Grand Rapids Herald-Review Newspaper, May 6, 1899, Page 3

} ' THEY CRY ENOUGH] THE INSURGENTS MAKE OVER- TURES FOR PEACE, “geuinaldo Takes What Is Regarded us the First Step Towards Sur- rendering—End of the Insurrec- tion Believed to B eNear—Two insurgent Officers Arrive at Ma- nila to Negotiate With Gen. Otis for an Armistice — Everybody Praising the Volanteers — Won- derfal Achievements of Col. Funston Come In for Much Praise Washington, April 30.—The end of the Filipino insurrection is in sight in the opinion of army and navy of- fic . A telegram received from Gen. Otis announced that Aguinaldo had taken what is regarded as the first step toward surrendering—name- questing a cessation of hostili- Secretary Alger said, as the de- partment closed, that while it could not be said that peace was assured, he regarded the prospects as the br Ps and felt confident that the end of the insurrection was near. To his mind there would be a repetition of the negotiations which were had before Santiago. -The secretary left Washington t night for a ten days’ the West, and it gave him tion to leave affairs in such promising shape. Everybody is ng the volunteers, a marked e in the sentiment expressed 4 ago when it was under- the same men were plead- trip in great sat few da stood that ing to be brought home. Col. Funston me in for the most commendation, oven the regular officers taking note with admiration of the fact that his evements were all strictly within e line laid down for him by his su- pcerior officer, Gen. Wheaton, Medals for Volunteers. Gen. Corbin said that every yolun- who participated in the fighting in the Philippines since peace was de- clared should have a medal of honor. By the terms of their enlistments they re entitled to withdraw from the », but they had remained vyol- performing more than was of them, which was more ordinary duty of a soldier. that to-morrow there ions with the ent repr While the s exp t our commission not hold out terms so severe as to to a renewal of the fighting or rawal of the insurgents to shold further north, it t Otis must exercise r ke sure they do not in bad aith ta advantage of the opportuni- ty afforded 1 1 Suspension to secure y come to them approaching rainy is ex] 1 be further whatever of benefit m from the rapidly said at the navy department it the developments of the day ake it improbable that the Iowa will Manila according to the amme. In view of the in China, however, the in fleet on the Asiatic station kept at a high standard. be sent to ARRIVE AT MANILA. Vilipino Officers Escorted to Otis’ Office. ila, April 30. — The Filipino of- s walked down the railroad track isas regiment’s outpost at yesterday’ morning. The 1in in command there es- -d them to Gen. Wheaton’s head- Gen. fic to the K 9 o'clock , Where they were provided es and sent to Gen. MacAr- *s headquarters. The latter in- i the Filipinos to sit down and with used, vely on . referring F h with him, and converse for some time. He to speak author ching this place a p. m. nide, Lieut. Sladen, was a al at the depot a ‘age, in which they were to the palace entrance. The ‘rs attracted much at- were dressed in uni- and white cloth They carried no side arm They were escorted di- rectly to the office of G Ja- m B. Schurman pr ppine commission, and Hon. rles Denby, a member of the com- soon joined the party there. of the arrival of Filipino of- y a flag of truce spread through the city rapidly, and many of- fice gravitated to the corridors of while a crowd of natives Ww f and wore the palace, thered in the square opposite the palace. YORKTOWN’S MEN ALIVE. Being Held Priscners by the Insurgents. , April 30.—The insurgents at nate that they have the missing from the gunboat Yorktown and holding them as prisoners. Are Ma are INSPECTOR OF TEA. even Is Recommend- ppointment. April 30.—Collector of Cus- Peterson has announced the rec- ommendation of Archibald D. Steven for the temporary appointment as tea spector in the new tea inspection of- Paul. The recommendation sent to the secretary of the for approval. The appoint- ment will be for a short time only, as the regulations of the office require that the inspector be appointed from the civil service list. > in St s been Demand More Wages. R. 1, April 30. — The jropn ers’ union declares that a strike will certainly begin next Mon- day in the four foundries of this city ss their request for a new scale of ¥v is granted, The employers seem equally determined. Fears for a Steamer. Washington, April 30.