The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, May 30, 1902, Page 3

THE SAN FRANCISCO CALL, FRIDAY, MAY 30, 1902. MARTINIQUE ISLAND IS STILL IN DANGER OF UTTER DESOLATION | IV 7HE R, FORTAI ST, TN, OF THE ERERE.” A S— T : —, ——————— ) Z W/ ‘ | g = /M/ e ERS YIELD 0 TERMS OF THE BRITISH Settlement of the War Will Soon Be An- nounced. [ Peace in South Africa Is‘ Said to Be a Matter of Hours. 1 Dispatch to The Call. LONDON, May 30.—Although the Gov- | has not issued any official state 1l the information available t indicates that the Boers have | lly decided to accept the terms of | and that the war is at an | ernment is expected to make | statement on Monday in both | arliament. | ible, but hardly thought prob- that a semi-official statement will be da: ing ast night the Boer delegates urned to Vereeniging from Preto- met representatives of the | and exercised their influence | eptance of the British terms, that they practically | accept peace. Certain minor ge- | remain to be settied, and they expected to affect the broad decis- result | Mail says it is able to state Government is in receipt of an | smunication from Soutn Africa | nat in: Boer mInorily irom ncilavie atttude so much op- Wil accept tne pre- L will agree among other ral surrender, Carrying of independence. Certain ol waoicn should ar- tion, remain 1o be set- munication which iealy cailed to con- en tne deliberations the Mimsters were continues the Mail, “'to ttied in understand that the | themselves, wnile unwilling o | otnicial ard it so privately.” | Lucy, tne veteran paruamentary | correspondent of the Daily reliable and bes intimates that to-day, the King's birthday, the steps of the Mansion House. TAKING NO CHANCES. of the Government yesterday, 0 & question as to why peace was nounced, it it was heid to be at- | dicated that the notorious as- | of the Boers which had often brought about unexpected turns made one | thing ed beyond the hope of change or Had it not been for that there been little hesitation about most X P peace may be | { [ [ announcement | tion of hours, | very most, was | the words of Mr. Bal- e of Commons, when re- ¢ Campbell-Bannerman. | Baitour said: I hope to be able to state to the House on Monday the result of the recent dis- | cussions in South Africa, but I cannot be | absolutely certain of being in position to do that and until that statement can be made, I think it would be inexpedient to take up the budget. There being a shad- ow of doubt as to whether I shall be able 10 make a final statement on Monday, I think it would be inexpedient now to an- nounce that we will take up the budget on_that day.” Operators on the stock exchange, as a ruie, preferred waiting for a definite | statement before buying. Balfour’s prom- ise was interpreted fayorably in Throg- morton street. South African, mining shares were nibbled at, but the state of indecision was not materially altered by ihe closing hour. Shrewd men are tak- ing their profits where they can, the feel- ing among many of them being pessimis- ““ COMMENT OF PRESS. This morning’s London newspapers are all alike in tone, and all are of the opin- jon that the war is over. The Dally Tel- aph saye: “Mr. Balfour's statement in the Housée of Commons, carefully as it was guarded, r ‘e no other meaning than that the car is virtually over, though peace may not be yet established.” The Daily News remarks: “It seems the Vereeniging conference bas decided in favor of peace. The fu- ture of South Africa will not depend on She capacity of Englishmen to prove their From information received | RIGING RIVERS THREATEN L Residents of Southern Kansas Are Becoming Alarmed. WICHITA, Kans., May 20.—Two floods, aggregating fifteen feet of water, are coming down the Arkansas River, and the people along the river in Southern Kansas are becoming alarmed. The first one passed Dodge City at 12:30 to-day and is coming in one breast of water five feet high. It is due at Wichita at 8 o'clock to-morrow. - The second flood is coming inaw n feet high and passed Gar- den C at 2:30 o'clock. The river here will not be able to carry the water if a threatened rain to-night falls. GUTHRIE, O. T., May 29.—Residents ot Wcodward in this county say the Santa | Fe bridges over both the North Canadian and South Canadian rivers were washed out and the city isolated for several days. This is in the Panhandle di X hundred feet of the South Canadian bridge are gone, as are also all the wagon Lriages over the Cimarron River in its Toute of over 200 miles through Oklu- homa. Rivers are again rising on ac- ccunt of the rains. In the city of Wood- ward the water stood two feet deep in the streets as the result of a waterspout in the hills near there. Reports of addi- damage are coming in frgm all ons of the Cerritory. Mrs. Wiicher son are reported drowned in Tiger ek, near Perkins, PUEBLO, May —In addition to the big washouts on Santa Fe Railroad near Las Animas, caused by the rush of water from the Purgatoire River into the karsas, a special to the Chieftain to- reports that the bridge over the Ar- hansas at Holly, near the Kansas State line, has gone out. It is stated at La Junta that the gaps ‘cannot be crossed fcr several days. A switch has been laid at Boone station, fifteen miles from P‘ftvbln. to connect the Santa Fe with the Missouri Pacific, and trains are sent cund over that road to Scott City, Kans., thence by a branch to regain the Senta’ Fe main iine. RAILROAD OFFICIALS ARE HURT IN A WRECK Two Gravel Trains on the Burlington Line Collide With Serious Sesult. ALMA, Wis., May 2).