Evening Star Newspaper, December 31, 1907, Page 1

. WITH SUNDAY MORNING EDITION. Basiness Office, 11th Street and Pennsylvania Ave. Office: 3 Regent St., Londes, England. New York Office: Tribune Building. CBicago Office: First Netional Bank Building. Bter, wi the red. By mail ‘age prepaid: Defty, Sunday includes, one, month, 60 cents. ;, Sunday excepted, one month, 50 cents. Saturday Star, one year, $1. Sunday Star, one year, $1.50. AGREES WITH SFHATOR HALE Ex-Secretary of the Navy W. E. Chandler. BROWNSON’S CONTENTION Said to Be Thoroughly Sound and Correct. NO SURGEON SHOULD COMMAND Only Parallel to Present Proposition Was During the De Long Arctic. Expedition. Mr. William E. Chandler, formerly Secretary of the Navy, agrees with Senator Hale in regard to the present controversy between the line and staff of the navy over the assignment of a Naval surgeon to the command of the naval] hospita] ship Relief. In a recent interview Mr. Chandler said:. “I sup- pose if the President wants to assign a surgeon to command a hospital ship and directs that this be done it cannot be avoided. “On the other hand, I do not blame Kear Admiral Brownson for objecting to any such proposition. I think he did the proper thing in handing in his resignation to the President. Brownson’s Contention Sound. “In my judgment, the contention of Rear Admiral Brownson is thoroughly sound. Only line. officers of the navy should be intrusted with the command of the vessels of the navy. It is, in my opinion, a serious mistake to de- part from this custom by ordering a surgeon to such command, even the command of a hospital ship.- “Phere might, of course, arise emergen- cles under which the unbroken rule of the navy might be broken. Such emergency might occur during war times. I believe Rear Admiral Brownson is too fine an offi- cer to have resigned if such a thing were attempted during. a war-time emergency. But this hag all occurred in time of peace, and Rear Admiral Brownson was perfect- ly right m_resigning. “It is preposterous to think that a sur- geon should be placed in command of a hospital ship. It is entirely “beside the issué to explain that the ship to whieh the surgeon may .be ordered may have only a merchant crew and a sailing mas- ter. There. must be some one man in su- preme command ‘oi every vessel-that goes Conaimand of snip with i siling’ Master of, a ship with a Master vadef him 2iko, in supreme command? The cle thing \is preposterous. . Hospital ips. are not\more immune from ocean ales: than are battleships. it a hospital ship having a-gurgeon “in’ command” and navigated by a\sajling master were lost in # storm who ebuld be held responsible? be ties ai because he could de el geons |are not supposed to be navigators; not the sailing master, be- cause he would say he ‘took’ his orders we from the ship’g surgeon. Tgeons Command on Shore, Buf Not on Sea. \"I can co ceive of the propriety of ' plAcing doctérs in command of hospitals Z oyAshore, Put of no sound reason’ why iclans/should be placed in command of hospitals afloat. The nearest prece- dent. in my mind. to the proposition to place a officer in command of a navy; “occurred when former Engi- n-Chief Melville was put in com- fr of ome of the whaleboats that Capt. De Long sent out from the Jeanette she wi recked in June, 1881. De his life, took command it. Engineer Melville was e assigned by De Long to take command of the second, and Chipp was in charge ot the third. With the sailors in Mel- ville’s whaleboat was Lieut. Danenhower of the Havy, but his physical condition was from the arctic hardships that eps Placed Melville in command and Danenhower remained in t as a passenger. There were mcees of opinion between Danen- er and Melville over the course of the whaleboat. It has been said that Danenhower tried to take the command away from Melville and that Melville drew his revolver on the young Heuten- ant. This may or may not be true, but Melville remained in command. But that incident occurred during an arctic emer- gency. “One jnteresting phase of this contro- versy is the fact that two such good friends as the President and Rear Ad- miral Brownson should fal] out with one another. The President is certainly un- fortunate in having so many friends who differ with him.” ———_>—___ FARMAN FLIES AGAIN. Record Performance of His Aero- plane in Paris. PARIS, Dec. 31.