—Grave fears are entertained for the safety of the steamer Kanawha, Capt. Evans, which sailed from Newport News on+ March 29 for Bermuda, ANOTHER VICTIM, legro Preacher Hung by a Mob in Georgia, Palmetto, Ga., April 26—The body of Lige Strickland, the negro preacher who was implicated in the Cranford murder by Sam Hose, was found swinging to the limbs of a persim- mon tree within a mile and a quarter of this place early yesterday morning. Before death was allowed to end the sufferings of the negro his ears were cut off and the small finger of his left hand was severed at the second joint. These trophies were in Palmetto yes- terday. On the chest of the negro was a scrap of bloodstained note paper attached with an ordinary pin. On one side of this paper was written: “New York Journal—We must protect our ladies, 23-99." The other side of the paper contained a warning to the negroes of the neighborhood. It read as follows: “Beware all darkies. You will be treated the same way.” Before being finally lynched Strick- land was given a chance to confess to the misdeeds of which the mob sup- posed him to be guilty, but he pro- tested his innocence until the end, Three times-the noose was placed around his\neck and the negro was drawn up off the ground, three times he was let down with warnings that death was in store for him should he fail to confess his complicity in the Cranford murder. Three times Strick- land proclaimed his innocence until weary of useless torturing the mob pulled on their rope and tied the end around the slender trunk of the per- simmon tree. Not a shot was fired by the mob. Strickland was strangled to death. The lynching of Lige Strick- land was not accomplished without a deeper effort on the part of his em- ployer to save his life. The man who pleaded for the negro is Maj. W. W. ‘Thomas, an ex-state senator, and one of the most prominent citizens of Coweta county. He did not discontinue his efforts until he had been assured by the leaders of the mob that the ne- gro would be taken to jail at Fairbury. One mile from where this promise was made Lige Strickland was hanged. The negro was a tenant on the planta- tion of M Thomas. When Sam Hose, the murderer of Alfred Cranford and the assailant of his wife, made his con- fession immediately prior to his burn- ing, he implicated Lige Strickland, Hose saying he had been offered money by Strickland to kill Cranford. It was known positively, however that Hose had made false statements in his last confession, and many of those who aided in his burning were disposed to disregard his statement in regard to Strickland. NO SHOW FOR DREYFUS, Under No Circumstances Will He Be Liberated, London, April 26. — David Christie Murray publishes this morning the statement that he has learned from trustworthy sources in Paris that the superior council of war, including Gen. de Negrier, Gen. Zurlinder, Gen. Gio- vanninelli, Gen. Duchesne and Gen. Jamont, its vice president, none of whom, except perhaps Gen. Zurlinden, has heretofore been implicated in the Dreyfus affair, has decided that under no circumstances whatever shall Drey- fus be liberated. He understands, also, from the same sources that negotiations are now pro- ceeding between the intelligence bu- reau and the judges of the court of cassation to secure a rejection of the request for revision, and that the judges who favor revision are being subjected to terrible intimidation. More than this, he learns that ev- erything has been arranged for a sham trial of Col. Piequart, who is to be de- graded and sentenced to imprisonment for ten years. ATTEMPTED JAIL DELIVERY. Bold Attempt to Liberate Robbers, Springfield, Mo., April 26. — A bold attempt was made here to release from county jail Jack Kennedy, Bill Ryan and Bill Shephard, who are held here pending trial for the recent train rob- bery on the Kansas Qity, Fort Scott & Memphis road, near Macomb, Mo. Just beforé 10 o'clock an unusual rack- et in the stables of the jail caused the oflicers to run out to the stables, Finding nothing amiss they returned and as they entered the jail both were covered with guns in the hands of masked men. Both showed fight, however, and after a sharp struggle put one of their assailants to flight and captured the other. Train DROPPED DEAD. Sudden Demise of Ex-Gov. Oglesby of Ilinots, Lincoln, Ill., April 26.