STORY OF A GREAT SCANDAL
Ferdinand DfLruMpi and Ilia Connec-
tlon with the Panama Canal.
Special interest attaches to the Pa
nama canal scandal In France because
the great undertaking has become an
American enterprise and because, from
partisan sources, there have been
grave charges of financial crookedness
in connection with securing a title
from the French holders. The plan to
cut the Isthmus of Panama with a ca
nal was projected In May. 187». M.
de 1/4-sseps went personally over the
ground In 1880, said that the water
way could be completed in eight years
and that from the start it should pay
7 per cent, or better, upon the divest
nient. It whs his name and standing
Hint Interested the French people, for
lie had built the Suez canal, an achieve
ment Of his own suggestion. It was
opened with imposing ceremonies In
iK<;!». the Empress of Prance leading
the procession of royal personages The
tunn who had done so much to honor
lii« country upon the eve of her mis
fortunes was beloved of his people
and their confidence In him amounted
to enthusiasm.
All classes, capitalists, tradesmen
and peasants, were eager to subscribe
for stock and $251,000,000 were real
ized. it being given out at the time
that two responsible contractors had
■greed to do the entire work of con
struction for about double that sum.
1 I.KDINAND in-. I I'.hSl I-S.
Later, after the chamber of deputies
had twice rejected the proposition, the
establishment of a lottery to raise
■lore money was authorized, a condi
tion Imposed by the .Minister of Fi
nance being that the tide-water canal
lie abandoned and locks substituted.
11. Eiffel, of Eiffel tower fame, was
paid 30,000,000 francs merely for the
machinery necessitated by this change.
After the lottery scheme wot sanction
ed h loan was authorized by the cham
ber and to float It Baron Joseph Uei
nach was handed 6,000,000 francs. The
lieat he could do was to increase the
funds by 000,000,000 francs, and
Charles de Lessens, the sou, agreed for
the total «aid to be on hand to com
plete the canal within three years.
\: The crash came in 1892 and noth
ing worthy of being compared with
It had I •♦•en heard since the notorious
Mississippi bubble blown by John
Law. No way or chance of diverting
money appears to have been overlook
ed. Journalists were paid princely
Minis to draw the most alluring pic
tures and induce subscriptions to
stock. Legislators were bought with
little regard to the price paid. Offi
cials drew the most exorbitant sala
ries and had favored subordinates to
help garner the golden harvest. How
widely the Itching to plunder the fund
extended is shown by the fact that in
JBSB the Prime Minister and his im
mediate predecessor arbitrarily forced
the company to contribute 50.000
francs, not for canal building, but "for
the good of France, a formula that
had been made to cover a multitude of
Bins. After the alleged turning of the
limelight on the situation there were
■till 6G0.000.000 francs unaccounted
for.
A furor of excitement followed the
expose. Baron Heinach killed himself,
some say because of remorse, others
•ay because he was hounded to death
by menaces and attempts at black
mail. His partner, l>r. Hen, a Bava
rian Jew. who had been wise enough
to become naturalized in this country,
fled to England, and Alton, the go^
between, also decamped. The papers
of the Bnron showed the names of
many deputies who had been bribed
and papers that had been subsidized
but they received little by way of
advertising and their schemes of "pro
moting" were bo winked at that they
had no hesitancy In denouncing in bit
ter terms the legislators who had sold
out to the manipulators of the Panama
*r«ud. Eleven persona were criminal
ly prosecuted for complicity, aix O f
them being ex-cablnet ministers. The
one doubly punished was M. Balhaut
ex-MmUter of Public Work*, who had
the courage to pi^a gu uty and was
denounced not alona by his colleague*,
but by the public, making the singu
lar claim that his confession showed a
lack of patriotism. Tb e matter was
taken up again in 18&7. but even tlie
prosecuting officer helped to shut np
the scandal nud to this day It Is tmt
known where l>y fur the larger share
of the missing funds went to. The
luaeises In France are exceptionally
honest, and It is a strange contradic
tion that those of the accused who
again ran for office had no trouble In
being re-elected
To form a Judgment of Ferdinand
de l.i-sNt'iH It Is essential to know
something of his history prior to the
('annum affair. He was born at Ver-
MlllM In INOT>. IIIn grandfather had
j been In the diplomatic service and his
| father was consul to Egypt In the days
iof Mohammct All. Ferdinand whs
i himself educated for diplomacy, and
It wan because of his ability rather
than because he was a cousin of the
Bmpreu Eugenic that he did diplo
matic service in Spain. Italy, Bgypt
and other countries. It was to Said
Pasha, who had Just been appointed
viceroy of Egypt, that de Lesseps pre
sented the project of tlie Suez cannl.
