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INDIANAPOLIS JOBBNA WKrKLY KSTAHLISItED 1SC3. LA I L.Y KSTA1JLISIIKD 1S..0. j VOL, LIV. NO. 11(. INDIANAPOLIS, MONDAY MORNING, APRIL 25, 1001 TEN PAGES. PRICE 2 CENTS. I ON It A I LAVA Y TRAINS FIVE CENTS. 0 F STAT E JAPAN MOVES CAUTIOUSLY, WHEAT IN INDIANA WILL BE. LESS THAN HALF THE USUAL CROP THIS YEAR In Some Counties the Yield Will Not Be 15 Per Cent, of the Average. ADVANCE GUARD N : ' - ' i i .' , ; - . .... - - - - - . . j - - Kll CROWD IS A 10USLY. WITH A BREAKER IN SIZE Sunday's Arrivals Include Many Delegates and Prominent Party Men. Her Troops and Ships Are Where They Will Strike Effectively as Opportunity Offers. TOO STRICT NEUTRALITY MUCH "BEHIND SCENES" NOT A GREAT CALAMITY, GOHVEN ION f! I Iii! Ü RECORD 0 PURPOSE IN SIGHT Frequent Secret Conferences Shows No One Is Confident of a Victory. JUNIOR SENATOR HERE Representative Frederick Landis Is First Arrival Mr. Fairbanks to Arrive To-Day. Contrary to general expectations, scores of politicians arrived in the city yesterday an 1 last night to be on the ground early for the Republican state convention. They came from all parts o! the State. Some of them came to put their shoulders to band wagons, others came looking for a seat in the most promising bandwagon, while a few came possessed with skepticism con cerning the existence of any bandwagon. In any event, there were more arrivals than had been anticipated for Sunday, most of the politicians already on the ground having Jumped at the conclusion that there would be comparatively few people here until to-day. Among those who made their appearance yesterday were several members of the state committee, including State Chairman James I. Goodrich, of Winchester; George A. Cunningham, Evansville, committeeman for the First district; Julian I). Ilogate, Danville, committeeman for the Fifth; Kdwin P. Thayer, Greenfield, committee man for the Sixth; George Lilly. Anderson, committeeman for the Kighth. and John L. Moot man, Knox, committeeman for the Thirteenth. John C. Itillheimer. Wash ington; Fred A. Sims, Frankfort; Floyd A. Woods, Indianapolis; Klam II. Neal. Jonesboro, aud Elmer Leon ard, Fort Wayne. committeemen for the Second. Ninth, Seventh, Elev enth and Twelfth districts, respective ly, were already on .the ground, and It Is believed that every member of the com mittee, save Thomas J. McCoy, of the Tenth, will be on hands for the meeting at 2 o'clock this afternoon. LANDIS FIRST REPRESENTATIVE. Representative Frederick K. Landis, of Logansport, member of Congress for the Eleventh district, was the first member of the Indiana delegation' to arrive from Washington. lie was closely followed by Senator Beveridge. Mr. Landis brought word that his brother. Representative C. B. Landis, of Delphi, will not be able to come out for the convention, but that Senator Fairbanks and Representative Crumpacker will be hre some time to-day. Leading party workers from almost every district and county in the State were prom inent among the arrivals, and the lobby of the English last evening presented the busiest scene of any time since the conven tion crowd began to pour In. Many of the new-comers were delegates or held proxies that'-wlH entitle them to seats in Uie con vention, and the managers of the several candidates found considerable material upon which to work and they lost no time In getting to work. At times during the evening the suberna torial candidates and the aspirants for the other good things that the state convention will have at its disposal mixed industrious ly In the crowd in the lobby, but they re tired frequently to their headquarters for consultation lehlnd closed doors. Their close lieutenants were working "behind the sceneä" for the most part, but there were more evidences of real activity than at any time during the last week. ALL ARE CONFIDENT. The unsophisticated individual who dropped into the English at any time dur ing the afternoon or evening and mingled freely with the throng of politicians, be lieving all he heart! and drawing conclu sions from all hö saw, would hive been convinced that the Republican state ticket this year will have four candidates for Governor, three for Lieutenant Governor, four for reporter of the Supreme Court and