Daily press. [volume], December 29, 1898, Image 1

About Daily press. [volume] (Newport News, Va.) 1896-current

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ASSOCIATED U
t'RESS I
I DISPATCHES. I
VOL. Ill, ISO. 309.
Argument in the Botkin Case
Begun.
INNING FOR BOTH SIDES
Mr. Knight, for the llcfonsc,Attacks Every
Toiut Made by the Prosecution.
AViJl Probably Go to Jury
Friday Morning;.
(By Telegraph.)
SAN FRANCISCO, Dec. 2S.?This was!
the most interesting- day in the Bot-1
kin case since the trial of the woman
for the murder of Mrs. Dunning com?
menced.
The proceedings opened this morning
with an argument by Attorney Gen?
eral White, of Delaware, for the pros?
ecution. Mr. White addressed the jury
quietly and proceeded to review the
testimony brought out during the trial.
?He called attention to the chain of cir?
cumstantial evidence against Mrs. Bot?
kin and said that if the jury believed
the evidence of the witnesses for the
prosecution, then Mrs. Botkin must be
convicted of murder in the first de?
gree.
Mr. White dwelt upon the awfulness
of the crime and the unsuspecting, de?
fenceless condition of the victims. His
argument lasted all through the morn?
ing, and during its progress 'Mrs. Bot?
kin listened attentively. As Mr. White
concluded she leaned her head on her
arms and seemed to be greatly affected.
At the afternoon session Atorney
George Knight made the argument for
the defense. Mr. Knight's reputation as
an orator and ability as a criminal law?
yer attracted an enormous crowd to the
court room.
Many prominet attorneys were in at?
tendance in addition to many well
known citizens. Mr. Knight talked for
nearly three hours and endeavored to
? convince the jury of the weakness of
the prosecution's case and the lack of
a motive by Mrs. Botkin for commit?
ting such a crime. Mr. Knight urged
the jury not to be influenced by the
outcry caused by the recent acquittal
cf^Walter Rosser, the Tennessee soldier,
who murdered an inoffensive citizen of
San Francisco, and referred to the
Maybrick and Dreyfus cases as in.
stances of suffering of innnocent peo?
ple because of the public opinion.
DENOUNCED THE DOCTOR.
Mr. Knight denounced Doctor Bishop,j
the Dover physician who attended the
poisoned woman, and was most blttei :
in his condemnation of the methods of
the San Francisco police. Mr. Dun-!
ning, the husband of one of the mur- !
Oered women, also came in for a snare
of the attorney's vitriolic sentences.
Attention was called to the fact that
Mrs. Botkin, the alleged author of the
anonymous letters that were mailed in
San Francisco, was away and could
not have possibly have mailed the let?
ters here.
Miss Grace Harrison, who identified
?the woman as the one who purchased
the handkerchief which was found in a
"box of candy, was denounced as an un?
truthful and dissolute woman. The
testimony of the candy girls, who iden?
tified Mrs. Botkin as the woman who
purchased the candy, was also vigorous?
ly attacked by the lawyer.
In speaking of the alleged purchase of
arsenic by Mrs. Botkin on June 1st,
Mr. Knight sought to show the im?
probability of her keeping the poison
until July 31st when she purchased the
candy.. He did not, however, directly
deny the purchase of the arsenic.
AFTER THE EXPiSRT.
Writing Expert Ames, who came here
from New York and testified that Mrs.
Botkin was the author of the anony- j
mous letteds, and also addressed the I
wrapper on the candy, was denounced I
as coming here and testifying for the
prosecution because he was paid to tes?
tify that way. Mr. Knight laid great
stress upon the fact that the arsenic
found* in the candy was in lump form,
.and Druggist Grey testified that Mrs.
Botkin purchased powdered arsenic. He j
also said that there was no legal proof
that Mrs. Dunning died from arsenic
poisoning. An autopsy, he said, was
necessary to prWve the cause cf death
in any poisoning case. Mr. Knight con?
tended that the prosecution had failed
to show a motive on Mrs. Botkln's part
for the commission of the crime.
Mr. Knight closed with a brilliant
peroration in which he described Mrs.
Botkin as an innocent, persecuted wo?
man, and he urged the jury to acquit |
her of the horrible suspicion that had j
rested upon her through the machina?
tions dt the police.
