VOL. VIII.
THE STRIKE HEAR! NG
President Mitchell Goes Upon, the
Stand Again ; 7
CUMULATIVE EVIDENCE REVIEWED
' . - ; rr
. Tnrrev Enpasres Mr. Mltch-
ell in a Coliuquy and Gets Badly
Worsted.
Scrantcn, Pa., Special. The greater
cite CoiiI Strike Commission was
faken ui in presenting cumulative tes
timony cn matters that have already,
been heard by the commission. This
testimony tended to show that there
has- Wn excessive docking;, that
many men were discriminated "against
because they went on strike rather
than do the work of strikers; that they
are pai l one price for mine cars of all
izes; that they dp not get paid for all
ihe'ecal mined; that they should have
the -ho::r day because the mines are
unhealthy and dangerous, and that
they ought to receive higher wages. '
Laic in the daj-, President Mitchell
was alied to the witness stand and
presented comparative figures which
showed that the men paid by the day
receive from 40 to 50 per cent, higher
. vasts in the bituminous regions than
the' do in tee-anthracite fields His
figures of the anthracite! fields were
gathered by his own officers, and a
hnrrjied comparison with the figures
handed to the commission byittre Dela
ware fc Hudson Company, he said,
(shcwf d that his were generally higher.
The. -Delaware & Hudson's ' statistics
are the enly ones officially before th3
commission. - '7 -Chairman
Gray asked Mr. Mitchell
viiat was done by the miners to ad
'.jest; grievance. outing the .. interval
between the two great strikes, and Mr.
Mitchell replied that he did not know,
of any company" refusing to hold con
ferences with 1 heir own men, but he
did know that in most cases the at
tempt to .'adjust grievances proved a
failure. In some instances, notably in
the lister fields, company officials
have refused to seedistrict officers of
the union. . '
At this point, .Times' Torrey, coun
sel for the Delaware Hudson Com
pany, ahrl Mr Mitchell.' entered into
a colloquy', as to the interpretation ot .
the letters sent by the coal road presi
dents early last spring, in reply to the
unions invitation that the operators
meet the miners in conference for the
purpose o! forming a wage scale. ;
Mr MitrVii11 ofor1 that' tha' nnfirfl.
tprs had refused, the proposition for,
eollective bargaining or collective
agreements but that unairman Jinomas
ineune uompany, eariy in iui,
agreed to treat with his employes
through a committee or representative.
tTne men have , the same right,",' he
concluded, "to employ a representative
to speak for them as the company has
1r engage you or any other lawyer to
speak for them." ? .V-
That's all very pretty and bright,'
retorted Mr. Torrey, "but it does not
fit in this case." ' ''
Will Be'Arbltrated.
Was:hi ngton;- S pecial. A; cablegra m
received at the State Department -Friday
from Minister Bowen1, at Caracas,
states .that the Venezuelan govern
ment has requested, him to propose -to,
Gr at Britain and Germany that tha
difficulties -arising out of the claims
for damage and injuries to British and
German subjects during the civial war
he submitted to arbitration. ; In con
formity vrith the understanding : al
ready reached with the representatives
f the British-and'. German govern
.wents here, this proposition from Pres
ident Castro will be duly laid before
these governments, the-. State -Depart-went
acting merely as a channel of
cimunicaticn. - ,
Bombardment Threatened.
teaon By ."Cable: A- dispatch to
the DaSy Mail from Willemstad, Cura
sao, dated December 11, says that the
foreign residents of Puerto Cabello are
taking refuge on board the German
cniiger. Vineta and the British cruiser
Anadene, and that- these vessels , are
threatening to bombard the port. "
Thirteen Cadets Dismissed.
Wington, Va., Special, For further
lIlduT?inc in !19 rrrfiti flll
Members of the third class at the Vir
. - Sin-ia Military Institute were dismissed
m the school today' and ordered to
Jern to their homes. ' - Among: them
class president and vice presi-
r arrest, pendingtte action of Super
endent Sh inn -roiaHvVtn their claSiSi
COLUMBUS,
VENEZUELAN NAVY SEIZED
British and Germans Adopt Vlgorouj
Measures to Collect Claims.
Washington, Special. The State De
partment has been advised .that '.'a
peaceful blockade" exists at LaGuaira.
which is the port of Caracas, the cap
ital of Venevuela.. The difference be
tween this state and a state of war is
not very strongly marked, except in
the opportunity afforded by the peace
ful blockade to effect a . settjement
without recourse to actual bloodshed.