Said I'asim entered heartily into the
plan, subscribed for a large share of
the stock which was sold sixteen years
later to England in its movement to
get control of the Important water
way. Gladstone was friendly to the
undertaking from the outset and help
ed it in that way of his which was so
effective, He was the great friend of
de Lessepi and was like tiie people of
Prance In regarding him as a man of
unswerving Integrity. Powerful aid
was honestly given to the Suez enter
prise and the viceroy poured money
into it as Deeded,
The Panama affair was a complete
reversal. Its pretended friends were
grabbers of the hungriest and most un
scrupulous type. They ruined the un
dertaking and the man who entered
upon it with sincerity and a spotless
character upon which the unscrupu
lous associates banked while robbing
the subscribers, lie was beyond the
psalmist's allotment of years to man
and physically incapacitated, mentally
weakened and leaning upon an Incom
petent son to look after his affairs
when they most needed the supervi
sion of a man who would sanction
nothing questionable. He never knew
that the son was a party to disreput
able methods, that he himself was con
victed of misappropriation of funds
and sentenced to l.ye years' imprison
ment, or that while he sat paralyzed
at home the finding was reversed by
the court. He did know that the un
dertaking was doomed to failure and
the burden of his lament was that so
many of the poor of France had suf
fered loss where he confidently ex
pected to give them profit. He saw
them gathered about him as he gazed
into the embers of his grafo flro dur
ing his last days and his mind went
to them rather than to the friends
who called. His honor to-day is held
above reproach among the great body
of the French people and they pro
nounce preposterous the suggestion
that he was a swindler. He was tech
nically such because of the position
which he nominally filled, but the con
vincing evidence is that he was a vic
tim, not a conspirator; a worthy man
among rogues that included his son.
Vertical Grain Flooring.
"Vertical grain yellow pine flooring,"
read the sign on the fence of the lum
ber yard; and "Vertical grain floor
ing?" said a man in the office, "why,
that's nothing new.
"But you never heard of It before?
Well, vertical grain flooring is sawed
from logs that have first been quar
tered; as quartered oak is sawed.
Flooring sawed in the ordinary way,
with its grain lying flat, Is more or
less liable to splinter; vertical grain
flooring, sawed from quartered tim
ber, has its grain on edge, the rings
that mark the timber's growth show
ing in parallel lines, for which reason
vertical grain flooring has sometimes
been called com!) grain Sooting.
"'Vertical grain flooring does not
splinter, but will wear smooth down
to the beams on which it is laid; and it
makes a very durable and handsome
flooring besides
"Vertical grain yellow pine flooring
is laid in places where the floors are
Subjected to great wear and where
freedom from splinters is especially
desirable. It has been used for school
room flooring and it is used in stores
and office buildings, and in flue kitch
ens. It costs more, of course, than or
dinary flooring. With the regular
flooring at $27 to $30 a thousand ver
tical grain flooring would cost ISSLSO to
54.."»0 a thousand.
"Maple flooring, costing $40 to $4.". a
thousand, is now also used to fill the
same requirements for a good floor,
but there are people who still prefer
the vertical grain yellow pine."—New
York Times.
Stage Fright and Self-Consciouane»a
Stage fright Is an Intense form of
self-consciousness, but the man who is
Incapable of stage fright lacks the sen
-1 sltive temperament to achieve great
, power as an artUt. The man who
, overcomes stage fright by getting oui
1 of his own way. and by letting th«
i character he Is playing, or the music
. h« La Interpreting work through him
• as a clear, unselfish channel, receives
i new power for his work In the pro
• portion that he shuns his own lnterfer
» Ing selfishness.— Leslie's Monthly.
GOT TERRIBLE PUNISHMENT.
Russia's Port Arthur Squadron It De
moralized.