three or four for state statistican. So in sistent and confident were the several can didates and their managers in advancing their claims and figures of what Is to trans epire In Tomlinson Hall on Wednesday that , on other conclusion was to be drawn. For real news developments yesterday was a duplicate of Friday and Saturday of last week, it was generally conceded that no nominations were made during the day or night and nothing occurred to throw any new light on the general situation. -SENATOR BEVERIDGB k TALKS OF CONGRESS Arrives from Washington Last Night to Be on Hand for the Convention. Senator Albert J. Beveridge arrived In the city from Washington last night about 10 o'clock and proceeded at once to his resi dence on North Pennsylvania street. When seen a few minutes after his arrival the senator expressed his pleasnre at being able to get away from Washington at this time to attend the state convention and to meet his friends from the various parts of the State who will be here during the next two or three days. The senator is In ex cellent health and said that he never felt better nor more like entering upon a cam paign with all the energy he possessed. In Senator Beveridge's opinion the Con gress now drawing to ä close has been one of the most notable in the history of the country. "The adjournment will come this week, I probably on Wednesday," he said. "In the , . fhort time Congress has been In session we have accomplished more than Is ordinarily accomplished In two sessions, long or short, and the work has been large, far-reaching and historical in its character and magni tude. For example, we have consummated the great plan of reciprocity with Cuba. , Aside from the moral feature of this, which s, was Its chief reason. Its material benefits - to the American people are already appar- ent and will grow in Importance as long as th two governments maintain friendly re- lations. No nobler and mre notable work t of statesmanship has been accomplished in ' recent years. "Then we have brought to a head the trreat purpose of the American people to Join the two oceans by a canal across the a thmus. This is the largest world wt.rk a material character ever undertaken. Is a traditional policy of the. American eoiile. It has been in the minds and ef forts of our statesmen from the very begin ning. We have given efect to the will of the people in this matter at this session of Congi"-s. This work alone i enough to make historic any administration that ac complished it. i "It is remarkable, and something that swill never escape tho voters of the coun try, that. wh-r-as th opposition resisted jail of our gnat measures at first, in the end they nevertheless had to support them ;with some f their votes. : "The policy of th administration to en 1 force the laws on th statute ttooks against commercial combinations when it appears fey are growing lieyond Jhe law has met Vie approval of the SuprVne Court. This will strengthen the already strong con viction ofJhe people that the Resident tCONTlNUED ON I'AQk'e. COLTl.") MRS. ROBERT MILLER. Honorary Commissioner to World's Fair. FORMER RESIDENT OF CITY IS HONOREBY ISLANDERS Mrs. Robert Miller, Once of In dianapolis, Represents Porto Ri can Women at St. Louis. TALKS OF THE ISLAND Mrs. Robert Miller, wife of the postmas ter at Ponce, I'orto Rico, who was recent ly appointed honorary commissioner of Porto Rico to the St. Louis exposition, and who is well known throughout the island for her work among the poorer classes there, being president of the Woman's Be nevolent Society of Porto Rico, president of the Women's Club of Ponce and head of the Industrial School of the island, is in Indianapolis the guest of her brother, Mr. Trustin K. Igoe, 532 Lockerbie street. Mrs. Miller was formerly a resident of this city. During her stay in Porto Rico she has made a careful study of the sociological conditions among the poorer classes there and Is thoroughly acquainted with the needs of the people. Just now she is great ly interested in the exhibit being prepared for the fair. Mrs. Miller says that it Is her object to reproduce an exact counter part oi a homestead such as are owned and called home by the natives of the poorer classes. The idea is gathered from Mrs. Miller's conversation that