—Henry Farman with his flying machine accomplished yester- | 5 day the unprecedented feat of flying a kilometer in a closed circle without once touching the earth. He will attempt to- morrow to repeat the achievement in the presence of a commission from ,the Aero Club. and if he succeeds he will win the $10,000 Archdeacon prize. Yesterday's flight was the first made by Farman for a month. During this time he was engaged in making various {m- provements. The principal of these con- sisted in covering the entire framework with canvas. He handled the machine today as easily as one ever handles an automobile. After_a preliminary flight of half a mile. Farman measured a closed kilo- meter and told a friend he was willing to make a friendly bet he could land at the point of departure. The machine left the ground almost instantly, and maintained a distance of ten feet from the ground throughout the kilometer. Far- man landed at the exact point whence he started. After the flight Farman said: “Now I have the machine: all that is necessary is to perfect myself in the art of flying.” —_>____- GEORGIA STAYED STAID. No Celebrating on Eve of Prohibi- tion Cloture. ATLANTA, Ga., December 31.—The last day of the year and’ the last day of the liquor traffic jn the state of Georgia found conditions practically normal’ in-the city, with no reports of excesses fro: outside points. At 10 o'clock tonight every saloon in-the city will its doors per- manently, or until the prohibition .act- is repealed, -unjess injunction - proceedings. being considered in the United States 2 aisdcaie the enforcement of the ‘There was some fear that the last-day before. Hquor was banished would find some excessive “celebrating.” Conferences were by the liquor in- terests last night and today to consider possible court proceedings, but no an- nouncement was made, No. 17,264. Foening BLEW UP THE BOURSE Rome Stock Exchange Shat- tered by Explosion. 18 MEN BURIED IN RUINS Business Section of the City in a State of Panic. MAY BE WORK OF SPECULATORS Thought It Was Intended to Inter- rupt the Monthly Settlement. Rescue Parties Busy. od ROME, December 3$1—A -dynamite bomb exploded in the stock exchange of this city today. Up to the present time it has been ascertained that elght- een persons were wounded. Some of the injured are buried under portions of the building which had collapsed. Firemen, policemen and troops have been hurried to the scene, and are now en- gaged in calming the excitement and conducting the work of rescue. Big Roof Collapsed. It is supposed that the bomb was thrown with the intention of preventing the cus- tomary end-of-the-month liquidation. The roof of the courtyard of the exchange col- lapsed with the force of the explosion. The explosion ogcurred shortly before 4 o'clock. The stock exchange is situated in the center of the city. The people in the vicinity of the building were thrown into a state of consternation. The ex- plosion was followed at once by cries of desperation from within the exchange. Panic Outside. A crowd numbering several thousand began to congregate outside the building. As soon as the police and troops arrived they took charge of all the approaches. The fear of other outrages suddenly pos- sessed the throng and the people broke and fled. In the mad rush there was great danger to life and limb. Doctors.on the Scene. The stock exchange building is closed by a large iron gate. This was at once swung to and helped to the maintenance of rela- tive order inside the exchange. Ambulance and doctors have been sum- moned, and are busily at work caring for the. wounded. as they are brought out. What the total casualties will be it is as yet impossible to. say, nor has it yet been | positively determined what was the pur- pose of the author of the outrage. Building an Art Treasure. The stock exchange of Rome is situated in ‘one of the finest ancient remains of the city, the Temple of Neptune, and on the south side of the Piazza di Pietra. The temple was built by Hadrian, and is notable for eleven magnificent columns BAD HABITS DRANG. CamnnG SMOWING SMTARING in the Corinthian style, of white marble, each one forty feet high. The center por- tico was built by Agrippa. The roof of the exchange was partly supported by these famous columns: They were assem- bled for this purpose by Pope Innocent xi. —_——_—_—_ TAFT OFF FOR MILLBURY. Secretary Shows No Sign of Fatigue From Yesterday. Specia] Dispatch to The Star. BOSTONy December 31.