The situation is here regarded as criti
cal. 7 ... ; ' : . '
'Minister Bowen, at Caracas, has ac
cepted the trust; placed upon him to
look after the interests of British and
German citizens in Venezuela and it
has brought him inio conflict ' with
President Castro.- He has informed the
State Department that a number of
these citizens were arrested in Cara
cas. Mr. Bowen atjonce addressed him
self to President qastro to secure their
release. He represented that he had
been charged with the eare of British
and German subjects in Venezuela, but.
Prcsident Castro was unwilling -afflrst
to' recognize his authority. FinaVy the
minister convinced him that he was
acting within his rights and President
Castro consented with reluctance to re
lease the principal prisoners. Mr.
Bowen will insist upon the retease of
the remainder. Nothing in his reports
to the State Department indicate the
reason for the arrest of these foreign
ers except that they were Germans and
British. , i 7
The latest report from Minister Bow- .
en to the Department confirmed the
press dispatches relative to the seizure
of the Venezuelan navy in the port of
Caracas Wednesday: - It is now expect
ed that the next step will be tho an
nouncement of a formal blockade of
that part by the British and German
warships, 1 1 is believed hre that this ,
will not stop the entry into the port
of American ships, but that if the land
their cargoes the British- and Germans
will insist upon "colecting the; regular
Venezuelan rate of customs duties up
on them. Of. course this will involve
the seizure of the custom house, and
in turn it is expected that President
Castro, unless he concludes to abandon
farther resistance, will Issue a, decree
Closing' tire cortsto entry, avd wilt -Insist
upon collecting duties anew upon
the same goods if they are passed Into
the interior of the country beyond La
Guira." - - ' '
'it was said at the British and Ger
man embassies today that the action of
President Castro in ordering' the ar
rest of all subjects of the British and
German governments in Caracas was
without precedent in the history of civ
ilized" countries' supposedly at peace
with each other, and that such action
would te regarded' as sufficient ground
for a declaration of war. Indeed, oy
members of the diplomatic corps here
It is regarded as being such-a declara
tion in itseU. .;
Minister Bowen's prompt action in
demanding of .President Castro the re
lease, of the German and British sub
jects arrested in Caracas yesterday is
In accordance with the plan agreed
uppn between the German and British
ambassadors and Secretary Hay when
the former called at the State Depart
ment fully three weeks ago, and, in an
ticipation of the presefft oigly situation
In Venezuela requested that the United
States minister at Caracas be permit
ted to protect the lives nd property of
Ell citizens of the London and Berlin
governments in . the Southern Ameri
can' republics. It is understood that
President Castro was , advised of this
action . ; : ;. -77 . ..' 7- ' .
f it was pointed out by an European
diplomat of high rank that, in forcing
Minister Bowen to demand the release
of the arrest subjects. President Castro
is acting directely contrary to the de
sire of the Washington government in
order to become Involved in the inter
national dispute.! ;BothJJermanyand
Great Britain; it was said, fully appre
ciate the position .of the Tinted States
aud are detuned that ths country
shall notvbei unnecessarily drawn into
the difficulty.:';;
N Gold For Busnos Ayres.
New'York, Special. The local agen
cy of the London, and, River Plate
Bank,' limited, will, ship $500,000 gold
to Buenos Ayres. -The transaction o!
a' special, and makes a total o $2,-
000 000 shipped oy me , vau
August last The Muller-Schaller Com
pany announce the engagement of
$500,000 gold, to. Buenos Ayres. .
.... 1 - ...
INDEPENDENCE: IN AL$ THINOS.'
JM. Cr, THURSDAY, DECEMBER IS, 1902.
t . - ' - , . .
ANOTHER WAR IS ON
Venezuelan Fortress Bombarded Last
Sunday
TWO GUNBOATS OPENED FIRE.
British and German Warships Soon
Silenced the Batteries of the Forts
'' and Surrender Followed.
Puerto Cabello, By Cable. The Brit
ish cruiser Charybdis and the German
cruiser. Vineta have, bombarded the
fortress here. Thev oufcklv silenrpd
The Charybdis and the Vineta, arrived ,
nere ounaay morning. The captain) of
the English merchant steamer Topaz,
which was seized by the mob last Wed
nesday, visited the Englishommodore
on board . the Topaz. The populace
were greatly, agitated and raised tie
cry, "To arms!" but no incident oc
curred. The commodore then sent a
demandito the authorities for immedi
ate satisfaction for having pulled doWn
the British flag from the Topaz and
advised the government that if satis
faction was not forthcoming in two
hours; the- fortress and the custom
house would be bombarded. The au
thorities on the receipt of this demand
sent a message to president . Castro
asking for instructions. -At 5 o'clock
the Charybdis and Vineta opened fire
on the fortress and the custom house.
