Grand Rapids Herald-Review Newspaper, October 20, 1900, Page 3

-. Dews of the Northwest BLAZE AT OSHKOSH| FIRE DESTROYS ABOUD $300,000 . WORTH OF PROPERTY, Ie vied in the Sawmill District and in Three Hoars Had Spread Over i aun Area of Nine Acres— Destroyed Was Mostly Lumber Stock — Din perty aond Match Company a Heavy Loser—All the Losses Are Fully Covered by In- sur, —Fire Spread With Great Rapi Oshk ire broke out nd in three yed nerrly $300,000 worth »stly lumber stock. The ran area of nine acres. in the hours it of detail are as follows: , lum- ; Dia- con- 1,000 hops and ware- several small are fully covered by in- fatch company had be- 100,000 feet of match at from $25 to $35 is was nearly all de- ! rted in the dressed lumber i of the Hollister-Ames company and ad with rem: ble rapidity through- ser yard, The Hollister-Ames at $80,000, as fol- actory plank, $54,- s at $3,000; dressed lumber, $5,000; flooring, $3,000; 1,200,000 feet common lumber, $15,000. me block as the Diamond 2 Challoners' Son's of between $15,000 ),000, their wood pattern shops and ll store buildings, in which machines and shingle The wind blew west and would have entire plant, but at a critical the wind changed and blew in an- ection, so that the foundry was phe sawmill of the Hollister-Ames nber company was saved, being across the yard. The mill is and the fire will not affect its opera ate gives the loss on prop- royed at $170,000, divided as fol- Hollister, Amos & Co., $80,000; M h company, $75,000; the S loners’ Sons company, $155,- 000. » loss is about fully covered by insurance. STATION BURNED. Central's Buildings at Booge, S. D.. a Loss. Sioux Falls, 8. D., Oct. 18.—Fire de- stroyed the Illinois Central station at ast of here, causing a loss of e arrival of the regular Chi- ago pa mger train here was de- layed by the fire warping the track. Allinois Jerome Hoot’s Trial Is Fixed. Charles City, Iowa, Oct. 18.—Nov. 7 is the ¢ assigned by Judge Blair for the trial of Jerome Hoot at Water- The case is one of the most im- ant and interesting that has ever tried in. Blackhawk county The defendant is indicted om cwo serious charges—assault with in-~ tent to commit murder, and the +hrowing or depositing dynamite into an inhabited dwelling. loo. court Thresher Burned. Montevideo, Minn., Oct. 18.—During a high wind the separator belonging to Thomas Ludwig, threshing three nertheast of this place, was The fire caught from sparks the ashes where the engine had tood, as that had been removed. ¥ loss is about $900, with no insur- miles burned, Low Land Inundated. Dubuque, Towa, Oct. 18—The Mis- ppi is within eight inches of the rer line, an extraordinary height s time of the year. The low near the city are overflowed, nundated and large quantities wood swept, away. nded Her Own Life. Minn., Oct. 18.—Mrs. Fs s found hanging by a eet in the cellar of the residence W. Smith, her son-in-law, at arden, Iowa. She was the wife of John Sundine, who died here three years ago. Sara Decision Goes to Matthews. Detroit, Oct. 18. — Matty Matthews of New York and Rube Ferns of falo met here for the second time the welter-weight, championship, and after fifteen rounds Matthews re- ceived the decision. Irresponsible Horse Thieves. th, Wis., Oct. 18.—Two horse ave been arrested here with- in the past two days. When put on trial both were di ged as being of an irresponsible turn of mind, Death at a Crossing. Fort Dodge, Iowa, Oct. 18—J. Q. ef Lehigh met with a severe nt at Ta He was struck by 2 train and his injuries obably prove fatal. Boy Accidentally Shot. Falls, Minn., Oct. 18.—Henry the twelve-year-old son of Jo- h Sha, was shot through the hips home in the town of Orevell d in a few minutes, He was ith a loaded gun. Gray Accepts. Washington, Oct. 18. — Ex-Senator Gray of. Delaware, who has been ap- pointed a member of The Hague in- ational court of arbitration, called presideat and accepted the POISON FROM SILK SOCK. Senator Davis Gets Ielief from Sur- sical Operation. St. Paul, Oct. 18—As a result of a surgical operation performed Senator Cushman K. Davis, who has _ been confined to his room for several weeks suffering from blood poisoning, is rap- idly improving. About six weeks ago, while in Maine, Senator Davis re- ceived two slight abrasions of the skin on the right foot and ankle. The dye ‘in a silk stocking is supposed to have come in contact with the raw places. The foot became slightly swollen and painful, but Mr. Davis paid no attention to it, ascribing the trouble tc a corn. The swelling and pain gredually increased until about a month ago. While at Duluth Sena- tor Davis was obliged to cancel his engagements and return to St. Paul. MINE IS CUT IN TWO. Boundary Line at Mount Baker Passes Through Gold Basin. Vancouver, B. ¢., Oct. 18.