The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, December 6, 1898, Page 1

The — VOLUME LXXXV._NO. 6. SAN FRANCISCO, TUESDAY, DECEMBER 6, 1898. PRICE FIVE CENTS. STATESMEN RALLY TO CONSIDER THE - NATION’'S AFFAIRS vented his attendance at the opening of the sessjon. . X At 3:45, on motion of Platt of Con- necticut, the Senate adjourned. it st SPEAKER REED’S ; GAVEL FALLS -IN HOUSE AT NOON WASHINGTON, Dec. 5.—The open- ing session of Congress to-day was a spectacular occasion, animated and brilliant. There were more than the A MIXING-HOUSE IN RUINS AND ALL BRILLIANT ASSEMBLAGE OF CONGRESS Opening of the Winter Session. MANY NOTED MEN ATTEND. FOREIGN DIPLOMATS AMONG THE VISITORS. Reading of the President’s Message Receives Profound Attention on the Floors and Galleries of House and Senate. ourned last July was at war General Shafter Santiago and eparing for his | condition Peace | and Congress finds | the necessity of | stration of nt colonial ng military £ the country to ive weight and nacy of the United ncils of nations. nothing dramatic about ene in either house, and the Presi- dings were leries of | crowded with | he reading of the pr sion the floral display and beautiful. e of Representa- at the Cavitol an hour before the House s thronged with Repre- nd as many of the crowd as could get upon the were hearty greetings be- o on both sides. entered the hall and the noise in the v checked by the s gavel, which sig- a & he beginning -of the session. chaplain offered prayer, and roll w called by States. » were 7 sponses and the was ready for business. - MOST BRILLIANT ASSEMBLAGE IN THE SENATE CHAMBER In Addition to the Members There Are Many Distinguished Diplo- | mats to Witness the Open- | ing Proceedings. WASHINGTON, Dec. 5—~When the ate cc d to begin the g S n of the ty-ninth Con- to-da the chamber presented a notable beautiful pearance. By 11 ck the public and private galleries were filled almost to their capacity a d hed assemblage, in- g m in brilllant at- On the floor of the Senate the f flowers was unusually beau- en for the opening day of a | session of Congress. The odor of flow- | ers filled the chambers. The memorable snes enacted in the chamber during the last session | and the momentous events that have occurred since Congress last adjourn- ed created a feeling of intense expect- the part of both the specta- | nd the members of the Senate. | was made manifest by the long | S in the corridors anx- to gain admission into the gal- and by the early arrival of the ors on the floor. s¢ the courtesy of the Vice the membe of the Joint ommission were admitted to the | > Senate, and were the re- | much attention. Just be- nate was called to order well Kknov members of the atic corps appeared in the diplo- Jlery. Among them were Sir Julian Pauncefote Embassador of | Great Brit to the United States and | dean of the with a party from the dritish Mr. Wu Tingi e Chine ster, and party, | and Mr. Ye Pum Chin, the Korean | Minister. All W rested specta- s of the o P of the ses- and attentive listeners to the 1g of the President’s message. of three-quarters of hour, w : the Senate was await- ng the presentation of the message from the President the members of the During a T Joint High Commission held an, in- formal levee, greeting personally neéarly of the members of the American Senate. reading of the President’'s mes- which occupied two hours and cen minutes, was received with reful attention for an hour, but | ter that the Senators drifted to the cloak rooms or to the committee rooms, where they could peruse the message at their lejsure in the printed copies with which they had been furnished. Morgan of Alabama was the first Senator to enter the Senate chamber, and closely following him came the oc- togenarian, Mr. Morrill of Vermont. The J5% ) N e SCENE IN:THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES. In the Left Lower Corner Is Shown the Portrait of Congressman Dingley, ILeader of the Republican Forces; in the Right Lower Corner Congress- man Bail ey, Who Leads the Democratic Minority. One by one the members dropped into the chamber, and the floor soon pre- sented a sc animated as that af- forded by the.galleries Abov , in the diplomatic galle just the Senate gonvened, appeared n Pauncefdte, the British Em- and party, with Mr. Wu the Chine: € of his lega iiplomatic corps. = On d Lord Her hel, the > of Great Britain on Commission, accom- panied by | chusetts. ard > of Ma r Rich- son Coolid r Wilfrid Laur] i r Louis I Mr. , members of the commis- | sion, ) on the floor. Promptly on the stroke of 12 o'clock Vice President Hobart entered, and, as- cending to his d rapped for order. Rev. Mr. Milburn, the venerable blind chaplain, in a profoundly impressive manner, returned devout and reverent thanks for “God's goodness to our na- tion and for his care of us since last red in the chamber.” . thy good providence,” the chap- lain prayed, “triumph has crowned our arms by land and by sea and so that peace has come to us through the council chamber. Let thy grace be the portion of our people, and may their hearts be rendered in service to thee and to all men. We pray that thy ¢ be. with the Queen Re- and her young son and on her nation. May thy heavenly grace come to secure and uplift and uphold that stricken people. Grant | that all good may be given to us, our motherland and to all nations, and may we walk hand in hand with our brethren across the sea to the heights of Christian civilization.” A call of the Senate developed the presence of sixty-seven members. The usual resolutions were offered and adopted. Cullom of Mlinois offered one to appoint a committee to inform the | House that the Senate