Grand Rapids Herald-Review Newspaper, August 5, 1908, Page 4

BY C. E, KILEY. GRAND RAPIDS, - - MINNESOTA. NEWS OF WEEK SUMMARIZED Digest of the News Worth Telling Con densed for the Busy Reader. Territory of 100 Square Miles in Crow’s Nest Country Seeth- ing Mass of Flames. FERNIE 1S WIPED OFF MAP Fate of Four Other Towns Is in Doubt, All Communncation Being Cut Off. THOUSANDS ARE HOMELESS Inhabitants of Doomed Towns Flee in Panic—Loss to Property Will Be Enormous. People Talked About. Charles H. Moyer was re-elected president of the Western Federation of Miners by the convention in Den- ver. Col. James D, Fanning, well known in Denver ang throughout the West in connection with various hotels, is dead. William T. Owen, the nestor of the bar at Owensboro, Ky., and former cir- cuit judge of the Sixth judicial dis- trict of Kentucky, is dead. James H, Budd, former governor of California and long prominent in Democratic politics, died at his resi- dence in Stockton, Cal. of uraemia after an illness of a fortnight. Louis E. Snow, one of the most prominent insurance men in the Mid- dle West, died at St. Louis. He was a brother of E. C. Snow, president of the Home Insurance Company of New York. While nothing in Cleveland’s will, which was filed several weeks ago at Princeton, indicated the total of his finances, it has become known that his personal and amounts to $250,000. Winnipeg, Man., Aug. 4.—The town of Fernie, B. C., is wiped off the map as a child cleans a slate. Michel, fourteen miles distant, is in flames, and the fate of Hosmer, Olson and Sparwood, intervening towns, is in doubt, they being cut off from all com- munication. Over a hundred lives are known to have been lost, seventy-four of them in Fernie alone. A territory of one hundred square mies in extent is a seething mass of flames. Through it are scattered hun- dreds of lumbermen and prospectors, so that the_actual loss of life will not be known for days. The properties of the Canadian Pa- cific and the Great Northern railways are destroyed, their bridges and roll- ing stock burned, so that it is impossi- ble either to enter or leave the burn- ing area. People Fleeing in a Panic. The inhabitants of the towns have fled to open districts in the vicinity in the hope of safety. From towns to the east and west the inhabitants are escaping as rapidly as possible. The railway companies have placed all available trains at their disposal. Unless there is change of wind within the next twenty-four hours the whole of the Crow’s Nest pass country will be left to the flames. There is no possibility of estimat- ing the loss of life and property which will result, for the flames are driven by a half gale, making it impossible to put up a fight against their ad- vance. The conflagration is the greatest which has ever visited Canada, and ranks only with the San Francisco dis- aster. Flames Sweep Over Fernie. For the last month forest fires have been raging in the mountains of the Elk river valley country, but they have not been considered seriously. Saturday morning a heavy wind sprang up from the west, and early in the afternoon the flames appeared over the crest of the mountdins to the west of Fernie. They ran down the mountain side, and before a fire guard could be organized had entered the town. Within an hour the town was doom- eq and the inhabitants sought safety in flight, leaving their-all behind then. All night and yesterday morning the exodus continued, the destination be- ing a small prairie in the valley, three miles south of the town. Three Thousand Refugees. At present 3,000 people are camped there in the open, their only protec- tion being shelters built of brush or blankets, while a constant shower of sparks from the burning area keeps falling through the pall of smoke by which they are surrounded. For a time communication with towns to the east was kept open, but with the burning of the bridge across the Elk river this was closed. Scat- tered through the, valley are many small prairies, ang all of these have their groups of refugees. The hills in all directions are a seething mass of flames, cutting off every avenue of es- cape. The fire spread with unprecedented rapidity, and it feared that several parties who tried to get through the pass have been cut off. Families have been separated, and there is at pres- ent no means of checking: up the fa- talities. May Cross Into Montana. At present the fire is following the