Tomorrow Attorney McGowan will
make an argument for the defense and
District Attorney Hosmer will close for
the prosecution. It is expected that
the case will be given to the jury Fri?
day morning.
Gen. Greene to Resign.
(By Telegraph.)
WASHINGTON. Dec. 28.?Major Gen?
eral Francis V. Greene arrived in Wash?
ington this morning from New York
and reported at once to the War De?
partment to Secretary Alger. He came
to resign Iiis commission as an officer
of the volunteer army preparatory to
his returi\.to private life. It is with re
gret that the department accepts hi
resignation. ? _ .
NEWPORT NI
SENATOR MORRILL'S FUNERAL
Arrangements l'or the Last Sad Kites Over
the Fe i a'.ns of the V.ncrahle
Vennontcr Completed.
' / (By Telegraph.)
WASHINGTON, Dec. 2S.?Arrange?
ments for the funeral of the late Sen- j
ator Morrill, of Vermont, who died at
an early hour this morning, were com?
pleted today. The funeral ceremony
will be held in the Senate chamber on
Saturday next at 12 o'clock noon.
I Until then the body will remain at
the family residence, on Massachusetts
j avenue, and will be borne to the capltol
I early Saturday morning. The services
j at the Senate will be conducted by
l Rev. E. Bradford Levitt, of All Soul's
Unitarian church, where Senator Mor?
rill was an attendant for a number of
years, assisted by Rev. Dr. Milburn, the
blind chaplain of the Senate.
The remains will be taken to the fam?
ily home at. Strafford, Vt., for burial
alongside the remains of Mrs. Morrill,
although they will probably be en?
tombed here for a time, until the fam?
ily mausoleum, now under construction,
is completed.
EVIDENCES OF REGARD.
At the family residence of the de-1
ceased, there were many evidences of j
affectionate regard during the day.!
Senators and Representatives who had j
served alongside the venerable states- j
man for years, called and paid their
tribute of respect. Beside the person?
al callers, messages of condolence came
by telegraph from all parts of the coun?
try. The telegrams represented all sec?
tions, coming from California. Connec?
ticut, Pennsylvania, the South and
West, and all parts of New England.
The ceremcny in the Senate chamber
will be marked by those characteristic
of solemn dignity usual on such occas?
ions. The casket will be first borne to
the Marble Room, and then, immediate?
ly before the ceremony, the active pall?
bearers will bear it to the Senate cham?
ber, where" it will rest immediately in
front of the presiding officer's desk.
The seats in the front circle of the
chamber will be rserved for the Presi?
dent and members of the cabinet. Back
of them on either side, the honcrary
committees of the two Houses, wearing
large white crepe bands about the arm,
will be seated. Back of them will be
seated the members of the Senate and
of the House.
The funeral cortege" enters aftTTTeavelT
the capitol from the main entrance on
the east fro.it.
I Vice-President Hobart telegraphed he
j would attend the funeral. The
i committee of Senators named by the
! Vice-President to accompany the re?
mains to Vermont consists of Messrs.
I Proctor, Allison. Cockrell, Hoar Mor?
gan. Cullom, Vest, J. P. Jones, Tur
1 pie. Aldrlch, Gray, Chandler, Faulkner,
Fairbanks and Wolcott.
The House committee announced by
Speaker Reed is as follows: Represen?
tatives Grout, Powers. Hitt, Dingley.
McCall. Grow. Bankhead. Catchings,
Richardson. Foss and Joseph Wheeler.
The special train which will bear the
remains to Vermont will consist of three
cars. The remains will be taken to the
cemetery in Montpelier and placed in a
vault, pending removal to the mauso?
leum now under construction at Straf
ford, their final resting place.
SAMMY SMALL DISArrOINTKI).
Find? fault With Opportunities Afforded
the Army Chaxilains.
(By felegraph.)
SAVANNAH, <SA., Dec. 28.?Rev. Sam
Small, the noted evangelist, is now
chaplain of the Third Engineers, U. S.
A. He arrived here today and one of
the first things he did svas to give out
an interview. Among other things he
said:
"The chaplains are a sort of sop to the
church sentiment, without much sub?
stance to them. They take a minister
and put a uniform on him with a silver'
cross on the shoulder, pay him $200 a
month and turn him loose on 1,200 men
without any of the implements of the
spiritual warfare to fight with. I've
been disappointed.
