almost yearly
Occurring.
The New Building at the University.
The site for the new building of
the university for which the legis
lature donated the necessary sum
last session was decided on by the
trustees at their last meeting and
will be the comer of Bull and Pen
dleton streets, facing towards the
handsome building just being com
pleted.
This is a most suitable place, it is
stated, as the new class room build
ing which is about completed occu
pies the opposite site on the comer of
Bull and Green streets. This will
also be in keeping with the plans
laid out for the gradual enlargement
of the university and the science
building will be a Atting structure
to stand on this comer.
Dr. Smith Has Accepted.
Chapel Hill, Special.—Dr. Charles
Alphonso Smith, of the department of
English, has accepted the call to the
University of Virginia. The chair is
that of English, not Teutonic langu
gages. Negotiations have been under
way for a year. Dr. James A. Harri
son having urged the appointment of
Dr. Smith as soon as the former
thought of retiring. “I have given
the matter most careful considera
tion,” said Dr. Smith. “Nothing can
change my love for the University of
Nox-th Carolina or my native State,
but the call to the University of Vir
ginia is a call to a wider field of ser
vice.
Bridge Falls; Killing Elder.
Winston-Salem, Special.—One span
of the approach to the bridge over the
Yadkin river at the east end of Norih
■Wilkesboro fell in while Elder J.
Frank Hutchenson, a Primitive Bap
tist preacher, was crossing, dropping
him, his buggy and two mules into
the river twenty feet below. Elder
Hutchenson was fatally injured, liv-!
ing only thirty minutes, the buggy
demolished and the mules badly crip
pled. The bridge had been condemn*
ed and closed up, but the public in*
sisted on tearing down the obstrue
tion and using it,
President Taft to visit Charlotte.
A committee of prominent citizens
of Charlotte and Mecklenburg coun*
ty, K. C'., waited on President Taft
last Wednesday and secured his
promise to attend the celebration of
the Declaration of Independenoe in
Charlotte on the 20th of May, 1909.
Singularly enough, however, the
President says he never heard of
that historic event before.
518,000 Fire at Salisbury.
Salisbury, Special.—With a loss of
the Kincaid Veneer Plant in this city
the Kincaid Veneir Plant in this city
was destroyed Saturday morning by
fire, which is said to have originated
from a spark from a passing train.
The blaze was discovei-ed by a night
watchman but had gotten beyond con
trol. The plant had been idle for
some months and was in the hands of
receivers ,advertised for sale in April.
The receivers held $6,500 insurance.
Durham Boy Sent to Reformatory.
Durham, Special.—Hobson Martin,
the son of a very good father in this
city, was Saturday morning ordered
sent to the Jackson Training School
by the recorder on account of the
theft of a purse and a small amount
of money. The young fellow has not
been regarded as an incorrigible but
has borne a rather good reputation
for a kid. He is the first to go from
this place to the reformatory,
< I
I )
< )
( )
Use Stamped Envelopes.
A special effort is being made by
the Postoffice Department to increase
the use of stamped envelopes instead
of those which have to have a stamp
affixed.
In furtherance of this endeavor A.
L. Lawsbe, Third Assistant Postmas
ter General, has issued a highly or
nate circular describing and illustrat
ing the different sizes and colors of
the envelopes the government has
on sale. This has been distributed
by the letter carriers who, forgetting
for the moment the length of their
routes and the weight of their sacks
of mail, have for the most part, en
altogether desirableness of this class
of postoffice wares.
“Everyone who uses government
stamped envelopes is aiding the Post
office Department in improving the
sendee,” is what Lawsbe *s circular
says, and, in addition, it enumerates
several advantages which are to be
obtained from their use.
For instance, it points out that
stamps may be easily lost, misappro
priated, or may become useless by
sticking together. Also a stamp may
drop off in the mail, and then there
is the time consumed in affixing the
stamp as an item of consideration.
All of these dfficulties, the circular
says, are overcome by using the
stamped envelopes.
Then when a purchaser is willing
to buy as many as 500 stamped en
velopes at a time, the government
will print his name and address in
the upper left hand corner without
any extra charge. The advantage of
this is that such envelopes do not
find their way to the dead letter of
fice. If the address cannot be found
the letter is returned without extra
postage to the sender. Such enve
lopes, if misdirected, are redeemable
at the Postoflice from original pur
chasers only at full stamp value.
This is not true of adhesive stamps.
The Postoffice Department sells
the envelopes in various sizes, colors,
and qualities, but the most usual size
can be obtained for about eight for a
cent, stamp value extra. Thus eight
two-cent envelopes would cost about
seventeen cents. One can get them
in white, amber, blue, buff or ma
nila.
• » •
Payne Bill in Danger.
There is imminent danger that the
Payne tariff bill may be seriously de
layed in its consideration by the
House. President Taft was in con
ference Tuesday with Speaker Can
non ; Representative Payne, of New
York, the Republican floor leader, and
Representative Dalzell, of Pennsyl
vania. It is understood the House
leaders impressed the Chief Executive
with the unfavorable situation regard
ing the tariff bill and the difficulty
being experienced in getting the Re
publican members in line to vote for
a rule which would expedite the pas
sage of the measure. It is conceded
Tuesday night by several Republican
leaders that it would be impossible to
pass a rule restricting amendments to
the bill until some time next week;
and then only by granting the de
mands made by a number of members
that certain important schedules be
opened to amendment. As a means of
settling the differences that exist and
securing general support to a rule
which would icstrict amendments en
tirely to those which the ways and
means committee will offer, they pro
pose that the committee should
recommend changes that would take
the countervailing duty clause on
coffee out of the bill and strike out
the tariff on tea. It has also bepn
suggested that a duty should be pro
vided for long staple cotton or pom*
ptber products of the South.
Tariff Bureau.
President Taft Wednesday declar*
ed himself in favor of a tariff bureau,
to be created at this session of Con*
gress. He believes that such a bureau
would be of great assistance to him
in the application of the maximum
and minimum principle of the Payne
bill in the negotiation of foreign
trade agreements, as well as in fur
nishing detailed infoi&tion to Con
gress and to the White House on
various tariff questions as they arise.
The President’s announcement was
made to the executive committee of
the committee of 100 created by the
national tariff convention recently
held in Indianapolis. This commit
tee, consisting of H. E. Miles, chair
man; Henry R. Towne, of New York,
and D. A. Tompkins, of Charlotte, N.
C., called at the White House to lay
before the President the views of the
tariff convention and to recommend a
permanent tariff commission.
* • •
Dr. Eliot Will Not Accept Ministry
to England.
Washington, Special.—Both at the
State Department and the White
House Friday it was officially an
nounced that Dr. Charles W. Eliot,
the retiring president of Harvard
University, had definitely and finally
decided that he could not accept the
tender of the ambassadorship tp
Great Britain.