Evening Star Newspaper, November 10, 1896, Page 9

THE EVENING STAR. PUBLISHED DAILY EXCEPT SUNDAY, AT THE STAR BUILDINGS, 1101 Pennsylvania 7 Cor. 11th 8, by ‘Ihe Evening Star Newspaper Company, 8. H. AUFFMANN, Pres't. New York Office, 49 “Potter Building. The Evening Star is served to subscribers io the per week, or 44 centi each. By mu ny w Usited States or Canada—postage prepaid —50 cents per month. rh. Saturday Quintuple Sheet Star, $1 per year, with foreign postage added. $3.00. Part. Che Fy HY BbAv. pases ou ‘Entered at the Post Ottice at Washington, D. C., as second-class mail matter.) TAll mali subscriptions must be paid in advance. Rives of advertising made known on application. WASHINGTON, D. C., TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 10, 1896—-FOURTEEN PAGES. TO GET POSSESSION Sse Northeast Citizens’ Association Dis- cusses the Railroad Problem. CCCUPANCY OF PUBLIC PROPERTY Committee to Examine Condition of the Peabody Building. — NEW COMMITTEES APPOINTED Se At last night's meeting of the Northeast Washington Citizens’ Association the mem- bers showed that they intend to continue the fight against reservation 201, at Dela- ware avenue and H_ street northeast, where the Baltimore and Ohio railroad is now and has been for a number of years cond ng an unloading station for stone and other heavy building material. At last Month's meeting the association voted that the president should write a letter to the Secretary of the Interfor, setting forth the facts in the case. When Mr. Smith was Secretary the matter was well under way, and the association expected that before now the triangle would be covered with grass. The letter written to Secretary Francis by President Tucker, was read as follows: To the Secretary. “My Dear Sir: “In view of the fact that your prede- cessor, Secretary Smith, in compliance with a request of the Northeast Washing- ton Citizens’ Association, by authority vested in the Secretary of the Interior by s n_ INS of the Revised Statutes, under date of July 29, 1806, ordered the receiv- ers of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad Company to vacate within sixty days from the first day of August, 18%, the triangu- lar space bounded by G and H streets and Delaware avenue and Ist street northeast known as reservation 201, and that in coi sideration of a letter submitted to you by E. Hamilton, attorney for said dated September 3 ultimo, you have granted an extension of thirty days tance with said order, the said ociation deems it advisable to said letter, in order to acquaint with such additional facts as will sub- Stantiate the claim of the citizens, that should be no further delay in dis- ssing the trespassers on this public rty, and I have been directed, by a vranimous vote of said association, to per- duty. e do not concede the statement aragraph 1 of Mr. E relative to the date and the occupancy of the reservation to be en- ly correct, we will net take the time to pute it, as it has no direct bearing upon q ion at issue. We contend that er portion of said space has for ars been illegally occupied by and for the private purposes of said rail- read company, and that the entire space is new so occupied aud used by said company. The steam derrick which, as Mr. Hamilton S erected by permission, verbally Lk ment, Occu- 1 part of the area in ques- m that said verbal permis- loes not constitute legal occupancy, even though such occupancy was to be temporary. ther, if said derrick was sifle purpose of unload- in the construction y building, and as all such erial has long since been delivered and government has no further use for the derrick, is now a private structure upon @ public space, and it is unlawful under th tte. Mr. Hamilton, it seems, hes changed his mind since he submitted his letter of April 16 last. In that letter the company lays no cl whatever to the ground, asks to be permitted to continue its occupancy, as tenant at suffe w . and agrees to vac ithorities require it. Ni Ow, since honorable y has notified the government desires to recain possession of the triangle, granted sixty Mr. Hamilton “e ‘5 harsh and are of Mr. Ha s tes he reservation, I ard to the tracks of the eempany onstructed and operated on Deka avenue, as to it im, make pessible of impro legis- enactment.’ All this we claim to be vrrect, except the statement that the wtul tracks can only be changed by leg- lative enactment. “The commissioner of public buildings and grounds in several of his annual re- ports has called the attention of Cor fo the illegal occupancy Ss resery tion, and asserts that he has endeavored, but in vain, to regain possession of the same in order to convert it into a park and from these ‘ports it is evi- at said commissi r does not con- si the proximity of the tracks would interfere in the slightest degree with the use of the triangle But this is not the main ¢ pon which the citizens base their claim that any should arliest ¥ point upon wht aims is the one which 1: in my former communication, that the present occupation and use of the reserva- tien endangers the lve fety of the thous of people who daily pass on H street and other thoroughfares adjacent thereto, listurbs the peace and interferes Ith, comfc nd_ convenience fe in the neighbor- ing an advantage, s should be, this now used is a common to paragraph will state that mpany has, during the past en years, Whenever requested or direct- y Improvements of its track- age withn » ety for the safety, comfort or convenience of the public, refused to do so on the plea that it was the intention any to ask Congress to enact ton as would authorize the * such alterations in the e the city of ossings and other sources of danger noyances which have resulted in so much agitation, but this plea has not been substan ed. the company never having ort whatever to procure such . but, on the contrary, has stren- ie Measure which has ed to Congress by citizens’ ations and others for relief from nuisanc annoyances it the | within his discretion to permit even tem- porary occupation of any public property for any private purpose whatever, and it is clearly his duty to proceed immediately to reclaim any such property which may be illegally occupied. The fact that any part of such space is occupied by a struct- ure which was at some past time used by the United States does not affect this ques- tion for the recson that as soon as the structure ceased to be so used it became illegal, under the law, and should have been immediately removed. “Mr. Hamilton is mistaken in his con- ceptien of the clause in the statute which provides that ‘The Secretary shall report to Congress at the commencement of each session his proceedings in the premises, to- gether with a full statement of all such property and how and by what authority the same is occupied or claimed.’ Nothing in this provision can be construed to imply that the Secretary shall first report to Congress before proceeding to perform the duty which is intrusted to him by the statute in question; but I claim the proper construction is that he shall renort to Congress what progress he has made in the performance of said duty, and also to furnish a list of all such spaces which are occupied, though said occuvation may be temporary, and to state by what authority they are so occupied. “It does not seem that much considera- tion is due to a corporation which has un- lawfully taken possession of and held a valuable piece of property for sixty years, during which time it has had free and un- restricted use thereof (all of which is ad- mitted by them), and when requested to vacate refuses to do so. Further, it does not seem that the attorney for the com- pany has acted in good faith with the de- partment. After having stated in his let- ter of April 16 last, hereinbefore referred to, that the company lays no claim to the ground and will remove therefrom when- ever the governmert requires the same, he now informs the Secretary that in order to regain possession the department will have to institute legal preceedings. In this con- tention we disagree with the attorney. By the statute the Secretary of the In- terior is made the custodian of the afore- said public space, and he is also made the judge as to whether or not it is legally occupied. This evidently was the con- struction placed upon the law by Secre- tary Smith, who, on March 26, 1896, called upon the repesentatives of the company to show cause why {t should not be dispos- sessed of the property in question, and, af- ter considering the reply of the company, dated April 16, 1896, decided that the rea- sons set forth by the company were insuffi- cient, and ordered that the company cause to be removed within sixty days from the Ist day of August, 1896, from the space in question all tracks, derricks, cars or other property belonging to the company. The citizens claim that as the Secretary has the right to decide that the space ts illegally oc- cupied he has the right, and it 1s his duty, to eject the intruders and take possession of the property. “In conclusion, Mr. Secretary, permit me to say that I consider that in view of the long occupancy of this property by the company, which, while being so profitable to it, has been the source of so much an- Toyance to the citizens and such a detri- ment to their interests, the sixty days aliowed by Secretary Smith was ample time for the company to vacate, and was ex- tremely liberal, and the thirty days’ ex- tension which you so kindly granted is, in view of the circumstances, more than the company deserver. ‘Every day that the triangle is used for its present purposes the Hves of people are in jeopardy, to say nothing of the nuisance caused by making up trains, parking cars containing obnoxious freight, such as cat- tle, hogs, manure, oyster shells and street sweepings and numerous other objection- able features pertaining to a freight yard. “In view of the above, in behalf of the citizens of Northeast Washington, I re- spectfully request that no further exten- sion of time be granted for compliance with the order of July 29, 1896, and that the law be enforced without delay. I also beg to call your attention to certain letters on file in this case from the attorney of the Bal- timore and Ohio Company to their general superintendent, and dated September 27, Oc- tober 1, November 30 and December 10, 1889, as also to marked copy of report of Col. John M. Wilson, in charge of public buildings and grounds, for 1888, herewith submitted; also to copies of Colonel Wil- son’s letters to Mr. H. H. Martin, dated February 15, 1896, and to myself, dated October 22, 1896, and of Colonel Ernst, dated October 23, 1596.” Secretary Sowerbutts also read other let= ters bearing on this question. Railroad Matters. President Tucker said .that the time given the railroad to desert the reserva- tion had expired, and he thought under the circumstances the time would not be ex- tended again. The secretary has the au- thority, and he hoped he would simply go “} there and take possession. Chairman Frizzell of the railroad. com- mittee said he had no formal report to make. He referred to the meeting of the toard of trade and said the Northeast As- sociation had furnished the board all its information relating to the Baltimore and Obio railroad. The board of trade, he said, had recognized the good work done by the a lation and had in its report men- tioned three members of the Northeast Washington Association, President Tucker, Professor Gallaudet and Rev. Father Gil- lespie, as men who had done especially good work in behalf of the citizens. Speaking of the railroad question he said all the associations as well as the board of trade favor an amendment to bill 2809. ‘The asscciations, he said, will not. sanc- tion any bill which provides for more than «ne viaduct. In order to get the sanction of the associations and citizens generally it must provide for a uniting of the roads on the outskirts of the city and the use of one viaduct. President Tucker said that he desired to call attention to the obstruction of street crossings by the railroad company and of the interest manifested in the matter by The Star. He referred to the case of Po- liceman Owens of the fifth precinct, Who arrested a conductor on the Pennsylvania railroad, and said he thought !f the police were so efficient in other precincts there would be fewer violations of law. The ar- ticle in The Star, he said, explained fully the trouble experienced at the Baltimore and Ohio crossings. Persons employed in the government printing office, he said, are frequently