The fort replied, but was soon silenced.
No damage-was done to. the town. The
United States consul went on board the
two cruisers and was informed by their
commanders that theyhad come to this
port, in search of the Venezuelan war
ships.' i - 7 . ' 7 7.1 7;
The bombardment. lasted for 45 ntin
.utes. The fortress is composed of Fort
Solano and the Castle Liberator. 'Af
ter the firing ceased, the Charybdis
sent marines to "occupy the castle. The
fortress was almost completely demol
ished. It is probable that only a few
persons! were injured by the shelling.
The commander ot Castle Libertatior
has been taken prisoner. The cruisers.
are-still here. At 7 ot3bck this morn
ing the Charybdis and the Vineta! ar
rived, searching for Venezuelan gun
boats. The two cruisers sent their'
boats into the inner port, but finding
no gunboats the boats returned. The
captain of the British merchant steam
er Topaz, which was seized by the mob
here on Wednesday, then visited
British commodore, on board
the
the
Charybdis and lodged a protest against
theiviolation of his ship. TfiV British
captain, returned ian hour later with n,
detachment of 50 marines, who took
; charge of the Topaz. ; . 7 7.
A committee of the merchants of
Puerto Cabello then approached the
American consul here,; petitioning him
to intervene. The consul accepted this
mission and visited ttie cruisersbut he
could obtain no alteration in the de
cision of the allies. ; ! 7
At a quarter before 5 a reply was re
ceived from President CastrO, who au
, thorized .the, chief officer here to give
the British commodore ample satisfac
tion. Before this answer could be com
municated to the American consul, the
hour stipulated for its receipt bad'ar
rived and the cruisers immediately
opened 'fire on the fortress. -The fire
was -returned from the forts, but the
Venezuelan guns , were soon silenced.
While the firing continued there j was
intense excitement in this port. ,,Every
house in town was closed. The people
of Puerto Cabello cannot account " for
this precipitate action on the part of
the allies, which they consider to be
proof that Great Britain and Germany
intended forcing war upon Venezula.
The Brititsh marines purpose to make
use of the cannon in Castle TLiberta
dor. ; :
The entrance to the insile harbor at
Puerto i Cabello . is through, a narrow
channel not more tha n a few hundred
feet wide. v To the left of this channel,
as one enters the harbor, situatedj'oh a
low sand pit, is the fortress 'which was
bombarded by the" Ger man' and British
cruisers. It is an old-fashioned struc
ture which was rebuilt in the eigh.
teenth century. Its sides are compara
tively low and would offer poor resist
ance to modern shells. It is not prob
able that the Venezuelan government
had any modern cannon there.
'" The custom house at Puerto Cabello;
is situated oh the right or mainland
side of the channel." : It is a lengj two
story brick building and contains, be
, sides executive offices, . large
houses.- ;
ware-
7 Indians Dying Out
Guthrie, O. T., Special. Dr. Wynian,
government physician at the Sac and
Fox; Indian agency in'Oklahoma, 7 an
nounces that a large majority ; Of the
tribe are afflicted with tuberculdosis,
scrofula and other incurable diseases,
and adds that the tribe will be extinct
Vvithin ajfew years. Tho latest Report
says there oire left but 479 mernhers of
thiS'orce-rjowerful :tribt. - ' . ;
LIVE ITEMS OF NEWS.
Many Matters of General Interest In
Short Paragraphs. i
The Sunny South. . j
' 77 77- . :'::'- : I '.'':-"f7T-Bishop,
the man who shot Wilson in
the latter's own parlor, at Charlotte,
K C, is still at large. The Governor
has offered a reward of $400 for his ap
prehension. 7 j; , . 7 j :
, In a head-end collision between a
pasenger train Friday morning at
High Point, N. C, a number of people
were seriously hurt and two engines
completely demolished. j l :
Goldey Tyus, convicted of murdering
Jeff Godwin, on Octcber 28, was hang
ed at Thomasyilie, Ga. He' was perfect
ly cool and" prayed, with the minister
before 'the execution. He exonerated
Wallar, the negro convicted of. being
ihis accomplice and sentenced to im
prisonment for life. . :r v ! 7
V. U. Lawrence, of Jonesboroj, Ga.,
was found dead locked in a box ear at
Camp's saw mill. Lawrence. had, bqen
shot twice in the back with a revolver.
