Newspaper Page Text
EE ROOK I AJRGU SIXTIETH YEAR. NO. 309. MONDAY, OCTOBER 2, 1911.TWELVE PAGES. PRICE TWO CENTS. SJLAND rm AUSTIN DAM BREAK DEATH LOSS IS 200 Plans On to Strengthen Wall When Catastro phe Occurs. TOWN IS WIPED AWAY Detage Comes Without Warn ing, Carrying Everything Before It. FLOOD DISASTERS IN RECENT YEARS 1874 Mill river valley, near North ampton, Mass.; 144 live loat. 1874 Pittsburgh and Allegheny rivers overflow; 200 persons drown. t889 Johnstown destroyed by break ing of dam In Conemaugh river; 2,142 persons drowned. T894 Destructive floods in Wisconsin. 1897 Mississippi valley floods; heavy loss of life. 1900 Galveston, Texas, Inundated; over 6,000 lives lost and $12,000, 000 property destroyed by West Indian hurricane. 7901 Quebec and other Canadian cit-! . !? utomerSed- 1904 Flood caused by cloudburst -woy. an juan aei ivionoe, near Manila, with 200 lives. 1904 Reservoir bursts at Bloemfon teln; 20 lives lost. 1904 Dam bursts on the Hwang-ho, In China; hundreds of lives lost. 1905 Rock falls in Loenvand lake, near Bergen, Norway, causing flood; 60 lives lost. 1905 Mississippi flooded; damage $1, 000,000. 1910 River Seine overflows; damage $200,000,000; 200,000 people homeless. Anatln, Pa, Oct 2. With the arriv al of a carload of coffins here this morning, the grlmness of the tragedy which practically obliterated this town was impressed upon the survivors and a considerable number of workers, who today began anew their efforts to mine deeply into the hills of debris. Twenty victims, including two at fVistello, have been placed in a tem- Iorary morgue at Odd Follows' hall, J one of the few buildings landing in the ruined district. Well Informed investigators now place the total dead at not more than 200, with a possibility of it not ex ceeding 150. RKCAI.I. KOHMKIt S( (HK. Questioned as to the cause of the sudden failure of the liayliss I'ulji and Paper company's dam, citizens and business men accustomed to vis iting Austin shake their heads omi nously. They recall a scare a year ago last January when a ronsiderablo leak was discovered in the Immense cement structure. Although two foot along the rim of the dam was re nioved to relieve the pressure and a 14-foot patch was placed where needed, the alignment of the upper edge of the dam gradually became a slight arc instead of a straight line. DELAY I - FTL. This bulge caused worry on the part of citizens and led to a some what recent inspection. Certain pro tective measures were determined upon but the delay was fatal. "I neer went to sleep in a hotel on the main street there," said a vis iting railroad official today, "with out a mighty fervent prayer that the apparently Inevitable might be de layed. I always felt we might be swept away during the night." DKKMM I'ltTI RE. There is little hope that any of the bodies remaining iu the wreckage will be found intact. The aspect at Austin. Cosrello and the valley be yond is as dreary as it is appealing. The towns are pictures of desolation. The valley side hills in which they lie are still littered by shattered homes and remnants of prosperous places of business and manufactur ing plants. I'HOI'KKTT I.Oi MII.I.IOW No reliable estimate of the prop erty loss c;:n be so soon made, lut it will not be les than elht mil-; lions. The paper and lui.iber in- j i'istrtes are utterly destt'oed. We low the torn dam today the alley' for a mile or more is swept practic ally tlear to bedrock and Freemen's Run. tiie reservoir feeder, swollen by last night's rain, is sweeping through new channels where the main bus!-; nets portion of town once stood. j VKI H W tllMNUi. j tVstello. three miles if-vay, is as badly shattered as Austin. (Inly the ; : s "? :;ie floods in o:..e:r. '.!.;: and the ti:r.f!v -.ar:-in;. g I ' '!'. by r:.w.rs v. Iio risVed their lives to do to held j the death list there to two. I'KOMII M KII I U'K. W.sm.ngion. 