delayed, and he had been told that when they are five minutes late they lose @ half day's pay. Chairman Frizzell said he thought Po- liceman Owens’ good service should be recognized by a request that he be trans- ferred to the sixth or ninth precinct. President Tucker spoke of the good werk performed by The Star on grade crossing matters, and at the suggestion of the president, Secretary Sowerbutts read the editorial spoken of as well as an article printed in The Star concerning the obstruc- tion of the street crossings. Major Burke said that it happens that when the police do their duty in some of these matters they are not always upheld. Sanitary Matters. There were not many reports from com- mittees, and in the absence of a report from the committee on schools Mr. Colvin calle@ attention to the cases of diphtheria ia the Peabody School. He said he thought the assoviation should pay some attention y Proposes to} to the matter because of its importance. to the com- he reserva- interpretation of sec- Revised Statutes, as set ph 4 of letter, ts so granted it/| Parents of many of the children, he said, were not at all satisfied with the fumiga- tien of one or two rooms in the building, but they thought the entire building should be fumigated and put in good condition. President Tucker said he regarded it as. absurd as to be ‘hardly ent from the wording of the it is the duty of the Sec Interior opriation o: ‘to prevent the i occupation of a: ‘ashington belonging d States, and to reclaim the ‘opriated.” Tt ig 9 evident that the only case in which it within the discretion of the permit a is ven the temporary occupation of a fed ‘by lawful authority’ and ‘for the legitimate purposes of Biates.* oe It is very apparent that it is not Secretary to | mi any public space s when such space may | Mi f the United | all the criticism that a very important matter, and intended call- ing the attention of the association to it. He had heard of mothers of the school children being very much alarmed, and he thought something should be done to allay this fear. He thought the members of the school and sanitary committees should make an immediateinvestigation and re- port. Mr. Colvin said he thought the health officer would criticise what the association ht do. hat’s what we get anyhow,” remarked ‘8 the duty of the associa- the investigations, and stand comes.’ President Tucker said that there was . Carver. tion to make } northwest, criticism of the association’s action when the proposition to estabiish basement schools was made. Mr. King suggested that immediate ac- tion was necessary in case of the Peabody School, and the committees will visit the building this week. While sanitary matters were under dis- cussion Maj. Burke suggested that the wells in the city might be closed and beer saloons established in their place. “Are you interested in any particular brand of beer?’ he was asked. “No,” was his answer; “but I notice in several neighborhoods where the pumps have been removed there is more sickness than usual.” Mr. Carver said he thought it was time that the authorities were taking some ac- tion regarding the pool of stagnant water at Trinidad, where he knew of a number of cases of sickness. Next Commissioner. Mr. Colvin said he thought the assocla- tions should be looking into the matter of the appointment of the next District Com- missioner. We want one from East Wash- ington the next time,” he said. “And,” said President Tucker, “it will be @ strange thing if you ever see one ap- pointed from a section other than the and the improvements are Pretty apt to go near where they reside.” “Where does Commisssioner Truesdell lve?” he was asked. “Way up on the heights, and he has a Pavement leading almost to his door.” “But,” said Mr. Colvin, “the pavements Cx Gey Ge one Gnas , “An at's on the side where his ho is,” added President Tucker. be New Committees. Committees for the ensuing year were appoirted as follows: Executive committee—Evan H. Tucker, chairman; J. B. Burke, S. Sowerbutts, J. R. Colvin, A. H. F. Holsten, W. J. Frizzell, H. H. Martin, J. B. Algate, N. L. King and E. Dalrymple. Committee on steam raflroads—W. J. Friz- zell, chairman; A. H. F. Holsten, W. 0. Miller, M. M. Rouzer, N. Cowsill, B. J. O’Brien, P. W. Smith, Walter Godwin, B. J. Collins and Geo. Killeen. Committee on streets, avenues and al- Jeys—H. H. Martin, chairman; W. E. Car- ver, Jacob Frech, Walter Donaldson, Lor- ing Chappell, Wash. P. Evans, G. B. Rose, W. L. Hughes, Dr. D. B. Street, S. Sower- butts and J. B. Algate. Committee on water, lights and sewers— A. H. F. Holsten, chairman; E. Q. Gunson, J. R. Colvin, B. F. Barnes, J. B. Burke, J. H. Ruppert, E. H. Tompkins, Wm. Bierly, J. B. Algate, B. Ostman, A. W. Mallery. Committee on assessments and appor- tlonment of appropriations—N. L. King, chairman; Albert Robinson, J. B. Burke. I. E. Cole, Z. T. Jenkins, J. R. Johnson, L. O. MaHery, W. C. Zeigler, J. C. Seilor, H. Koss, J. J. Bischoff. Committee on parks and spaces—J. B. Algate, chai?man; B. L. Nevious, sr., J. D. Hinternisch, F. W. Brandis, B. F. Seaton, W._O. Miller, J. H. Branson, J. P. Rudy, J. Huggins, W. S. Babbitt and W. G. Glenn. Committee on schools—E. Dalyrimple, chairman; H. H. Martin, W. O. Miller, F- A, Flanigan, J. Millard, J. B. Rose, ‘Dr. Wm. A. Custis, J. B. Algate, B. P, Entre- kin and J. H. Hainey. Committee on public conveyance—J. B. Burke, chairman; N. L. King, P. W. Smith, W. G. Fowler, G. B. Rose, F. B. Striker, W. Hinard, D. C. Smith and H. L. Bald: win, jr. Committee on proposed legislation—Evan H. Tucker, chairman; Dr. E. M. Gallaudet, Rev. C. Gillespie, B. N. Seymour, W. A: Johnson, Jacob Frech, Wm. J. Fowler, W. J. Frizzell, J. H. Lewis and J. Millard. Committee on sanitary affairs—J. R. Col- vin, chairman; J. B. Algate, Dr. M. A. Custis, Dr. D. B. Street, A. B. Clark, B. L. Andrews, J. T. Bischoff, Geo. Thornton, W. R. Carver, F. Kline and W. H. Lar- mon. Committee on police and fire departments —S. Sowerbutts, chairman; J. H. Hughes, Wm. Donaldson, D. K. Hackman, W. S. Babbitt, E. R. Martin, A. Ostman, T. A. Perry, J. D. Burn, C. Giebel and A. C. Glancy President Tucker made a few remarks cencerning the recent election, and said at the next meeting he would present the annual report of the executive