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V» L LXIV--X 0 - 21.017. FRANCE TAKES A IIAM\ TO HELP PERDICARIS. Result of Fleet fit Tangier and Diplomatic Representations. IFF. "HE TtaXOKK BCBUBMJ.I ■n"ashir.sto:i. Slay President Roosevelt's so-called 1»« tricger" diplomacy. ezempUfled by his haste:.::-; to Tangier the largest repre fentation of the American navy that ever vis l:e*s a foreign port, has once more been vindl csJsd by tJßjissurance of France that she will -•use her good offlces" to rescue Messrs. P?rdi car and Varley. The suddenness with which ■a American Beet I egan to arrive at Tangier efter the Utoapplng of the men named pro iMßfl sfssiement, not only in Morocco, but In IYar.ce. Human lives were in dancer, one of them that of an American citizen, and the Presi dent wasted no time either with his ear to the pens' or In diplomatic correspondence, but or dered immediately :o the scene the American fleet which- at that moment was beginning its European cruise. Then diplomatic representa tions were made to France. Ambassador Porter was instructed to advise the French government that the United States V.as prepared to show all duo deference to the claim of France of a sphere of Influence over Morocco, provided that no danger to an Amer ican citizen was occasioned thereby. Mr. "Porter had hardly ended bis representations when the r.ewF reached Paris that the Brooklyn, the At lanta, the Casti: c and the Marietta were at !Tang'»r, and that other American ■warships •were hastening thither, and the necessity for prompt action or. the part of France became manifest. The result was an assurance given to Ambassador Porter to-day that Franco ■would do everything in her power " effect the rescue ef Mr. Perdicaris. accompanied by an expres sion 0! appreciation of this country's respect for the French attitude toward Morocco. Political and strategic conditions in Morocco tender tee assistance of France of the utmost •. .-.: :-. Her relations with Da Hamara, liaisuU's riJet hive at least been friendly, and her repre eenUtlons to him at this time are likely to be accorded greater respect by Raisull than those of the Sultan of Morocco, against whose domi nation Dv Hamnra is In revolt. Moreover, If pacific if iTC-seiitations do not promptly effert PfrdlcarJ^'s rescue, France, -with an army corps In Algiers familiar with the country and trained 1: the methods of warfare usual In that sec tion, can more easily effect a release than could an outside nation. It is believed here that it *ould tak» I^sf time for « French Algerian ex pedition to reach the nlnc<» of Perdicaris'a con f.nenier.t than any force dispatched from Tan- Hat It Is further remarked that. In view of recent diplomat events in Morocco, the excuse for a tnihtary expedition which would be little snort af an Investment of Southern Morocco might •■*• most acceptable to the French, although *•* is a phase <<f the situation with which the tnlted Btate: need not concern Itself. Fears as to the fate of Mr. Perdicarls and his • 0B| "* : - are rr , t entertained in Washington. *i«he!d that the threats of Raisuli are merely "bluffs." which it would be to his own perious cisadrar.tasre to put Into execution. His pris oners too closely mble the fabled goose that wd the golden f-pgs. •*« the situation i<n<v stands, therefore, it is ii'eved that the prompt appearance of an '^ric&n nVet of unusual proportions at Tan s*r has resulted In unusual expedition io th» Seriously dilatory methods of European diplo ■■Qr: that the United States has won the gratl ■™*«ef France by Its recognition of her interest B Morocco, which is ax cherished a tradition •ith the French as is the Monroe Doctrine with (■taerlca, and that thorough and effective steps toward the release of Mr. PerdicarU and his fCO r - loa have been taken. -his cable dispatch has been received at the .->avy Department from Bear Admiral Chad- XX. commaad the South Atlantic Bquad ton at Taajrier: "fcswL.^?"^* rf the American citizen -was by '(.'"W^ 5 chJp -*. Fo as to bring- pressure on the Uibf >r Morocco to secure the demands of the •tbow'*! r Eense of the K^vlty of the case is i" L* thft presence of the American squad ■y3«!r vWIIIv Wlll undoubtedly cause the earlier S*i rby th " Sultan of Morocco to the de c ; _•' ;f th chief, which is the only safe *-» 0. releasing captive. j* mM that an attack on Tangier or an mx ■"*•» against the brigands will be followed "*?