"When I get out I am going to sug?
gest that they do away with the chap?
lains. I suppose there may be a howl,
but it is better to raise the issue and
have the whole system revised. When
we get down to Cuba I'll wager most of
!t!he men would rather go 'to a cock
fight or a bull fight than attend
services. To tell the truth I am 'be?
ginning to think there is a heap of
balderdash about what the chaplains do
accomplish outside of meeting the senti- \
ment that calls for their presence with j
every body of troops."
Gofl? Not a Candidate,
(By Telegraph.) *
WHEELING, W. VA., Dec. 28.?The j
Intelligencer will publish a brief letter |
tomorrow, over Judge Nathan Goff's i
signature, stating that lie is not, nor
does not intend to be, a candidate before
the coming Legislature for United
?States Senator. He says he is not. a
candidate for any political office and
has no intention of retiring from the
United States Circuit Judgeship in the
near future. The leading Republican
candidates are Governor Atkinson and'
T. B. Scott. ? % ,-' '.j
Cold Wave.
Weather signals indicate that a cold
wave may be expected. Indeed, if the
thermometer may be believed, it has
already arrived: for the temperature
last evening after the sunshine of the
earlier hours of the day was decidedly
frosty. There will not be much objec?
tion to the cold wave if it will only
come hard enough to freeze everything
up, or is accompanied by a snow.
:W S, VA., TH?RS I
Col. Potter Reaches Iloiio After j
Spanish Evacuation,
INSURGENTS IN CHARGE,
Dons Complicate tlie Problem by Leaving
All Posts in Southern Islands und
Concentrating at the Town
of Zitmboagna.
(By Telegraph.)
WASHINGTON, Dec. .2S.?A dispatch j
was received at the War Department
from General Otis today notifying the|
officials of the capture of Iloilo by the
insurgents. It appears that the Amer?
ican forces, which were dispatched i
there, arrived too late, and that the in?
surgents had added to the difficulty of
of the prohlems already presented by
hoisting their flag over the city, which
they have been besieging for months.
The news was contained in the follow?
ing message from General Otis:
"Manila, December, 27, 1S98.
"Adjutant General, Washington:
"Sent Colonel Potter on fast vessel
to Iloilo cn December 24th to communi?
cate with Spanish General Rios. Latter
evacuated on the evening of the 24th,
and Potter was nine hours late. In?
surgents took possession of the city on
26th, and Potter found Aguinaldo's flag
flying. Cannot now report probable re?
sults; will not hear from there for four
days as there are no cable connections.
Spanish forces have evacuated all sta?
tions in Southern islands except Zam
boanga and Mindanao, by orders, as
they say, from Madrid.
(Signed.) "OTIS."
COMPLICATES THE PROBLEM.
The evacuation of the Spaniards of
ail of the Philippine ports as reported
by General Otis, although doubtless in?
spired hy a desire to secure their safe?
ty by concentration, undoubtedly has
done much to complicate the problem
already presented to the War Depart?
ment of extending the military jurisdic?
tion of the United States over the is?
lands. -It will be necessary to expedite
the execution of the original plans and
it may be fully expected that within a
week important events will have hap?
pened in the-Philippines. - .-.?-<i-?Cr?:>!i
It is presumed that General Otis will
demand the surrender of Iloilo into his
hands, and this demand at once raises
the issue between the insurgents and
our own government of the possession
of the islands.
The province of Iloilo is set down in
the official directories as having a pop?
ulation of 472,000, and it is the second
seaport in importance in the Philippine
group. It is located on a river navi-j
gable for vessels of fifteen feet draught,
so that very few of our gunboats would
be available to assist the troops in case
it should be necessary to take forci'ble
possession of the city.
The Spaniards have chosen a strong
place for the concentration of their
troops in the town of Zamboarga.
which, as the reports indicate here, is
strongly fortified and possessed of con?
siderable natural strength from a of?
fensive point of view. It is not doubt?
ed that they will be able to maintain
themselves for an indefinite period
against the insurgents, presuming that
they are not cut off from obtaining sup?
plies from the sea. The town itself has
a population of 21,000 inhabitants.
Site for Now tVderai Prison.
(By Telegraph.