11.. t. t. 2. T. Cha' ky lUtton. civil ei.giu- r who dvsigiivd tiie dam at Austin, Pa., which broke i NAVAL HERO DIES REAR AD3TTRAL 8CHLET. ADMIRAL SCHLEY DIES IN STREET New York, Oct. 2. Rear Admiral WInfield Scott Schley dropped dead hero today. Schley dropped dead near the corner of Forty-fourth street and Fifth avenue, while on his way down town. He died before medical aid could reach him. Schley had been out of town over Sunday and on his return here had gone to the New York Yacht club. After a short stay there Schley left the club house and started to walk along Forty-fourth street towards Fifth avenue when he was taken suddenly ill. A burr call was sent for phy sicians and an ambulance, but before aid could reach him the admiral was dead. As Schley walked along the street the chauffeur of a taxicab who stood .in.i ,ho lirK hn htm h ! then turned to a fellow chauffeur de-jand remarked how well the admiral was i0f)kjnl, vr th. Rorkplpv the- atre Schley started across the street and as he stepped up the curb pass ersby saw hiru stagger and fall. Sev eral persons rushed to his aid and traffic policemen sent in a hurry call for physicians and ambulance. When the ambulance arrived the physicians said Schley was dead. The body was plaod in the ambulance and driven away. Saturday, is a resident of Wilmington. He said today he had not seen the; dam since Jan 19. 1910. when he and Mr. Wegmann, consulting engineer of the Jv'wa .Voxi arqueflticfeotwHi isaion In ppected It and pronounced It unsafe They made cer'tain' recommendations for its repair, but does not know whether they were carried out. StMISTONK PtllMHTIOM. The foundations were of sandstone, he says, and this caused damage w hen water got under the foundations. Hat- ton described the breaking of the dam I Jan. 24, 1910, when the wall moved . I forward 44 inches on its bed. He. aroused the town at that time and the i inhabitants remained in the mountains j two days. The imprisoned water es- i caped through a breach made with dynamite and the dam ami town were saved. ALLEN, SMUGGLER, IN A PLEA OF GUILTY! New York Kenosha Millionaire, in Court. Admits Fans Charged in Indictments. New York, Oct. 2. Nathan Allen, the millionaire leather manufacturer of Kenosha. Wis., in the Cnited States circuit court here today plead guilty to all counts in the indkt- ments c harging him with smuggling i jewelry into this country Allen was fined $12, ""0. BRITISH STEAMERS COLLIDE; ONE SUNK Twenty Member of Crew of Hatfield Are JiOst at Sea latter Is Hit liy Glasgow. London. Oct. 2. The British steamer Hatfield, from Helva, Spain, for Rotterdam, collided today with i the Britsh steamer Glasgow, Rot All were terdam for Dundee, and sunk, the Hatfield's crew of 20 men ' drowned. Tho Weather Forecast Till 7 P. M. Tomorrow, for Rock Island. Davenport, Molioe, and Vicinity. Unsettled weather tonight- and Tuesday, with showers; not much change hi temperature. Highest temperature yesterday 64,jficer here during fair week, was ar- lowest last night T4. Teuiperature at 7 a. in. 54. Wind velocity 9 miles an hour. Precipitation .3ti. Kelatie humidity, 1" at 7 p. in., ;;t 7 a. m. . Rier. 4 feet: rise of .7. J. M. S1IERIER: Local Forecaster. ASTRONOMICAL EVENT8. (Frum noon tuaay ti noon tomorrow.) Sun sets C:i7, ris-es Z.Zt; moon seta 12 .CD a. uu VIOLENCE IN RAILSTRIKE Carpenter at Burnside Shops is Assaulted by Pickets. RESCUED BY POLICE Illinois Central Officials Declare Many of Employes Have Returned to Work. Chicago, Oct. 2. Violence broke out today among the striking employes of the Illinois Central railroad shops at Burnside. John Chomas. a carpenter. ' who declined to strike, was assaulted Dy union pickets as he was going toj - work today. A riot call brought po-1 'lice who rescued Chomas. The pickets; fled who nthey saw the police coming. : HltlX; IN Villi KK RHEAKEK. Two hundred strike-breakers were; smuggled into the car shops at nurn- side under cover of darkness, accord ing to a report of the Illinois Central! officials. They also declare hundreds of strikers have returned to worii since Saturday. The railroad officials! estimate the number who struck as less than IiaIf those employed. Union labor leaders today declared that no strike breakers had been sent to the shops and none there bad re turned. They claim 20.000 have al ready obeyed the strike order on all i lines, and they expect more today. Ql IT AT WATERLOO. Waterloo, Iowa, Oct. 2. About two hundred and fifty union shop men em- bvterian churrh where Dawson baa ployed by the Illinois Central herejb;en janitor for the ,agt year of SQ ; struck today. AN ARMY OFFICER IS JAILED FOR ASSAULT Sergeant H. M. Hadcliffe, Stationed Here. Gets In Trouble at the State Capital. Special to The Arff'is.) Springfield. III.. Oct. 2. H. A t KadcIiBe. sergeant in ine l nuea pea up in sneeis. i uere were no signs I States regular army, in charge of!f disorder about the rooms, which