—Former Gov. Richard J. Oglesby fell dead near this city at 1 o’clock yesterday afternoon. He had been in ill health for some time but the end was unexpected. Ex-Gov. Oglesby was born in Kentucky in 1$24, and migrated to Illinois in 1836. He was admitted to the bar in 1845. He served in the Mexican and Civil Wars, rising to the rank of major general. He served two terms as. governor of Illinois, one term in the United States senate, and retired to private life on ie beautiful estate near Elkhart in 1886. Spotted Fever Raging. Pana, lll. April 26.—Spotted fever fs raging to an alarming extent south of Nokomiss, Montgomery county, twelve miles west of Pana. Five deaths are reported in the family of J. T. McFar. rand. ‘The disease is under control. Rafting Works Open, Winona, Minn., April 26.—The raft- ing works of West Newton opened with a large crew of men. This log- ging company expects to raft about 200,000,000 feet this season. There is now on hand about 40,000,000 feet. Windsor Fire Verdict. New York, April 26. — The jury in the Windsor hotel fire inquest brought fn a verdict that the fire was caused by accident. The police have still $10,- 000 worth of unclaimed jewelry and other valuables recovered from the fire, The Mississippi on a Rampage. New Orleans, April 26.—A crevasse 4s reported at Bayou La Fourche, be- tween Lockport and Raceland. It is said to be 200 feet wide. Some of the finest sugar plantations in Southern Louisiana are located in the vicinity, { |, College has said that the business MONEY AND CREDITS. WARNER EXTINGUISHES BANKERS’ HERESIES. if Ninety-Nine Per Cent of the Business of the Country Is Done with Checks Then It Must He All in the Hands of One Per Cent of the People. It is doubtful if there is any error pertaining to monetary science that is at once so common and so misleading as that 90 or 95 per cent of the busi- ness of this country, or of any coun- try, is done without the use of money at all. This error has gained wide acceptance because it has been pro- mulgated by writers of eminence, both in this and other countries. For in- stance, Prof. Taussig of Harvard Col- stance. Prof. Taussig of Harvard done by credit devices was probably thirty times that done by money, and so eminent an authority as McLeod has said that 99 per cent of the busi- ness of England is done without money. The impression apparently in- tended to be conveyed by sueh state- ments is that as so large a part of all the business is done with credit de- vices and without money, money, after all, is of little importance in the trade of the world. And it may be asked if 95 or 99 per cent of the busi- ness of the world can be done without money, why the other 5 or 1 per eent cannot be done without money also, and thus do away with the use of money altogether? In the first place such statements are without any foun- dation in fact, and it is, astonishing that they should be made by such writers as Taussig and McLeod. For- tunately, however, we have approxi- mately exact data for determining, within close limits, the true propor-- tion of all transactions done in this country with credit and with money, and also the close and necessary rela- tion between money and that form of credit by which trade is carried on and transactions closed. The total volume of money in circulation in the United States Oct. 1, 1898, as stated in the treasurer’s report for that date, was $1,585,593,509. While the writer believes this to be an over-estimate, especially as to gold, it may be ac- cepted for the purpose of this paper as substantially correct; or, for con- venience of round numbers, let it be taken as $1,550,000,000. The total de- posits in 9,815 banks of all kinds in the United States June 30, 1895, was $4,900,440,670; of these deposits, $552,- 363,398 was money, the rest being bank credits. That is, the $552,363,398 of actual money was expanded by the addition of bank credits, done by writing credits in the books of cus- tomers of the banks, to $4,900,440,670. Again, for convenience of round num- bers, we will make the deposits $4,- 900,000,000 and the cash reserve $550,- 000,000. But as we have counted the $550,000,000 once, as part of the money volume of $1,550,000,000, and again as deposits, we must deduct it from the deposits, in order to get at the true proportion of work done by money and bank credits. Let it be under- stood at this point that by one of these two agencies, actual money and bank credits in the form of deposits subject to check, all transactions of every nature and kind involving pay- ment im money are liquidated. There is nothing outside. Checks and drafts are not money, but they are orders to pay money, or to transfer deposits and thereby to close transactions. Checks and drafts make possible our modern system of bank credits, which so largely take the piace of the old bank note. We have, then, as the true volume of money and credit, by means of which all commercial trans- actions are carried on, and all woney obligations of every description, liqui- dated—actual money, $1,550,000,000; bank credits, $4,350,000,000; or a total of $5,900,000,000. The per cent of each being—actual money, 28 per cent; bank credits, 72 per cent. If bank credits and money each perform the same amount of work, dollar for do!