ATLANTA. GA? Dec. 28.?The Cen?
tral of Georgia railway today offered
to donate 300 acres of land adjacent to
Fort McPherson as a site for. the new
federal prison. In the tender is in- i
eluded the right of the Central to handle
all 'the supplies tpr the prison agreeing j
not to charge more1 than the established |
trackage prices. The Central proposes j
to build all the tracks. The property ]
lies almost directly in the rear of the I
military post and one side of the prop- J
erty touches the barracks boundary on j
the southwest corner. The federal
prison committee recently appointed by
Mayor Collier today visited the pro?
posed site and were highly pleased. It
was the opinion of the committeemen
also that no sites should be seriously
considered outside of Fulton county.
Attorney-General Griggs will be noti?
fied in a few days that a sufficient num?
ber of sites have 'been secured to make
it an object for him to pay a visit to
Atlanta so that he may personally in?
spect.
Ollnde Roll lgn?z Kefeased.
(By Telegraph.)
CHARLESTON. S. C, Dec. 28?On
July 5 the steamer Glinde Rodriguez,
of the Compagnie Generale Tra.ns-At
lantkiue was warned off San Juan. On
July 17 she was captured off that har
ber by the United States cruiser New
Orleans, charged with attempting to
break the blockade, and was brought
to Charleston. United States District
Judge Brawley heard arguments here
and the case was continued in New
York, whither the alleged prize was
sent.' Last week Judge Brawley ren?
dered a decision that the ship was not
a prize of war as the blockade of San
Juan was not effective at the time of
her capture. Today Judge Brawley
signed an order for the release of the
Olinde Rodriguez.
Possibly the authorities in Washing?
ton will authorize the district attorney
here to appeal the case to the United
States Court of Appeals,
Paid the Penalty.
(By Telegraph.)
PRINOETOWN, MO., Dec. 28.?Ira
I Sexton was hanged hen? today for the
i killing of Nalluin Stark, a young far?
mer, October 28, 1807.
DAY, DECEMBER
Three-Wived Congressman Up=
holds Polygamy.
"GOOD, PURE AND HOLY"
The Latter Day,Sal nt ^Waxes Delimit au<!
Bills His Opponents Settle tlie Mat?
ter in tlie Courts. No Legal
Obs'a -ties in the Way.
(By Telegraph.)
NEW YORK. Dec. 2S.?A Salt Lake
special to the Evening World says:
Congressman-elect B. H. Roberts |
today made the following statement to i
the Evening World correspondent:
"If a time comes when it is necessary
for me to defend myself I shall be right
there on the spot and I appreciate that
the members of Congress and the Am?
erican people are more liberal, broad
minded and generous than a few
bigoted and contracted preachers of the
Presbyterian church, whose training,
mode of life, and trend of thought tend?
ed to unfit them for practical life.
"Joseph Smith received a command- j
ment from the Lord to Introduce our I
order of marriage into the church and j
on the strength of that revelation and j
not by reason of anything that is writ- j
ten in the Jewish scriptures the lat- i
ter day saints practice plural marriage, j
Polygamy is not adultery for, were it |
so considered, then Abraham, Jacob i
and the prophets who practiced it would
not be allowed an inheritance in the
Kingdom of Heaven, and if polygamy
is not adultery, then it cannot be class?
ed as a sin at all. It appears to me j
that modern Christians must either j
learn to tolerate polygamy or give up
forever the glorious hope of resting in
Abraham's besom.
"That which God approves and so j
strikingly approves, must be not only
not bad. but positively good, pure and
holy. Notwithstanding this, however,
the hand of the Gentiles was laid heavy
upon the people of the Lord that in His
mercy, God permitted them to cease
therefrom from expediency and true to
the pledge given by the church no j
polygamous marriages have since been I
celebrated by the church. But not even !
the church can take away from a man
the wives it has already given him. j
They are his for time and for eternity
and I think the great, broad-minded i
and just American people will not re?
quire a man to ?cast off the wives he
has, with Whom lie has lived nor to
^abandon his children." ^
-^^ttrHjerKrostr'Mrr^Ebitoertj-a^rs-his-of
fense is unlawful cohabitation and he
remarked: ?
"I am here and the courts are open.
If any one wants to test the point the
way is clear."
It has ''Seen urged by some that Mr.