—Expressing pleasure at the enthusiastic manner in which he was received here, and show- ing no sign of fatigue as a result of his strenuous program of yesterday, Secretary Taft left Boston for Millbury at 9:20 a.m. today. At Millbury he will spend several hours with his aunt, who is a resident there, and thence will proceed direct to Provi- dence, where he will take the Federal ex- press for Washington at 9:07 tonight. Mr. Taft was accompanied to the Trinity place station by Mr. Carr, his Boston host, who was the only one present to see him off. On the train, however, he joined Edward C. Mansfield, executive secretary of the republican s:ate comets: who accom- yorcester. Pale eansficld, although he will be out of politics theoretical'y after 12 o'clock, when he ceases to be secretary of the state committee and becomes postmaster, fs still tehing an active interest in Mr. Taft's boom as the representative of Sen- ator Lodge, and his visit to Worcester 1s part of a plan to bring the War Secre- tary into touch with certain Worcester politicians who are expected to do him ood. ‘The train on which Mr. Taft left Boston does not stop at Millbury, so the Secre- tary had to go to Worcester and from there -make connections for Millbury. He will have some time between trains, and this time, it is said, he will devote to strictly campaign purposes. When Mr. Taft's secretary wrote to Secretary Wol- cott of the merchants’ association, some time ago, he intimated that Mr. Taft ex- pected to have a conference with certain prominent business men in Providence on his way to Washington. Thjs Mr. Taft denied this morning. “J do not expect to see any one in Providence,” he said. “I do not know what time the train from Millbury reaches there, but I shall probably have very lit- tle time in Providence. There are some friends there that I would like to visit, but time will not permit. No conference has been-arranged.” vice MAY RELEASE MacLEAN. Raisuli Said to Have Made Satis- factory Terms. Special Cablegram to The Star. LONDON, December 31.—A firm of gun- smiths at the West End received today a letter from Kaid Sir Harry MacLean, in- timating that he was expecting, when he wrote the letter, to be in Tangier in three or four days, $ MacLean was captured by Raisuli on July 3 and has been in h‘s hands ever since.. A dispatch on December 13 said that he would soon be released, as the British government had guaranteed that Raisuli should receive a ransom of $100,- 000, protection for himself and his fam- ily, and the release of thirteen of his tribesmen then in prison. MSR See a Count Tolstoi Injured. St. PETERSBURG. December 31.—News has reached here that Count Leo Toljstoi was thrown by @ stumbling horse and sus- tained a dislocated shoulder. In spite of his advancéd age, the count is making a rapid recovery. | THE CHOICE OF EVILS ON: NEW YEAR EVE, WASHINGTON, D.. C., TUESDAY, DECEMBER 31, 1907.-SIXTEEN PAGES. BISHOP ANDREWS IS DEAD PASSING OF A NOTED FIGURE IN THE METHODIST CHURCH. General Breakdown: Followed ‘a Se- vere Cold Taken in San Fran- cisco Last October. NEW. ‘YORK, December 81.—Bishop Edward G. Andrews of the Methodist Episcopal Church died at his home in Brooklyn at 5 o'clock this morning. Death had been expected since yesterday, when the physicians in attendance gave up all hope. Bishop Andrews, who was eighty-two years old, contracted a severe cold while attending the bishops’ conference and the Bishop Edward G. Andrews. meetings of the home and foreign mission boards of his church at San Francisco last October. He never fully recovered and a general breakdown followed. Bish- op Andrews for nearly half a century was one of the most widely known clergy- men in the United States. At his bedside this morning were three of his four surviving children Mr. H. C. M. Ingraham, Miss Grace Andrews and Edward Andrews of Birmingham, Ala., as well as a number of grandchildren. The bishop had been unconscious for twenty- four hours when he died. Parents Notable Methodists. Bishop Andrews was born August 7, 1825, at New Hartford, Oneida county, N. Y. He was one of ten brothers and sis- ters, of whom four survive him. Both his father and mother were notable Meth- odists and the choice of a profession for the young man fell naturally upon the ministry, which he entered