—The Can- adian survey of the disputed interna- tional boundary line at Mount Baker v completed late’Saturday and the off ls employed therein have ar- rived here. Surveyor Dean says that all the valuable mines in the best mineral belt are in American terri- tory, but Canada is given about a mile extra territory, instead of two miles originally claimed by the Cana- dians. The gold basin, however, has been found to be in a peculiar posi- tion. Its tunnel is said to be cut in half by the boundary line, leaving half of the mine, which is one of the very richest in the district, on the American side and the other portion on the Canadian side, but which is the golden section of the mine is not related. FRANCHISE TAX VALID. Holdings of Washington Courts on Westera Union Case. Spokane, Oct. 18. — Judge Richard- sor of the state supreme court has handed down a decision holding valid the city, county and state taxes on the Western Union franchise. This is the first time the matter has been passed upon by a court. Ranchman Killed. Helena, Mont., Oct. 18. — Charles Hoff, a ranchman living in Sunlight Basin, Wyo., was killed a few’ miles south of Réd Lodge in Carbon county. He was driving a powerful team, which became’ frightered and jumped over an irrigating ditch, throwing and dragging him several hundred yards over stcnes. His skull was crushed and he died in a few hours. He was a well-known ranchman. Entire Crew Drowned. St. John’s, N. B., Oct. 18. — The St. Pierre schooner Fiona drifted ashore in Fortune bay during the recent gale and her entire crew of twenty men were drowned. The schooner is a total loss. The schooners Amelia, Rosebud and Angler, with crews ag- gregating 18 men, were jlost. The schooner Huntress is ashore on the Labrador coast. Five of her crew were drowned. Plague of Insects. Charles City, Iowa, Oct. 18. — This city is infested by millions of small bugs. The tiny insect is of a, harm- less nature, but causes great annoy- ance by getting into the food and srawling on the person. It is seldom the small black bug with red wings ever bothers the inhabitants of this vicinity, but this fall they seem to be innumerable and are causing no end of vexaticn. Brothers Quarrel and Shoot. Sioux City, Iowa, Oct. 18.—Charles White shot his older brother, Frank White, in a row over a family feud. They are sons of Capt. Edwin White, a prominent stockman and farmer living near Linn Grove, Iowa. Frank was shot through the leg and a six- year-old girl whom he held in his The arms, was shot in the breast. child wil! probably die. Charles is in hiding. Judge Under Arvest. Colfax, Wash., Oct. 18.—Judge Will- iam McDonald, of the superior court of this county, was placed under ar- rest on two warrants charging him with attempted subornation of per- jury. .The complaints were sworn to by J. E. Nessly, a newspaper cor- respondent, who charges ‘that Mc- Donald, in 1898, tried to induce two meu to charge him with crime. Ungrateful Prisoner. Hayward, Wis., Oct. 18. — One of Sheriff Clark’s prisoners broke jail, stole his team and buggy, fired the barn and skipped for parts unknown. The barn was a complete loss, with} considerable feed, hay and a cow. The prisoner was a mere boy who was in for stealing from the Indian res- arvation. Officers are in pursuit. Improper Use of Mails. Waterloo, Iowa, Oct. 18.—Dr. Long- necker, a physician of Dayton, was convicted in the United States court here of using the United States mails for improper purposes. Sentence was reserved. The limit of punishment is a fine of $5,000 or irhprisonment for five years, or both. Game Confiseated. Chippewa Falls, Wis., Oct. 18. — Game Warden Stone confiscated a large number of partridges on an Omaha train. The consignment was shipped to a butcher in Eau Claire and was unaccompanied by the owner, hence the violation of the law. Sparta Machine Man Bankrupt. La Crosse, Wis., Oct. 18. — L, M. Stevens, a Sparta machine man, filed a petition. in bankruptcy in court here with liabilities $3,138.70 and as- sets, $115. Earthquakes in Alaska. Seattle, Wash., Oct. 18.