was ready to transact business; Hale of Maine one fixing the hour of daily meetings at 12 o’clock noon, and Morrill of Ver- mont one to appoint a tommittee to notify the President that the Senate was awaiting any communication he might desire to make. Morrill of Vermont and Cockrell of Missouri were. named by the WVice President to join a like committee of | the House of Representatives to call on the President. McREride of Oregon presented the cre- | elected colleague, of his newly mon, to whom the Vice President ad- niinistered the oath of office. Pending the receipt of the President’s | message the Senate, on’motion of Al- lison of Iowa, took a recess of thirty minutes. At 1 p. m. the committee appoint- ed to wait upon the President reported the performance of its duties and an- nounced that the President would im- mediately communicate with the Sen- ate in writing. Scarcely had the report been read when Major Pruden, the executive clerk of the President. en- tered the chamber and presented the message. Vice President Hobart laid it before the Senate at once and its reading was begun at 1:28 p. m. The reading of the message occupied two hours and eighteen minutes. Many pergons remained in the galleries throughout the reading, but, as s usual, little attention was given to the presentation of the message, either in the galleries or on the floor, after the end of two pages. Many Senators who had been provided with printed copizs of the message retired either to the cloak rooms or to the committee rooms to read the document at leisure. Not the slightest demonstration occurred during the reading of the message. ‘When the clerk had concluded the reading, Mason of TIllinois presented a telegram from Pritchard of North Carolina, announcing that illness pre- (o} SFOJORORC JoROJOROROROXOXoRoJ ofoJoRoXeXoJoXooloXolofoToXoJoJoJo¥oXol Governor General. out the least friction. [CJOJOIOIOLOOIOOO RO RO ROROXOJOXOYO) 0000000000000 0ON000000000000000000 TRANSFER OF SUPREMACY ON NEW YEAR’S DAY Special Cable to The Call and The New York Herald. Gordon Bennett. HAVANA, Dec. 5—It has been arranged that the formal transfer of supremacy shall take place on New Year’s day in the palace of the At the same instant the flag is raised there Amer- can flags will be raised on every fortification in the city. the Postoffice and Custom-house are already preparing for the trans- fer of their private papers, which were boxed up and moved to-day. ‘When the hour for the change arrives the Americans will find every- thing ready, and the Government machinery will move along with- Copyright 1888, by James Officers in (- JoJoJoloToroJoYoJOJOJORONOROROROOJOJO] usual number of distinguished person- ages in the thronged galleries, includ- | iIng many representatives of foreign Governments, high officials and ladies and gentlemen conspicuous in social and political life. The greetings of the members were wost cordial, and there was not an outcropping of par- tisan rancor to mar the occasion. One of the most striking incidents was the cordial meeting between the floor lead- ers of the respective sides, Dingley and Bailey. In view of the gossip about the possibility of Bailey being deposed as the minority leader, it is significant that the Speaker named Bailey as the minority member of the committee to walt upon the President, an honor al- ways bestowed upon the recognized leader of the minority. Speaker Reed received a warm wel- come from both sides of the House when he ascended the rostrum to call the House to order, but perhaps the greatest personal ovation given to any member was that accorded Major Gen- eral Wheeler of Alabama,.who has not been seen' by many of his old colleagues since he went to the front at the head of the cavalry division of Shafter's army. . ‘W. A. Stone of Pennsylvania, McMil- lin of Tennessee and Sayers of Texas, who have been elected .Governors of their respective States since Congress adjcurned, were also overwhelmed with congratulations. The floral tributes to- day were unusually numerous, and made the hall a veritable bower of beautiful flowers. The proceedings themselves were dull, all interest cen- tering in the reading of the President’s message. For over two hours the clerk droned through the long document, but the interest of members and spectators never flagged. With rapt attention they followed the President’s recital of the war and listened eagerly to every sug- gestion or recommendation he had to offer. No expressions of approval or disapproval interrupted the reading. Exactly at noon Speaker Reed’s gavel came down with a sharp crack, the great ebony mace entwined with silver and surmounted with a silver eagle was lifted into place on its marble pedestal, the spreading folds of Ameri- can flags were broken to the breeze about the brilliant stained glass ceil- ing and the House of Representatives entered upon the closing session of the memorable war Congress. The scene within the great hall was animated, brilliant and picturesque. The sea of desks within the brass rails which cut off the lobbies spreading in semicircular lines from the Speak- er’s rostrum like waves from a center was a veritab! flower garden. A ma- jority of the members were in their places, while the . encircling galleries were banked to the doors with people. The assembling of a session of Congress is always a great magnet for the multi- tude, but to-day the attraction was fraught with the added interest of all the memories which clung about the ‘War Congress, the triumphs and re- verses of the recent political battle at the polls and the eagerness to hear the President's message with-its review of the events which have crowded the stage