- lar, we would have in these percent- ages the true proportion of work done by each, and in that event, instead of the proportion done by credit in this country being 95 or 99 per cent of the whole, it would be only 72 er cent. But it cannot be claimed—cr, if claimed, cannot be maintained for a moment—that ban* credits are as effi- cient or do the same work, dollar for dollar, as actual money. The money part of the entire volume of credit and money is never extinguished, and that part of it outside of the banks and in the hands of the -people is passing constantly up and down the country, doing the every-day werk of trade. It pays the wages of labor, and, in a large measure, for the trans- portation of passengers and freight on railways and steamboats; does most of the retail trade and works con- stantly; while bank credits are extin- guished with every transaction and must be recreated by new deposits. Moreover, a considerable part of the deposits included in the above are not subject to check without notice, and consequently are rather investments than money of any kind. When, therefore, the relative efficiency of money and bank credits are taken into account, as they must be, it is doubt- ful if even 50 per cent of the transac- tions is done by means of bank cred- its than in any other country. But if 50 per cent, or even more than that, of the business of this country is done by means of bank credits, it does not follow that there is not a close and necessary relation between the yolume of bank credits and the reserve of cash upon which it rests. The total cash reserve on which the $4,900,000,- 000 of deposits is based is $550,000,000. In other words, this is all the cash banks had on the date named, with which to pay the $4,900,000,000 en- tered on the books of depositors. It is plain that if at any time the whole $550,000,000 should be drawn out, the entire fabric of bank credits would, for the time being, be extinguished; for there would be nothing to pay checks with. Indeed, in the panic of 1893 the lawful money reserves of the banks went down to $289,244,850, and none of the great metropolitan banks would or could pay on anybody’s checks any considerable sums in cash. To haye kept the proper proportion between cash reserves and deposits, the deposits ought to have been cut down to $2,500,000,000, which was im- possible by any process. To have sud- denly called on depositors indebted to the banks for 10 per cent of the amount required to restore this pro- portion would have produced bank- Tupts by the thousand. It is right here, in this relation to bank credits to actual money, that the instability of the credit system lies. It is here that all panics begin. France never has such panics, because the propor- tion of money t® bank credits is so large that there is never any danger of a collapse of credit. Who can doubt, if in our system bank credits were reduced by, say $500,000,000, and the money part of the entire volume of money and credit increased by $500,- 000,000, but that the system would be far safer. Indeed, we never will have a stable money system until some method is devised for enlarging, on the one hand, the proportion of actual money, and on the other restricting the proportion of pure credit. Cer- tainly, it would not be deemed safe for a moment to increase the propor- tion of credit without regard to lawful money reserves, and hence a certain definite relation must be preserved be- tween money and credit devices which take the place of or supplement money. There must, then, be some recognized proportion between primary money, or money of ultimate redemption, and forms of money made dependent for redemption on the volume of primary money, and some safe proportion be- tween lawful money of all “kinds and bank credits. When, therefore, the primary money, the foundation of all, is contracted, safety requires that the entire superstructure of money and bank credits based upon it should be reduced in the proportion necessary to maintain the previous relation of one to the