—Advices re- ceived here from Kodiak, Alaska, tells of a series of earthquakes which were felt in that place on Oct. 9. Much damage was done to property but only one life was lost so far as exn he ascertained at present. \ Meena ee, econ iatoa erie) It now appears that Captain Van Sant did not have his memory with him when he forgot to vote on the bill agai nst blacklisting and the other labor bills and the bill to provide for elevators and a number of other bills in which the pecple Were interested. He had left his memory for safekeeping with certain corporations and syndicates. And Van not to blame. feels that ‘under the circumstances he is STATE Efficient Management of Pris- on Twine Plant Under Governor Lind. A Financial Success in Spite of the Opposition of the Trust. Cost of Grain Inspection—Su- gar Trust Tribute. Prosperity. In no department of the State has the excellent business Governor Lind been more apparent than in the management of the State twine plant. This twine plant is of the greatest importance to the farm- ers of the State. If it were not for this twine plant, the farmers of Min- nesota would be at the mercy of the Twine Trust, as they are in other States where the trust charges the most exorbitant prices at its own free will, even as much as 16 cents per pound. As long as the state twine plant continues to manufacture twine and sell it at a reasonable price, the Twine Trust will be forced to sell their prod- uct to the farmers of the State at the same price, but as soon as the State twine plant were to shut down the Twine Trust could raise prices to any extent and would do so immediately. The State twine plant is a business undertaking, and as such it is liable to the same conditions as every other business. Every business man knows that he will make great profit if he can buy when the price is low, and sell after the market has risen and the price is high; but if he has to pur- chase when the price is high and sell at a low price after the market has fallen, he does remarkably well if he comes out without loss. It is also well known that trusts and combines have the power to raise and cut prices and manipulate the market so as to ruin undesirable com- petition. Many a business man and many.a manufacturing concern has been ruined of late years by just such practices The fibre, the raw material from which the twine is made, has to be bought at some time in the winter or spring. The market for this fibre is entirely controlled by the Hemp Fibre Trust in New York. This trust has absolute control of the price of the fibre. There is no other concern in the Unted States from which the fibre can be obtained, and whatever price the trust asks, has to be paid. Dur- ing the winter and spring, when the raw material for the twine plant had to be bought, this trust raised the price of the fibre as high as 8% cents per pound. It was claimed that this advance in price was due to the war in the Philip- pines, from which the greater part of this fibre. is imported, but it is more than likely that it was “secret con- spiracy” between the Twine Trust and the Fibre Trust to ruin all indepen- dent twine factories like the State Prison Twine Plant, and force them out of business. The price which the Fibre Trust asked was exorbitant, but this was the only source from which the fibre could be secured. Governor Lind did in- deed send Judge Canty to Manila to obtain the fibre directly from the growers,,but it was too late to accom- plish anything for that season. In this connection it is well to notice that twine can be made of both hard and soft fiber., The hard fiber has to be imported and is under the control of the trust, The soft fiber can be se- cured right here in Minnesota. At one time the prison plant had machinery for making twine from this soft fiber grown here in the state. This machin- ery had cost many thousand dollars, but the Republican administration some years ago threw out this soft fiber machinery and thus limited the | prison plant to the hard = ba led by the trust. — ae ce was necessary for the stato prison twine plant to purchase the fiber even juagment of; jat that exorbitant price and manufac- ture the twine. If this had not been done the Twine Trust would have had the market all to itself without com- petition and would have bled the farm- er to a finish; and if it had not been for the excellent management of the State Twine Plant there is no doubt that the farmers would have been obliged to pay prices that would have madé them see stars of several magni- tudes. It was also necessary to put in sufficient stock of material to meet the demand of at least an average crop. Of course, nobody could tell before- hand whether the crop was going to be big or small, and if the State Twine Plant had put in an insufficient stock this would have soon been sold out in ease of a