Roberts owing to the operation of the
Edwards-Tucker act, which dis?
franchised all polygmists, is legally
barred from taking his seat in Congress.
In regard to this Mr. Roberts says he
has had the best legal advice obtain?
able which convinces him that there are
no legal obstacles in the way of his
taking his seat.
Russell Turning Democrat,
(By Telegraph.)
RALEIGH. N. C, Dec. 2S.?A sensa- i
tion was created here this morning by j
the announcement in the News and Ob?
server that J. M. Mewborne, the fusion
superintendent of the penitentiary, had
resigned and Captain W. H. Day, a
Democratic lawyer, had been named by
Governor Russell as his successor. Mr.
Mewborne's resignation takes effect
January 1.
Not even the most intimate friends j
of the interested parties knew of the
contemplated change in management.
Captain Day has accepted the position
and today announced that he would fill
all the subordinate offices with Demo?
crats. He has already appointed R. J.
Tlllery, of Halifax county, as manager
of the State farms and F. B. Arendell,
of Raleigh, manager of the central
prison. ? ?!??'.
Governor Russell's political friends
are severely criticising him for appoint?
ing Democrats to office. Only two
weeks ago he appointed a Democrat as
Adjutant-General of the State and
since then he has made the boards of
directors for several of the institutions
Democratic.
rool and Pistol Combination.
(By Telegraph.)
SIOUX CITY, IA., Dec. 28.?A special
to the Journal says:
A district school-house about two
miles from the village of Clare was the
scene of a tragedy this afternoon
whereby Mav Thomas, a popular young
teacher, lost her life. This afternoon
a young man came to Clare on the
northbound Rock Island passenger
train, hired a horse and drove out to the
school-house where Miss Thomas teach?
es. He entered the building and they
conversed for some time, finally walk?
ing out together. After going down the
road a short distance, the man drew a
revolver and shot her, killing her al?
most instantly. He then shot himself
and died a few hours later. The young
man was not known at Clare, but it
was learned that his name is Harry
Garvey. He had been keeping company
with Miss Thomas, who refused his fur?
ther attentions.
Case of "Badger" Moore.
(By Telegraph.)
NEW YORK, Dec. 28.?Justice
Smythe, in the Supreme Court today,
adjourned until Wednesday the hearing
of the application for a certificate of
reasonable doubt in the case of W. A. E.
Meore, convicted of "badgering" Mar?
tin Mahon.
San Joss Police Skeptical.
(By Telegraph.)
SAN JOSE. CAD., Dec. 28?The police
of this city place little credence in the
report that James C. Dunham, the mur?
derer is arrested in Columbus. It is
believed by residents of this place that
Dunham killed himself on the night of
his atrocious crime in May, 1S0C.
29, 1898. PRICE
THAT "EMBALMED BEEF.
<>u?rterinastcr-Scrgcar.t Thinks it Was All
Kiglit?ror the Men. Those tt h-> Com
l>liiiiieil Chronic Grumblers.
(By Telegraph.)
WASHINGTON, Dee. 28.?William W.
Hijl, assistant secretary of the War
Investigating Commission, and who]
served in Company L, District of Co-'
lunibia volunteers as first sergeant and
acting quartermaster sergeant, was the
only witness before the commission to?
day.
Colonel Denby, who presided, ques?
tioned the witness regarding the moated
question of the canned beet furnished
the volunteers. Mr. Hill dscaunte
nanced the complaints made by men.!
He said they came from those who com?
plain against anything. He said the
health of his company was excellent at
Tampa and he credited it largely to
free use of lemonade. The canned beef
first furnished the men, he said, was
lean, dry and hard, lacking nutrition,
though later it was considerably im?
proved. He believed the canned beef,
which he explained was canned just
after being boiled, was "perfectly fit to j
eat." though once in a while he would j
receive a can that was spoiled and |
smelled badly. He knew a large lot of i
spoiled canned beef had been found at
Tampa, before his company sailed for j
Cuba. The men seemed to like the
canned beef, he said, but later became j
surfeited with it. The refrigerated i
fresh 'beef, he said, had no evidence of
chemical treatment and had a natural
appearance. The trouble with the re?
frigerated beef, he thought, that the
men overfed themselves and ate it half
cocked.
SUNT A POISONIOUS FKESKNT.
Woman Killed by Cyanide of Potassium
Supjospd to bo Ilroiuo-Seltzer.