« immediate murder of the captives. tkL «he instance of Secretary Hay no Instruc- U* Mil be sent to Rear Admiral Chadwlck for jj a^ res * nt * en ding the result of the representa of Ambassador Porter to the French gov '••^i' 81 Cha<iAil ' : is not expected at present t'^4 * party to pursue the brigands, but it is 'y^ Positively that it Raieull exc-cutes his *e*ern U> k ' hi* 'apOves the United States Jiecc^ 111 aril] hi * ial that he be run down and ■V.-v "} at any coat - It is expected at the Faairrm 11 * 1 " 1 " 1 *" 1 lnal thf> South Atlantic F->•F ->• v^ now at Tangier will be reinforced to- W ■ \a." .European Squadron, commanded by i •-■'<'.'. 1 Jewell, and consisting of the Baltimore and the Cleveland. *':■ lo'vVff;? *«"■*• on Saturday. The battle- { :..•..'.. ':;'- 1 Boita, Azores, to-day for Lisbon. •Saiansl •/?■ P r e««de<l by the battleships *sJ j{Trir/^ alne ar<l Alabama, of Rear Ad- Th,^r*.f * "Quadron. J^«»l irml''« iK ' a!S - was the only subject of "•^r* S-da? 11 1 * taken Up at the Cablnet } i:rr SCARES TANGIER. '[ Ca*tinc and the Marietta Join r ihe Brooklyn and the Atlanta. __—■ Marietta, arrived here during the ' ■ ■»'>i>"*u.*. v,ith the cruisers Brooklyn «"-"—« -a'ae*.* yog-*, r~^?^F3»r&g t M NEW-YORK, WEDNESDAY. JUNE 1. 1904. -SIXTEEN PAGES.- t, tJ%S3LVj££u**u. PRICE THREE CENTS. GUNBOAT CA-STTXE. BUILDINGS LAW PASSED. ALDERMEN TAKE ACTION. Tribune's Ordinance Will Prevent Disasters Like the Darlington. The aldermen yesterday adopted the building ordinance drawn by ex-Justice Slayer, at the re quest of The Tribune, and Introduced by Alder man John R. D&vfefl at the Instance of The Tribune and the Republican County Committee. Briefly, it will (ire the Superintendent of Build ings power to enforce his orders, and it shou! i make Impossible a disaster like that of the Dar lington Hotel. When the Darlington Hot.-l col lapsed the Inspectors of the Building! Depart ment said that they had Sled the necessary "violations" against th~ building, but that the contractors «Ji<l sot pay any particular atten tion to them. Th-? new ordinance empowers the superintendent, without the formality of apply ing to the court for an order, immediately to stop work on a building when In hi judgment the conditions warrant such stoppage. The new ordinance follows: Section !57a.— la -a^- there *h -'a be. in tde opinion of tho Superintendent of Buildlnira in any borough having jurisdiction, danger to life tJ r prr.p»-rty by reason <t any defective 01 Illegal work <><• work lii violation ot or not In compliance with any of the provisions or raqii!rem«nt* at this code the e.-il<i Bupei intendeni of Buildings or mioij pers -n ua may be designated by him shad] have i!j.- riR-ht and I ■• Is hen auth<«rij-.«i and empowered to <»r. }•■- ,i; further work to be rU »ped In and about said !»i;iM- Inc. and to require a] persons ir; imd about said building forthwith to vacate the same •nxi to cause mien w rk to be .lone in <- r about the building aa in his lodgment may be necessary to remove any danger therefrom. And said Superintendent of Building* may, when necessary for the public safety, temporarily close thi sidewalks and streets adjacent to said building, or part thereof, .-uid the Police Department, when called upon by th.- puM Superintendent of Building* to co-operate, shall en force such orders or requirements. Alderman Harburger, chairman of the Build ings Committee, yesterday, In .■: vigorous speech, In which he told of the defect in the present cod -, moved the passage of the ordinance. Be paid that prudence and common sense demanded the passage of the ordinal , and that It had the Indorsement of Superintendent Hopper and others in a position to speak with authority. LAMSDORFF ASS. 1 ( "LTED. Prince Dalgomrouki Attack* Russian Foreign Minister. Parli>, June 1. The "Echo de Parts'*" St. Petersburg correspondent telegraphs: Count Lamsdortt was assaulted to-day while out walking by I'riiH-e Dolgourouki, formerly a pretender to tii* crown of jiiiinnrin. The prince whs Immediately arrested. KOCH'S THEORY DENIED. British Commission's Report on Tuberculosis. London, June L — The Royal Commission ap pointed In August, 1501. to Inquire into the re lation between human and animal tuberculosis has arrived at a conclusion justifying the Issu ance of an Interim report, according to which the commission finds th;it human and bovine tunr-r< -uiosis are practically Identical. The commission states that exhaustive ex p'-rlmentf proved >h ! 