in 1844, while stil a student at Wesleyan College. In 1847 he was graduated from that institu- tion and immediately allied himselt with the United Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church. Soon after he was ap- pointed to the Morrisville circuit in- New York and he served successivelly in Ham- ilton, Cooperstown and Stockbridge. He became a teacher in 1854 at what is now known as the Central New York Confer- ence, Seminary, but which was then called simply the Oneida Seminary, the next year going to Mansfield, Ohio, as the principal of a woman’s'college there. He returned to the Oneida school at Case- novia the following fall to take the posi- tion of principal. From 1864 to 1866 he was stationed at Stamford, Conn., after which he went to Brooklyn, where he remained continuous- ly until hjis.death. In Brooklyn he was the pastor in turn of the Sands Street Cuurch, St. John’s’ Church and the Sey- enth Avenue Church. It was while he was acting as pastor of the last named that he was ordained a bishop, in 1872. Bishop Andrews was married August 7. 1851, to Miss Susanna M. Hotchkiss of Cheshire; Conn., by whom he had. five cbildren, the oldest of whom, Eva, died in infancy. All the others,,three daugh- ters and a son, are still living. He was twice singled out for. the dis- tinction of honorary in his life- time. On the first occasion, in 1863, Genesee: College made him a doctor of divinity, and, in’ 1881 Allegheny College ‘created him a «octor of laws. He was likewise a trustee in many institutions, chief of which was Wesleyan College. Traveled Much Abroad. UP FOR REVENGE —_—— BLOWN - In 1876 he visited missions in Europe|HONEYMOON SPOILED BY FOR- and India for one year, In 1881 he visit- ed the missions. of Mexico and spent the entire year inthe work for‘their advance- ment. He investigated the missionary fields in Japan, Korea and China in 1880- 90. Since that time he bas resided in New York. He was: elected and served as a delegate to the English and Irish Methodist Churches in 18%. He was<¢chosen~bishop i 1872 and in 1904 was relieved of many duties and placed. on the retired list.. His active interest in the administration of the affairs of the church did nét cease with his retirement, however, and he continued to take an important part in its councils until. the last. MRS. YOUNG'S “DEATH” DENIES INDIGNANTLY THAT SHE WAS MURDERED. Special Dispatch to The Star. NEW YORK, December 31.—The story built up by Mrs. Hattie Hull in identify- ing the body of the woman found in the Lampblack swamp at Harrison, N. J., as that of ‘her friend, Mrs. Agnes Young, was shattered here today when Mrs. Agnes A. Young, Mrs. Hull's acquaint- ance, issued a statement in denial. Mrs. Young is at present employed in the branch office of Wood, Harmon & Co., real estate operators at 315 Madison ave- nue, this city. She has worked there as an‘accountant since July 15. Her home is'at-Harmon on the Hudson. When Mrs. Yonug reached the office this morning she was very much perturbed. She consulted with the manager of: the office.and then dictated this statement: “I -was assistant accountant at the Ho- tel. Ansonia and knew Mrs. Hull and be- friended her, but have not seen her for the past two years. Any other statements concerning me are absolutely false. “AGNES YOUNG.” She said she never knew a man of the name of Charles Meyers. According to Mrs. Hull's story a man of the name of Meyers was with Mrs. Young when Mrs. Hull saw her in the Pennsylvania depot in Jersey City on Christmas day. Will Confront Mrs. Hull. As soon as Judge Branigan of ‘Harrison heard that Mrs. Young was at the Madi- son avenue office he called her up on the telephone. Mrs. Young repeated to him her statement that she must be the wom- an whom Mrs. Hull had tn mind. Judge Branigan said he would ike to have Mrs, Young go to Harrison to #epeat her denial in the presence of Mrs. Hult, who was de- tained by the police after she told her queer yarn. After talking with Mrs. Young over the telephone Judge Branig.n said: “I am convinced that the Mrs. Young with whom I talked is the same woman whom this romancing youngster men- tioned. I asked her about the Ansonia, and she answered all the questions readily and correctly. She tells me that she knows Mrs. Hull, but has not seen her for two years. I asked her to come to Harrison to confront Mrs. Hull, but she said that