the recruiting office at Rock Island. ihowed tnere been o struggle, j 111., and at present stationed in this I city, w here he is assisting the I rested here last night charged witii assault and battery upon the person of J. A. Wiley of Lincoln, 111. Wiley's nose was badly cut and his upper lip was swollen and bleeding. Rodger' Machine Wrecked. Chicago, Oct. 2. Aviator Rodgers' aeroplane was caught by a gust of wind and wrecked and the aviator had a narrow escape w hen he attempted ' to rise at Huntington. Ind.. at 11:20 j today. Rodgers was uninjured. KILLED WITH AX WHILE SLEEPING William E. Dawson, Wife and Daughter of Monmouth Victims of Tragedy. REVENGE BELIEVED CAUSE Search Begun for Ex-Convict Against Whom Head of Family Had Given Evidence. Monmouth, 111., Oct. 2. The bodies of "William K. Dawson, his wife, and their 13-year-old daughter Georgia yes terday were found In their beds. They had been killed by blows with an ax while asleep. ' The authorities have sent out a call for the arrest of an ex-convict against whom Dawson is said to have given in formation which led to conviction on the charge of horse stealing. The man was released from the Joliet pen itentiary several months ago and since that time is said to have threatened that he would kill Dawson. Outside of this meager information SLAUGHTERING SEASON there is no clew on w-hich to base a search for the murderer. Even the ax j senate was scheduled o begin an in with which the three persons were j vestigation. The election was twice killed was taken away by their slayer , investigated by the legislature oncu or w as hidden somewhere about the J by the assembly, whose committee house. Bloodhounds which arrived practically exonerated Stephenson from Decatur were phiced on the trail, t and once by the senate, whose commit but failed to follow it far from the tee brought the charges and demanded scene of the crime. There were no other members of : the Dawson family in town when the I attack was made on their house some j i time during the night, the three other i children having gone to the country ! to spend the day. They knew nothing j of the tragedy until they arrived i home in the evening. j CHURCHMEN DISCOVER CHIMB. I he discovery or the crime was m fl (t o hv mpmhpTR rf f hp IT'ii-Rf- 'Ppm. ! When he failed to show up for duty i yesterday morning, two of the mem-j bers went to tho Dawson home to get a key. Unable to reach any one by knock ing, they went to the rear door and found it unlocked. Entering the house they discovered in one bedroom the bodies of Mr. and Mrs. Dawson and in March 4, whereas, we contend. Sieph- J rf.Vss the case.explain an adjoining room the body of Georgia, enson legally was senator before that , " haH ,rpaf,v toid evervthlne to Evidentlv a sinele heavv hlow had - i ig he had already tola everytning 10 ' - f I inc- the skull ... ... - lfie bodies naa been careruiiy wrap- ' Th motive could not have been ruh- bery as $40 wa8 folmd in tne pockets Qf Dawson's clothing. Neighbors heard no noise from the Dawson house dur ing the night. REFORMS AFER PRISON TERM. Dawson served several years in the penitentiary, but later he reformed and has been industrious and law abid ing. He had no enemies as far as is known, outside of the friend of former years who declared vengeance on him for turning 6 tales evidence. Both he and his wife and all of their family were earnest church workers. The authorities at Joliet prison ;have been asked for the measurments been dealt each on the head, fractur-jile 3D TRIAL FOR STEPHENSON Wisconsin Senator is Be fore Investigating Com mittee Again. CORRUPTION CHARGED Claimed He Is Holding His Seat in Upper Branch of Con gress Illegally. Milwaukee, Wis., Oct. 2. For the third time since his election to the senate, March 4, 1909, Senator Isaac Stephenson prepared to defend him self against charges of bribery today when a sub-committee of the commit- i tee an privileges and elections of the ! that Stephenson be unseated. Steph- ! enson will be the iirst witness. FORMAL nitltGKS M A I IK. The formal charges against Stephen- son were presented by John J. Blain of Boscobel Wis., who, as state sena tho original charges. tor, made Charles B. Uttlefield, counsel for Stephenson, declared Stephenson was elee'ea Jan. 24, 1909, when both houses voted separately; that he then received a majority in the house and 12 ut of 17 votes cast in the senate. He admitted there were 1 Cother sena- tors nresent at the timo. l.nt thev nnlvlerai hunoxeo. surrounueu iu jui responded "present'' when thHr names i were called. I RELATE TO PRIMAItl HELD. I ..