crest of the mountain chain above Sparwood, eating down into the val- leys on‘either side. It is traveling at a tremendous rate, and unless there is a change of wind will cross the boun- dary into Montana within twelve hours. There are dozens of mine ‘and pros- real property Accidental Happenings. Fire caused a loss of $80,000 in the business district of Quapah, Tex. Cecil Decker, a young man of Lake City, Mills county, Iowa, was drown- ed in Coon river near Lake City, while swimming. Three persons were killed and three others more or less injured between Goodland and Hugo, Ark., when a Frisco passenger train was derailed. Rose Morgan, twenty-three years old, and Nellie Smith, twenty years old, were drowned off the west break- water at Cleveland. H. Sturdevant, a prominent young business man of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, died in the hospital as the result of a fractured skull, sustained while trying to board a moving car. Three persons were injured, one seriously, and fifty or more were se- verely shaken up in a rear-end collis- ion between two trains on the elevat- ed road in New York, The thirteen-year-old son of William Baxter, who lives near Lena, Man., v truck by lightning and instantly killed. The storm was accompanied by heavy rain but no hail. Earl M. Alexander of Marion, Iowa, was killed by a St. Paul freight train, his head being severed from his body. An inquest has so far failed to throw any light on the mystery. L. G. Dixon, a retired merchant of New Hampton, Iowa, aged seventy- five , mistook a solution of lye for soda and drank a quantity of it. He died a few hours later. Shocked to death in a manhole in New York was the fate of James O'Connell, who is said to have been Admiral Dewey’s chief gunner on the Olympia when the flagship opened opened the fight in Manila bay. While speeding into Sioux City with Andrew Peters who was probably fa- tally injured at Elk Point, the Milwau- kee passenger train struck and in- stantly killed Israel Alperowitz, a ped- dler, while he was driving across the track in the western part of Sioux City. Lieut. Oswalt of the Twenty-ninth infantry met death at Manila acciden- tally by electrocution. The officer was preparing to take a bath and had entered the bath tub when he en- deayored to arrange the lighting cur- rent. to take an electric bath. In some way he came in contact with the wires, receiving the full charge, which proved instantly fatal. Sins and Sinners. During a fit of insanity Elisha Drake, a quarryman at Lowell, Mass., shot and probably fatally wounded his four-year-old son Walter and then shot and killed himself. Adlai E. Stevenson, former vice president of the United States, an- nounced his candidacy for governor of Illinois on the Democratic ticket. In a letter made public he announced his determination to makethe race. He endorsed the Denver platform. Walter Goodwin, a farmer, who at the last term of the county court at Hopkinsville, Ky., gave the names of seven men who with himself com- posed a “night rider” squadron at Center Furnace, was shot while re- turning home late at night. Until re- cently he has been under the con- stant protection of the militia. Thirty-six men were indicted by the Kings county (N. Y.) grand jury on charges of violating the anti-gam- bling laws at the race track. Those indicted include some of the most prominent men who formerly occu- pied stools in the betting rings. The corpse of a man with a piece of flagstone tied about the neck was taken from the East river in New York. The dead man’s face was mu- ‘ilated beyond all possible chance of dentification. The police believe that ‘he dead man may have been a victim af Black Hand assassins. DROWNS IN A CHURN. Two-year-old Boy Meets Death in a Most Pecular Manner. ‘Webster City, Iowa, Aug. 4. — T two-year-old son of Mr. and Mrs. S. Barr, who reside on a farm this city, was drowned in While playing about the yard the tle fellow found the churn with seis eral inches of water in it. He was peering into it and fell in head fore. most, where his parents found him | ‘dead some re later. destroyed. Fire-fighting apparatus is of no avail, for the air is filled with frag- ments of burning wood and bark, and sheets of flame seem to leap ahead of the conflagration.as if the air itself were inflammable. The heat is in- tense, and many of the fire fighters have’ gone down ahead of it. Starvation Threatens Refugees. Cranbrook, B. C., Aug. 