—One man was killed and four seriously wounded, some probably fatally, in 4 wreck on the Bur- lington road here to-day. A gravel train on which there were six officials of the road, including Superintendent Cunning- ham, was going on the switch when an- other gravel train coming from the north crashed into it. The dead: E. J. BLAKE, consulting engineer Bur- lington system, headquarters Chicago. The injured: S. D. Purcy, roadmaster, Northern division, both legs cut off, wiil die: C. Cunningham, superintendent Northern division, one leg cut off, may W. L. Breckinridge, chief enginger of ystem, seriously; J. B. Bessler, gen- superintendent of system; seriougly. el SR Reports Favorably on the Bills. WASHINGTON, May 2.—The Ways and Means Committee to-day favorably re- | ported bills extending to Tacoma and Se- attle, Wash., the privilege of immediate trangit of merchandise in bond and mak- ing Waco, Ariz., a sub-port of entry. L e e e 2 Y ) friendship can be at least as strong and helpful as their enm he Daily Mail say Whatever errors and mistakes—and there have been errors and mistakes on all sides—England has reached the end and aim for which the nation has fought. ~South Africa is saved for the empire.” 3 The Daily Chronicle’s comment is: ““Mr. Balfour’s statement was guarded, but satisfactory. He holds out the expec- tation of a favorable result of the recent discussions in South Africa.” AT THE PEACE CAMP. PRETORIA, May 20.—The camp at Vereeniging, Transvaal, where lhepfinul gecision in regard to péace was reached, has been elaborately prepared by the British authorities with a view to com- fort and convenience of the delegates to fhe convention now being held there. The camp has been laid out in a square two miles from the Vereeniging station. On the Transvaal side of the Vaal River there are sixty bell tents and twenty marquées. A plentiful supply of water has been piped to the camp, electric lights have been installed and a staff of British medical officers are in attendance. Generous cooking and catering arrange- ments also have been made. The delegates are amusing themselves with various outdoor games, and at a re- cent football match the delegates from {he Orange Free State were victorious over the delegates from the Transvaal. A company of the Scots Guards as a guard of honor were at the games. W = | s LY cavvewz meszer 726 cmis 2arcrzo JI) ‘ ; | | | | 1 | MONG the awful incidents of the destruction of St. Pierre was the death of one hundred and twenty-six girls who, with the sisters having the care of these children, perished when the convent was destroyed by the deadly blast from Pelec. shown in the above illustration, together with the crushed walls of the old - fort and rem- nants of buildings along the shore. (Copyright, 1902, by the New York Herald Publishing Company.) The ruins of the convent are ’ v 29.—Profes- on, head of the ERKELEY, Laws geology department of the University of California and an acknowledged authority on geological subjects among the scientists of the country, | made statements to-day relative to the present disastrous eruptions of Mont Pe- lee, which throw new light upon the prob- able causes of the cataclysm and which portend a dismal outlook for the distress- ed island of Martinique. According to his statements, the present outburst may con- tinue for an indefinite time and will prob- ably result in making the whole island an uninhabitable volcanic waste. “From what I can gather from the. tel- egrdphic reports, and from the statements of the daring scieatist, Professor Hiil,"” said Professor Lawson, “‘the present erup- | tion has only been equaled in history by that of Mount Krakatoa in Sumatra in 1883, and its effects will ultimately be more widespread than in the former case. 1 agree with the present scientific opinion that the explosive eruptions will probably be more and more violent and it is very reasonable to believe that the lava flow, which has only commenced within the last few days, wili eventually cover the whole island of Martinique. “In the cas¢ of Mont Pelee, the erup- tion is the result of the inrush of the sea into the molten interior of the mountain through some recently established sub- terranean fissure. This engenders the tre- mendous steam pressure which is suffi- cient to produce the powerful explosions noted in the dispatches. - “The eruption of La Soufriere on St. Vincent and the earthquake disturbances in Guatemala are all correlated with the cruption of Mont Pelee, since they are all traceable to the same underlying cause, the breaking of that part of the earth's | crust under strain and the inrush of the sea into the fissure, thus established. Un- til a gradual readjustment of the earth at that point takes place, these distupbances will continue unabated.” BEAUTY OF ST. PIERRE. Destroyed City One of the Richest in the West Indies. No city in the West Indies surpassed St. Pierre In the natural beauty of fts lo- cation and the artistic beauty of its buildings, many of which were more than 250 years old, having been built by Es- mambuc in 1635-40. There were splendid homes, great factorles and magnificent estates. The loss of the city means the | destruction of millions ot dollars’ worth of property, according to men who have been to St. Plerre and are familiar with its business affairs.’ . There were more than 25,000 people in the city. Of this number only some 2500 were white, and they were nearly all of French descent. The negroes of the sy ana of Martinique are of the best class of negroes, many of them having been edu- cated in the schools of Paris. The whites axg in numerous instances descended from old French legitimist families. The people are very sharply divided into ‘bosses” and laboring men, and the bosses make up a social circle entirely their own. So sharp is the line of cleavage that the only lub for Europeans at St. Pierre was known simply as the “White Club.’ The negroes’ had ~a club _ called the “Black Club.” One of the old French families, that of the Perinnelles, had a palatial estate in the suburbs of St. Pierre, this being probably the most notable private estate in the West Indies. The *‘bosses’” of St. Pierre were in near- ly every instance engaged In the manu- facture of rum, sugar or cocoa. The rum factories are the most important, the ar- ticle being. m:‘nufactured from the sugar cane, which i¢ raised in great abundance in the plantations of the neighborhood. The most important of the rum factories belonged to M. de Garagarri, M. Savon and M. Berti. The Berti plant consisted of some five distinct distillerles, valued at about $500,000. The extensive sugar plant belonging 'to Dr. Guerin, and valued at about $200,000, was destroyed by the vol- cano. The seat of the government of the island is at Fort de France. St. Pierre, how- ever, was the chief commercial city of the island. The municipality was governed by a Mayor and council of twenty-seven members. The Mayor was M. Hyacinthe Nicole, with Rene Clavius-Marius and Amedee Knight as deputies. The munici- pal government was housed in one of the many fine buildings of the city. .. The topography of St. Pierre was pecu- iiar. Facing the sea, with no land protec- tion whatever from tides, its harbor was not a safe refuge for ships in time of storm. The beach was so abrupt, never- theless, ‘that heavy draft steamships found it possible to go within fifteea or tweny yvards of the shore, there_ transfer- 1ing their cargoes to barges and lighters, which could steam u{) and down the 1nile or sc of beach directly bounding the city. The buildings began within a few yards cf high tide point, and.covered the land, in spite of a very abrupt slope, for near- 1y a mile inland. The River Blanche is about a mile and 2 half above the upper boundary of the city. This is the most important stream of the neighborhood, but it is not navigable. Distinctive_among the buildings of the city was a.Catholic cathedral, presided over by Mgr. Marie Charles Alfred de Cormont. This was a magnificent struc- ture for such £ small city, and was built many years ago. In the diocese of St. Pierre there were three churches and teveral small chapels. In addition there was a Jesult college of no insignificant proportions, there being about thirty-five professors in the facuity. $ The business of the city, 'outside of the export trade, was done through: retail stores. There were twelve dry. goods stores, two large hardware stores, mak- ing a specialty of farming matertals,-and Professor Lawson of Berkeley Predicts That the Island of Martinique Is Doomed to Desolation. four brokers. The money of the city was iargely handled by the Banque de la Mar- tinique, founded In 1851, with a capital of 3,000,000 francs. In addition, there were m St. Pierre agencies of the Bank of France.and the Colonial Bank of London. The city maintained a complete public school system. There was a fine hotel, known as the Plerre Crocquet, where many persons went on visits from France to enjoy the climate of the island. - Just outside the city there was an elaborate botanical garden, where a superb collec- tion of tropical plants had been gathered. One of the features of this garden, and cne which {llustrates the eccentric to- pography of the country, was a water- fall, dropping some 300 feet. There were no rallroads or street cars in or near the city. The island Is too mountainous to allow of the building of rzilroads. For that reason the only means of reaching the interior was over the great highways. There were only a very few of these, owing to the extreme (iffi- culty of building them. After the short eruption of Pelee in 1851 the fumes and fires sank back in the earth, and in the heart of the cone a small lake formed. So confident were the people that there was no danger lurking within that mound that they built a large recreaation resort at Morne Rouge, a beautiful place high up on the ridge connecting Pelee with arbet, on the south, and on the road rom the city to the crater, about four miles from either. Toward this resort and toward- the crest of the hill itself ran the only roads leading from the city. Morne Rouge was a place where a large number of the people of Martinique sought rest in the hot summer months. The population of the place in the height of the season was several thousand. At this period of the year it was generally mhabited by 700 or 800 persons. ‘Wreckage and a Body Ashore. VICTORIA, B. C.. May 29.