the women of the island are victims of their own misdirected en ergy. They work Industriously, but not toward the ends that will profit them most. An attempt will be made to introduce and promote the gourd industry In this coun try. Gourds are subject to great utility. The natives consider them indispensable, and In every phase of their daily life they play an important part. Work done by children of the Industrial School will be exhibited, and it is hoped that sufficient Interest may be excited in this work to draw contributions for the introduction of a department of domestic science in the school. "The women of the upper class of Porto Ricok educated mowtly in Spain, Paris and the States, a're both charming and intel lectual." says-Mrc- Miller. : " "Most of them speak four languages fluently. The lower class are in the most abject poverty. Their condition is described as pitiable. Nevertheless, despite this pov erty, the progress made since the American invasion is encouraging. ' Although Mr. Miller's home is in Canton, O., he has many friends in this city. Since his marriage in Indianapolis, sixteen years ago, he has made several visits to Mr. Igoe, and his success in Porto Rico is- thorough ly felt and appreciated by Indianapolis friends. YOUTH IS SLAIN IN DUEL WITH OFFICERS Two Men Seriously Wounded as Result of Attempt to Make an Arrest. CORVALLIS, Ore., April il. Ester Keady is dead. James Dunn, ex-chief of police of Corvallis, is, perhaps, fatally wounded, and David A. Osburn, ex-sheriff of Benton county. Is dangerously wounded as the re sult of a pistol duel to-day. Keady fired off his pistol on the street, and Osburn under took to arrest him. As Osburn approached Keady shot the officer through the neck. Sheriff Rurnett soon arrived, in company with ex-Chief Dunn. Keady emptied his revolver at them, one shot taking effect In Dunn's abdomen. Then Burnett fired, and Keady fell "dead with a bullet in the head. Keady was about eighteen years of age, and belonged to a prominent Corvallis family. KILLED IN DUEL IN HOUSE OF WORSHIP Negro Is Shot Down by Rival and Tennessee Congregation Runs Riot. KNOXVILLE. Tenn.. April 2I.-A rlstol duel caused a congregation of negro wor shipers to quickly disperse to-day near Bean's Station, Tenn. George Whitesides and Arizona Goins had trouble over a woman and both pulled pistols and began firing. Goins fell dead with a bullet through his heart, and a brother, Jim Goins, was mortally wounded. Whitesides was shot through one arm. while another bullet, which would otherwise have killed him. smashed a whisky flask which he had in an inside coat pocket. The shooting nearly caused a riot, and Whitesides had no trouble in escaping to the woods. WASHOUT CAUSES TWO RAILWAY FATALITIES Fireman and Brakeman Killed and Conductor Wounded in a Santa Fe Wreck. KANSAS CITY. Mo., April 2t.-An east bound freight train on the Atchison, To peka & Santa Fe Railway was ditched at Floyd. Mo., near here to-day. Two mem bers of the crew were killed and one fatal ly hurt. Three hundred feet of track had been washed out by a heavy rain that pre vailed in this part of the State to-day and twenty cars went over an embankment. Frank Nelson, fireman, and William Orr, brakeman. were killed, and George Skin ner, conductor, was fatally scalded. AH were from Marceline, Mo. Nelson's body is yet buried beneath the wreckage. BANK LOOTER'S CASH BOND IS COUNTERFEIT ATWOOD. Kan.. April 2I.When the cae of Ed Kelly, charged with looting the Rawlins county treasury, was called yesterday Kelly failed to appear. Hi. cash bond of $2.500 was forfeited. The officers then discovered that the whole amount was counterfeit money in bills of large de nomination. Kelly came from Chicago. Russian Admiral Savs the Lines Were Too Tightly Drawn at Suez and Port Said. NO FIGHTING ON YALU Report Said to Be Premature Russian Speculation on Japanese Plans Extended Lines. LONDON, April 25.