she did not feel equal to it just now.” Foolish, Romantic Girl. ‘When inquiry was made at the real es- tate office Mrs. Young, it was said, had gone to her home. It was said that she was much distressed over the story told by Mrs. Hull and that she would take a few days’ rest. No person in the office would discuss the case. All declared that for them the statement of Mrs. Young was sufficient. Mrs. F. W. Lange of 7 West 102d street, the address given by Mrs. Hull when she went to Harrison yesterday, was in- dignant today when she read the story. She said that Mrs. Hull had lived there about two years ago, at the time of her marriage, but that. she had not seen her in a long while. She said that Mrs. Hull, who is only seventeen years of age, was a romancing girl, given to the reading of trashy novels and: fond of -having herself talked. about. At 85 West 104th street, where Mrs. Hull had a room with a. Mrs. Dewes, it was ‘also said that the girl spent much of her time reading books shale would tend to give her romantic Mrs. Catherine Hunter of 808 L street northwest, Washington, who at first feared the dead woman.was her sister, was ad-/here vised to the contrary today by: telegraph. Her sister hag been ill in°a hospital in New York city. iy. “MER SUITOR. WWhole House Wrecked, Ten People Burned and, Strangely. Enough, No One Injured. | Speciat-Dispatch to The Star. | NEW YORK, December 31—Ten per- j Sons Were buried under the wreckage of a house practically blown to pieces early today at 308 East 149th street. They were dug out by.the police and, strange to say, none was seriously injured. The bomb was evidently planted and timed to go off after the man who set had had ample time to get away. . Joseph Re, a fish peddler; his wife, son and married daughter, Mrs. Marie Botti- sano, occupied the first floor of the house, a two-story frame. On the other floor lived John Sinnabaldi and his wife and four children. The two families were asleep at 2:30 o'clock, when the blast let go. : Trapped in Their Bed. The whole front of the house was torn away. Mrs. Bottisano was in the rear room. <A door from the front room was blown from its hinges and fell on her as she lay in bed. Plastering, parts of the frame of the housee and furniture were hurled over the sleepers. The Sinnabaldi family found themselveg unable to get out of their rooms, for on their floor the bomb had tangled up chairs and tables and plastering in a mass that | covered the beds of the six. They yelled for help and waited, as did the Res. Policemen came and went into the dwell- ing. They had trouble getting to the Res, for while the doors were blown off, their frames were jammed and part of the ceiling was hanging down. But the Police got in and helped the family out. The stairs to Sinnabaldi’s rooms were wrecked, but the police got up, and -after unt ing the debris led the frightened family to the street. There was apparently no “Black Hand’ in this outrage, for none.of the tenants had been threatened. The police suspect ‘@ disappointed lover of Mrs. Bottisano, who was married recently, and are look- ing for him. —— DISPLEASED TAFT’S MANAGER. Mr. Vorys Says He Made No Over- tures to Senator Dick. Special Dispatch to The Star. COLUMBUS, Ohio, December 31.—Man- ager Vorys of the Taft interests was dis- Pleased with publications yesterday to the effect that he had made overtures to Senator Dick for the conference which was held here Saturday night. He explaine: that Senator Dick had been consulted in regard to the call for the state conven- tion, not as an opponent of Secretary Taft or as representative of any faction, but as the chairman of the state executive committee. “It is not likely that any further confer- ence will be held with Senator Dick,” said Vorys, “‘and if there is it will be of the senator’s seeking. All the matters that we wished to confer with him about have been discussed and his wishes are known.” It is believed that the meeting of the state central committee to be held here Thursday at 1 p.m. will not be marked by any considerable friction. The Taft leaders have complete contro! of it, and the friends of Senator Foraker admit that ‘the committee w Il do anything that the Taft leaders ask it to do. To start a fight would only afford the Taft men.an op- portunity to show in a public way their hold on, the te machine, and it would probably te a