The river press. [volume], April 29, 1908, Image 1

About The river press. [volume] (Fort Benton, Mont.) 1880-current

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The River Press.
Vol. XXVIII.
Fort Benton, Montana, Wednesday, April 29, 1908.
No 38
MAY FORFEIT LANDS.
Congress Authorizes Important Suit
Against Harriman Railroads.
Washington , April 23. — By the
overwhelming vote of 245 to eight, the
houae adopted today without amend
ment, the senate joint resolution au
thorizing the attorney general to file
suits against the Oregon and Califor
nia Railway company for forfeiture
of a part of 2,800,000 acres of land
grants in the western part of Oregon.
It is claimed by the government, by
reason of breeches and violations of
acts making the grants, that the rail*
roads had forfeited all right to the
land in question.
The land lies along the Oregon &
California railroad and was granted
to the company in 1866. Before being
patented the government amended the
grant so that the company would be
forced to sell batches of ten acres at
82.50 per acre to actual settlers.
Since 1893 the Harriman manage
ment is alleged to have sold 1,000,000
acres for as much as 110 an acre. The
company is holding 2,000,000 acres
as an investment. Claiming that this
disregard of the law has led to the
devastation of the country and de
feated the object of settlement for
which the grant waB made, the de*
partment of justice seeks to take the
matter to the courts, but it is neces
sary to have congress authorize the
suits.
Washington News Notes.
Washington , April 22.—All bids
recently asked for construction of
sluiceway and flume in connection
with the lower Yellowstone Irrigation
project having been rejected, the in
formal proposal of James Burton of
Delhi, Iowa, has been accepted and
the contract awarded to him.
A bill was passed by the house un
der suspension of the rules by which
the mining laws were amended so as
to permit the entry of mineral tands
as oil lands where it has been demon
strated that oil is present. Three
years are allowed in which to base an
undertaking and sink the first well.
A high official connected with the
office of the attorney general of the
United States stated that be believes
that before the end ef the year over
2,000 anarchists will be deported from
the United States as a result of the
investigations which have been going
on under the orders of the department
of justice. _
The Glacier National Park.
Washington , April 22.—The senate
committee on public lands today
authorized a favorable report on the
bill to establish the Glacier national
park in Montana. The bill establish
ing Glacier park was introduced by
United States Senator Thomas H.
Carter, who suggested the name for
the reservation. The proposed park
lies immediately south of the Canadian
boundary line, in Flathead county,
and is an area about 50 miles north
and south by 40 miles east and west.
It includes the principal glacier in
United States territory outside of
Alaska, and some of the most rugged
and picturesque mountain scenery on
the continent. There are many moun
tain peaks more than 11,000 feet high
in this region, and great fields of ice.
Within the reservation and within a
few hundred yards of each other rise
springs which find their way to the
Hudson bay, the Pacific ocean and
the Gulf of Mexico.
Will Benefit Railroad Employes.
Washington , April 22.—President
Roosevelt today Isigned the em*
ployers' liability bill upon receiving
an opinion from Attorney General
Bonaparte that the measure was con
stitutional.
The bill make? railroads or other
common carriers, while engaged in in
terstate commerce, liable for the in
jury or death of an employe, if the
injury or death results in whole or in
part from the negligence of any of the
officers, agents or employes of such
carriers or by reason of any defect or
insufficiency in equipment. This pro
vision is made applicable to carriers
in the territories, the District of
Columbia, the Panama canal zone and
other possessions of the United States.
British Statesman Is Dead.
london, April 22. — Sir Henry
Campbell-Bannerman, untill ' two
weeks ago premier of Great Britain,
and one of the most eminent statesmen
of his time, died this morning of heart
failure. It was generally believed
that Sir Henry's health had been im
proving and the announcement of his
death this morning came as a shock
to all classes. While he had osten
I slbly retired from public life, the
I political situation, it is predicted,
I will be seriously complicated by his
J death.
Montana Senators Object.