other. That is, if with $500,- 000,000 of primary money, $1,000,000,- 000 of other money and $4,000,000,000 of bank credits, be deemed a safe pro- portion; then, if for the same popu- lation the primary money be con- tracted to $400,000,000, in order to maintain the same safe relation, the other money should be reduced to $800,000,000 and bank credits to $3,- 200,000,000, which would be an enor- mous contraction and would send prices rapidly down, . Contractions of this kind, and even much greater, have taken place in this century at different periods, involving the loss of millions and the ruin of thousands. If the entire volume of currency con- sisted of primary money, then, if there was a shrinkage of $100,000,000 by ex- portation, the effect on prices would be very slight, and, hence the larger the proportions of primary and full legal tender money, the greater the stability of the whole structure. It ought, at any rate, to be clear to every one who looks into the question that the notion that prices can be main- tained and business done by credit alone, without money, are mere delu- sions. The volume of money deter- mines at last the volume of bank credits that can be safely maintained upon it, and the whole, the efficiency of each being duly equaled, determines prices. A. J. WARNER. Dr. H. W. Thomas on the Outlook. The century is going out in much the same way that it came in. The hates, contentions, almost wars and fights of that time between the whigs and the tories are being re-enacted to- day. As the century nears its close we are coming back to the Hamiltonian times, though under different circum- stances. Now it is the aristocracy of money that is seeking to rule—money in the hands of a few. It is either to be evolution or rev- olution in this land. We have men of great acquisitive power and executive ability, who have built up their wealth until to-day the sources of wealth are in the hands of the few. And not only the sources of wealth. but the means of transportation—the railroads —and they are seeking to control leg- islation. Big things are eating up the little things. The solution lies in co-operation or some form of mutualism by which the people will share in the products of machinery. Unless this is done ours will soon be a country of hired men and women. If white men can’t live in coal mines on starvation wages the owners of the mines send and get negroes, who can live on less, for a time at least. If governmert does not control corporations and trusts, they will control government. We ought to have postal savings banks, but we won’t get them without a hard fight. The city ought to own the gas plants and the street railways. What harm could there be-if.we did own them? It would make us beiter men and women—better citizens.”— Dr. Thomas, at People’s University Club in Handel Hall. - Hatching Candidates in Ohio. Washington Post: The Ohio guber- natorial incubator is kept at the prop- er temperature and hardly a day passes put a new batch of chicks is turned out. : WHO ARE THE REPUDIATORS? “Out of their own mouths shall they be condemned.” —_. The appended preamble and resolu- tions were introduced in a Republican senate by Stanly Matthews on the 6th day of January, 1877, and passed that body a few days later by a majority of three to one, John Sherman voting with the majority. It then went to a Democratic house, and passed that body om the 25th of January, by a majority of two to one: “Whereas, By the act entitled ‘an act to strengthen the public credit,’ approved March 18, 1869, it was pro- vided and declared that the faith of the United States was thereby sol- emnly pledged to the payment in coin, or its equivalent, of all the interest- bearing obligations of the United States, except im cases where the law authorizing the issue of such obliga~ tions had expressly provided that the Same might be paid in lawful money or other currency than. geld or silver; and, “Whereas, All the bonds of the United ‘States authorized to: be issued by the act entitled ‘wm act to author- ize the refunding of the national debt,’ approved July 14, 1870, by the terms of said act were declared’ to be: re+ deemable in the coin of the then pres ent standard of value; bearing inter- est, payable semi-annually in. such: coin; and, “Whereas, All bonds of the United’ States authorized to be’ issued under the act entitled. ‘an act. to provide: for the resumption of specie’ payments,’ approved Jan, 14, 1875,, are required! to be of the description: of bonds. of the United States described in: the said act of congress approved July 14,. 