- . . . t. . 1 The charges upon which this inveK-j tigation is based refer to the election of contended the charges related to j JUlil t .T. JiJlyJlA t 1 WVSJJ . OUt 141 t II'.IH IU miuee had no authority to investigate! anything but matters bearing dw ectly on an election bv the legislature, Answering questions. Stephenson in- sisted he was elected Jan. 2J. 1&09, by a separate vote of the two houses. He admitted he spent J 107,593, which he gave his campaign managers, to news papers, and others, all for carrying on his campaign for nomination in the primaries. His testimony was similar i to that brought out in the previous j legislative Investigations. and descriDtion of the convict, and an I attempt will be made to locate him, al-1 Schrotke, Hartford, S. D.; F. J. Beck-! today. WIHiam Jennings Bryan, rla thcugh he has not been seen in thisjer. Iowa. City, Iowa: Henry J. Jen-j Ing before 4m gu-sta at a luncheon section ince his release from prison, i nings. Lake City, Iowa; J. A. Bunker, ; given here in Taft's honor, proposed a At a late hour this afternoon the j Hamburg. Iow a, and John Clausen, j toast to the president Of the United murderer was still at large. ' Bonesteel, S. D. i States. DOCTOR MURDERS HIS SECOND WIFE H. E. Webster, Drag Nerve Gone, Confesses Crime to Chicago Police. MARRIES 2 WITHIN WEEK Body of Young Woman, Former Nurse, Found In Lonely Wood land Near Dixon. Chicago, Oct. 2. Dr. Homer Elgin Webster, or "Harry D. Webster," yesterday dispelled the mystery sur rounding the murder of his wife, Bes sie Kent "Webster, by the simple statement that he was her murderer. He said he had taken her to a boy hood playground, a lonely ravine near Dixon, 111., and stabbed her to death. Moreover, he said he was guilty of bigamy. He had taken two wives within a week. While the police were searching for him Saturday night, he was at a downtown hotel with his first w,lfe, who was ignorant not only of the killing of her rival, but also that she had ever existed. He gave but one reason for the murder. His second wife continued to annoy and embarrass him, and her death seemed to be only solution of his difficulties. THE TWO MARRIAGES. His two plunges into matrimony, he said, were accomplished with these steps: Jan." 4 Married Miss Zoe Varney, 25 years old, at Cedar Rapids, Iowa. He told her that a married interne would not be tolerated, and for that reason returned to Chicago without her. Jan. 11 Married Miss Bessie Kent, 2 62 9 Jackson boulevard, in the "marriage parlor" in the county building. He told his second wife, according to hiB confession, that he ' had another wife, and exacted a promise that she would procure a di vorce in the near future. Cringing fear took the place of drug-produced nerve when Dr. Web ster collapsed and confessed to the murder. SOBS nrniKG CONFESSION. I The physician, whose brazen non i chalance had excited the wonder of j police officials, sobbed as he lifted the curtain on a dual lire mat naa ex isted since his second marriage. - He told how "on thllle,, he hurt taken two wives within a week. He related In detail his efforts to rid himself of the second wife and how she had persisted that she loved him j and pleade dto be introduced to his I parents. It was this desire tnat lea ner to follow him to Dixon and to her death. The remainder of the story, view ed from the doctor's standpoint, was simple enough. He grew so enraged at her perseverance in following him that he decided to kill her. TELLS OF BRUTAL- KILLINO. - He drove in a buggy to the almost inaccessible spot in the woods where her body was found a few days ago. Then he literally threw her from the rig. He hurled a suit case and a traveling bag at her head. Finally, he said, he leaped from the buggy and stabbed her again and again in the throat. When the unconscious woman sank to the bed of leaves under a hickory tree, he simply drew the leaves about her and returned to the buggy. He drove back to the vil lage, paid for the rig and returned ot Chicago, content in the belief that be had rid himself of the one ob stacle to complete happiness. That was all the prisoner had to say. He looked at his accusers when he had finished as if his statements had amply