Washington , April 23. — Both
Senator Carter and Senator Dixon of
Montana, will oppose the amendment
offered by Senator Piles of Washing
ton, in the senate to the naval bill
which provides for an increase In the
number of battleships to be built to
four. Senator Dixon stated today
that he is asralnst the amendment,
while Senator Carter said he would
support the committee's report, which
provides for only two battleships.
Terminal Charge Condemned.
Washington , April 23. — By a
decision of the Interstate commerce
commission today the rates on live
stock shipped to Chicago from the
southwest are held to be sufficient to
carry a delivery at the Union stock
yards and the imposition of any ter
minal charge in excess of 81 is
declared unreasonable. Chairman
Knapp filed a dissenting opinion.
Employers' Liability Bill.
Washington , April 23.—A govern
ment employers' liability bill was in
troduced yesterday by Representative
Jones of Washington. It provides
for compensation to army laborers,
mechanics or other civilian employes
of the United States or to their heirs,
in case of injury or death by accident
while engaged in their regular work,
the sum in no case to exceed 85,000.
Perished In Prairie Fire.
Vancouver , B. C., April 23.-A dis
patch from Battleford, Saskatchewan,
says: Anna Matthews is the only
survivor of a family of five, as a
result of prairie tires in the Tramping
Lake district. The father went to
fight the fiâmes, which were creeping
down on the little house, and perished
in the attempt. The house took fire
and Anna, IS years old, with her
clothes ablaze, carried her 5-year-old
brother and sister to a place of safety
and returned for her mother, but was
too late. She fought her way again
through the fire, only to find that the
other children had wandered into the
fire and perished.
Alberta Official Absconds.
Winnipeg , April 23.—The Alberta
government last night issued a war
rant for the arrest of Captain Sar
bottle, prominent in social circles and
who is a collector of internal revenue
for that province. Ten days ago he
mysteriously disappeared and it is
alleged he Is 87,000 short in his ac
counts. It Is believed he has escaped
into Montana.
Railroad Business Improves.
Seattle , Adril 24.— c. M. Levy,
third vice-president of the Northern
Pacific, in charge of the operating
department, in an interview for the
Post-Intellingencer, said that his com
pany would spend $1,500,000 in the
next sixty days for freight cars In
anticipation of increased business.
"Business has steadily increased
since the first of the year," said Mr.
Levy. "January was our lightest
month, but there was a slight improve
ment in February. March was a
great deal better than the previous
month and the records for April
indicate that the traffic is continuing
on the upward trend. The Northern
Pacific will finish a great deal of line
improvement work this year. Grades
have been reduced'and curves straight
ened out at various places.".
Wealth From Sage Brush.
Hammond , Ind., April 24.—Sylves
ter Sparling, an employe of the Reid,
Murdoch company of Chicago, has
patented a process that will convert
the sagebrush of the great barren
western wastes Into millions of money
and utilize it in a scientific way. A
company of Hammond business men
will Incorporate for a quarter of a
million of dollars to subscribe for the
erection of a plant in Nevada, which
will make the utilization of sagebrush
possible.
The product to be derived from the
western weed is potash, obtained now
from wood by the Sparling process.
Sixty-one per cent of potash is found
in sagebrush ashes, where the wood
ashes only contain 21 per cent. This
is due to the fact that the desert plants
take up more mineral than those which
do not grow in an alkaline soil. In
addition to potash, wood alcohol, oil
of creosote and acetone are by-pro
ducts obtained from sagebrush.
THE DEADLY TORNADO.
Violent Storms Cause Enormous
Damage In Several States.
Atlanta , Ga. ( April 24.—Reports
up to midnight indicate that 150
persons were injured in storms of
great violence which passed over sec
tions of Louisiana, Mississippi and
Alabama today. Several towns were
almost totally swept away, and the
property damage will reaoh large
figures. Most of the killed were
negroes, whose cabins were swept
away like so much paper.
Natchez, Miss., reports that of 64
persons killed in that section only two
were whites.