-The far' Eastern dis- I patches thi3 morning are chiefly concerned J with reports and speculations concerning ) Japanese landings and the plan of cam paign. The Telegraph's Tokio correspond ent says the present delay is more appar ent than real, both as regards field and naval eperations. The Japanese, according to the correspondent, are acting prudently and will not be hurried. They realize that certain movements must precede the next coup by land and sea, and they are awaiting both favorable weather and occasion, and from Port Arthur to Vladivostok are on the alert. Announcing the notification that military attaches will be permitted to take the field, the correspondent remarks that the Japan ese, in matter of equipment, etc., are treat ing the foreign attaches and correspondents like princes. The Morning Post's Shanghai correspond ent says spies have informed the Russians at Kin-Chau that Japanese Warships, con voying transports with 30,000 troops, are steaming northward. According to the Mail's NIeu-Chwang cor respondent, the announcement that Viceroy Alexieff had resigned caused the most In tense public feeling. The correspondent says It is generally thought in naval and military circles that there Is a possibility of arranging a peaceful settlement of the far Eastern troubles through the mediation of the powers. The correspondent of the Standard at Chee-Foo says he hears that Japan has again protested to the Peking government against Ttussian troops being permitted to occupy places west of the Liao river. The Telegraph's Shanghai correspondent cables that a second Japanese army will sail soon and will land on the island of Diawato, near Yongampo. Russin Ilnylng Ships. LONDON, April 23. The Telegraph's Brussels correspondent says agents of the Russian government have signed an agree ment to purchase three large men-of-war constructed at Genoa for the Argentine Re public at a price of $18,2no.orm. One of the ships, the Garibaldi, is a vessel of 12,00) tons. BERLIN. April 24. It is said here that the Ilalmburg-Amerlcan line steamers Co lumbia, Bengalia and Iielgia have been sold to the-Russian" government. ' ' !Vew Ship In Commission. CRONSTADT, April 21. The new battle ship Alexander III has gone into commis sion and Is the first vessel of the Baltic fleet to hoist a pennant this year. NEUTRALITY IS TOO STRICTLY ENFORCED ST. PETERSBURG, April 24. Rear Ad miral Wirenius has just returned from his unsuccessful attempt to reinforce the Port Arthur fleet with his squadron, consisting of the battleship Osliabia, the crilsers Au rora and Dmitri Donskoi, eleven torpedo boats and two transports. In an interview the admiral complained of the stringency of the neutrality at Suez and Port Said. The British authorities would not allow the vessels to remain more than twenty-four hours and permitted them to take on only a meagre allowance of coal. The admiral said: "We met the cruisers Kasuga and Nls shin) the warships purchased by Japan from Argentina and now with Vice Admiral Togo's fleet) at Port Said, but we had not the slightest desire to stop them. They had all the appearance of merchantment and their rough crews dangled their legs over the sides of the vessels. My ships have re turned safely after a voyage longer than that to Port Arthur." The torpedo boats are now at Libau, where their engines are being overhauled. RUSSIANS SPECULATE ON JAPANESE PLANS ST. PETERSBURG. April 21. Apparently reliable information in the possession of the general staff leads to the belief that the ob jective of the Japanese campaign does not "TccTNTINUlfDON PAGE 2, COL. 5.) RIOTERS ARE KILLED B! Clash of Socialists and Independ ents Causes a Murder and Cul minates in a Slaughter. 23 KILLED, 40 WOUNDED BUDA-PESTH. April 24. A serious riot Is reported to have taken place at the market town of Elesd. near Gross-Wardeln, re sulting from a collision between meetings of the Socialist and Independent parties. While order was being restored by the gendarmes a Socialist fired a revolver, kill ing the commander. The gendarmes there upon, fired a volley, killing twenty-three of the rioters and severely woinding forty. The military were summoned from Gross Wardeln. WOMEN ENGAGE IN A FIGHT ON THE STREET Old Enemies at Kokomo Meet by Chance and a Vicious En counter Follows. Special to th Indianapolis Journal. KOKOMO, Ind., April 24. Two well- known Kokomo women, Mrs. Minnie Ess man and Mrs. Sophia Dewees, had a vicious fight at the corner of the court house square last evening as the result of an old grudge and a chance meeting. Wait ing for the same street car, they came to gether like tigresses, and before