big crop, and then the farm- er would have been at the mercy of the Twine Trust. Moreover, all through the spring the prospects were for a big crop, until the | drought set in in May and June. | It was necessary to lay in a good stock of fiber, the amount necessary for an average crop, and that had to be | mor for at several cents per pound more than the average price of the year_before. When harvest came and the time for selling the twine made from this fiber was at hand, the trust cut the price of 4twine comparatively far below the price paid by the state plant for the | raw material. Now this is the method ! ordinarily pursued by a trust to ruin an undesirable competitor and thou- sands of manufacturing concerns have been driven to the wall of late years in this same manner. It is due entirely to Governor Lind’s excellent business management that jthe trust failed in this attack upon i the state twine plant. It is due entire- ‘ly to his excellent judgment that the | farmers of the state were protected from the rapacious greed of the trust. Under former Republican adminis- trations it has been the practice to } sell the product of the prison twine | plant to the dealers, and while the dealers obtained the benefit .of low prices the consumers practically de- rived no benefit. Under Gov. Lind’s administration this has been changed and the twine is sold directly to the consumers. In spite of the high price paid by the state plant for the raw material, there was no twine of the same quality and character as that manufactured by the state prison board, sold at a price low- er than that received for the product of the state plant. The trust failed to undersell the state plant and yet the prison twine plant netted a profit of $16,000 to the state. It was the purpose of the trust to make the state twine plant a failure from a business standpoint and to dis- -eredit it in the eyes of the people, and thus get a pretext for having it shut down. The farmers have had some experience in this line in Kansas, where the Populists put in a. prison twine plant and operated it until the Republicans got hold of it and scuttled it, and ever since then the farmers of that state have been paying from 14% to 1634 cents per pound for their twine. That the twine trust is working to have the state twine plant shut down or operated in such a way as not to inter- fere with their interest is unquestion- able. It is now up to the farmers to decide whether they consider their in- terests safer in the hands of a man like John Lind, whose record proves him to be the defender of the rights of the people, or whether they will intrust them to a man like Van Sant, whose record as a dodger shows that he is bound hand and foot to the in- terests of combines, trusts and syndi- cates. It is up to the farmers now to deter- mine whether their interests are safer in the hands of the party, whose car- dinal doctrine is opposition to trusts and unjust and unlawful combinations, or whether they will prefer to intrust them to the hands of that party which, on being asked to legislate against trusts, will answer in the words of its leader, Mark Hanna,, “What do you avant? You must be dreaming! There’ are, no trusts!” COST OF GRAIN INSPECTION. The following statement by Chief Grain Inspector Reishus was received at the Reform Press Bureau: . October 4 a member of the Pioneer Press reportorial staff came to this | office and asked permission to exam- _ine certain records and files. On be- what use he intended to e e information he sought, he said: “I just want to see how your pay roll compares with that of your predecessor in the point of num- ber of men employed, salaries paid, etc. I am not here to give you the worst of it; I assure you I will write the facts as I find them of record in your office, and don’t care a- straw who is hurt.” I saia: “If you will write the facts as you find them, there is not a record in this office—large or small—nor a scrap of paper that I will not assist you to examine, but Iam well satisfied your labor in this direction will be in vain; it will be a sheer waste of time as far as you are concerned. Not one word or figure of what you find here will be published in the Pioneer Press, but to convince yourself, go ahead, I am at your serv- ice and will stay with you the entire day, if necessary. How much do you want and where will we begin? How far do you care to go back? Do you want to take a whole year, a month or a day?” He said: “Let us take the last month of your predecessor and the corresponding month of your