—The tug Eagle, which arrived at Vancouver re- cently from Triangle Island, where she took a party of prospectors searching for copper properties, reports that there was considerable wreckage along the rocks of the out-of-the-way island, which lies off the northwest of Vancouver Is- land and is seldom visited. Included among other wreckage was a deckhouse like those of small schooners, and the remains of a man were found on the rocks where the sea had washed them. The decl'(house had no marks of identifiacation on it. —_— Bride First; Then Graduate. STANFORD UNIVERSITY, May 20— Miss Hazel Hope Webster, *02, and H. R. Spencer, a business man of Portland, Were married yesterday morning in Palo ‘Alto. The Rev. R. M. Webster of Los ‘Angeles, the bride's father, performed the ceremony.. Immediately after her wed- ‘ding ‘Mrs. Spencer went to the Assembly Hall and took her degree from the depart- ment of English. DEADLY THREAT 15 CARRIED 0UT New Version of Murder and Suicide of Ford Brothers. NEW YORK, May 20.—In with the Ford tragedy which occurred re- cently in this city, a story hitherto un- published is in circulation regarding the cause of the shooting which cost the lives | of the author, Paul Lelcester Ford, and his brother, Malcolm, the famous athlete It is to the effect that Malcolm, who wa not provided for in his father's will, no; fied Paul a week before the shooting that he must have $25,000, which he claimed was his due because he signed a walver permitting the probating of the will. He is sald to have declared he meeded the money badly and to have become much incensed when Paul replied that—he-did not have the sum on hand, adding that he should consult other members of the family. Malcolm is said to have replied that one of the heirs had kept the agreement, but that he would not consult the others and departed with the declaration that he would return a week nence for the money, failing to receive- which he should resort to desperate means. The Cuban Sugar Questicn. WASHINGTON, May 20.—Hon. R. F. Broussard, a member of Congress from Louisiana, was before the Senate Com- mittee on Relations with Cuba to-day. He recently made a trip over the entire island of Cuba. He said his investigation showed that the American Sugar Refining Company owned no very large proportion of the raw_sugar that has been man- ufactured. With this exception, all the sugar manufactured this year had been hypothecated to men who loaned money to the planters and it was his opinion that these men would eventually control the output. “The American Sugar Refinery,” the witness sald, “will get at least 9 per cent of all the benefits granted by Con- gress to the Cuban planters.” The committee adjourned until to-mor- Tow. Fails to “Star” an Actress. CHICAGO, May 2).—A jury to-day found Gecrge ceny. He was charged with stealing $40,000 belonging to Mrs. Harvey, his mother-in- law. The jury found that he was guilty of taking $15,000. D’Essauer, according to the testimony, got the money from Mrs. Harvey by iraudulently representing that he wanted to invest and had spent much of it in traveling in Europe, in pursuit of an actress 1t was alleged that ne planned to ‘‘star” the actress, but that the plan fell through. . e o Jordan Will Go to Samoa. STANFORD UNIVEKSITY, May 20.— President Jordan will leave on June 12 on the steamer Slerra for Samoa, where he will spend the summer in the investi- gation and classification of the fishes and other marine animals of the Samoan is- lands. The work will be done for the United States Fish Commission,’and Pro- fessor Vernon Kellogg of Stanford will accompany Dr. Jordan as an assistant. Mrs. Jordan and Professor Allardice will also be members of the party. Military Prisoners Ordered Released. WASHINGTON, May 20.—Under the decision of the Supreme Court in the case of Peter C. Deming, Secretary Root has directed that twenty-seven ex-members of volunteer organizations now serving sentences shall be released from confine- ment. Ten of the freedmen are now at the Fort Leavenworth Penitentiary and the other seventeen are at Alcatraz Isl- and, California. They are all enlisted men. s g N liy Veteran. Falls to His Death. LOS ANGELES, May 2).