an officer arrived both were in a sorry plight, almost destitute of clothing and hair. Officer Bob Ashley, in trying to separate the women, had his clothing torn and lost his watch and chain. The belligerents will be ar- raigued in court to-morrow. GENDARMES HUNGARY POLISH REVOLUTIONISTS EXECUTED BY RUSSIANS Eighteen Said to Have Been Hanged, According to a Re port from Warsaw. PLOTTED FOR FREEDOM WARSAW, April 24. It is reported here that eighteen conspirators have been hanged after their trial in connection with a Polish revolutionary plot. The location of the executions and the details of the alleged plot have not been made public. According to a dispatch from Berne, Switzerland, about ten days ago the Polish patriotic committee, acting on information that the Russian government was about to demand that the Polish revolutionary fund, which for many years had been kept in Berne, be turned over to It by the Swiss government, had removed the fund surrep titiously to an unknown point. This was considered in some quarters evidence that the committee anticipated or perhaps had planned an early use of the fund for revo lutionary purposes. IMPALED ON THE LEG OF A PIANO STOOL Aged Union City Man Receives Serious Injuries While Hang ing a Picture. Special to the Indianapolis Journal. UNION CITY. Ind.. April 24. B. F. Cod dington. aged sixty-one years, of this city, while hanging up a picture at his home, fell from a piano stool upon which he was standing and alighted on one of the sharp legs of the overturned stool with such force that he was impaled on the pointed metal. He may die of his injuries. GIVES HER SISTER POWER OF ATTORNEY SAN FRANCISCO, April 24. A power of attorney, by which Mrs. Theresa Oelrlchs empowers her sister, Mrs. W. K. Vander bilt, jr., to act for her In this city in all matters pertaining to the settlement of the estate of their late brother, Charles L. Fair, has been placed on record. Mrs. Vanderbil will assume the duties which were performed by Herman Oelrlchs, husband of Mrs. Theresa Oelrlchs, up to a few months ago. II fiy UHKHOWH ASSAILANTS George W. Sandifer Is Assaulted and Pockets Rifled of Watch and Money. ON WAY TO HIS HOME Two unknown men murderously assault ed George W. Sandifer, a machinist, living at 844 Hosbrook street, Saturday night, be tween 10 and 11 o'clock, while the victim was on his way home. Sandifer was struck down, he believes, with a sandbag, the blow coming squarely on the left ear. Three dollars in change and a small gold watch, highly valued as a keepsake, were taken from him. He was confined to his bed yes terday as a result of nervous shock. Sandifer's son-in-law, John Richardson, with whom he lives, says his father-in-law was in a saloon on East Washington street. and that he believes his assailants followed him from the place for the purpose of rob bing him. When Sandifer reached a dark spot on Cedar street, just opposite the Anderson Coal Company's yard, and only about two blocks from his home, the men suddenly rushed up from behind, and one of thöm dealt him a terrific blow. He fell to the ground, only partially stunned, and the other man bent over him ' and rifled his pockets. "He hasn't much money, but we'll take his watch." Sandifer heard one of the men say. At this the victim of the assault fainted, and when he recovered friends had him in charge. The robbers had been frinhtened away by a passer-by. The watch was hi hly valued by Sandi fer. as It was one he had given his little son. now dead. A valuable. chain supported a locket which contained pictures of the man's dead wife and son. No trace of the footpads has been found. They are described as middle-ai;ed men, ot medium height and hullO, STRUCK It's All Settled. TYROLESE TRY 1110 ANAPOLIS FARE Company of Mountaineers, on Way to St. Louis Exposition, Stop in This City. EAT HAM SANDWICHES One hundred and fifty strange-garbed and Ftrange-looking people from the far Tyrol passed through Indianapolis yesterday morning over the Big Four for St. Louis, where they went to take part In the expo sition. Their train stopped long enough to give them an opportunity -for lunch. They were served with unromantic sandwiches and coffee at the Union Station restaurant. Many of the company had never before seen a ham sandwich, and