Chefoo. —It is said that the Russian
battleship Czarevitch suffered terrible
punishment in the fight off Shantung
promontory on August 10, lasting from
noon until evening. Tho Czarevitch
bore the brunt of the fighting until 4
o'clock, when Admiral Withoeft was
hit by a shell, which blew his body to
pieces, only one of his legs being found
;ifter the explosion. Four officers
standing near him were also killed.
I Altogether the Czarevitch lost 15 men
killed and 4r> wounded.
At 4 o'clock in the afternoon of Au
gust 11 a Russian torpedo boat destroy
er, badly damaged, steamed slowly into
iTsingehou and half an hour later the
protected cruiser Novlk, slightly in
jured, entered port. No dead were on
board either vessel. They took coal
and departed at 3 o'clock on the morn
ing of August 12.
The battleship Czarevitch arrived at
Tsingchou on the night of August 11,
steaming at the rate of four knots an
hour and burning immense quantities
of coal to make even that rate of speed.
Her rudder shaft was broken, one gun
disabled, lifeboats had been lost, her
masts were badly bent, her funnels
were riddled and her luidge had been
twisted out of position. The projectile
holes above the water line were cov
ered with makeshift stoppers of wood.
The same night, August 11, the cruis
er Askold, with 15 of her crew dead
and 12 wounded, and one torpedo boat
destroyer attempted to enter Tsing
ehou, but were kept out by a Japanese
cruiser, whereupon they proceeded to
Woosung. The officers of the Czare
vitch are of the opinion that the Jap
anese vessels subsequently suffered se
verely in the fighting, as the pursuit
of the Czarevitch was maintained for
a short time only. The decks of the
battleship were slippery with blood
and the men on board were almost
deaf as a result of the concussions of
firing.
Several Japanese cruisers are report
ed to be off Shantung promontory near
the scene of the fighting, while the de
stroyers are watching the mouth of
Tsingehou harbor.
The German warships at Tsingchou
are the cruisers Puerst Bismarck, Gei
er, Hansa and Hertha, the gunboats
Luchs and Tiger and two torpedo boat
'lest rovers. They control the harbor
exit absolutely.
SURRENDER.
Tokio, Aug. 18.—7.—The emperor's
offer to release the noncompbatants at
Port Arthur, ooupled'with a demand
for the surrender of the fortress, was
delivered Tuesday. An answer is ex
' pected Wednesday.
I
Tokio, Aug. 18.—It is reported that
the Port Arthur garrison has refused
I to surrender and is disinclined to send
out nonconibaiauts.
London, Aug. 18.—According to the
correspondent of the Daily Telegraph
at Chefoo, refugee? arriving there
bring news of a serious condition of
affairs at Port Arthur. They say that
the Japanese shells have ignited light
ers at the docks, which contained sup
plies of coal, resulting iv a terrific con
| flagiation. Many of the buildings
i have been rlemolised and the hospitals
! are crowded.
A Japan squadron is expected at
Shanghai today. Japan is determined,
it is stated, that the protected cruisers
Askold and the torpedo boat Grozovoi
i shall leave port promptly or dismantle.
I A dispatch from Vladvistok says the
; cruisers Hossia and Gromohoi, of the
i Vladivostok squadron, have returned
theie.
Wheat Prices
Going Upward
San Francisco, Aug. 19. —Local mil
ling concerDs advanced prices for flour
I 20cent8 per barrel today, as a result of
the continued rise in wheat, and the
market is very strong.
Portland, Ore., Aug. 19. — Local
flour milling men advanced the price
jof "patents" 15 cents today to keep
pace with the rapid advances in the
wheat market.
Both Dead.
Phoenix, B. C—A bloody tragedy
occurred in the tenderloin district of
this city, in which Joshua Bell killed
Annie Allen, the woman dying in half
:an hour after the assault. Both were
colored and both had been here but a
few days.
; Admissions at World's Fair.
, St. Louis.—The increase in paid ad
. | missions at the world's fair last week
t ■ was 63,000 over the previous six days.
, The figures follow:
, Monday 115.725, Tuesday 96.640,
/Wednesday 100,781, Thursday 109,605,
. Friday 104,774, Saturday 126.102; total,
,! 606,607.