't the disease produced in animals by tuberculosis material, whether of human or bovine oiikin. was Identical, both In Us broad, general features and in the bistolog ical details. The commission's records Include the results of post-mortem examinations. Th*» denial of Professor Koch's theory is re garded by ih<- English press as of the highest importance as bearing out the possibility of In fection through milk. » — TO INVESTIGATE NEW-HAVEN POLICE Mayer Srudley Appoints Committee a3 Re sult of Recent Criticisms. New-Haven. Conn.. May 21.— Mayor Studley has ordered an Investigation of tho New-Haven Police Departmert, and baa appointed .1 committee of three disinterested citizens to conduct it. This ac tion Is in response to a request from the members of the Police Commission, as a result of criticisms recently pi need on the department. The committee is to consist of ex-Judge LynUe Harrison. Professor Henry Wade, Rogers, dear of Yale Law School, and George B. Martin, presi dent and treasurer of the Empire Transportation Company. All the members of the committee re side In the part of th<j city where the recent as saults on v.'OOi:.i took place. It was from this district that moet of i. .- criticism* of. the deyart- THE AMERICAN SQUADRON AT TANGIER, AFRICA. CJUTISKTR ATTaANTA. CRTJTSEK F.TtO-iKr.TN. itYDER BLOCKED 4'20-ST. CANCEL HIS CONTRACT. Street Will Be Restored by Monday Without Curb Cocks. The Tribune's fight for an abatement of the intolerable obstruction nuisance In Forty-see ond-st yesterday killed a "good thing" Tam many contract, but it accomplished a saving of two weeks' time In completing th» ditch work between Madison ami Sixth nve«. In Forty-sec ond-st. There will be Tammany tears over the killing of the "snap." John T. Oakley, Commissioner of Water Pup- I>l> , Gas an.l Electricity, yesterday, after con suiting Michael J. I'egnon. Btreet Cleanina; Com missioner Woodbun and John B. McDonald, c.»i celled a bisr plumbing contract in which ex- Councilman Patrick J. Ryder, Tammany leader of the Hid District. is Interested. By dome thi« he enabled the Degnon Contracting Com pany to hurry its work in Party-second -at. Michael .I Degnon ani Commissioners Oakley and Woodbury last night united in the predic tion that Forty-second si would be restored to Its normal condition next Monday morning. This would not hay* been possible if it had n< I been for the cancellation of the phtmbing con tract given by Commissioner Oakley's depart ment to O'Brien <.:■ Ryder, of Na 164 Bpring-st. This particular contract has nn old fashioned look. It looks as if it belonged to the family of "Commercialism In Politics." it. looks some thing like the contract Riven by Park Commis sioner Pallas to Harry C. Hart. Tammany leader of the XXXth, In lieu of a Tammany commisslonershlp. No one outside of the Water Department knew anything about it until a Tribune reporter, In following up the Forty second-sL nuisance, ran acro«<<i the O'Brien & Ryder contract, which was doing more to tie up subway work and make busings a night mare to the merchants of Forty-second-st. th.;n any other tiiinjr. August Belmont bright and early yesterday Informed John H. McDonald that something would have to be done »it once to make sub way work less troublesome In Farty-second-st. between Madison and Sixtii avea. Mr. Belmont is one of the »>ik r links m the chain. Mr. Mc- Donald Is another, and perhaps the blggeKt, link. Mr McDonald told Michael .1 Degnon. of the I)ct»non Contracting Company, that something would have to h<; done «t once. Then Mr. Bel mont, according to Commissiozier Woodhury's statement to a Tribune reporter, asked him to do what he could to raise the embargo In Forty-second-st. At 4 o'clock tSiere was a con ference in < 'omrniHsionr-r nakleys office, attend ed by Messrs. Oakley and Woodbnry and Charles H. Bull, an engineer f the Water Department. A Tribune reporter had just told Commissioner