It is believed, thatl the young man was
shot while at work. 7 - 1 i
Matty Matthews; former welter
weight champion, and Owen Zeigler
met at the Savannah Athletic Club for
20 rounds, for a decision. In the second
round Zeigler knocked Matthews to the
mat with a right to the -point of the
jaw. The referee stopped the fight and
gave the fight to Matthews. ) f ;.
The Bridgers & McKeithan Lumber
Co's store or commissary at Florence,,
S. C., was destroyed by fire last week.
Tho loss is estimated at about $,500,
partly Covered by insurance. , -s
;' The Norwegian steamship Hirrundo
was loading '.last week at Gulf port,
Miss.. 1.300.000 feet of Ions-leaf yellow-
pine lumber from the L. N. Dantzler
mills, and saUed on the 2oth for Bue
nos Ayres. ; ; ,.;v; ;7-v -; 7; V . 7 ;Y v
" The Seventh Street Plaining" is
the name of u new corporation organ
ized at Owsnsboro, Ky., last we,ek.. The
capital stock is $10,000. The incorpor
ators are G. C. Lettell, J. H. Robertson
and J. G. Stuart; , '.. .7.
' The Citizens Lumber Co.. of Waco.,
Texas, has been chartered, with a cap!-'
tal stock of $125,000. The incorporators
are L. Slmpfon, - .Thomas' Wa ties; John
Sentell, H. W. Morris, V. W. Lonerker,
D. .D. Fairchilds and W. W. Cameron.
A Knoxville, Tenn., dispatch says:
"The National Plunders' Marble As
sociation will ; mee t in second " annual
session Tuesday. President W . E. Hig
hee; of Proctor. VtH and Secretary
John R. Hugg, 7 of , Baltimore, were.
among' tne arrivals, umer pronamem
members who are here are Peter Gray
and John F. Jacoby, of Philadelphia ;
Wm:-Buess, of Newr-York; vand f M :),,
Flavin, , of Chicago. The sessions may
continue a week." . .' ' ! "
A Wilmington, N. C, dispatch' says:
'Captain Miller, of the schooner Eva
A. ; Daneho wer, - which 7 arrived here
Sunday, reports having passed off
Frying Pan - lightship about noon; a
dismasted schooner, name unknown; in
tow of a Savannah Line steamer. The
British steamer Rosewood McGregor,
which arrived from Villa Reit, reporu.
an extremely rough, voyage, and i the
loss of a man washed overboard." ,
;.... At The National Capital.
A two-year-old child of Mr. J.7 B.
Fite, a citizen of Rutherford ton, N- C.,
fell into the fire at his. home andi vaa
frightfully burned, and is not expected
to live. ?
Senator Cullom- reported to the Sen
ate to executive session the new treaty
of amity and,-commerce between : the
United States and spam,- wuicn aas
been under consideration by the com
mittee on foreign relations, j
Announcement has been made of the
appointment; of Janvier Arrangoiz,
Director General of Customs, and Pe
dro M. Del Paso, of -Vera Cruz, as rep
resentative of iiexico -at the congress
to meetin the city of New .Yorkrnext
month: x
" :"7 ' , - r" r ,.
The treatv between the United States
and Great Britain regarding commer
cial relations; between the I United
States and New Founland, was made
public. Under its provisions, raw cot
ton' cotton varn and cotton seed oil
Imported from the United States are
admitted to N ew ounaiana r co oi
dtcty. - . .
At The North.
'A New York dispatch says: "The "re
port of the coroner's physician jmade
tonight , in the case or Mrs, earan Ann
Waters, who died at the age of nearly
mr attot rrnea "will hpro fl
contest, does not support the j . theory,
that the old lady was the victim or
foul Dlav. The autopsy revealed condi
tions which indicate that death, result
ed from natural causes. !
NO. 36.
it ' " 11 1
CONGRESSIONAL PROCEEDINGS
What Our1 Congress is Doing -Dar
b.y Day. v :
HOUSE., -
. Ninth Day After debating, the Lon
don dock charge hill for almost four
hours the House chopped ; its head off
by striking out the enacting clauef.