—Henry Fris- bee, an inmate of the Soldiers’ Home, was attacked with vertigo early to-day while standing in a second story window of the main building. He fell to the ground below and was killed. He was a member of the Fifty-ninth New York Cavalry during the Civil War. ————— Triennial Sangerfest. BALTIMORE, Md., May 2.—It was de- cided to-day to hold the twentieth trien- nial Sangerfest of the Northeastern San- gerbund of America in this city the week of June 14, 103. It is expected that 5000 trained singers will attend. The associa- tion has already arded a_contract for two bronze prizes of MendelSsohn and Handel for L DT R Shah of Persia at Potsdam. POTSDAM, May 29.—The Shah of Per- sia arrived here this afternoon. He was received by -Emperor William, several army officers of high rank, Baron von Richthofen, the Foreign Secretary, and a guard of honor. connection | D’Essauer guilty of grand lar-| EXPECT FIGHT ON MEMBERSHIP Vexed Question Pops Up in United Presbyte- rian Assembly. PITTSBURG, May 29.—With the elec- tion of Rev. Dr. James C. Wilson of | Erie as moderator, the appointing of committees, the hearing of reports and consideration of routine business the commissioners to the General Assembly of the United Presbytertan Church put tne forty-fourth annual sessfon well un- cer way. | The membership committete’s report { will be the most important matter con- sidered. This has existed all along, but the day put an entirely new face on the matter, and to-morrow will see a lively iight on the question. Rev. David Miller furnished the surprise by present- ing a memorial from the Lake Presby- tery contamning a covenant to be sub- stituted for the basis of membershio de- vised by the special committee appomted a year ago, and which was referred to- day to a special committee that will re- port to-morrow. The memorial asks that the assembly send the covenant down to tite presbyteries as an overtpre, and sets forth at length arguments in' its favor. It jc essentially the same as the covenant prepared by the special committee of which J. T. McCrory, D. D., is chairman, but 1t provides for the repeal of “the*law of adherence,” now the principal feature of the membership of the covenant. This iaw requires applicants for membership 1o subscribe to all the principles and doe- trines of the church. The new provisions simply require profession of faith and re- pentance. Little except routire reports of the va- rious boards of the church and the stand- ‘ng committee was developed to-day. WILL MAKE ANOTHER TRIAL FOR THE CUP Plans Are Completed and Arrange- ments Being Made to Build a New Challenger. LONDON, May 2.—William Fife and George L. Watson have collaborated on the plans for a new challenger for the America’s cup, which will be built by the Dennys at Dumbarton. Captain Robert Wringe, who was with Captain Hogarth on board the Shamrock I in her series for the cup, will be in supreme command of the new yacht. All the plans are now completed and ar- rangements have been made for closing the building contract. The satisfaction which Fifgmexpressed with the Thorny- crofts’ worlliien the Shamrock [.made that firm a strod® competitor for the contract, but Watson's influence resulted in the se- lection of the Dennys. COAL COMPANIES GETTING READY FOR LONG CONTEST Secure Appointment of Nearly Two Thousand Watchmen Since Be- ginning of the Strike. ° HARRISBURG, Pa., May 29.—There have been issued from the State and ex- ecutive departments commissions for about 1600 coal and iron policemen since the beginning of the strike in the anthra- cite coal regions. This morning applica- tions were made by fifteen companies for the appointment of nearly 200 more and their commissions were promptly issued. The appointment of so man{ special po- licemen is taken to indicate that the coal companies propose to settle down for a long contest. P SRy Strike Settlement Is Delayed. SACRAMENTO, May 29.—There is small hope of an early settlement of the trou- bles between the Contractors’ Association and the Building Trades Council. Yester- day’s meetings of the conference commit- tee were not productive of anything as- suring an amicable adjustment of existing differences, but point rather to further delay. From what can be learned, the representatives of the council on the com- mittee made a concession to the emplgy- ers, but it does not appear that th® grant- ing’ of this concession marks the way to settlement. It is understood that the council’s representatives agree to submit certain propositions from the Contractora’ Association to the individual unions for approval, pending which the resolution passed by the Contractors’.®Association April 8 will be held in abeyance. ot arml e Flood Interrupts the Traffic. TACOMA, Wash., May 20.—The recent heayy snows on the mountains havé meit- ed, causing a disastrous washout last night on the Clarks Fork of the Columbia River, on the line of the Northern Pacific Rallroad, near Bonita, Mont., and the train schedule is badly demoralized. All the overland passenger trains will have to be transferred at Bonita and until the water has subsided and the track been replaced. Just'how soon the conditions will permit this to be done the officials of the company do not kmow.