during this memorable year and its recommendations of policies for the future. - The public seemed to feel that this was to be c: epoch-making ses- sion, and for hours before noon a steady stream of people debouched from the corridors into the galleries. Even the private galleries were crowded an hour before the hour for convening, and they contained many people distinguished in social and high official life. The dain- ty creations of the milliners’ art and brilliantly superb gowns gave color to the picture. The members began arriving shortly before 11 ‘o’clock, and the hall began | to buzz as they exchanged greetings, congratulations -or. condolences. For those who had gone down at the No- vember elections there were expres- sions of sympathy; for those who had been victorious words of congratula- tion. Some of the members had regular levees as they appeared. This was markedly true of W. A. Stone of Pennsylvania, Mr. Sayers of Texas and McMillin .of Tennessee, each of whom was chosen Governor of his respective State at the recent election. Here and there throughout the throng was an officer in full uniform, an unwonted figure on the floor and a vivid reminder of the war. The floral tributes which the scurry- ing pages bore into the hall and desks of those for whom they were destined Continued on Eleventh Page. vl it i W/ CHARLES D.KENNEDY - SUPERINTENDENT. One of the Victims of Yesterday’s - Explosion a Bohemian, Well Known and Highly Esteemed, and Respected by All-Who Came in Contact With Him. | shore from West Berkeley. ITS INMATES DEAD MUTILATION AND DESTRUCTION AT FLEMING POINT Charles D. Kennedy Killed. HE WAS SUPERINTENDENT FIVE CHINESE ALSO BLOWN TO ATOMS. The Cause of the Explosion Is a Mys- tery—Kennedy Was in Caarge and He Was a Careful Man. O++++++++++4+4+4+4+4+4+0 + + + THE VICTIMS. + + ATy + I Charles D. Kennedy, Super- 4 + intendent. e + Five Chinese employes. + + + O++++++++4+ 44444440 A building lifted into the air and in- stantly torn to fragments, a cloud of dust and smoke, a roar resembling thunder, six human beings sen{ into eternity—such in brief is the story of an explosion at Flemmings Point last evening. Since the Government placed many large contracts with California powder manufacturers, explosions are no longer uncommon, but that of yester- day will be remembered longer than many others. It robbed the community of one of its most worthy men, one whom Hon. W. W. Foote characterized as “one of God’s gentlemen.” He was Charles D. Kennedy, superintendent of the works. . It was half-past 3 o’clock yesterday afternoon when the gelatin plant of the Judson Powder Works, near West Berkeley, exploded. The shock was terrific. It covered an area of several miles, being felt in San Francisco very distinctly, and over the greater part of Contra Costa and Alameda counties. The report was heard for miles around. There were six men killed—the superintend- ent and five Chinese. The place where the explosion oc- curred is about two miles along the bay It les on bleak, marshy land, several hundred yards inland from Point Ysabel, and Just north of McKeiths hill, in the re- gion of which most of the factories for making explosives are located. It stands at some little distance from the railroad track, and a little over a mile this side of Stege, in Contra Costa County. Nothing but a mass of ruins is left to tell the tale of the -catastrophe. Every human being on the place was killed instantly, so that nobody remains who can give the slightest clew as to its cause. For hundreds of yards around lies scattered a huge mass of debris, in which are mingled the remains of the men who met their fate. Pieces of boilers, copper vats and parts of ma- chinery, all twisted and turned into every imaginable shape, and thrown about in all possible directions. stand mute witnesses to the terrible force of the upheaval. As for the cause of the explosion nothing can be advanced with certain- ty. The building in which the men are known to have been at the fatal mo- ment contained a large vat of nitro- glycerin, surrounded by intricate ma- chinery. It was flanked on two sides by mounds of earth, twelve feet through at the base. A few feet away stood the shed used for the manufac- ture of guncotton. The two buildings were connected with machinery., and the workmen were in the habit of pass- ing to and fro between them. Sur- rounding the vat of nitroglycerin was a large tank of water for the purpose of keeping the explosive at the right temperature. It is suggested that the water around the vat may have become overheated before the workmen had reason to suspect that the temperature had risen. It is equally possible that some part of the machinery may have got out of order, in which case friction would have developed sufficient heat to put the explosives in danger. The lat- ter explanation seems the more prob- able,/and was generally accepted by experts viewing the scene of the ruins. As in all other explosions the work of destruction is so complete that the only solution of.its cause can be but conjecture. People who happened to be in the vicinity of the plant at the moment of destruction describe it as coming with one great shock. They heard a thunder- ing report, and at the same instant the whole of the gelatin building seemed to be lifted high into the air, and imme- diately to be rent apart into thousands of pieces and scattered to the four winds. The two earthen mounds at the flanks were blown down and their dust mingled with the scattering fragments of iron and wood. The guncotton shed at the side became a total wreck. Every board and plank was torn from its place. The roof had been completely Continued on Eighth Page. *