4. — Fire is not the only danger which the people of the burning area have to face. Starvation has been added to the, ter- rors. When the people left their homes for the protection camps little or no provisions were taken, and now there are some six thousand on the prairies with nothing to eat. The may- or of Fernie has sent out a call for as- sistance, which is being readily re- sponded to. A special meeting of the council of Cranbrook was held yesterday after- noon, and within an hour a car was being loaded with provisions, clothing and tents. Other cars will follow as rapidly as they can be loaded. Word has been received from Van- couver, Calgary, Medicine Hat and Lethbridge that cars are also being loaded there, and several of them will be at the end of the steel by morn- ing. Calgary is sending two cars, Medicine Hat two and Lethbridge one. Rough estimates place the financial loss at $3,000,000 and loss of life at over a hundred. Appeal to Premier for Help. Ottawa, Ont., Aug. 4.—Sir Wilfria Laurier received the following tele- gram last evening from Cranbrook, B. C.: “Disastrous fire in Kootenay valley. Fernie, Hosmer, Crow’s Nest and oth- er places almost completely burned. Not less than 55,000 people homeless. Canadian Pacific railway carrying them to Elko and Cranbrook. Every effort is being made locally, but the people are utterly without food or shelter. Fire covers seventy miles. Seventy lives lost. Immediate relief required. Telegraph instructions at once.” The premier will consult his col- leagues the first thing in the morning. FOUR NEGROES LYNCHED BY MOB Kentuckians Break IntoJail and Wreak Vengeance for Slaughter of Farmer. Russellville, Ky., Aug. 4—Four ne- groes, Virgil, Tom and Robert Jones and Joe Ripley were taken from jail here early Saturday and hanged to a tree on the edge of the town. No shots were fired by the mob, which was‘composed of about fifty men, and the people of the town knew nothing of the affair until daylight re- vealed the four bodies dangling from a tree just outside Russellville, on the Nashville pike. The following note was found pinned on one of the bod- ies: “Let this be a warning to you nig- gers to let white people alone, or you will go the same way. Hugh Rogers better shut up or quit.” Planned Murder. The negroes who were lynched were members of a lodge, and at a meet- ing recently, it is said, they approved of the murder of James Cunningham, a white farmer, by his negro tenant,. Rufus Browder. This murder occur- red in the southern part of Logan county, and it is supposed here that the mob was made up of men from that part of the county. The negroes had been in jail for several days. The mob came into itown so quietly that not one of the residents of the city was awakened from slumber. Proceeding at once to the county jail, the jailer, Jake Butts, was summoned to the door, his resi- dence being directly connected with the prison. When he made his ap- pearance he found himself covered by rifles and shotguns and was forced to hand over the keys. The mob then entered the jail and finding the four negroes forced them to go with them. Two of the men, not being given time to dress, were taken along in their nightshirts, and the whole party proceeded at once to the tree on the outskirts of the city, on the Nashville pike, where the negroes were strung up in a row. REVENUE IN NORTHWEST. Wisconsin Leads With $8,000,000 and Minnesota Pays $1,812,788. Washington, Aug. 4. — The annual report of the commissioner of internal revenue receipts for the last fiscal year was $251,665,950. Of this amount $1,812,788 was collected in Minnesota; $172,400 in the district of North and South Dakota; $8,239,331 in Wiscon- sin, and $933,725 in Iowa. Kills Daughter’s Betrayer. Cherryvale, Kan., Aug. 4. — Henry Bonher, a farmer, shot and killed Tobe Sawyer at the latter’s home, five miles south of Cherryvale, yesterday. Bonher was arrested. He claims that Sawyer wronged his seventeen-year- old daughter, who worked in the Saw- yer home as a domestic. DROWNS IN A SLOUGH. Body of Aged Woman Found Five Miles From Home. _ Alma, Wis., Aug. 4. — Some time during Tuesday night Mrs. Barbara Schlapp, a ‘widow about, seventy years old, disappeared from her home in this city. No trace could be found of her until Saturday, when her body was found floating in Belvidere slough, about five miles south of here. one ep rael how she was drowned. et ; a buildings ¢ on the cm have been | IN FOREST FIRE| Graves of Georgia Are First Candidates. BRVAN’S NAME STARTS ROW Kansas Delegate Tries to Place Him in Nomination and Nearly Starts a Riot. President — Thomas L. Hisgen of Massachusetts. Vice President — John Temple Graves of Georgia. ~ Chicago, July 30.