their attitude toward this great American product was amusing. They would take up the little rolls, eye them suspiciously, and, with knowing smiles, shoot questioning glances at their servitors. Finally, however, hun ger got the better of their suspicions; and soon the whole company was eating ham sandwiches as though it had been nurtured on them from infancy. The Tyrolese were dressed in their native costumes, which are not unlike the dress of the Scotch Highlanders. They were very gay and inclined to be noisy, but seemed to take great interest in all that was going on about them. In their native land these people are noted for their remarkable ability in play ing the zither. They are also acknowledged to be the greatest "yodlers" in the world. Tyrol is a romantic province high in the Alps, and the low, undulating" country of Indiana must have struck the foreigners with its dead contrast to their own home, almost in cloudland. VERESTCHAGIN FEARED WOULD NOT RETURN Will of Russian Artist, Read at St. Petershurg, Reveals a Pre monition of Death. MOSCOW, April 24. The will of Vassfli Verestchagin, the Russian painter who went down on the Petropavlovsk at Port Arthur, has been read. It leaves the entire estate to the widow. The will was made just before the painter started for the far East, and in it he expressed the convic tion that he would not return. General Kuropatkin has telegraphed to Mme. Verestchagin an expression of the sympathy he feels with her in her afflic tion, and his regret at the loss of an old comrade. GAMBLING HOUSE ROBBED Bl SOCIETJTYOUHG Mill After Securing Considerable Booty He Is Run Down and Killed by a Posse. OF A WEALTHY FAMILY SAN JOSE, Cal., April 24.-A masked man. armed with two revolvers, entered the rooms of the Delmonte Social Club and, after lining up against the wall six men who were in the rooms, took a diamond ring, valued at $900, from oneNof the men, grabbed up $0 or $400 from the table, and then backed out of the room. After pur suit by citizens lasting more than an hour, during which more than thirty shots were exchanged, the robber was finally killed. On Investigation the dead man was found to be Bert Thorndyke, who had been known as one of the best young men in this city. His mother-in-law was Mrs. William G. Bruce, a wealthy widow, with whom Thorn dyke, his wife and little child lived. Thorn- - - 1 1 . uyKe s inuuier is a weauny Wiaow Ot ötOCk- ton. KILLED A DOG AND COMMITTED SUICIDE NEW YORK. April 24. Grieving because she had killed her pet, a St. Bernard dcg, Miss Martha Bond committed suicide at New Rochelle to-day by drinking carbolic acid. Miss Bond was twenty-four years old and was companion to Mrs. William Carey, liv ing in a fashionable apartment house. She was found in the bathroom and lingered in agony for eight hours, when she died. She shot the dog yesterday. BRIGHT GARBED SPRING WEATHER SEEMS JUSTT00G00DT0BETRUE New Suits, New Gowns, New Hats and Bright Smiles Bloom on First Springlike Sunday. SMALL BOY GAMBOLS Excursions Bring Some People Into City and Excursionists See the Sights. Nervous dread took possession of many of the residents of Indianapolis yesterday morning when thV.y awakened to a realiza tion of the fact that spring was ru.i'.y here and that they would have to dig up the spring "togs" they had buried in dark closets about the middle of last month when it looked as if winter. was going to last all summer. It was not that they were sorry the first warm Sunday had come, but that they feared the ravages of buffalo moths, for it Is a well-known fact that a moth would Just as soon dine off a new suit as an old one. Nevertheless, smiling, happy people wore their new clothes yesterday, many for the first time since the finery was taken from the tailor for Easter. Everybody seemed gay as they promenaded the streets, free from the cumbersome cloaks and over coats that had been their constant com panions since about the first of last Sep tember. The spirit of spring thrust itself Into the soul of the small boy and he loafed around the corners, played ball on the common and missed Sunday school, perhaps for the first time since several weeks before Christ mas. The desk sergeant's telephone bell at the police station rang more than once dur ing the day as a