Appendoitiß has caused the death of
.a chimpanzee at the Pasteur institute
in Paris, says the Petit Journal.
Idaho
Democratic
Ticket
Lewiston, Idaoh, Aug. 17. — The
democratic state convention nominated
following state ticKet:
Governor — Henry Heitfeld of |Nez
Perce.
Member of congress—F. H. Holtz
heimer of Barnock.
Lieutenant governor—Prank Harris
of Washington.
Supreme judge—Nathan H. Clark of
Custer.
Secretary of state —J. J. Walling of
Canyon.
Attorney general—Carl Paine' 1 of
Ada.
Auditor—W. H. Stufflebeam of Bing
ham.
Treasurer— Timothy J. Regan of
Ada.
Superintendent of schools—Miss Per
meale French of Blame.
Mine inspector—M. J. Lincke of
Shoshone.
Presidential electors—A. F. Parker
of Idnho county, John G. Brown of
Bingham county and Major \V. W.
Woods of Shoshoue.
Under the perosnal leadership of
Senator Fred T. Dubois the democratic
state convention reversed its previous
aotion on the nati-Mormon plank and
inserted one in its platform which is
regarded as even stronger than the one
stricken out.
ARMY OF THE PHILIPPINES.
General Wilder Metcalf Is Chosen Pres
ident.
St. Louis.-—Officers of the National
Society of the Army of the Philippines
were elected as follows: General Wil
der Metcalf, president; Colonel James
W. Pope, first vice president; Captain
Charles Locke, second vice president;
Captain H. A. Crow, third vice presi
dent; General Franklin Bell, fourth
vice president; General A. T. Frost,
fifth vice president: Colonel Clarence
R. Edwards, sixth vice president; T. E.
Duncan, secretary; F. E. Krembs,
treasurer; Rev. James Mailey, chap
lain. Chicago was selected as the next
place of meeting.
Attack on Armenian Band.
Constantinople.—A band of Armen
ians has been attacked by Turkish
troops in the village of Schamirun, five
hours navel north of Bitlis, Asiatic
Turkey. Kurds are alleged to have
taken part in the attack. Two villages
are reported to have been destroyed.
MRS. MAYBRICK DISAPPEARS.
May Be Homeward Bound, After a
Uong Exile.
London. —Mrs. Florence Maybrick
has left Rouen alone and did not an
nounce her destination. She possibly
joined her attorney, Mr. Hayden, and
sailed on the Red Star liner Vaderland
from Antwerp today.
A dispatch to a news agency from
Brussels says it is asserted at Antwerp
that Mrs. Maybrick sailed today for
America under an assumed name, on
the Vaderland.
Tsingtau, Aug. 16.—The Russian
battleship Czarevitch and there torpe
do boat destroyers are now in the
hands of hte local German government
for repairs, but it is improbable that
these vessels will fight again in this
war.
Captain Truppel, chief of the mili
tary and civil administration of the
protectorate of Kiauchou, after having
completed provisions for the neutrality
of the crews of the Russian warships
during their stay here, proceeded to go
on board the Czarevitch. The crew of
the battleship were alarmed at the ad
vent of Captain Truppel's party and
seized their weapons. They were quick
ly quieted, however, a^d the comman
der of theCzarvitch was informed that
it was necessary that the Russian flag
be hauled duwu and remain down pend
' ing the completion of the repairs.
The Czarev itch's flag was then low
ered amid impressive formalities, after
which Captain Truppel visited each of
the trhee destroyers, whose flags were
also lowered.
It i s thought here that if the Rus
sians persist in repairing their ships
they will eventually have to dismantle
them because of the vastly superior
, Japanese force whioh is waiting for
them outside the harbor. According
to the regulations whioh govern situa
tions such as the one existing here, the
destroyers will not be permitted to
■ leave in a body, but go out at intervals
of six hours. It is believed here that
the Russian cruisers Pall ad a and Diana
have reached Vladivostok.
"Don't you want to deserve the grat
itude of your fellow citizens?" "The
I trouble with gratitude," said Senator
Sorghum, "is that it is usually express
| ed by words 'thank you,' unaccompan
| ied by cash." —Washington Star.
Switzerland has had 200 avalanches
[ iD the present year, causing 50 deaths.