Oakley that his department w;is to blame fur obstructing the subway work in the street be cause department contractors were putting in curb water cocks all along the block. Com missioner Woodbury verified this by saying to Commissioner < takley: "Commissioner, I am told by Mr. Dognon, the subway contractor, that he can close up the work there by Monday morning of next week If he does not have to put in twenty-five curb COCkS Ordered in by your department. This Is a new device, find putting them in involves a I;irgf» amount of work. Mr. Degnon pays that it will take fourteen days extra to put In these curb cocks." COUNTERMANDS THE ORDER. "If that's the cape, then we won't put them in," said Commissioner Oakley. "Chief En gineer Hill of this department ordered the neV curb cocks in. I believe with him that they would prove a good thing, an they would make it possible to shut off th« water from the side walk, and obviate the necessity of digging a trench across the walk whenever anything Is the matter with the main connection. But if they are going to delay the subway work to that extent I will issue an order at once to use the old connections." Mr. Bull, the engineer, was summoned, and said that It wan true that putting in the new curb cocks would delay the work a great deal. Mr. Bull was requested by Commissioner Oakley to cancel the order given to O'Brien & Ryder for the new devices. "I will furnish the ashes to fill in the excava tion along Italy second w>." said Major Wood bury. "After talking with Mr. Degnon, I will say that the street will be put back in good -i..,' ,- by Monday morning of next week." Michael J. Degaoa was directing the work In Forty-second -st. when found by ■ Tribune re porter. "When I told you a week ago that we would toaiUw^ •■ foortß. pa*** ~~ - Bid fOTTON FIRM FAILS. HEAD CLERK DISAPPEARS. Announcement of S. Munn. Son $$ (—( — Resu m ption Expected. The suspension of the old and well known house of S. Munn, Son & Co. was announced yesterday on the Cotton Exchange, the reason for the step being explained In the following formal notice from the firm, read from the ros trum of the exchange by Superintendent King: We hereby announce to toe members of the Cot ton exchange thai through the unexplained ■«' osti.-e of >ir head md trusted clerk, who has lfft hi* books in an Involved condition, we are obliged !.. suspend. We trust the suspension 111 <:i!y n. temporary We would request all membsn of th«> exchange BS)Vtag ■•, >n contracts wttu our am te pn>ml the uint to i.-'<. wli . accounts^ at ence. \v.. ''.tV..'-k «ate rh.i» we Imve very f«>v open con tracta on the M*w-rorlt Cotton BtCuaage, and that these balance each ether. Inquirers at the offices of S. Mann, Bon & Co* In the Petanonlco Building, No. >'. Beaver-st, were referred for further details t.» the firm's attorney, Augustus H. Skil!ii>. of No. H Pine-st Mr. Skllllri said: The mUwlng employe la ('larence F. Cameron, whose homi has been In Brooklyn. He lias not 1.. 1 ;.t tbe omce since a week ago last Saturday. lii- father cam* to the otßca Ibts morning. Ha ■aid thai I it- bad noi seen !iini or beard from tuna »Jnc€ k week ago yesterday, when he und« ! bN s..n was starttni i- to aa usual to the office 01 ilunii * <■■>. The younger Cameron i.-i-p n- t-.—l th.. }..,,, .... that ,■., , thai t.is child waa .-i>:k. and that j, would npl !■•■' down until the uext d.ij. On looking over the books they \%-i>- found i> be In an involved condition, and In ;'i leasi one case. where the firm thought money was due, tn.> -u;. n>sed debtor claimed that Munn .^ Co. owed money h^i..!.! The firm wm seriously affectea by tne future of Daniel J Sully A Co., ot which concern ti-v ,r.- creditors i" ,i considerable amount. Fol- Itwlnit so soon after the Sully failure It was thought best, in order t" Btraighten out everything, tii.t the ..■in should suspend. ,_.« All a- know now la that the pooks relating to tie business of the Urn in stocks and grain are Upsytiirvy. Cameron who acted •'-,;■ and rtanager, bad absolute ebarge of < h '/'- >""?>;■ v A r "" other mail however, hafl charge of the books re- Uting to the cotton end of the business Ihe chiel trouble -» far aa we have been abw to t*.-t at it. •.!