—The above ticket was last night nominated by the Inde- pendence party at its first national convention. The friends of Mr. Bryan made an effort during the night session to bring the name before the convention and the man who attempted it nearly produced a riot and narrowly escaped physical violence at the hands of the -|indignant delegates. The man who sought to place Mr. Bryan in nomina- tion was J. I. Shepard of Fort Scott, Kan. He did not succeed in his mis- sion, for, being called to order by the convention and questioned by Chair- man Charles A. Walsh, he admitted that it was his intention to name Mr. Bryan. That was the first and last time he mentioned the name of the Democratic leader. ; Hustled Out of Hall. He was promptly ruled out of or. der by the chairman, and under. the guard of several seargeants-at-arms he was hustled out of the Hall, while some of the incensed delegates vainly attempted to strike him with their fists and one of them swung at him savagely with a cane. The nomination of Mr. Hisgen was made on the third ballot, his chief competitors being Milford W. Howard of Alabama and John Temple Graves of-Georgia. Reuben R. Lyon of New York received a complimentary vote on the first ballot, and William Ran- dolph Hearst had forty-nine friends who voted for him on the first two ballots. The nomination of Mr. Graves was made unanimously, all the other can- didates having been withdrawn. Permanent organization was per- fected at the afternoon session, with Charles A. Walsh as permanent chair- man, Platform Is Adopted. But little work was accomplished at the first session because of a pro- tracted debate among the members of the resolutions committee on the question of how the currency plank should be expressed. The tentative draft of this plank provided for the issuance of all moneys by the govern- ment. The platiorm as presented to the convention demanded the creation ef a central governmental bank, through which the currency should pass to the people. The feature of a central bank was strongly distasteful to several members of the committee, some of whom declared they had left the Republican party because of its adherence to this principle, and if the Independence party was going to advocate the same doctrine they might as well return to their original faith, The platform was, Raweeer: accept- ed by the convention with every dem- onstration of enthusiasm and the ut- terances of the party as expressed therein were unanimously indorsed. PRINCE’S VISIT ENDS. Departure From Quebec Marked by Scenes of Enthusiasm. Quebec, July 30. — The visit of the prince of Wales came to an end last night when the prince went aboard the battleship Indomitable, which sailed shortly after midnight. The departure of his highness was marked by the-same scenes of enthusiasm which marked his arrival a week ago. Vice President Fairbanks and the American army officers leave to-day. Quebec will‘ continue to celebrate for several days. GENEROUS TO CHIPPEWA. William Irvine Gives City Park Site and Pavilion. Chippewa Falls, Wis., July 30.—Wil- liam Irvine, manager of the Chippewa Lumber and Boom company yester- day presented Irvine Park with suffi- cient money to build a large pavilion. Mr. Irvine has been instrumental in securing 164 acres for the park and presented the tract to the city and recently canceled $5,000 worth of bonds he held against the park. Loaded Pocket Blows Up. Menominee, Mich., July 30.—Sven Svenningsen, commissioner of high: ‘ways of Mellen township, was terri bly injured by the explosion of dyna mite caps which he carried in his hip pocket. It is believed that he cannoi recover. Start Regular Runs Next Month. Couderay, Wis., July 30. — It is Jearned from good authority that the Wisconsin Central railway expects tc start regular train service on its Lady. smith-Duluth line about ae 9 Hisgen of Massachusetts and} Cincinnati, July 30.