(By Telegraph.)
NEW YORK, Dec. 28.?Mrs. Kate J.
Adams, a well-to-do woman, was pob>
oned today in her handsomely furnished
apartments on Eighty-sixth street.
Her death is connected with a suspi?
cious chain of events.
Mrs. Adams awoke this morning with
a bad headache. Her daughter, Mrs.
Rogers, advised her to take some
brcmo-seltzer. Mrs. Rogers hunted
around but found none of the required
medicine. Finally she remembered that
there was some bromo-seltzer in Mr.
Cornish's room. This she got and gave
to her mother, who took a fair-sized
jJose. In a few seconds Mrs. Adams
w;as in "great pain and evidently suffer?
ing from the effects of a strong poison.
Dr. Hitchcock was called in and he
tried to counteract the effect of the
poison which he declared to be cyanide
of potassium.
TESTED THE MEDICINE,
t Mr. Cornish and Dr. Hitchcock both
tested the poisonous stuff and in a few
minutes both men were prostrated. Mr.
Potter was called in. He revived the
two men. but Mrs. Adams died.
Mr. Cornish states that on Christmas
day he received a neat package address?
ed to himself containing a sterling sil?
ver medicine bottle holder in a Tiffany
box and in the holder was a bottle
marked "bromo-seltz~r." This package
was anonymous sent, but Cornish says
he thought nothing of this, as he fre?
quently gets presents in this way. It
was this bottle that Mrs. Rogers got
for her mother and out of which Mrs.
Adams drank with fatal effect.
Mr. Cornish says he cannot think who
could have had any designs on his life.
Chicago Bribery Cases.
(By Telegraph.)
CHICAGO, Dec. 28.?Allegations of
bribery in city affairs are under investi?
gation by the grand Jury and the en?
tire city council has been asked to ap?
pear before that body. The inquiry
was begun today. It will be continued
pro'bably tomorrow and Friday. The
investigation will not be confined es?
pecially to charges made in connection
with the 50-year street car franchise
ordinance. Alleged bribery in other
matters of public importance <rill re?
ceive attention. Shortly before noon
today the clerk of the grand jury was
instructed to send out subpoenas for
! nine aldermen and two ex-aldermen.
All of these save one appeared during
j the afternoon. All who appeared were
i heard. Enough evidence of interest
I was brought out to determine the grand
I jury to proceed along the line adopted
I and the clerk was instructed to send
I out summons for every member of the
Chicago council to appear tomorrow.
Another Cuttle King Fnils.
(By Telegraph.)
: KANSAS CITY. MO., Dec. 28.?A spe?
cial to the Star from Milan, Mo., says:
"Much excitement prevails in this
city over the failure of Waiter M. Clark,
a Sullivan county cattle king. Although
his faiure has been expected for nearly
nine years, the crisis has served as a
shock to . the whole county. The
records of thi3 company show over
$83.000 of mortgages on cattle alone,
while deeds of trust on his big farms
and individual indebtedness will swell
! the total to pver $200,000. Of the $83,000
; half of the paper is held by the Chicago
I Live Stock Commission Company, the
j balance by the J. C. Bohard Oommis
j sion Company, of St. Joseph, Mo.; M.
A. Burwell. of Kansas City; the First
! National Bank, of this city, and Moor
| head and Sandifur, of this county."
Tin- Charges Filed.
(By Telegraph.)
CLEVELAND, O., Dec. 28.?The
I charges against Judge F. E. Dullen
I baugn and Senator Vermin H. Burke
I were filed in the Circuit Court this af
: ternoon by the committee of the Bar
Association appointed to fomulate and
prosecute the charges. The charges in
each case are as follows:
The said Frank E. Dullenbaugh and
I Vernon IL Burke, an attorney-at-law,
: of the State of Ohio, are here'by
jcharged:
j First?With having been guilty of
j misconduct in office as an attorney-at
jlaw of the State of Ohio.
! Second?With having been guilty of
j unprofessional conduct, involving moral
I turpitude.
1 6 PAGES
S T95AY 1
SINGLE COPY, TWO CENTi
ONE WEEK TEN CENTS \
THOSE WAR CLAIMS
Bills Amounting to $26,000,000
Rendered Already.