» William Renshaw, the famous tennis
player, is dead in London.
MADE A GALLANT FIGHT
Czarevitch Was Surrounded by j a
anese Vessels.
Cheefoo.-Details of the naval batti.
of August 10 reaching hero show th.!
the Russian battle ship Cz arev ?"
made a remarkable struggle wl
the battle opened six battle shins I!!
each side opposed each other in »?
most parallel lines in the vicinity #
Round island. The cruisers and tor
pedo boat destroyers on both siZ
were ordered out of range. When t' !
fight had been under way f or Boni p
time the cruisers and smaller craft h
came engaged. Finally the c °*
vitch was surrounded by four batti«
ships and two cruisers. She endured
hours of terrible fighting plucklly
The shell which killed Admiral Wit
hoeft rebounded from a turret
A message from the Associated
Press correspondent at Tsingchou
states that the Russian vessels now in
that port have not been dismantled
as their injuries allow them to remain
until repairs are made. Captain Ma
tousevitch of the Czarevitch, who was
reported dead, is still alive.
British War Vessel Sunk.
London.—The British torpedo boat
destroyer Decoy sank off the Stilly \g\.
ands as the result of a collision with
another destroyer. The crew were
saved.
The Decoy was a vessel of 4200 in
dicated horsepower. 265 tons displace
ment, and was capable of making 27
knots an hour. She was equipped with
three torpedo tubes and one 12 pounder
and three six pound quick firing guns,
and carried a complement of 50 men.
Lonc'oi, August. 19. —A special dis
patch lDm Liaoyang, dated August
17, via 8t .Petersburg, says that the
pn smt movement and disposition tf
the Japanese forces are taken to indi
cate a new plan of operations.
All lha Japanese troops appear to be
moving north to flank Kurbpatkia.
General Oku's extreme flank is rest
ing at Dalin pass, while the country to
the south is quite free of troops.
General Odzu's army is at Modulin
pass, a third of the way of the road
lon Fengwancherg to 1 i o-ang.
General Kuroki is going toward Sai
matsze.
At present the Japanese position
si o .vs a defensive movement into Korea
in case of retreat.
The roads have been entirely ruined
by the recent rains and communication
with the hills had been cut off.
Three regiments of Formosna Chinese
(Japanese subjects) are making a den.»
onstration north of Yinkow.
Chicago, Aug. 19. —There was a
burst of speculative wheat buying at
the opening, far in excess of any piev
ions day, whicli gathered strength with
c oh succeeding hour until all previous
records for the present crop were-shat
tered. The early reports from the
spring wheat territory were no more
encouraigng than they had been, and
th i northwestern markets were much
stronger. Cables showed foreign mar
kets to have followed late advances on
this side, and there wtre indications
that foreigners were purchasing in this
market.
Seattle, Wash, Aug. 19 —Chairman
Palmer of the republican state central
committee has been notified by tele
graph that Secreatry of the Treasury
s>haw will arrive at Spokane on the
morning of August 20, remain there 24
hours aad then go to Seattle, arriving
there the night of August 27. Cam-'
paign moetinsg to be addressed by him
wlli be held at each city.
Worcestre, Macs., Aug. 18.—Senator
George Frisbie Hoar is dying. His
physical! ami his son General Rock
wood Hoar, said this morning that the
venerable senator would not live inoje
than three days. Senator Hoar's i 1"
ness began several weeks ago, with
lumbago and last night he suffered a
relapse, which his relatives fear makes
his his case hopeless
The wife of the British ambassador
to Washington, Lady Durand, has set
her face against the rapid social life
of many of the women of the national
capital. Of champagne drinking she
has a special abhorence. Lady Durand
does not profess primness, but she
thinks a little more dignity should be
observed in diplomatic circles.
The Hon. C. A. Parsons, now famous
as the inventor of the turbine, which
is revolutionizing the steamship. has
recently amused himself by devlsln*
a little valve called the auxetophone,
which promises similarly to advance
the phonograph, which it endows with
extraordinary power and purity o*
tone.
The Dublin corporation is fiaid to
have passed a resolution prohibiting
soldiers walking in the main street*.
Paris has the biggest debt of "£?
city in the world. It amounts to f«w,
--000,000.
Helix is having some little stir ovei
the saloon question.