■• >;■- to be in the Kr.iin accounts. . "■i... >K...kH v-,.,. ron< over by the olllee force last vt,;-k. but M many complications were found that l mlvt*.-c] that expert accountants be called In. rhe experts began work this «*»"*«. rhe . .1, ■, o tie unsecured creditors, as tor aa we can iv.v. •.. re.-^.i will not exceed t&.«» In th. MJPfM; these creditors being almost entirely members of .. -■ort- 1 Schange. Tbe ttrrn '■• is two • otton ftcchange membcrehlps, worth »,...••.» .•a.-h - .. Ml In the New-york Cotfee t.--\ •■',••"' V,. X--1 ■bout •*:.■"•. and a Chicaßo Board ••: rtatle ro< n ' '7t*w!li ..ike a week at least to go ■ ver the bool s, : th.- same time it Is my opin>°« '•• '\\ ,:' \" of something .>ko »«».0W is im K.;.l are « .lit and to resume business abort The house of 6. Munn. Son ft Co. was estab lished in ISM by Samuel Munn, grandfather of the present senior partner, and is one of the most conservative and respected In tbe cotton business. The firm Is at present composed of Samuel *:. Munn and H. TUeston Munn and the •state of H. Godwin Munn. Jr. it has recently *eon doing a rather quiet and moderate busi ness, The announcement of the suspension had little effect on th.- cotton market On March 19 S. Munn. Son & Co. obtained an injunction restraining the Cora Exchange Hank from releasing to Daniel J. Sully A Co. the sum of $30000. -a margin anticipate." This was the only legal proceeding taken on that day against the Sully firm, which had suspended on the •receding day; and as soon as the attorneys for Daniel J. Sully * Co. learned of the move they filed assignment papers before th* Injunction could be served. Clarence F. Cameron la about thirty-three jears old, and has been married for ten or eleven year* He had been in the employ of the firm for sixteen years. For the last six years he has lived modestly with bis wife and little girl, who is now five years old. In a flat at No. 441 Becond-Bt. Brooklyn. John Cameron, his father, lives at No, 1.112 Paeinc-st., Brooklyn. Mrs. Cameron, wife of the missing man. is so prostrated that she Is unable to see callers. Mrs. John Cameron, speaking to a Tribune re porter yesterday, Bald: • "We canrol believe that Clarence has done anything wrong. He was a model young man In every way. He was not In the habit of going to the races, belonged to no clubs or organiza- , tions, and had no extravagant habits of any ; klud. He was a msß who devoted all of his time away from his business to his family. •The (Manns have assured us that there is nothing to show that Clarence did anything dis honest, and we do not know of any way in which he could have spent a large amount of money. "We have not beard from Clarence since Mon day mornins. May 2a when he left the hou*e supposedly to go to the office. Although he had ; not been in the best of health he dil not ap- , pear nervous and we had not the slightest inti mation that he would not return. We have no idea where he is, but shall exert every effort to • find him." RUTLAND K. B. FOR MONTREAL. Brandon. Burlington. Across the Islands of Lake ; Ohamplalii Ottawa Quebec, four trains. lUustrat.il j book, 4c. 'postage, information. 3ij Broadway, i *.. r.-Adw - — REAR ADMIRAL FRENCH EL CIIADWICK. <Ph.«to»frarh». copyright by E. Stull<>T.) GAVKMIiS. H LIAS $685,000 J. 7?. PL ATT SUES FOR IT. iS Woman Blackmailed Him — *Naij Explain Green Mystery. Declaring that she has blackmailed him for years, John FL Platt, an aged white man. re puted to he exceedingly wealthy, Is bringing suit in the Supreme Court against Mrs. Han nah Ellas, the negress who came late promi nence at the time of the murder Of Andrew H. Green. Mr. Platt seeks to recover about 9683. <>X>. With this, extorted from him by fraud and threats of bodily violence, the plaintiff alleges, the woman bought the handsome house, No. 2SB Central Park West, where she lived when Cor nelius Williams shot. Mr. Green. several Other Houses and diamonds and clothes, regarding which he has no particulars. He asks that then be an accounting of all the moneys, that the real estate and accounts in various banks, which he makes co-defendants^ be taken from her control, and a receiver be appointed to col lecl the rents. Mr*. Hannah Klin? could not be found yester day. A Japanese rvaal at her home said she was out of town. August C. Nanz. who