prelude to an announce ment that a gang of boys in some part of the city was getting loud and disturbing the Sunday quiet. A crowd of "visitors" were to be seen loafing around the monument all during the day and late at night many were stiil there iistenlng to the ripple of the cas cades and languidly watching the glimmer of . the water under the glare of the elec tric lights. Another evidence of spring yesterday was the excursions. Six were run, three into the city and three out, but the people were still evidently unwilling to trust the weather, for the extras were not very well patronized. The Big Four ran an excur sion to Auburn, Ind., the Vandalia ran one to Terre Haute and the Cincinnati. Hamil ton & Dayton sent another to Cincinnati. Those coming into the city were one over the Big Four from Mattoon. III., one over the same road from Cincinnati, and an other over the Peoria & Eastern from Champaign, 111. Railroad officials estimate the excursion crowds at about 3o0 people to the train. The weather man said last night that, according to hls charts, the hot weather Is not going to come all at once, and he predicts that a drop of eight degrees in temperature may be expected for to-morrow, with probable showers for to-night. BASEBALL BOY IS OUT ON STREETS ALREADY A section of a city ordinance enacted in 1S9 prohibits small boys from playing baseball in the streets on Sunday. Evi dently the ordinance was brought Into life so long ago that the present-day youngsters have forgotten it, for the complaints of Sunday basetall came thick and fast to the desk sergeant at police headquarters yes terdaj'. The baseball fever has seized the boys with untold fury, and this, together with the warmer weather, brought the youthful aspirants out in foce. The com plaints were not confined to an especial quarter, but came from all localities. LAUNCHING OF SHIP MAY NOT BE DELAYED QUINCV, Mass., April 24 It is believed to-night that the end of the strike of 3,0m) employes at the yards pf the Fore River Ship and Engine Company i3 iu sight. There is good reason to expect that the men will return to work on Tuesday next. They will, it is said, resume on the basis of nine hours a day. fix days a week. No provision is made for a half holiday Satur days. The company hopes to assure the launch ing of the battleship Rhode Island ou April 20, as plauned. Klevntor Dentroyril ly LlKht iiIiik. MIDLAND, Ont.. April 24. The Grand Trunk grain elevator here was struck by lightning and destroyed to-day. One man was killed. The elevator had a capacity of L0O.00Q bushels and was leased by E. R. Bacon & Co., ot Chicago. Farmers in Many Cases Will Be Out of Pocket Only for Cost of Seed and Labor. FIELDS PLOWED UNDER And Preparations Made for Plant- inrr Oats and Corn The Sea son Backward. Indiana will have little surplus wheat this year. The crop will not be half the average yield. In some counties it will be less than 15 per cent, the usual amount, aud in others it is a total failure. This statement is borne out by reports re ceived from the Journal's corps of corre spondents, talks with representative farm ers, elevator men and grain dealers, whoso business it is to know actual cor.ditions. Some farmers have plowed up evrry acre, of wheat and are preparing the ground for oats and corn. Wheat-growing In Indiana, except in a few counties, is not profitable. Many other crops pay better, but rotation is nectssary to restore and preserve certain elements of the soil, and wheat continues to be planted in large amount. When wheat is ruined, as In tlje present season, and weather condi tions permit, farmers plow up the ground and seed it with oats or corn, and If fer tilizer be u?ed the profit often is greater than It would have been with a good yield of wheat. However, in many count ies tho ground has been so wet this spring that plowing, has been almost impossible, and an average yield of oats is not expected. Corn, though, may do finely, as the large quantity of moisture in the soil will give it stimulus in a hot, dry summer. Farmers complain of the backwardness of the season. The winter permitted of littlo outdoor work, and the torrential rains of March and early April made plowing im possible. Farm, work generally is behind two to three weeLs. In the uplands