administration and see what we find.” So we went at it and this is what we found, AND IT WAS NOT PUB- LISHED IN THE PIONEER PRESS: Men. Expense. July 1899 General Office 11 $1,262.50 , “ 1900 General Office 8 886.40 MINNEAPOLIS. “1899 Inspection 39, 3,510.83 “1900 Inspection 32 2,862.99 “« 1899 Weighing 57 4,413.86 “1900 Weighing 54 4,036.34 “1899 Registration 1 125.00 “1900 Registration 1 125.00 DULUTH. “1899 Inspection 27 2,662.38 “1900 Inspection 25 2,388.12 “1899 Weighing 39 3,044.03 “ 1900 Weighing “ 40 3,198.56 “ 1899 Registration 2 200.00 “ 1900 Registration 2 200.00 ST. CLOUD. “ 1899 Inspection 1 100.00 “1900 Inspection 1 100.00 The following is an extract from pages 4 and 5 of the annual report of Mr. Reishus, the chief inspector of grain, for the crop year ending August 31, 1899, and will be found interesting and timely: “On November 30, 1896, there was standing to the credit of the grain in- spection department the sum of $123,- 268.54, the largest surplus in the his- tory of the department. Inspection and weighing fees were thereupon reduced from twenty-five cents a car to fifteen cents. On August 31, 1899, one month after I came. into office, this surplus stood reduced to $21,236.10, a shrink- age of $102,032.44 in thirty-two months. In other words, during the last thirty-one months of the admin- istration of my _ predecessor, the finances of the department, with a fif- teen cent inspection fee in force, ran behind about $100,000. “Attention is called to this fact in order that the grain growers and the grain trade may appreciate and under- stand the necessity of restoring the in- spection fee to the former rate of twen- ty-five cents per car. “The cost of administering the de- partment has not increased; indeed, the changes made have been in the di- rection of economy. “The increased rate was necessitated simply by the plain and bald fact, as shown by the books of my predecessor during the last two and one-half years of his administration, that the con- tinuance of the fifteen cent inspection fee would speedily reduce the depart- ment to bankruptcy. “Additional reason for increase in the fee, if other reason were required, lies in the act ef the last legislature in creating the board of grain appeals, which calls for a further drain of about $86,660 a year upon the fund of the depastment. Had the cost of main- taining this board been entailed upon the department during the two and one-half years the fifteen cent inspec- tion fee was in force, the department resources would have run behind $150,- 000 instead of $100,000, and on coming into office at the beginning of the present crop year, I would have found a deficit of about $30,000 confronting me, instead of the small surplus which remained. “Therefore the business-like admin- istration of the department, indeed, the maintenance of the entire state grain and warehouse system, not to mention the support of the new board of grain appeals, demanded the restor- ation of the fees for inspection and weighing. “Moreover, the law requires that the department shall be self-supporting, and that the expenses of the adminis- tration shall be borne by the shippers” f grain, without throwing any addi- tional burden upon. the general tax- payer. This requirement of law and good business sense, in the light of the $100,000 shrinkage in department resources, which awaited my entrance into office, and the prospect of the ad- ditional requirement of $20,000 a year for the appeal board, allowed no al- ternative but an increase in fees, as all grain shippers will agree. “For the conyenience of your hon- orable commission and the informa- tion of the general public, I herewith append a financial statement of the earnings, expenditures and fees of the department for the past seven crop years, 1893-1899, inclusive.” F “This statement shows that when- ever a fifteen cent inspection fee has been in force the department fund has run behind at the rate of $25,000 to $50,000 per year, and that in 1893 it lost $37,000 even with a twenty-cent per car fee for inspection and weighing. The aggregate gain under a twenty-five cent fee during the three crop years, 1895, 1896, 1897, appears to have been about $77,500, or at the rate of not quite $26,000 per annum. “With an additional burden of $20,- 000 a year to support the appeal board, therefore, the twenty-five cent fee for inspection and weighing is about what is required to maintain the department on a business footing.” Minnesota friends view with very great pride, the records of ovations everywhere tendered Hon. Chas. A. Towne, as given by the press of the states in which he has been pleading the cause of reform. Mr. Towne’: ability and successes have surpass the most sanguine expectations of his friends. And now the wearer of the saffrom badge tries to look indifferent when ed if he wears the ribbon from choice, or because he is obliged to 50. ; a do| pines ended, — Kalamazoo WHEN SLAVERY ISN’T SLAVERY “The Declaration of Independence remained unexecuted until the people, under the lead of the Republican party in the awful clash’ of battle, turned its promises into fulfillment.”