degree of control not warranted, by the popular sentiment. R. B. Brown of Zanesville, former na- tional comm spend of tbe G. A.R., anda strong r rep in, has announced his candidacy for Congress in the fifteenth district nst Re} ive Dawes, whe has Sern S: clared for Taft.. It means & ht there, which will be fought tn connec! the del ‘ion with the selection of jegates. D. Q. Hildebrandt of the sixth,’ Senator Foraker’s old home, declared for Taft Yast . This a et sur prise to the Fo! leaders, -~’ he had Deen counted for ker. The district is claimed by, the Foraker leaders, S +e obs 4 {meritea-punishment, Like-tearus,” ; burnt his self-made wings and fe. ‘TWO CENTS. Weather. | Fair’ tonight -and~ tomorrow, Colder tonight. MOLTKE 1S VINDICATED Claim of the Prosecution in. the Harden Suit. SCORES EDITOR SEVERELY Intimates the Kaiser Called’ Him a Poisonous Snake, i STATE'S ATTORNEY UNMOVED | + | Says He Was Threatened With ‘Death if the Verdict Was Not Favorable to the Prisoner. BERLIN, December 31.-The hearing of the Harden-von Moltke libel sult was resumed here this morning. At the open- ing of the session the judge questioned | Count Kuno von Moltke as to whether he had resigned from the army as a result of the articles published by Harden in Die Zukunft. The count responded em-} phatically in the affirmative, The state's attorney, Dr. Isenbiel, then opened the pleadings and demanded the imposition of a sentence of four months’ imprisonment against Harden. He de- clared that Harden had assumed that there existed near the person of the em- peror a group of men whose influence was detrimental to the interests of the fatherland and which he felt himself called upon to disperse. Irresponsible Witnesses. Among the members of this group were Prince Philip Zu Eulenburg and Kuno von Moltke. Harden attacked these two men, and founding his accusation upon the mere word of an hysterical woman, Mrs. von Elbe, the former wife of von Moltke, and upon statements made by her mother, Mrs./von Heyden, who was quite untrust- worthy, he declared them to be possessed of abnormal tendencies. Letter Threatened Death. Continuing, Dr. Isenb{fel said: ‘Count Von Moltke, who has been covered with filth by Harden, leaves this court com- pletely cleared; he is without stain,‘a no- bleman from head to foot. Prince Zu Eulenburg is equally vindicated. “I do not know what the emperor said to Count Von Moltke, but ue probably told him: ‘Go, von Moltke, and clear yourself; stamp on this poisonous snake.’ Dr. Isenbiel, referring to Harden’s mo- tives, said he believed his articles had been actuated, as always, by purely polit- ica} purposes,, but.in this instance he had injured the fatherland and he, thesefore, haa. into a sea Of lies. In conclusion the state’s attorney said he. had received a letter threatening him with death ifthe verdict of the wart was unfavorable to Harden. He felt obliged to cali attention to this letter, but he laughed at the threat. Kaiser Uninfluenced. Dr. Sello, counsel for Count von Moltke, then made a brief address in which he said Harden had permitted himself to be pe.sudded into a regrettable act, and pictured von Moltke as a man of an ex- tremely gentle and sympathetic nature. Count von Moltke then spoke in his own behalf. He said he |! discarded his army uniform ‘because he did not want it besmirched. He denied that any political group or camarilla existed near the per- son of the emperor. The only group in the entourage of his majesty, the count declared, was the imperial family circle, which was loved and honored throughout the land. Apologist for Harden. Herr Bernstein, attorney for the de- fense, reviewed all the incidents of both trials. He said that allowance should be made for Harden because of the public services he had rendered during his ca- reer. Harden, the attorney declared, had no reason to doubt the word of Mrs. von Elbe; and he was impressed by Prince von Bismarck's statements concerning the Liebenberger incident and the. testimony of Prof. Schweninger regarding von Moltke. The passages of the articles in question, Herr Bernstein continued, ‘had been given a false meaning by detaching them from the general context. Harden had merely told the truth, and for this he must suffer. In conclusion the attorney protested against imprisonment for his client, The court then adjourned until next Thursday, when Harden will be heard in his own defense. ——————_—__——_ CALEB POWERS’ TRIAL. Lawyers Bombarding Jury With Fi Their Oratory. Special Dispatch to The Star. LEXINGTON, Ky., December 31.