a littlo plowing has been done, but in the bottoms and valleys the ground still is soaking with water, and it will tie well into May before the soil Is sufficiently dried out to be in workable condition. NOT A CALAMITT. Fartial loss of the wheat crop In Indiana is not regarded as a calamity. Early this season, when the succession of thawing and freezing periods showed the crop would not be a success, farmers began preparations for planting oats and corn. Where the jdate of the soil permitted early rowing of oat in the plowed wheat fields there will be a' good crop, and thtre also Is a probability of a big yield of corn where the wheat was winter-killed. If oats and corn be not In- jured, farmers who lost their wheat will be out of pocket only the cost of seed and labor. Therefore, as has already been stated, the injury to the wheat crop In In diana Js not as serious a matter as It would be in States where farmeri could not hope for a profitable crop of others grains. The Indiana Fatmer, which has several hundred correscondents !n the State, re cently received advices in line with the re ports received from the Journal's own corps of correspondents. James L. Kingsbury, of the Farmer, yesterday gave the Journal a synopsis of the reports received by bis paper. He said: "Our reports, which come from every county in the State, some from almost every township In a county, indi cate that the' wheat crop is certain to le lesb than 50 per cent, of the normal yield. This- is mainly due to the decreased acre age, and this decrease has been earned ty the plowing up of winter-killed wheat. The conditions last fall were not first class, and the winter was very severe on the wheat plant. Matters lecame serious in March, when, thaws and severe freezing literally threw .the wheat plants out of the ground. Some fields had the appearance cf being blasted, the stalks being dead to the loots. Floods also played havoc with the fields in lowlands, and Fome of the correspondents speak of the wheat being covered with tivo toten Inches of sand. "Farmers who have not put In oats where the wheat was killed do not expect over ten bushels an acre of wheat, and even thi3. yield, under the circumstane s, will be exceptional. Many of the correspondents speak hopefully of oats and corn, but it i too early to predict the success of cither cf these crops, as in many Instances they are not yet sown. Some farmers who used fer tilizers last fall say their wheat Is all right, but these cases are rare. "In regard to other crops than grains our reports hhow that peaches and cheirie have been injured. Grapes also have suf fered to some extent, and the prospects are good for apples, strawberries, black berries and raspberries. "Potatoes will be later than usual tot the reason that all farm work is from two to three weeks behind. "Semc farmers complain that timothy and clover have suffered, but indications point to a normal crcp." STATISTICIANS' RKPOItTS. State Statistician Johnson's litest reports indicate that the average condition of wheat in Indiana is about 40 per cent., as eomiarcd with former years. The statisti cian of the Department of Agriculture, in summarizing the reports received up to April 10. put the average condition in In diana at G.0, against 97.0 in i:03, S1.0 In 1?2. and 79.0 as the average for ten years. The Journal prints only a few of the re ports received from its correspondents. They speak for the whole State, as there Is a great -imilaiity In their tenor. All the correspondents say the season Is from two to three weeks backward and that wheat practically Is a failure or will be lss than half a usual crop. In many portions of the Kankakee, Wabash and White river valleys the ground Is still too wet to plow. In the central portion of the State farmers are sowing oats, and In the southern coun ties preparations are being- made to plant corn. Where clover grws well farmers are sowing It over the dead wh-at. Kos ciusko i one cf the countie where, it is said, the farmers will not harvest as much wheat as was sown last fall. In the Wa tah valley the crop is not exjx-cted to provide more than enough grain for bread and seed. WHAT CORRESPONDENTS SAY OF CONDITIONS 'Following are brief reports from corre spondents of the Journal located in various