committee. > . SHREWD SWINDLING SCHEMES. Operations of a New York Band Brought to Light. The attempted suicide of May Wintage, a miss of seventecn years, in a furnished room in Brooklyn, followed by the arrest of her lover, Edward Valentine, has brought to light the operations of the shrewdest gang of swindlers who ever worked in New York city. The girl made an attempt upon her life after a warrant had been issued charging her with having passed a worthless check upon a Brooklyn dry goods merchant. After she had partially recovered she told the authorities that the check had been given to her by Valentine. He was ar- rested and is now in jail. Valentine, in the hope of saving himself, has made a confession to District Attor- ney Backus, in which he tells in detail the operations of the gang. The most Prominent members were “Big Ed.” Rice, Charles H. Abbott, C. H. McLoughlin, H. K. White, Isaac Heidenheimer, Rolindale Smith, Walter B. Peters Willis Connors and William Thomas. The latter is locked up in New York, Connors in Flint, Mich., and Peters in Chicago. Thus far only one of the schemes of the gang has been made public, viz.: Their forging operations, by which they swindled small western business men. But that was really only a side issue. They saw last summer that in consequence of the tight money market forged paper could be easily floated, provided the names of those on the paper had a rating with the commercial agencies. At this stage of the proceedings Chas. H. Abbott, who had operated with the gang in other fields, appeared with a bright idea. He was the junior member of the firm of John H. Baker & Co., forwarding agents. By some means the firm had ge- cured a high rating. Upon the strengih of this rating Abbott set to work and made out the firm's notes for probably $250,000. These notes were given to the members of the gang, with instructions to negotiate them outside the city. At least $10,000 of the notes were sold in Philadelphia. Other notes were disposed of in Chicago and other faraway cities. Valentine and McLoughlin made so much money last summer that they leased cot tages at Long Branch and lived like mil- lionaires. They drove fast horses, and Valentine even went to the extent of leas- ing a steam yacht. May Wintage was his companion. Emboldened by their success the gang became reckless. They set to work to pass small forged checks in New York city and Brooklyn, and this proved their downfall. Abbott has ruined the firm of J. H. Baker & Co. Mr. Baker is a man well advanced in years. He sald yester- day that he was penniless. He trusted Abbott entirely, supposing him to be an honest man. When he took him into part- nership and after using the, firm name as a cover for signing’ notes for thousands of dollars Abbott has disappeared. It is claimed that merchants. manufacturers and farmers heve lost $500,000 by the opera- tions of this gang. They are said to have been the promoters of two or three ficti- tious coinpanies, one called ihe Standard Coal and Oil Company, and also of a k- ing concern, which they used as a decoy. It is said that the gang bought on notes and then sold for cash, sacrificing.the ma- terial they had secuted for anything they could get for it! A favorite scheme was to get possession of bicycles from manu- facturers and jobbers and then to raffle the wheels or sell them at a great sacrifice: ... ——__+o+—___ Charged With Embessling. Allison Z. Mason, president of the defunct Globe Investment Company, was arrested yesterday in Boston on an indictment war- rant cl hit im wit! sums aggregating $10,000. urer J. Lowell Moore of the company is now serv- ing a three-years’ sentence on a similar charge. FOR THE COMMUNITY Its Best Interests: Oansidered by the Washington Boatd of Trade. TRANSACTIONS OF ANNUAL MEBTING Ten Directors Eléctéd and Valuable Reports. Submitted. ee PROMINENT MEN PRESENT The annual meeting of the Washington beard of trade held-last night at Builders’ Exchange Hall was the occasion for a sig- nificant gathering of the representatives of all that is best in the capital of the nation. Merchants, bankers, lawyers, physicians, capitalists and dealers in realty went to make up the large attendance, and every man gave profound attention to the busi- ness under consideration, which meant so much to the future progress and prosperity of the community. The assemblage, too, was a composite picture of contentment and hopefulness. To one familiar with the individual portraits which went to make it up, who had seen the faces drawn and tense during the weeks just gone by, and who was familiar with the anxious lines that had ‘creased the well-known counte- nances so steadily through that time, it was nothing less than refreshing to see the lineaments lousened into pleasant expres- s:ons and a look of buoyancy and confident expectation on each. Ht was not difficult to find a reason for all this change in this commercial personification of Washington. A look back one single week to the close of the national campaign and a realization of what that closing meant was all that was necessary. Mr. August Petersen, the ob- servant vice consul of Norway and Sweden, epitomized the significance of this in a single sentence. It was remarked to him that the throng was 2 noticeably happy one. “Yes,” responded Mr. Petersen, “and if the election had gone the other way they'd have all been wearing crepe.’” Probably no meeting of the board of trade has ever attracted a larger or more influential attendance. The hall was well filled, and among the members present were Myron M. Parker, Job Barnard, Ran- dall Hagner, R. Ross Perry, Clarence F. Norment, George H. Harries, Jackson H. Ralston, Beriah Wilkins, Dr. A, P. Far- don, S. S. Shedd, D. J. McCarthy, Frank L. Hanvey, W. A. Meloy, Edward Graves, Wm. S. Roose, John C. Parker, F. P. Sands, George W. F. Swartzell, Daniel Mur- ray, John B. Larner, O. W. White, Simon Wolf, Thomas Somerville, Frank Hume, Henry L. Biscoe, Major Geo. A. Armes, George Gibson, Frank H. Thomas, Samuel W. Curriden, Jesse B. Wilson, Henry Wells, F. L. Siddons, O. G. Staples, W. A. Hunger- ford, Tallmadge A. Lambert, W. C. Dodge, Chapin Brown, Dr, L. W. Ritchie, Col. Henry F. Blount, Ashley M. Gould, George E. Emmons, Dr. C. B. Purvis, James Lans- burgh, C. C. Laneaster, Lewis