1870, entitled ‘an act to authorize: the re+ funding of the national: debt’;. and, “Whereas, At the date:of thie passage of said act of congress.last aforesaid— to-wit, the 14th day of July, 1870— the coin of the United. States of stand- ard value of that date: included silver dollars of the weight: of. 412% grains each, declared by the act. approved Jan. 18, 1837, entitled’ ‘an act. supple- mentary to the act. entitled “an act establishing a mint and regulating the coins of the United States,”’ to be legal tender of payments, according to their nominal value, for any sums whatever; therefore, “Resolved, by the senate—the house of representatives concurring therein —That all of the bonds of the United States issued, or authorized! to be is- sued, under said acts of congress here- inbefore recited, are payable, principal and interest, at the option of’ the gov- ernment of the United States, in sil- ver dollars of the coinage of the United States, containing 412% grains each of standard silver; and that to»restore to its coinage such silver coins’ as a legal tender in payment of said bonds, principal and interest, is not. in viola- tion of the public faith, nor in deroga- tion of the rights of the public cred- itor.” Who was Stanly Matthews? some younger men may ask. Stanly Mat- thews was a cousin of President Hayes; was, at this time, senator from Ohio, and was in close touch with the leaders of the party, and as well qual- ified as any to voice the sentiments and policy of the party, as is evidenced by the majority which his. resolutions received. For this and other services to his party, Garfield afterward made him chief justice of the United States. At the date at which these were passed silver was still demonetized and had already started on its down- ward course, a dollar being worth 87 cents—its demonetization in ’73 hav- ing been discovered the year before. By this preamble and resolution both of the great parties served notice on the creditors of the government that in issuing coin bonds the nation had reserved the option of paying them in either gold or silver, and that that option would be maintained and en- forced, whichever of the two great par- ties might be in power, and regardless of the depths to: which the value of sitver might sink. These fully ex- plain the immediate and) paramount reason why silver’ was remonetized eighteen days later—Feb. 12—and, at the same time; the remonetization so soon afterward’ emphasizes: the: signifi- cance of the preamble and resolution. When taken together, they simply say: “We are going to pay you in silver, and so we will remonetize it and get ready. Then mark the significance of the language: “To pay you in silver, though it is only worth 87 eents to the dollar, ‘is not in violation of the public faith nor in derogation of the rights of the public ereditor:”” It is doubtful if any Democrat has, in equally terse and emphatic terms, ex- pressed the right to this option by the government, and certainly none have so entirely disregarded the value of the dollar, for there is no intimation here of restoring the value of the silver dol- lar before paying the bonds with it. Who aré the repudiators? Dogs Better Than Humanity. When I see love lavished upon dogs, dogs pampered by mothers and sis- ters, while nurses take care of the ba- pies; dogs riding through our parks in royal state, while in our tenements children by the hundreds die in un- speakable agony or grow up starved into crime or neglected into sin; when I see the aristocratic spirit of many of our churches, a spirit that cannot touch the poor with gloves, I feel the need of that prayer, “Thy kingdom come.”—Rev. Madison C. Peters, Michigan still has 276,176 acres of land subject to homestead entry, WORK OF THE STORM At Kirkville, Mo., Half of the Resi- dences and Office Buildings Were Demolished, Two Hundred Fami- lies Are Homeless and More Than Thirty Dead Bodies and Seventy Injured Persons Have Been Re- covered From the Ruins—Many Are Still Missing—Some Days Be- fore the Total Number ef Victims Ia Known. Kirksville, Mo., April 30.