was her per sonal counsel at the tune of the Green murder, said that he was not acting for her now. and had not heard from her In several months. He did not know bow she acquired the property in question, he declared. and knew- nothing about John K. Platt and any relation! he might have bad it ith Mrs. Elms. This suit may explain the mystery r gnrdtnt tho man for whom the netcro Williams mistook Andrew H. Green. Neighbors of the Ellas woman said that a whits haired man caned an her almost dally, who bore a striking resem blance to Mr. Green, District Attorney Jerome learned considerable about this man. It was y.iid ;it the time that to some he was known as Green, to others at Phut. The story toad la Mr. Platt's complain! leaves little room for doubt that he v. .is the man who Inspired the negro's insane Jealousy, which ended In the nu-<ler of the aged lawyer. Mi. piatt's attorneys, Warren, Warren & O r ßeb*ne, would say nothtag abowi the rasa, and nothing about Mr. Ptatt. At hi.- hoaaa X<>. T East Flfty-fourth-st., test night, a friend who declined to ni\e his name said that this "was simply :i case "f a feehla old man who was blackmailed "if of hhi money." Mr. IMatt is not a relative <>f Senator Ftart In his cesa plalnt, he says he i.< ■ retired merchant, eighty four yean old. H« has an ofßce ai N"i>. 14 Church-st., wh< r« he attends te business of some kind nearly cvi rj •■ '' The complaint filed by Mr. Tlatt's towjm tells how after making his acquaintance the woman played on his credulity and affection, forced herself on htm: then, with a Japanese servant, extorted money in vast sums from him. threatening exposure at him as father of her Illegitimate children, first to her husband, later to Ihs world at large; finally taring him to pay money under fear of personal violence, Yet ber blandishments must have been potent, for after paying her large sums for years, Mr. l'latt In his complaint confesses to bating con tinued his relations with her until last year. >nd that he paid her money up to May •_'.' of tills year. ATl's MEETING WITH THE WOMAN. Mr. Plat! lives with his two daughters, He met the Ettas woman before January, l>-: ; »i. Bha represented herself M el Spanish origin, single and virtu the complaint says, whereas Mr. Tlatt soon discovered that she was of bad char acter, consorting with dissolute persona, and that she was the wife of ens Matthew »i. Davis, a negro. Notwithstanding aB this. the com plaint avers, by protestations of love, she in duced him to have r«lations with her. all Of which was part of a scheme to coerce him and bleed him of any superfluous eea* he had. This process, the complaint sets forth, went Into execution at once. The woman threatened to expose their relations to her husband, who. she said, was a man of violent temper. When ho first met her she had no property and no assets Of any kind, save a few clothes and a little furniture. After the collections began, the complaint says, Mrs. Ellas acquired the real estate habit. in 188* under fear of exposure, Mr. Matt alleges, he paid to her In January $1.00(1; in March, $1,500: April. $1,000; May; $800: Jar.-. |§0O: July. $". 7**>: September. $«. 47."; October, $1,900; November, H.QOO; Decem ber, $1,700, a total Of $U>.075. On September 24. 1896, she purchased the house in West Fifty-third-st.. for which she paid $13.">U0. Out of the balance she purchased furniture and bric-a-brac, which she still has. In January. lvi?. ha alleges, he gave her $11,- Cuotiau«4 oa sixteenth v"** GtTN'BOAT MARIETTA. PORT ARTHUR'S J'LH.lir. PROVISIONS RUN SHOUT. Japanese Enter Dalny — Prizes — A Battle on Line of Railroad. Chinese who re.ichrd Xew-Ch«-ang from Port Arthur s.iitl thnt the situation in the fortress was desperate. Food was scarce and the hospitals were filled with wounded. Wotk on the damaged warships had ceased, and all civilians had been impressed into service. Japanese troops occupied Dalny on May SO. The Russians, who evacuated the town in haste after the battle at Nan-Shan, destroyed the big pier, but left intact the jetties and many storehouses. Two hundred railway cars were found uninjured. Brigands who were pillaging the town were repressed by the Japanese. Official dispatches received to St Peters burg told of a battle at a point near