Clephane, Samuel Ross, Henry Wise Garnett, Martin Hebner, Edvard F. Droop, Archibald Greenless, E. T. Kaiser, Dr. Samuels. Bond, W. W. Burdette, Robert N. Harper, B. T. Janney, Tracy L. Jeffords, Richard E. Pairo, Henry B. Looker, Thomas P. Morgan, Josiah Millard, J. Forest Manning, E. G. Schafer, Joseph Paul, James W. Somerville, Wm. H. Saunders, Levi Wood- bury, R. A. Phillips, Heman D. Waldbridge, John Joy Edson, Ellis Spear, J. J. Darling- ton, Messrs. Tyler, Brice, Brown, Newton, August Donath, R. M. Brown, L. M. Saun- ders, John H. Magruder, Wm. H. But- ler, John Miller, Henry K. Willard, T. B. Towner, H. W. Reed, W. Andrew Boyd and a host of others. A New Committee Created. President S. W. Woodward called the meeting to order promptly at 7:30 o'clock, and the minutes of the last meeting were read by Secretary John B. Wight. After their approval Mr. Wight called at- tention to the proposition, coming from George H. Harries, Jno. Joy Edson and W. P. Van Wickle, to amend the constitution by creating a committee on public order, which should have for its duties all mat- ters relating to law and order in the Dis- trict, and, on motion of Mr. Myron M. Parker, the amendment was adopted, the vote being unanimous, President S. W. ‘Woodward then read his report, which is printed elsewhere in this issue of The Star. The President's Report. President Woodward was listened to with thie closest attention, and the recommenda- tions comprised in the reports of the com- mittees were received with marked evi- dences of approval, as shown by the ap- plause that greeted many of the points. During the progress of his report Mr. Woodward read a letter from Attorney A. 8. Worthington, dated yesterday, explain- ing the status of the street extension law so far as the action of the local courts has been concerned, and ‘announcing that the United States Supreme Court had set De- cember 7 for the hearing of arguments on the appeal from the decision of the Court of Appeals. Mr. Worthington stated also that he hoped that a decision would be ren- dered by the court by the middle of Janu- ary, so that it was, possible an appropria- tion could be secured at the coming session of Congress with which to commence the work of strect extension, providing the de- cIsion is favorable. 5 At the conclusion of President Wood- ward's address there was loud and liberal applause, and when it subsided Col. Henry F. Blount moved that a vote of thanks be extended to Mr. Woodward for his ad- Jmirable report. ‘The question was put by Secretary Wight, and there was a unani- mous chorus of hearty ayes. Mr. Wight’s report as secretary was then read. It re- ceived profound attention. Secretary Wight’s Report. “The record of the past year,” said Mr. Wight, “as already referred to by the pres- ident, is not one in. which much has been sccomplished, although no inconsiderable amount of labor was expended in worthy efforts to do something for the benefit of the District. It is a matter of regret that those things which seemed so imperatively needed and about which there was no dif- ference of opinion, gould not have been brought about; but. it is not a sufficient cause for discouragement or despair. We simply shared in the gereral result follow- ing a long session of Congress, in which but little was done in any direction. “In my last report a year ago I stated tkat the membership ef the board was 487. During the year ‘therp were added thirty new members. The number of those who have resigned and have retired from the beard by the dissolution of firms and by Geath was thirty, leaying~the number to- bay at exactly what it*was one year ago “There are, however,’in this list quite a Zumber whose names*should be dropped from the roll becausé ‘they have not paid their dues. “Owing to\the eaureesed. condi- tion of business and ‘Bnanclal embarrass- ment, great leniehcy/Fas *een shown de- Mnquent members; 'thoge-who have not peid*thetr dues Raye carried on our rolls:up toythis time. Mt & probable, how- FE fentswill now be ever, that>these natified by the. suspend ‘sum 0! leaving on hand the of $4.39. bills outstanding it the board, includ- Tig the rent of Ge lib for this oveninc, amount to $89.90, vall bills up to De- Cember Sf, ‘the ent Of the present fiscal year, as at present estimated, to $193.90. There are seventy-nine deiinquent mem- ters, whose dues amount to $390. Nine members resigned during the year without paying their dues; three members died whose dues were unpaid, and three firms have failed, leaving their dues unpaid, mak- ing a total of $18) which it has been im- pessible to collect, and which would have teen more then enough to have met all outstanding obligations. Receipts and Expenditures. “The rece!pts and expenditures passing through my hands have been as follows: Balance on hand at last report... $37 60 Cash advanced by treasurer........ 300 00 From sale of tickets for reception at Arlington Hotel =. 466 00 From sale of tickets for excursio1 and shad bake. + 438.00 Dues and initiation fees. - 3,035 00 Interest on deposits....... . 5m Total. -$4,281 90 Expenditures: For rent of rooms and janitor’s ees. - $648 00 Amount of lean refunded to treas- urer.. - 300.00 Reception at Arlington Hotel. > 654 50 Excursion ard shad bake.. 489 59 Rent of halis for board meetings... 180 ui Printing of annual report, report of committee on gas and electric lighting, notices, blanks, letter- heads, ete. i Salary of ass! 5 Lunch at annual meeting. Reception to ex-Gov. Shepher Postage Extra clerical help, typewriting,ete. Cffice supplies... Dues to national board of trade Expenses of special committee. Commission for collecting dues. Distributing reports to members. Sundry and incidental expenses. Balance.........sssseeeee - $4,251 90 Expenses for the Coming Year. “If a sufficient amount of dues now In ar- rears can be collected between this and De- cember 31 to pay our current obligations for this year, so that we can begin the new year without any indebtedness, the lowest amount necessary for the expenses of the board for the coming year is $2,500. This does not include anything for receptions, excursions, entertainments of any kind, or anything other than the barest necessities. Twice that sum is an insignificant amount for a city like Washington to spend for