—Officially noti- fied yesterday of his nomination for the presidency by the Republican party, William H. Taft, standing on the portico of his brother’s home in this, the city of his nativity, formally accepted the honor, pledged anew his allegiance to the policies of President Roosevelt and declared that the chief function of the next Republican ad- ministration will be to clinch what has been already accomplished by the present occupant of the White House. In doing this, however, Mr. Taft point- ed out in what is regarded as A Conservative Note in his address that there will be seri ous and difficult work to do principal- ly “to devise ways and means by which the high level of business in- tegrity and obedience to law which he (President Roosevelt) has estab- lished may be maintained, and depar- tures\ from it restrained without un- due interference with legitimate busi- ness.” Mr, Taft attacked the Democratic platform, asserting that most of its declrarations either are inconsistent or disingenious. Mr. Bryan’s policies were held up as destructive. Heard by Vast Audience. The vast audience that heard the candidate, filling porches, lawns and streets surrounding the Taft resi- dence, and seeming not to mind the intense heat, was responsive to Mr. Taft’s every mood, and there were loud cries of “No! No!” when he said: “I submit to those most inter- ested, to wage earners, to farmers and to business men, whether the in- troduction into power of the Demo- eratic party, with Mr. Bryan at its head and with the business destruc- tion that it openly advocates as a remedy for present evils, will bring about the needed confidence for the restoration of prosperity.” Compares Platforms. Mr. Taft denounced the Democratic anti-injunction plank as “vague and ambiguous,” in contrast to the Re- publican declaration, which he said was “clear and unequivocal.” Labor and the rights of labor came in for extensive consideration by Mr. Taft. As to the publicity of contributions for the purpose of carrying on the campaigns, the candidate declared that the selection of a treasurer from the State of New York, bound by the laws of that state as to the publica- tion of such expenditures, assured the position of the Republicans as against the mere declarations of their op- ponents. Physical Valuation. Mr. Taft said he believed in the physical valuation of railroads, as from time to time ‘might ie meces- sary, and that he personally favored the direct election by the people of the United States senators. The lat- ter question, Mr. Taft asserted, could hardly be catalogued as a party issue. Dealing with national expenditures and the charges of a deficit, Mr. Taft de- clared that the deficit of one year oft- en is more than offset by the surplus of another, and said that under the present administration there has been no deficit, but a surplus, which actual- ly is in the treasury. The speech of Senator Warner, chairman of the notification commit- tee, was brief and was received with great applause. Public Holiday. The occasion of the notification and the acceptance was made a holiday by the residents of Cincinnati, all of whom, without regard to party affilia- tion, seemed to take some part in the varying demonstrations, There were concerts in the down-town parks, pa- rades, a flag-raising at the Taft house- hold, daylight fireworks, balloon as- censions, automobile rides and recep- tions for the visiting members of the notification committee, while last night the heavens were ablaze for hours with the varicolored lights of exploding rockets, soaring bombs and surprising effects of the modern fire- worker's art. From the greeting of the morning sun with a series of salutes from the seven hills to the last dying flare in the midnight sky, the day has locally been written down as one of the most notable in the history of the city. Following the delivery of his speech of acceptance, Mr. Taft was called upon to review a parade of lo- cal and visiting militia and political marching clubs, which occupied fifty minutes in passing a given point. KILLED BY FAST TRAIN Speeding Into Sioux City With Injured Man, Instantly Kills Peddler. Sioux City Iowa, July 30.