—As a re- sult of the tornado that swept through the eastern portion of this city Thurs- day evening, demolishing half ofthe residences and office buildings, two hundred families are homeless and more than thirty dead bodies and sev- enty injured persons have been Tre- covered from the ruins. More than a dozen of the injured will die. Al- though rescuers have been searching the ruins ever since the storm spent its foree, many are still missing, and it is thought that a considerable num- Ber of the unfortunates were con- sumed im the flames that broke out soom after the storm had ceased. The work ef rescue continues, but it may be days before the total number of victims is kwown. The tornado struck the city while most of the residents were at supper, cutting a clean path ene mile long and 600 feet wide through the residemee section and Teaving deatl» and destruction in its wake. Buildings were demolished or twisted apart and scattered to the four witds, A conservative estimate places the aggregate amount of dam- age at $200,000, individwal losses, rang- ing from $100 to $8,000. Oviginated im Nebraska. St. Louis, April 30. — Aecording to tte best information the storm wliich caused to mucl loss of life and destruction of property in Northern Missouri originated in Nebraska. Its course was southwest through West- ern Iowa to the Missouri state line, thence througl Harrison, Grundy, Sullivan, Linn, Macon, Shelby and Marion counties, north and west through Lewis, Knox,. Adair, Sullivan and Putnam counties. When the storm retraced its course it was al- most parallel with, the other track traversed, and it was then that Kirks- ville and Newtown were struck. As far as known Kirksville, Newtown and . Lancaster,. Mo:,. are the oniy towns that felt the fuil! foree ef the storm. Distress: and’ Desolntion. Chillicothe, Mo., April 30.—Scenes of utter distress and desolation were pictured yesterday in tlie little torna- do-swept burg” of \Newtown, forty miles from here on the St. Paul road. A day of ceaseless searcli among the ruins and work for the injured and suffering followed a night of gloom and despair. Fifty families are home- less, there are about fifteen dead and over thirty injured, while half of the place is in ruins. A complete list of casualties will not be known for sev- eral days. . Seattered! by the: Cyotene. Lancaster, Mo:, April’ 30.—A great many articles of wearing apparel, papers and pieces of jewelry bearing the names of Kirksville persons, were found strewn over the eastern part of this county. They were blown from Kirksville, twenty-five miles, by the tornado. Among other things was a $100 note. GOMEZ’S ATTITUDE. Causes. a Bively Contnowersy at Havana, Havana, April 30.—The: attitude of Gen. Gomez toward the “intervening power,” as he calls the United States, causes a lively coutroversy among pol- iticians here, and even among his friends. La Discussion and El Recon- centrado treat him as an ally of the United States and refer to himt as a “traitor and the curse of Cuban inde- pendence.” La Lucha and La Patria view him as a consistent leader of the Cuban people. From time to time copies: of his private correspondence, embodying allusions to public busi- ness: are supplied to the press and af- ford material for speculation and ar- gument regarding his real position and intentions. For instance, one of the papers publishes extracts from a let- ter: Gomez recently wrote to Roldolfo Mendez of Merida, Yueatan, in the course of which he said: “My energy,. my strength and all my prestige I am giving here in my de- votion to the cause of independence for this heroic country, and I devote myself especially to the labor in con- eert with the provisional government which attends and serves the coun- Ls eg A member of his household has giv- en the following explanation of the position of Gomez: “Of course, Gen. Gomez continues to favor, as he always has favored, ulti- mate independence, but he considers a period of American control as a logi- eal preparation for that independence. Therefore, he wishes to co-operate with the Americans without reserva- tion in’ disbanding the troops and in quicting and reconstructing the coun- try. He eannot tell how long this period sha?l be, but he would shortly have issued a statement declaring his formal support of the American pro- visional e¢ontrol if the recent severe attacks upon his views had not been made.” ‘The report that Gen, Gomez is draw- ing up a proposal fpr the organization of Cuban militia is not verified by him. : Destroyed by Fire. Atwood, Kan., April 30.—The main part of the business portion of St. Francis was destroyed by fire. Thir- teen business buildings were de stroyed. Cause of fire unknown, At- terney Finley was badly burned. Pape gO, Te ts st Peking, April 30. — st gcod authority that most of the pean drilling instrvetors in the nese army have been dismissed. dowager empress will diseard, as as possible, all foreign ald. f