its own advancement, and Is not a tithe of what many western cities of much smaller population and wealth spend each year for their benefit. The truth is, we spend just enough to make our board expensive and not enough to receive any good from what it costs us. With the returning era of Prosperity which is now so surely before us, it seems to me to be very little to ask of Waeshington that its board of trade should consist of at least 500 members who would pay $25 a year for their dues. We belittle ourselves and belittle our board of trade when we hold our annual dues at such an insignificant sum as $5. “During the year there were held six meetings of the board of trade, fifteen meetings of the board of directors and fifty meetings of committees, and, as in past years, a very large amount of clerical work and correspondence has been carried on in the office of the board.” Mr. Wight named at this point the direc- tors whose terms expired with the meet- ing, and gave the names of those who were eligible for election in their places. United Effort a Necessity. “If any one-point has been more clearly demonstrated than another during the past year,” said Mr. Wight, in concluding his re- Port, “it has been, in my opinion, the im- Portance of united effort, instead of dis- agreement, and I would urge that more work be done in committee meetings, where points of difference can be more easily and More satisfactorily adjusted, so that at our meetings of the board we can act har- moniously on matters of common interest, and in our appearance before committees of Congress we can go with the indorse- ment of the whole board, asking for what We all honestly believe to be for the good of the entire District. Mr. Thomas Somerville, treasurer of the board, made a very brief report, stating that the recipts during the past year had been $4,281.90, and the expenditures $4,- 2 , leaving a balance on hand of $4.39. Proposition to Increase Dues. A very interesting debate was then brought up by the reading of a letter from Mr. Beriah. Wilkins, chairman of the finance committee, in which he recom- mended a change in article 3 of the by- laws, relating to initiation fees and annual dues of members. After stating the necessity that con- fronted the board of raising more money, Mr. Wilkins recommended that the by-law be changed so that all “individuals engaged in trade and those not engaged in commer- cial, financial or manufacturing business” be required to pay $10 annual dues in ad- vance. The present fees are now $5 for such members and $10 for co-partnerships and corporations. Mr. S. W. Curriden arose when the letter was.concluded, and remarked that he thought it was a very poor corporation that could not afford to pay $25 per an- num for membership in the board, and made a motion to further amend the sec- tion to that effect. Mr. Newton of the law firm of Newton & Gillett made a similar motion regarding co- partnerships, suggesting that their dues be raised from $10 to $20. The question of the number of votes to which firms and corporatiozs were entitled was brought up at this point, and Mr. Ross Perry created a laugh by pointing out that if two or more members of a firm belonging to the board were entitled to vote, there was no good reason why all the stockhold- ers of a corporation which has member- ship should not be entitled to vote also. Postponed to December. Mr. Wilkins took the floor, and in a few telling words described the necessities of the board, and moved for unanimous con- sent to adopt the desired amendment. Mr. W. A. Meloy objected, and after further discussion, the -whole matter went over until the December meeting of the board, and the secretary was directed to post thé Proposed changes on the bulletin board for the required fifteen days previous to the meeting time. . Thanks to Secretary Wight. This being settled, President Woodward announced that the next business in order was the election of the ten directors to serve for three years, and pending the dis- tribution of the ballots, Maj. George H. Harries said he desired to make a s1 tion that he believed would tou ae sponsive chord in every member’s breast. He then proposed a vote of thanks to “our able, amiable and efficient secretary, John Wight,” for his servicts during the year, and the vote was extended to a gen- eral accompaniment of hand clapping and applause. The tickets containing the names of the candidates for directors were then distributed, and while this was in Progress George E. Emmons made some Tather lively remarks, in which he urged all mem- bers to vote for active workers, who were peter} x erapelven for the board of trade, if necessary, for direct losing eS learn: as bre “Let us have an active and energetic board of trade, and not a eerck t do-nothing board An invitation was received from ‘. Christian Heurich, asking the bani oes visit his new brewery and ice making plant next Wednesday afternoon, between 2 and o'clock. Mr. Woodward called attention to it in his opening Mr. Simon Wolf, who ‘arrived late, called attention to the invitation and asked that action be taken on it; whereupon Mr. _ = red im- mediately moved that Mr. Heurich ten- dered the thanks of the board for his courtesy, and that the members be allowed to accept it in their discretion. The tickets distributed contained the fol- lowing names: George T. Dunlop, William S. Thompson, O. G. Staples, Charles B. Church, Beriah Wilkins, Loring Chappel, Watson J. Newton, W. J. Boardman, Frederick C. Stevens, Frank Hume, Wal ter W. Burdette, Isadore Saks, Thomas W. Smith, 8S. W. Woodward, Josiah Millard, William A. Meloy, George Truesdell, James W. Somerville. The chair announced that Messrs. E. T. Kaiser and O. W. White would be the tel- lers to count the votes, and Mr. John B. Larner, the judge. After each member had been supplied with a ballot, Pre ent Woodward announced that the by-laws re- quired an hour should be devoted to bal- loting, and declared a recess for that period, or until 10 o'clock. He then invited the gathering to adjourn to the apartments in the front of the building and partake of lunch. The members proceeded to enjoy a very delightful collation prepared ‘by Heb- ner. There were creamed oysters, salads of various sorts, ices, cakes and coffee, while two large