—McKin- ley. = Mr. President: Didn’t you say at the Georgia Chautauqua in August, 1888, that the American colonies to which England had a valid title, re- belled against the mother country in order to have self-government?” “Yea? Didn’t you say at the New England society dinner in 1896 that you believ- ed in government by consent of the governed, “and of all the governed?” “Yes; I said that.” Does slavery exist in the Hawaiiap islands? “Yes.” Who owns those islands? ’ “The United States.” The United States, now under a Re- publican administration that points with pride to the action of the first republican administration in emanci- pating the negro slaves in America at a cost of about 400,000 lives? “Yes; the same.” How did the United States acquire the Hawaiian islands? “By annexation, in 1898, under my administration.” Did you know slavery existed on those islands? “Yes; I knew it.” What have you done or asked con- gress to do to stop that dealing in hu- man fiesh in the islands? “Nothing at all.” What is the evidence of ownership of slaves in the islands? “A receipt or bill of sale with de- scription of the colored man or wo- man,” Are those slaves personal property in the islands? “Just as much so as a mule in Ohio.” In what other portions of the United States territory does slavery exist? “In the Sulu or Moros islands, a group of the Philippines.’ How many islands does the sultan of Sulu govern? “Five.” . With whose consent does he govern thos2 islands? “With my consent.” Is he absolute monarch of those is- lands? “Yes.” So there is an absolute monarchy in the territory of the United States, and by your consent? “Yes.” What religion prevails in those is- fi lands? “The Mohammedan religion.” Is the sultan the head of the church? “Yes,” So there is an established church in United States territory, and a combi- nation of church and state? “Yes.” ‘ Are slaves bought and sold in the Sulu islands? “Yes.” “Why don’t you put a stop to it? “I can’t; the sultan would revolt.” Have you given any presents to the Sultan of Sulu? “Yes; I have given him $10,000 and an allowance of $500 a month.” “Did you give that out of your own pocket? “Oh, no.” Out of whose pocket, then? “The pockets of the taxpayers of the United States.” How did the sultan earn that money? 5 “He promised to keep quiet and make no trouble.” Make no trouble, for whom? “For me.” Is the sultan a polygamist? “Yes.” What is the size of his harem? “He has ten women.” So you give him $1,000 of the Am- erican taxpayers’ money for each of his women? “Yes.” And an allowance of $50 a month for the support of each woman? is “Yes.” “Did you think congress was right in expelling Brigham H. Roberts op the charge of polygamy? “Yes.” As a professing Christian you thought that was your “plaS? duty,” didn’t you? “Yes.” So that you denounce polygamy in America and pension it in Sulu at the expense of the taxpayers? t “Yes. But the interests of the re- publican party required us to have the good will of the sultan at any price.” Then, why didn’t the Republican party take that money out of its own pocket, instead of taking it from the American people who don’t believe ip polygamy and slavery? Why Hanna Is Worried. Rochester Herald: One of the chief causes of Mark Hanna’s uneasiness, + which he makes no pretense to coa- ceal, is the possibility that New York will go Democratic. In Maine and Vermont there have been changes of 10 and 20 per cent during the last four years in favor of the Democracy. That was in states where no concerted ef- fort wes made to reduce the conceded Republican pluralities. In New York a change of less than 1 per cent will throw the state into the Democratic column. With organized effort throughout the state it is not to be denied that the chances of Democratic victory are bright enough to be visible to the naked eye, Mark Hanna, at ail events, has experienced no difficulty in discerning them, a The trusts ceased to be about the same time that the war in’ Ries CSN RCRA — id a a