Justified his acts. FIRST WIFE HYSTERICA! In a cell at the police station Dr. Webster's first wife sobbed herself into a hysterical condition, while the confession was being made. She beat i upon the bars of the cell and alter- nately begged to be taken to her husband and back to her mother In j Iowa. REMOVED TO OREGON. Oregon, 111.. Oct. 2. A crowd of sev- j it.. 1 1 i . ; o morning in an effort to get a glimpse Henry E. Webster, under arrest for the murder of his wife, who was lUT l" , ' , T., ,,, found in the woods near Dixon, 111., fo deatn Webster was , Li , ru,. nioht n p REGISTRATION AT ROSEBUD BEGINS Gregory, S. D.. Oct. 2. Promptly at midnight registration waa begun for a half million acres of government land in the Rosebud Indian reservation. ! Henry F. Patrick, Linwood, Kan . was ; I tne nrsi to complete auu man ma ani ' davit Amone the first 20 are Miss! jCaroline Hull, Cambridge, III.; Frank Felthauer, Sioux City, Iowa; ceorge ITALY MOVES TO STOP WAR IVITHTURKEY Proposal of Peace Said to be in Hands of Germany. TRIPOLI CABLES CUT Bombardment Said to Have Started at 8 Saturday Night. London, Oct. 2. The outstanding feature of the Turco-Italian war news today Is the attempted mediation of Germany .the success of which ap pears more probable in the light of a statement made at the German for eign office today that a report that the German ambassador at Constantinople had presented Italian proposals for peace was "premature," indicating that, such proposals were expected. TKirOI.I IS CUT OFF. Cable communication with Tripoli remains cut off, but the city had not been bombarded up to Saturday mid night, .according to refugees arriving iu Malta this morning. However, a dispatch from Agosta, Sicily, says refugees arriving there to day declared the bombardment began at 8 o'clock Saturday night. TO DEFEND ADRIATIC COAST. A dispatch from Constantlople says that Fethl Pasha, formerly Turkish minister to Servia, had been named commander of troops mobilizing to de fend the coast of the Adriatic. A dis patch from the island of Corfu, off the Albanian coast, says that two Turkish torpedo boats were sunk and a third captured off Gumenltza by the Italian patrolling fleet. It Is reported from Malta that a British cruiser received a wireless dispatch saying Tripoli had been occupied by the Italians. GERMAN ACTION SIGNIFICANT. Berlin, Oct. 2. It H senuVofflcially announced today Germany Im not Con sidering the dispatch of a warship tct the Mediterranean, and this Is taken as an Indication the government ex pects the hostilities to be of short dur ation. Berlin, Oct. 2. It waa stated at the foreign office this evening that the German ambassador at Constantinople was already working activoly at the Turkish capital trying to effect a peaceful settlement between Italy and Turkey. POSTPONEMENT ORDERED. Chiasse, Switzerland, Oct. 2. It in reported that Saturday Admiral Au brey was suddenly orderod to post pone bombardment of Tripoli, as there were signs of a possibility of reaching an understanding with Turkey through the intervention of certain powers, thus avoiding continuation of war. TRIPOLI OCCUPIED. Tindon, Oct. 2. Correspondent at Malta telegraphs: "I am Informed by one of the crew of the British cruiser Aboukir, which has arrived here, that the vessel received a wireless des patch stating Tripoli had been occu pied by the Italians." STATE LEGISLATORS MEET AND ADJOURN K pedal Region of the Ulinoin As sembly Im Iteoonvenetl This Morning. Springfield, III.. Oct. 2. The spe cial session of the general assem bly reconvened thU morning and promptly adjourned until Wednes day. The house resolution provided that when the two bonnes adjourn Wednesday they will stand adjourn ed until Oct. 17. The senate is ex pected to concur when it meets Wed nesday. 8 CHILDREN DIE IN FIRE BEFORE PARENTS Indiana, Pa., Oct. 2. Eight chlMren of Mr. and Mrs. William Dias of Hesh bon, near here, ranging in age from 13 years to 3 months, were burned to death yesterday when fire destroyed the family residence. The parents, after discovering the flames, left th'? children In their beds and went to the first floor, where they made an at tempt to extinguish the fire. Th blaze spread rapidly, . however, aud they were unable to return to rescue the little ones. Bryan Toaatt Taft. Lincoln. Neb.. Oct. 2. President Taft received a cordial noii-partlnan welcome to .Nebraska ana io i.i.oiii