Late reports from Amite, a small
town in southern Louisiana, says
that the town was almost entirely de
stroyed and estimates place the num
ber killed between 25 and 50, while at
least 25 were injured.
Paris , Texas, April 24.— About 6
o'clock yesterday afternoon a tornado
destroyed the eastern portion of De
port, a town twenty miles southeast of
Paris, killing W. R. I s bel 1, a druggist
and wounding several others. The
Isbell family was at supper when the
storm came and Mrs. Isbell and the
four children ran to the storm house
and were unhurt. Mr. Isbell remain
ed in the house and was crushed to
death when it fell.
Bancroft , Neb., April 24. — A
tornado swept through Cuming county
and Into Thurton county yesterday
and three people are known to have
been killed, a number injured and a
number of houses destroyed. The
tornado struck the house of John
Mangleson, near Pender, Neb., and
then swooped up into the air, taking
the wreckage of the bouse and both
Mr. and Mrs. Mangleson and a baby.
All were killed, their bodies being
carried a mile.
Clark Buys Coal Lands.
Trinidad , Col., April 23.—Former
United States Senator W. A. Clark
of Montana, who left here for Jerome,
Ariz., today after returning from a
trip of inspection to the coal property
In this vicinity in which he had held
an option for two years.
"I have closed a deal with Charles
Francis Adams of Boston for 12,000
acres of coal land, 20 miles west of
Trinidad," said Mr. Clark, today.
"I don't care to name thp considera
tion, but it was arniind the million
mark."
Montana Matters in Congress.
Washington , April 25.— Senator
Carter's bill for a survey allotment
for the Fort Peck reservation was tak
en before the house committee on In
dian affairs today, having passed the
senate, with amendments agreed to by
Carter.
The senate and house have adopted
the conference report on the Indian
appropriation, which includes the
usual appropriations for the Indians
in Montaua, and also an appropria
tion of $30,000 for the purchase of
lands For the Rocky Boy Indians of
Montana, and an increase of $300 in
the salary of the agent of the Flathead
Indian reservation The bill now goes
to the president for his signature, and
will become a law July 1, the begin
ning of the fiscal year.
Montana Rancher Is Missing.
Minneapolis , April 25.—Coroner
Kistler Is of the opinion that the body
of a man found in the Mississippi
river here April 13 is that of R. R.
McBride, a wealthy ranch owner of
Montana, and inclines to belief that
McBride was murdered for his money,
as he was known to have 8400 on his
person when be arrived in Minnesota.
When the Paynesvllle bankers re
ceived a letter from a bank at For
syth, Montana, where McBride had a
large amount of money on deposit,
inquiring as to his whereabouts,
search was begun for him. Mr. Blais
dell, his business associate, read a
description of the floater found in the
river. A comparison of descriptions
convinced him that the body was that
of McBride. It will be exhunlfed.
British Cruiser Sunk.
Southampton , April 25.—Ihe Am
erican line steamship St. Paul, which
left Southampton on her regular voy
age, bound for New York, this after
noon, in a dense snowstorm, rammed
and destroyed the British second-class
cruiser Gladiator off the Isle of
Wight. The first reports stated that
from 20 to 30 of the Gladiator's crew
had been drowned.
The Gladiator's crew numbered 4 r '0
men, and Captain Walter Lumäden
was the last to leave his ship. Only a
few men then were missing, and it was
thought that most of them had been
saved by a boat which bad put out
from Yarmouth.
Big Blizzard In England.
London , April 26.— A remarkable
blizzard, the worst experienced in the
south of England since 1881, continued
prafltically all over the United King
dont, throughout Friday night and
Satarday, until Saturday midnight.
It was accompanied by a violent gale
and low temperature, and in many
places the snow drifts are eight feet
deep. Railway traffic has been seri
ously delayed and telegraph and tele*
phoae systems are completely disor
ganised. Tramway cars and motor
cars have been snowed up in every
section of the country. Many of the
outlying districts are isolated, and
some deaths from exposure are re
ported.
DEATH LIST GROWS.