—Yes- terday at the Caleb Powers trial in Georgetown, Samuel M. Wilson, for the defense, and Judge Ben G. Williams for the prosecution, were rivals. Taday Judge J. C. Sims and,Victor F. Bradley are bat- tling. Women and men and children of all sorts and conditions in life crowd the big courtroom almost to suffocation. Judge J. C. Sims of Bowling Green, who offered his services to Powers, is making the first address today. He began by re- viewing some of the phases of the re- rkable case. He pointed out that it would have been almost impossible for Powers to have entered into a conspiracy with these men, for they were not his kind. Sims said that not a scintilla of evidence had been introduced to show that Powers was connected in any way with the murder. “Instead of this,” the speak- er said, “Powers has been proved inno- cent, and to do your duty, gentlemen of the jury, you must acquit him.” Judge Sims then made a plea for the life of Powers, so he could again begin where he left off eight years ago. It was inted out that Youtsey is the man who led Goebel and not Powers. Judge Ben G. Williams, in making the opening spech for the prosecution, made a one. He made many pathetic allusions to the murdered Goebel. Judge Williams closed by saying: “‘True, Powers has been in a prison cell for eight years, but. before he went behind the bars he put ./ilMam Goebel in his grave. Let not politics sway your-minds. I recall that the republican party lost a Garfield and a Lincoln and a McKinley by assagsi- nation, and it is for you, gentlemen of thé jury, not to allow a miscreant like Caleb Powers to sully the name of that party by indulging in a murder like this and chen go unpunished.” bs + Victor F. Bradiey, who will speak this afternodn, is not so @ ‘speaker ‘as Judge ‘Williams, but he can make a strong argument. : : Tomorrow Maj. W. C: Owens will make the -closing ‘address: for the defense and Commonwealth’s Attorney Franklin will for several ; Who has not con SITUATION REVIEWED Controller of Currency Ridgely on the Panic. THE WORLD OVERTRADING All. Business Men Must Bear. Somé Part of Blame. WHY -FEW BANK FAILURES Most of Them Held Over Full-er Legal Minimum of Reserves. William B. Ridgely, controller of the currency, today gave The Star an Inter- esting review of the financial situation. He has been thick in the trouble from the beginning. This is what he says: “The financial panic In the year 1007 will doubtless cause many business men always to remember the year with feel- ings of repentance or regret. It by no means follows, however, that we should look forward to 1908 with forebodings or fear. We have had our panic, but it is over, certainly as far as its acute stages concern us, and will soon be only a matter of history. If we are to judge from the past, we can at least be sure we are not likely to have another in 1008. If there is any periodicity in such matters, the period is fortunately of much longer duration than one single year. “The conditions which made this crisis possible are the accumulated composite results of many years of business. The whole world has been overtrading and expanding and nowhere has it been more rampant than in the United States. The reaction was inevitable, and though. it might not have taken the form of a bank panic had we been better prepared with such a banking and currency sys- tem as we should have, the time had come when some or all must pay for our overindulgence. Locating the Blame. “It is imposstble to exactly locate the blame and say just who should bear it. ‘Let the man who is without sin cast the first stone.’ There is no one in any way connected with any business who has not in some way contributed to the expan- sion. It-is not necessary to have specu+ lated in stock, cotton, grain or in real es- tate. Who is there, however, who has not bought stock or beads in some en- larged undertaking, either personally or as a@ director or trustee; has not enlarged his business, increased his expenses, or made some investment based on the con- fident expectation that business would continue with the activi eS hows re past? I kno’ one fp ited “t6 the general condi in. = 2 cone thins. ¢ we ere all now in the same boat, and must endure the after results of the panic, and we are all vitally. interested in mitigating itq ef fects and‘ recovering from it as as possible,.leaving the minimum of per- manent result. “On no one does this duty fall so direct- ly as on the banks. By their partial stis- pension of payments and their disarrange> ment. of the machinery of domestic ex- changes and remittances, necessary though they may have been, they first brought the effects of the business reac- tion to bear on their customers and on the business public. It is their duty to re- store business to normal conditions by re- suming their functions as promptly and as fully as possible. Fortunately there is not only the strongest desire and dispos!- tion on the part of the banks to do this, but conditions are such as to make it comparatively easy, and to lead us to ex- pect a much more prompt recovery than has followed other similar financial crises. The striking feature of the panic of 1007 is that, sudden and severe as it was, the troyble with the banks has not been worse and the failures more numerous and wide- read. . “From October 20 to December 30, 1907, there have been but sixteen suspensions or failures of national banks. these two have resumed and several more should do so in the very near future. “Contrast this with the panic of 1893, when 160 national banks failed, and of thes2 54 were never reopened. The total number of national bank failure~ for 1907 is 21, and this number has been exceeded many times in years when we have had nothing which could be called a panic. The banks have therefore stood the strain of the last few weeks better than ever before, and they are in better condition January 1, 1908, than they ever were after such a crisis. The reports of condition of the national banks show that from August 22 to December 3 individual deposits de- creased but $142,000,000, or about 3% per cent, while the decrease in cash on hand was but $40,000,000, and the increase in pills payable and rediscounts was about Legal es. The forty reserve cities show 24.72 per cent of legal reserve, or almost the full legal mfnimum, while their total cash means are 26.55 per cent of their deposits. Of the forty cities twenty-one show legal reserves above 25 per cent, while ten of them show over 30 per cent of legal re- serve, and all but eight of them show more than 25 per cent of total cash means. The largest reserves are in the Texas cities, Galveston and San Antonio showing over 88 per cent of legal reserve, and Galveston over 48 per cent of total cash means. “The returns as tabulated by states are also significant and reassuring as to the general conditions. There is not one state which does not show an excess of reserve above legal requirements of 15 per cent. and an increase fn legal reserve and total cash means Decemver 3 above those held on August 22. “In the subdivision by states the Pacific states show the largest legal reserve of 22.298 per cent, wh:le the western’ states Forel the largest cash means, 32.11 per cént. The most important significance of these figures is that the readjustment of bank reserves has taken place with so few bank failures. Although the central reserve cities have received gold throygh imports and otherwise, cer- tainly as. much as $150,000,000, probahny considerably more, it has been paid out and their reserves paid down to 22.2 per cent without the failure of a single bank in-one of the central reserve cities. “Since December 3 the central reserves have steadily increased and the ..sappear- ance of any premium on currency in the last few days shows that the strain is re- Heved. Most of the reserve cities are up to their legal requirements, many of them far above jt, and the country banks as a whole are in the same condition. Consid- ering what we have gone through with, this’ is a very satisfactory showing. We have had°e@ very severe bank panic. .[t might,. however, have .been worse and would have been much worse but for the aid. given by the Treasury tment and some of the leading financial men of the ‘country. . \ Credit Due to a Few Men. “It. will probably never bé@. known how much credit is due to a few men who fur- nished vast sums of money and supplied close the arguments. The jury will-ha ly begin deliberating before Thursday morning. * credit from. their enormous resources, in the patriotic effort to stop the panic ang 4