138 to 129. This killed the bill. : Th '
debate was spirited' on both sides and
all day the members were flooded with,
telegrams. The withdrawal jof the sup
port of the lumber; and meat packing
interests, which originally joined hands ?
with the flour milling interests in
pressing the measure, brought : about
its defeat. The. final vote was 138 to
129 in favor of the motion to strike out
the enacting clause.- Speeches,: were
made in favor of. the, bill by Vr. Taw
ney, of Minnesota, and Ir. Richard
son, of Alabama, and against it by the
Messrs. Adams,; of -Georgia; Wagner,
Adams and Dalzell, of Penney lvana; '
Burleson and Burgess, of Texas, and
Mann, of Illinois. , ; 7
Mr. Tawney explained at length the
purpose of the bill, which he said ap
plied only to the port of London and
was simply designed to relieve the
American shipper, of the charge made
by the transporting companies; for de
livering goods over the side of the ves
sel. This charge, he said was included
in the contract of shipment. The bill
would prevent such contract. .
Mr. Adamson, of Georgia,- a member
of the committee which reported the
bill, opposed.it, first on the ground that
it sought to prevent the liberty of con
tract and v second, because it was. sup
ported practically by a single interest,
tne millers. v . 7
Mr. Mann read many telegrams from
firms, which had formerly supported
the bill, stating that after investiga
tion they desired to, change their pesi-
uon. ' - . . - :
Eleventh Day The House session
had the private calendar under consid
eration all day. v Good ; progress .was
made. , . . -v ' -
Twelfth Day The House devoted
the day to the consideration. of private
pension bills. The calendar was clear
ed, 173 bills . being passed. None of
them was of especial interest. The bill
to appropriate $1,000,000 for thie eradi
cation of the foot and mouth disease in
New England was "made a special order
for Tuesday,' with the, understanding
that the only legislative features of the
bill would be considered and that the
appropriation would be reported from
the appropriation committee. v Mr.
Maddox. objected to the consideration
of the bill, until he had had an oppor
tunity to examine it. ' 7
v.,:;-,;'';,'.;,. 7-7SEN ATE. :t;:;; ;;-',. ;'
Ninth Day The Senate devoted most
of the day to the immigration bill and -
adopted a number ' of amendments ..
There was considerable . discussion du- . r
ring the day upon an iamendmeht off er-
ed by Mr. Burtbn; of TCansas, to admits
Chinese laborers to Hawaii, which.' met
with considerable opposition and final
ly was laid on the table. The provision V
in the bill prohibiting the sale of liquor
in the capital building caused a little .
flurry and criticism of the; House for
putting it in the pill. The provision, -however,
was not stricken out: During. '
the day the militia bill .was discussed.- .
It . will be taken up again Thursday.
An amendment , to the immigration
hill, offered by Mr.. Bailey, of . Texas,
was adoptedproviding that skilled la--"
bor may be imported ; if labor Of like
kind cannot- be found in this country.
The amendment prohibiting the sale
of liquors in the-capitol was taken up
and Mr. Berry, of - Illinois, declared
that the capitol was not the r., proper
to act. in the .matter without any, law ,
of Congress. V. -
Mr. Tillman said be wanted a little 7
light on the subject:;He bad been in- ,
formed, he said; that nO liquor was sold
in the Senate end Of the capitol. "The
House is simply playipg a bypoeriticat
game before the people," said he and
endeavoring to make the Senate .attend
to its . morals." , , , ; v v , , ..
Mr. Penrose, answering htm. said the
paragrapii,was stricken out beriMise tho
committee thought it was iot a; proper
place for it : 7 - ; : ::"''
Mr.: Bailey, of Texas, contended that
each hodse of Congtess-had authority
place to run a saloon. .
-The amendment was adopted, - which
has the effect Of retaining the clause
in the bill prohibiting the sale of
liquor jn the capitol. ; " . , ;
Eleventh Day The Senate heard
committee reports and then went into
exacutive session. At 4: 55 It adjourn-
ed. 7 .; .;7;-:';-; ;'.-; . .77 7 7' ')
Twelfth Day The committee beard
arguments on the eight hour labor bill.
No report "was mader as the arguments
were not completed when -the - Senate
adjourned. , , , t ,
Britain's Sunniest SpoL '
The sunniest spots in the , TJnited -Kingddm
are 7 the Channel Islands,
which enjoy. sunshine during 39.9 per
cent of the time the sun is above the
horizon in 'the course of avyca -
r
7 7