bowls of excellent punch were of easy access on side tables. When 10 o'clock came around the meeting reassembled and Mr. Larner announced that 140 votes had been cast, the ten gen- tlemen receiving the highest numbers be- ing as follows: George T. Dunlop, 102; William S. Thompsen, 116; Charles B. Church, 96; Beriah Wilkins, 121; Frank Hume, 1 Isadore Saks, 108; Thomas W. Smith, 116; S. W. Woodward, 138; George Truesdell, 87; James W. Somerville, 88. When the applause subsided President Woodward declared the gentlemen named to be directors for the ensuing three years, ard the meeting adjourned. ced ae HANNA A GUEST. Anti-Platt Republicans Hold a Mect- ing. The committee on organization of the Mc- Kinley League, the state republican organl- zation which opposes the faction led by ex-Senator Platt, held a meeting in New York last night which was made notable by the presence of Chairman Hanna of the republican national committee. Warner Miller, John Milholland and T. V. Powderly were among those who took part in the proceedings. ‘The president of the league, Mr. George Mathews of Buffalo, spoke of Mr. Hanna as one “under whose leadership the forces of honesty and American!sm have won the greatest victory what the people of this country have known since Appomattox.” In response Mr. Hanna zaid: “I wish that I had time to give to you workers something of the details of the last campaign. You in the eas:, except those who have been at work in the field, can know but little about the work in the western states and beyond, and therefore can judge properly what this battle has been. I have been more than gratitied since coming to New York to hear the sind ex- pressions on all sides. Of course, it touches a man’s vanity, and it did mine. 3 went deeper than that; it has touch: heart; and when I 1 faces ‘around me I begi that every man in this room } side of honest government and, in i forts put forth in this great campaixa, among many, has been a patriot, and nc more so than the members of the Me Kinley League of the state of New York. I desire to make use of this opportunity, then, to thank yoa from my heart for your tion, and to hope that as ae the lines of your work in the future that you will be guided entirely by those patriotic feelings, and do what- ever is best for the good of our party and | our country, without regard to personali-4 ties. I judge a man’s patriotism by the sacrifices he has made. Let that be your motto under whatever banner you work for the future, and you will find in me a siead- fast frierd.” Many States Carried for McKinley Did Not Vote for Him at St. Louis. It now and then happens that the stat that are to elect a President have very littie to say in the nomination of the man to lead them to victory. Considerable in- terest is being manifested over the fact that the states that elected Mr. sicKinley on Tuesday gave him but 34: votes he received in the conve: nominated him. It will be remembered the delegates from the southcrn states fell into line for MeKinley on the first atiot, which nominated him. New York 2 votes for Morton, Iowa to Alli while Reel got 29 from Massachusetts, from Maine an] seat- tering votes € h to make a te of 84%. Quay go: 58 of Pennsylvania's 64 votes. There were es in the convention, so t carried for him on little more than o 1 of the whcle number. The balance of the 6614 votes he received were given by states that were carried for Bryan and free silver. —---____. Senator Palmer Wan Elected. From the St. Louis Glove-Democrat. Senator John M. Palmer was elected sur- veyor of Sangamon county. He did not seek the office and did not know he was a candidate. All the same he has, on the face of the returns, been elected to that pcsition. Somehow all the party conven- tions forgot to name candidates for county surveyor.. The emoluments of the office are nominal, which probably accounts for the fact that none of the politicians thought abcut it. The duties of the post are not irksome and some people think they are of i no importance, but the office exists, and its incumbent may at any time be called upon to exercise its functions. The space was left blank on the ticket and a number of voters wrote in the name of “John M. Pal- mer.” No one else was voted for, and hence General Palmer is elected. — Conan Doyle's Protest. Dr. A. Conan Doyle writes to the London Times this morning imploring that paper's powerful intercession in behalf of Mrs. Walter M. Castle. “If there is any doubt of moral responsi- bility,” writes Dr. Doyle, “the benefit of the doubt should certainly be given to one whose sex and position as a visitor among us give her a double claim to our consider- | ation. It is to the consulting room and not to the cell that she should be sent.” —_——-+. Whereabouts of the Dauntless. The Three.Friends, which was. seized Saturday night by the revenue cutter Boutwell, under orders from Washington, came up to Jacksonville, Fla., Sunday morning. The™general charge is a viola- tion of the neutrality laws, but a specific charge has not been made, so that it is not known why the boat was seized. It has been reported that when the Dauntless left Fernandina Saturday it took on a filibus- tering expedition off Cumberland sound, but this is also unfounded,as the Dauntless proceeded directly to Brunswick, where it now is. ——__-e+__ Envelopes in the Junk Shop. The democratic congressional commitice had a great quantity of manilla envelopes for sending out documents left over after the closing of the campaign, and .these have found their way into a junk shop cf the city to be turned over to tne paper mills, ‘The committee sent out so many of its speeches in bulk that it did not usc the envelopes it had ordered for the purpose «f mailing documents to individuals througn- out the country. This rendered useiess which were lay xave him a BAPTISTS TO MEET Columbia Association to Assemble Next Monday. ete eon LIST OF DELEGATES ALREADY CHOSEN aaa Program Arranged for the Three Days’ Sessions. ——— PAPERS TO BE READ The annual meeting of the Columbia As- sociation of Baptist Churches of the Dis- trict of Columbia is to begin next Monday evening and to last through Tuesday, Wed- nesday and Thursday. The convention Is to hold its sessions in the auditcrium of the B Street Baptist Church, and of which the Rev. J. J. Muir, D. D., ts pastor. It is ex- pected that this conference of the associa- tion will be well attended. Those churches which have elected representatives and the names of those selected are as follows: Calvary Church. Rev. Samuel H. Greene, pastor, including Kendall Church, Rev. Theron Outwater, assistant.