Number of Victims of Tornado In
creased By Later Reports.
New Orleans , April 25.—Prob
ably half a thousand lives lost, a hun
dred or more persons fatally injured,
and many times this number painfully
hurt, together with a property loss
running into the millions, is the re
cord so far of a tornado that origi
nated in the West two days ago,
sweeping Texas, Arkansas, Louisiana,
Tennessee, Alabama and Georgia. It
has left a path of death, desolation
and want in its wake, seriously inter
rupted all communication between
cities in the South and brought about
chaotic conditions in many smaller
towns.
Mississippi, already a sufferer from
more than one tui-nado this year, has
again borne the brunt of the winds
and rains. Estimates of the number
of those who lost their lives in that
state place the number between 150 and
175, with a thousand or more injured.
In Texas, Louisiana, Alabama and
Georgia the death lists are also large,
with serious loss of life in Arkansas
and Tennessee. Authentic informa
tion is in many instances lacking, ow
ing to the crippled facilities for com
munication, and the lack of time to
form anything like un accurate esti
mate of the damage uoue in many sec-1
tious.
Several places have issued appeals
for aid and in Mississippi, Governor
Noel has been asked to provide teuts
for the homeless.
The tornadoes lasted in all a period
of nearly two days. It was Thursday
night that damage by tornadoes trav
eling eastward was first reported from
points in Texas. This was followed
during the next 24 hours by similar
reports from Arkansas, Louisiana,
Mississippi and Tennessee. Last night
Alabama came within the flight of the
etorm and today reports of serious
damage by the winds in Georgia have
been recorded.
Train Robbers'Disappointed.
Butte , April 23. —Another attempt
to hold up the North Coast Limited
train, westbound, the crack overland
flyer of the Northern Pacific, was
made this evening at a point between
Weichs' Spur and Homestake, 15
miles east of Batte, the scene of the
recent holdup of the Northern Pacific,
when Engineer Clow was shot.
Several torpedo explosions brought
the train to a stop in a portion of the
country very rough. Engineer Hans
come detected something wrong in the
stopping of the train in that locality,
and observed extreme caution in
alighting. Evidentlyjthe nerve of the
would-be bandits failed when they
saw the holdup was suspected, as
four men with guns in their|hands dis
appeared among the rocks in the
direction of Butte. The engineer and
fireman hurriedly got up steam and a
quick run was made«into this city.
The Montana Silver]Service.
Dillon , April 25.— The silver ser
vice which the state of Montana will
present to the armored cruiser bearing
the name of the state has been received
here from New York by Huber Bros.,
the contractors who were awarded the
business. The service is on display
in the store windows of the firm and is
being admired by many citizens.
The service will cost the state $5,000,
and called for 1,395 ounces of silver,
wrought in beautiful design, symbolic
of the state from which the great fight
ing vessel takes its name.
The service actually contains 1,587
ounces of silver, or 15)2 ounces more
than the contract calls for. No charge
will be made against the state for this.
The silver is valued at $3.50 an ounce
when worked up Into the silver service.
This represents an additional cost of
$<>02, which will be borne by the con
tractors.
I
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FOR LARGER NAVY.
Congress Provides For Construction
of Two Modern Battleships.
Washington , April 27.— By an
overwhelming vote President Roose
velt's four battleship program failed
in the senate, just as it did in the
houte. The amendment for four bat
tleships was introduced by Senator
Piles, and the fight for its adoption
was led by Senator Beverldge. Twen
ty-three votes were cast for the in
creased program, the number being
largely made up of recently elected
senators. Fifty senators voted to sup
port the house and the recommenda
tion of the senate naval committee in
favor of building only two battleships.
Two battleships in a year is what
the president says he has accomplished
through his fight for his naval pro
gram. Had he been victorious in hav
ing four such ships authorized at this
session, the United States could have
dictated terms of disarmament to the
nations of the world. This statement
made tonight, following the passage
by the senate today of the naval bill
calling for new battleships, is under
stood to reveal the president's source
of strength In the naval fight which
has been waged so strenuously. Fur
thermore, the two ships this year with
the promise of two ships each year to
follow, which the president has ac
cepted as a bona fide stipulation on
the part of the senate, means simply a
program which will place the United
States in the front rank of naval pro
gression.