STILL MORE TO FOLLOW
President Will Ask for Legislative Knnct
inent Looking to Their Settlement
as Soon as the Peace Treaty
Ratified.
- .. : Obi
(By Telegraph.)
WASHINGTON, Dec. 28.?Immediate?
ly upon the ratification of the peace
treaty 'by the Senate the President will
recommend to the Congress the enact?
ment cf legislation looking to the settle?
ment of the claims of American citi
cens for damages sustained in Cuba,
Porto Rico and other Spanish posses?
sions which formed the seat of war.
These claims, to the amount of $26,
000,000 on this score, have already been
lodged with the State Department. It
it true that an unknown portion of
these are claims based on depredations
committed by Cuban insurgents, for
which it is questionable whether the
Spanish government could be held re?
sponsible.
On the other hand it is believed that
there are many claims for large
amounts that have not been presented
owing to the inability of the claimants
to secure the necessary corroborative
evidence during the Spanish occupation
of the evacuated territories, or-because
of the 'belief that it would be fruitless
to present any claim so long as Spanish
sovereignty was maintained.
ASSUMED LIABILITY.
I Now, however, by an article in the
treaty of peace, the United States has
assumed liability for all claims preferr?
ed by its citizens on account of dep.r?3&
tions, or, in fact, on any proper score.
In its turn, the Spanish government
assumed liability for any claim that
might have 'been made on account of
Spanish citizens or the Spanish govern?
ment itself against the United States.
'What such claims would have amount?
ed to cannot be estimated. None were
filed with the United States government
prior to the declaration of war. But
it is recalled that tnere 'was much crit?
icism on the part of high Spanish offi?
cials of the alleged failure of the Uni?
ted States government to observe the
requirements of the neutrality laws and
more than one statement to the effect
that the Spanish government intended
to present a claim for a round number
cf million on that score.
- 1
BRYAN AT OMAHA.
Talks of Kxpansion and the Currency
Question.
(By Telegraph.)
OMAHA. NEB.. Dec. 28.?William
Jennings Bryan arrived in Omaha today
from Chicago. He called on friends in
the city during the morning and this
afternoon left for Lincoln.
When asked if he thought the ques?
tion of imperialism would overshadow
I the money issue in the campaign ot"
1900, Mj\ Bryan said it was difficult at
j this time to say what relation these
subjects would bear to each other then.
He thought if Congress would adopt a
resolution pledging this government to
keep the Philippines only as a trust for
their people, as we do Cuba, until a
stable government is established the
expansion issue would be at an end.
If, however, the question is not settled
in some way as this, he said, it would
continue to be a matter of discussion
until it was disposed of and would
therefore remain one of the issues be?
fore the people.
With Porto Rico, Mr. Bryan said, the
situation could be simplified easily. He
believed the people of the island should
first be permitted to vote whether they
desired annexatiq/i to this country, or
the formation o? an independent re?
public. . .
Morrill Memorial Services
(By Telegraph.)
I COLUMBUS, O., Dec. 28.?In respect
i for the late Senator Justin Morrill, of
I Vermont, and in recognition of the edu
j cational value of his services to this
country, the Ohio State University,
j which with more than fifty other col
I leges and universities in the United
j States, owes its beginning to the fore
! sight and wisdom of Mr. Morrill, will
j hold memorial services. What the na
i ture of the services will be, or what
form they will assume, cannot be defin
| itely stated yet. The matter rests with
i the President, Dr. Canfleld, and the
I board of trustees. The meeting will
j be held probably during the second or
i third week of the new term.
Change in J'ar.senger Agents.
(By Telegraph.)
j ATLANTA, GA., Dec. 28.?Mr. T. J.
j Anderson,general passenger agent of the
? Seaboard Aair Line, with headquarters
j at Portsmouth, Va., will be succeeded
j January 1st by L. S. Allen, general
agent of the same company at Wash?
ington. Mr. Anderson, it is understood
here, will ?o to New Orleans, but with
what company he will be associated is
not known.
Bank Cashier Arrested.
(By Telegraph.)
NASHUA, N. H., Dec. 28.?H. B.
. Bailey, cashier of the Colebrook Na
j tional Bank, of Colebrook, was arrest
! cd today charged with the misappropri
| ation of funds of the bank. The short
I age is placed at $60,000. Bailey will be
j arraigned at Lancaster tomorrow.