—Revs. B. L. Whitman, D. D., G. M. P. King, D. D., J. M. Gregory, D. D., E. W. Bliss, J. Cham- bers, Messrs. E. B. Curtis, F. H. Stickney, L. R. Smith, A. L. Swartout, D. A. Cham- bers, Pierson H. Bristow, Dr. C. R. Dufour, Dr. D. 8S. Foster, David Haynes, John Boyd, Cc. C. Everett, S. W. Woodward, John F. Vinal, Prof. J. H. Gore, J. R. Mothershead, W. H. McKne B. F. Gebest, George H. Judd, G. T. Jones, A. P. Rider, T. Bray, J. E. Talbott, Mesdames S. H. Greene, W. M. King, F. W. Clemons, J. H. Grant and Misses M. M. Bartlett, M. Marshall and M. J. Hazzard. First Church, Rey. Chas. A. Stakel tor.—Prof. William A. Wilbur, Mrs. 8. Broadus, Moncure Burke, T. Eckels, Mrs. F. Fox, Dr. A. J. Huntington, Prof. F. Menefee, R. H. Martin, Prof. Otis T. | Mason, Prof. A. P. Montague, Charles W. Needham, Miss Flora Nichols, J. O'C. Bob- erts, Dr. George C. Samson and Edgar Speiden. E Street Church, Rev. J.J. Muir, D. D., pastor.—Will!am Fletcher, Deland, Boynton, Z. Richards, A. M. Clapy m F. Eaton, John Larcombe, E. T. wick. R. W. e Mrs. Rosa D. Sholes and Mrs. ( Fifth Church, Rev. D. D., pastor. Carter, Lloyd E neg ssford, J. L. Cox H W. Waple, s . Mrs. J. W. Waple, Mrs. W. F. Carter, Samuel Howison, C. Clinton James and John T. Nalls Metropolitan Church, Williams, D. D., pasto: vil Dr. John T. Laning, James S| min Vail, Jchn C. Witel, Mrs. Boynton, Miss Jennie M. Giliman, Mrs. Susie E. Hoofnagle, Mrs. Ermina J. Loud and Miss Sara C Wright. Grace Church, Rey. A. F. Ande} tor.—W. C. Weeden, A. C. Whitn 8. Lanning, Mrs. Sarah Van H. Horn, Mrs. Martha Weeden, Mrs. Florence Solger and Mrs. Sarah McC. Spofford. Anacostia, Rev. Hugh T. Stevenson, pas- Leech, Rev. George Bowman, Harlan, I. K. Davison, I. S. Carter and Miss Virgie King. Queenstown Church, R. R. West, } pastor.—J. B. Lord, nbush, W. F. Quac Lynch and Robbins, C. G. Mrs. C. G@. Lynch. Maryland Avenue Church, Rev. N..C. aylor, pastor.—W. S K . Mrs. Annie | A. Naylor, Edgar Speiden, jr. Mrs. Mary | E. Donohue and A. . Nowlin. onging to the as- tion of importance annual meeting wh jebated. The present officers of th tion, all of whom are elected ann as follows: years and will undoubted for the twentieth term. Th: is to be preached this year by psident Whitman of Columbian University. If from any reason he is unable to be present then it will be delivered by the Rev. A. F. Anderson, who ts the alternate. The program is as follows: Monday evening, opening session, 7:30 o'clock, anthem by the choir: association annual sermon called to order by the moderator, Rev. 8. H. Greene, D.D.; invocation by Rev. Geo. E. T. Stevenson: hymn, reading of Scrip- tures by Rev. GW. McCullough; hymn; prayer by Rev. A. F. Anderson: singing by the chotr; annual sermon by Rev. B. L. Whitman, president of Columbian Univer- ; prayer; hymn; partial report of com- ee on order of exercises and benedic- tion. Tuesday, 10:30 a.m., prayer “for the Spirit's guidance and blessings on our j meetings,” Rev. R. R. West, leader: 11 o'clock, association conven opening religious exercis for business; under the direc- tion of the moderaior: 11:10, reading of letters from the churches by S. M. Yeat- man; enrollment of delegates, election of officers, report of committee on order of exercises, reception of visiting brethren; 2:30, adjournment: 2 p.m., prayer for work in the District of Columbia, Rev, N. C. Neylor, leader; 2:30, report of executive board, report of treasurer, addresses, five minutes €ach, by the missionaries of the association, follow-d by general discus- sion; 4:30, adjournment; 7:30 p.m., devo- tional, prayer for missions at home and abroad, Rev. G. S. Williams, leader: 8 o'clock, report of committee on missions, Rev. J. J. Muir, leader: addresses, fifteen minutes each, by representatives of the systematic benevolent commission, _ the home mission board of the Southern Bap- tist convention, the Mjssionary Union, the foreign mission board of the Southern Bap- tist convention and the Home Mission So- ciety; discussion of reports: adjournment. Wednesday, 10 am., devotional, prayer for the temperance cause, Rev. Hugh T. Stevenson, leader; 10:30, reports of com- mittees, toial abstinence, Rev. R. R. West, chairman; Bible and tract distribution, Rev. E. Hez Swem, chairman: address by representatives of the American Bap- tist Publication Society; miscellaneous bus- iness and adjournment: 2 p.m., devotional prayer for our institutions of learning, Kev. W. A. Wilbur, leader; 2:80, report of edu- cational board, G. E. Truett, chairman; 8 o'clock, report’ of committee ‘on education, Rev. Charles A. Stakely, D.D., chairman; addresses by representatives of Columbian University and Wayland Seminary; dis- cussion of reports; 7:30, devotional, prayer for Sunday schools, R.A. Ford, leader; 8 report of committee on Sunday C. W. Needham, chairman; pro- gram as arranged by the Committee. ‘Thursday, 10 a.m., prayer for churches, Rev. C. C. Meador, leader: 10:30, reports of committtes; commilice to audit treas- urer’s report, commiti¢e to nominate new executive board, committe: on preacher and place of next meeting: 11 a.m., commit- tee on obituaries, Rev. W. 8. O. ‘Thomas, chairman; 11:40, report of the Woman's Baptist Missionary Associations; 112 for from the limited fund expended thou: of envelopes which had been paid by the committee. ——_-o-—______ Killed Wife, Then Himself. With their throats cut from ear to ear, William Hayes and his wife were found dead morning at 2120 Ridge ave- yesterday ¥,2 nue, Philadelphia. suppose Hayes first murdered his wife and then miscellaneous business, 12:30, adjourn. ment; 2 p.m., devotional prayer for general f religion, Rev. Theron Outwater, announcement of standing :45, report of the Baptist Home and the treasurer: 3:30, miscella- neous business; 4:30, adjournment; 7:30, devotional, prayer and praise service, Perey 8. Foster, leader; 8 —* a oo — mittee on young people's wi Shand, chairman; program as arranged by committee; adjournment at pleasure.