the Port Arthur-Moukden railway. The Russians, ap parently, were compelled to retire, although the Japanese losses were reported heavy. A Japanese gunboat and two destroyers were reported sunk by the fire flogs Port Arthur forts while an attempt wa» being made to block the channel. The report came from Moukden. General Kuropatkin's alleged march to re lieve Port Arthur lacks confirmation, and w*s denied at St. Petersburg, although there wexo further rumors of an sdvince on Kin-Chow, SUFFERING IN FORTRESS. Hospitals Said To Be FuU—CiYih inns Impressed — Food Scarce. London, June "The Daily Halt's" corre spondent ai Xew-Chwang says: Some Chinese fugitives from Port Arthur <!» scribe tho situation of the Inhabitants then* ad desperate. Famine prices exist. The coat o£ provisions Increases weekly. Many persona) are reduceil to eat Jag Chinese rood, and even that Is dear. Mill-.-t i'our ■ osts $6 m bag. Whole .streets and several public buildings have been wrecked by Japanese shell fire. Th» hospitals are packed with wounded. The work <>f rt-pairinir the damaged warship* Is stopped. All civilians have been assigned to military duties. Th. genCTSj health of the Inhabitants is good, except that the Chinese are dying from starva tion. Th. ft has been mads punishable by death. The railway is completely destroyed as far aa Kiu-Chov.-. and there ni frequent gaps in ft between Kin-Chow and a fang-Tien. At Wafang-Tien there are l."».00i> Japanese troopa, but m> sii;n of tr-ops further north. In the Panting ai Kin-Chow two hundred Chinese were killed by the Japanese fire directed against positions that the Russians had evacu ated. The Tokio correspondent of "The Chronicle"* telegraphs: Russian strategy has undergone another i-hiiiuee Yi:.s-Ko\v is to be again for Four guns -'■ t frotri -. the garrison increased and the h mined. The correspondent of "The Standard* at the Japanese army haan>|iasilsi»i telegraphing May 31. saya: UepeatM reeesuvsssaaaeea show that none of the enemy's troops are within fifteen miles ci Wang-Cheng or east of the Tayan River for thirty miles in th* direction of >iu-\en. Mao-Tien Pass may dt-lay but it cannot prevent the Japanese advance, as the pass can be turned on either flank. ■The Meaning Post's' correspondent at Shanghai learns that the Russians hanged •»■ mnahea el Chinese who ha.il been caught sis nalling to the Japanese fleet near Vladivostok. BATTLE ON RAILROAD. Heavy Japanese Loss Reported, but Russians Retire. St. Petersbuv*. May U.— The following otnclal dispatches, lescrlblng a battle near ■ station on ih- p^vt Aiihur-JfoukOen line, bi whleli i Jap anese squadrori was almost annihilated, *nd giving detaUs of »he I-Tang-Pien-Men battle, were received by the War Office to-day: Shortly before noon. May ?A. our cavalry opened rire roar the raSrosjd station of Vagen- Fu-chu against sn adrvaßCtosl Jipanese force, consisting of eight companies of infantry, eight squadrons of c ivatry and four machine guns. In the> ensuing buttle <■ •••• mounted sotnla* brilliantly attacked .1 Japanese so,uidror» on the enemy's iff; i! ink and almost completely anni hilated it The sotntas then atf-icked the infantry, but retired under th ■ ftre of machine gun*. The advance cf the Japanese i,ifantry. hi or der t-> turn our left flank, was stopped by the fire of our battery, which inflict^ i considerable loss on the enemy. Oar lossss have not yet been definitely ascer tained, bui so tar as known one officer and] twenty-one men were wounded! and twenty-n\\> horses were iost. From May '-".» to M -y .",.> all ha:* been aulsl in the neighborhood of Feng-WaJßg-Cheaag At 1O:3(» p. in. on M.iy -"» a force of Japanese Infantry fr«mi Kwan-Ti n begun a fronta! flunk attack upon ;i position occupied hy our Cos packs Bear t-hao?;o. fifteen versta nr-rth\ve«t •• K wan- Tien. The Japanese, under cover of tha dark!!; opened a running, desultory tire, astngf t\->\<\ searchlights. Th? Cossacks retired on foot to Chanlln Pass, two versus west of Shaosro. and subsequently on I-Yang-Pi«»n-Men. ?i3ite a vorsts nest of Chanlin isa. The firing caaseal at 'J a. m, on May 28 when the Japanese eeaassl the pursuit, at the entrance of Chanlin Pass. The same day the first section of a Japanese) detachment approached L V .. i i- ■-■■.! -Men, but