—While speeding into Sioux City with Andrew Peters who was probably fatally in- jured at Elk Point, the Milwaukee passenger train struck and instantly killed Israel Alperowitz, a peddler, while he was driving across the track in the western part of the city. Third Man Electrocuted, Faribault, Minn., July 30. — Ernest Jacobson was electrocuted while put- ting up a guy wire. The wire became crossed with a live electric light wire while he had hold of it. This makes three persons electrocuted ‘in Fart bault within a month, Injured In Runaway. Spooner, Wis., July 30. — George, the eleven-year-old son of William Pe- terson, a mail et ei suffered the fracture of his right ina fee Finding of Charred Body Re- veals Atrocious and Cunning: ly Planned Murder. FEATURES DEFACED BY ACID Woman’s Throat Was Cut and Body Wrapped in Oil Soaked Mat- tress and Fired. New York, July 31—In the finding of the half charred body of a young woman early yesterday morning’ in an isolated section of Williamsburg, Brooklyn, one of the most atrocious and cunningly planned murders that has been given to the police to solve in many years was revealed. Death was caused by a cut across the throat, and then in an endeavor to utterly de- stroy all evidence of the crime the murderer or murderers wrapped the body in an oil-soaked mattress, pour- ed oil over the victim’s clothing and set fire to the bundle. A powerful acid had previously been poured over the face to obliterate the woman's fea- tures and make identification impos- sible. Two Arrests Made. Although two arrests have been made, the police do not believe they have in custody any one who can shed any light on the mystery. The pris- oners are James Ruddick, an old man who lived in a stable not far away from where the body was found and his son Joseph, a peddler, who dis- covered the body. It was\James Ruddick who notified the police of the finding of the body. He told three different stories, thus exciting suspicion, and his arrest fol- lowed. First, he said that he discov- ered the body; next he said that an unknown man discovered it, and later he said that the “unknown man” was in reality his son Joseph. This last statement led to the arrest of Jo- seph. Old Man Was Rattled. But the police do not attach much importance to Ruddick’s conflicting stories. He is very old and was la- boring under great excitement. He will be put through the third degree to-day, however. Ruddick, who was sleeping with his father in a stable, saw the flames about 4 o’clock yesterday morning and ran out to extinguish the blaze, fearing it might spread to the stable. He was horrified at finding the half- burned corpse tied in the oil-soaked mattress. Scapular Is Only Clue. It was impossible at first to tell whether the charred body was that of a woman or man. The sex was dis- closed at the coroner’s autopsy. A scapular was found on the mur- dere] woman’s breast, and this is about the only clue the police have. It was home-made and larger than is ordinarily worn. With this slight clue the police hope to discover the identity of the victim. She was about thirty years old and had been a mother. COLONIZE THE HUNGARIANS. New York Priest at Winnipeg to Look Over the Region. Winnipeg, Aug. 2. — Father V. Ko- vaes of a New York diocese arrived here yesterday as_ special emissary of Emperor Francis Joseph and Pope Pius X. to investigate land conditions in Western Canada with a view to colonizing 200,000 farmers from Hun- gary. Father Kovacs says the idea is to turn the tide of immigration from the United States, where, he asserts, this class of people have been harshly treated by padrones and kept in un- sanitary camps after being sold to contractors. INQUIRY DEMANDED. Young Woman’s Friends Claim She Was Driven to Suicide by, Gossip. Le Mars, Iowa, Aug. 2. — The au- thorities of Sioux township, in this county, have made a demand upon Coroner Beely for an official investi- gation into the cause of the death of Miss Susan Cecil, who died suddenly July 16, and was given hurried burial. Friends of the young woman claim that she was driven to commit suicide through the gossip that was prevalent in the neighborhood, and the investi- gation is expected to settle the man« ner and cause of her death. Racing Club Indicted. New York, Aug. 2. — The Brighton Beach Racing association, which cluded a racing meet at the Brighton Beach race track on Wednesday was. indicted by the Kings county grand jury yesterday on a charge of aiding gamblers to violate the new anti-gam- bling laws. Run Down and Killed. Calumet, Mich., July 31. — Charles Miller, aged seventy-four, a sweeper on the Mineral Range railway at Os- ceola, was struck by a train and kill- ed. He was one of the oldest resi dents and leaves a large family. Browned While Swimming. « Houghton, Mich., July 31. — While swimming in Huron dam last evening Arthur Trathen, a well known-young man, was seized with cramps and drowned. His body was recovered two hours later. AND Bony BURNED ,