Will Command£The Montana.
Washington , April 27.—Captain
Alfred Reynolds, United States navy,
a native of Virginia, will command
the uew armored cruiser Montana.
Orders have been issued by the navy
department detaching Captain Rey
nolds from the command of the Frank
lin, now at Norfolk, Va., and order
ing hiui to duty in connection with fit
ting uu: the Montana, preparatory to
his takiu^ the command of the new ad%
ditiou the navy The Montana will
probably be placed in commission
eaily in June. The department has
received very flattering reports of the
trial trip of the new vessel, which re
cently occurred at Rockland, Me., and
ihe ship has been pronounced entirely
satisfactory to the department. The
Montana was built at the Newport
Newt., Va , shipyards.
Fleet Wiil Make Record Trip.
Washington , April 27.— A total of
approximately 42,500 miles will have
been covered by the Atlantic battle
ship fleet when it arrives at Hampton
Roads, February 22 next, according
to the estimates made by naval offi
cials. The distance to be covered, ac
cording to an itinerary made public
today, for the voyage of the fleet from
San Francisco to the Philippines,
thence to China and Japan and back
to Manila is 10 ,218 miles. The longest
lap of this distance is from Honolulu
to Auckland, 3,850 miles, said by na
val officials to be the greatest steam
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ing distance ever made by a battle
ship fleet in the American navy with
out stopping for coal. This will re
quire slightly over 16 days, and dur
ing about six days of that time the
department expects to be in touch with
the fleet through the operations of the
wireless telegrah apparatus aboard
the battleships and the auxiliaries,
and the cable stations at the Fiji Is
lands.
Half Million Lost In Mails.
London , April 27.— The London
postal authorities have learned that
two bags of mall from this city con
taining securities and other valuables
worth 8500,000 were stolen in New
York the latter part of last month.
According to the reports received
one of the bags was designed for St.
Louis and was shipped to New York,
on March 26: the other designed for
Brooklyn, which arrived in New York
March 27. Both bags disappeared in
transit between the steamers and the
postoffices. It is stated that they were
handed over to the mall boats and re
ceipted for. Efforts have been made
to keep the theft a secret while the In
vestigation is going on.
Winter Is Lingering.
St. Paul , April 27.—A northwest
gale which blew from 32 to 35 miles an
hour all night, brought with It a snow
storm which covered everything with
a wet, sticky snow today. Street car
service was delayed and much incon
ience was caused.
Denver , April 27.—The damage by
frost the past two nights In the or
chards in the Arkansas and Grand
valleys and other fruit-growing re
gions of Colorado is estimated at $1,
000,000. The cold was combatted with
smudge fires and it is believed the
loss, though heavy, is less than that
caused by the April frosts last year.
Three Train Robber Suspects.
Butte , April 24. — The Northern
Pacific Railway company tonight
posted a bulletin offering a reward of
$500 for the arrest and conviction of
the bandits who last night attempted
to hold up the North Coast limited
near Homestake, 15 miles east of this
city. Three men, Rudolph Wenck,
Paul Filenius and Al Teasdale, are
under arresst for the 'attempted hold
up. The latter undoubtedly had noth
ing to do with it, but happened to be
in the neighborhood. The other two
admit that they had a hand in it. but
claim it was under duress.
Wenck says he is a railroad section
hand, not working at present, travel
ing along, and when he came to the
place where the holdup occurred, a
man pointed a gun at him and com
manded him to assist him in holding
up the train. The man kept him by him
from 1 o'clock in the afternroa until
the time of the attempted holdup.
Filenius came along inter and was
also impressed by the robber. He
told them of his plans which were to
stop the train, detach the forward
cars and run about a mile beyond the
little tunnel and there dynamite the
express car.