The times. [volume], February 13, 1898, Image 1

About The times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1897-1901

Image provided by: Library of Congress, Washington, DC

                
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WASHINGTON, SUNDAY, EEBRTJAEY 13, 1898.
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DBEYFUS IS IIBGEIT
Picquart Admits He Was Con
demned for Another's Crime.
DISCLOSED AT ZOLA'S TRIAL
Tlie Colonel Had Just Been Insulted
The 31ot DiamatfcDay of AH
'JTie Lie Posses und a Tnel to
Follow Billot, Minister of "War,
3Iay Resign.
(Special cable Copyrighted.)
Pari?, Feb. 12. The point reached to
night In the trial or 31. Zola is a para
dox. It is generally admitted that the de
fendant has proved his case, yet he will
probably be condemned.
Even a majority of his enemies have
been convinced, as much by the silence
of the army authorities when question
ed as by the direct testimony of other
witnesses, that Dreyfus was found
guilty upon evidence secretly submitted
to his judges.
It is admitted that this is utterly il
legal, yet public opinion is still so
strongly perverted that the gross out
rape upon the first principles of justice
Is openly excused and defended, and
the resentment against 31. Zola for de
nouncing the authorities, who are guil
ty, is scarcely lessened.
The incidents of the trial should not
dls-tract attention from the astounding
crisis which has seized the public mind
of France, and which portends evils
and calamities that none can estimate.
The bald truth is this: It is openly ad
mitted to-day that the prisoner on the
Isle du DIable Avas illegally condemned,
and that the government had full
knowledge of the fact. The people now
believe it, yet the French government
and a majority of the French people
are opposing every obstacle in their
power to righting that great wrong.
It may be admitted that there have
been some expressions of sympathy
during the past day or two with the
man who dared to accuse the high au
thorities of the French army who were
the authors of the outrage, but this
change in public sentiment is confined
to a small chits, and the great revul
sion of feeling liich was expected is
entirely Inciting.
One reason, and an important one, is
the prostitution of the French press. Its
venality goes so far as shameless dis
tortion and suppression of the truth in
regard to the actual proceedings in the
court. Testimony tending to substan
tiate 31. Zola's charges has been sys
tematically omitted, discredited or
misiepresented by a majority of the
newspapers of Paris. Perhaps the com
mon people are not so much to blame in
these circumstances for persisting in
their prejudices, although even the
most garbled reports permit a being of
intelligence to perceive that it is im
possible to justify the condemnation of
Dreyfus.
There is no doubt that the govern
ment bitterly regrets its prosecution of
M. Zola. Its determination, in which
the judges have striven to co-operate
to keeD the Dreyfus case out of the pro
ceedings, has not only been a failure,
but has served to suggest even graver
scandals than probably exisl.
The manner in which 31. Labori, who
is a talented young lawyer, has taken
advantage of this weakness of the
prosecution has been a marvel to the
bench and bar. Even antagonistic spec
tators have been unable to restrain
their admiration of his dramatic turn
of the enemy's -weapons- upon them
selves. To-day's session was perhaps
the most dramatic of the week, and
comprised by itself a melancholy ex
posure of the infamy which has been
committed and is now defended In the
name of France. One witness exclaim
ed at the close of yesterday's session:
"Military justice is not civil justice."
and it Is safe to say that as a result of
those revelations military justice, so
called, w 111 not survive the nineteenth
century, even in France.
Col. Pjcquart, under the spur of a
gross insult from a brother officer, in
open court, retold to-day in plainest
language how the highest authorities
of the army first tried to suppress his
evidence thai another committed the
crime charged to Dreyfus, and when he
persisted, opposed and finally traduced
him. r-
CoL Picquart assumed the witness
stand at noon. He asserted that Zola
went too far in accusing the members
of the Esterhazy court-martial of vio
lating justice. The fault, he said, be
longed to those who presented the case,
the documents put in evidence being
all favorable to the accused.
A. member of the court-martial, Coi.
Picquart, declared, had said that the
case as presented, had made him (Pic
quart), and not Esterhazy, the real de
scendant. ,
31. Gonse, 31. Henri, an advocate, and
31. Leblois, also an advocate, were call
ed' to the witness stand and contra
dicted certain minor points of the tes
timony, which Col. Picquart gave ves
terday. Calls Picquart a Liar.
31. Henri lost his temper in the cours
of his examination and cried:
"Picquart is a liar."
Col. Picquait leaped to his feet and
attempted to spring on 3L Henri, but
was prevented.
Col. Picquart made a heroic endeav
or to appear calm, "while 31. Labori ad
dressed the court saying.
"This is the second time this witness
has been insulting in this trial. I ap
peal to Col. Picquart to make a full
i evelation."
Colonel Picquart, his voice shaking
with Intense emotion, said: "You have
seen these officers, Henri, Lauth and
Gribelin, come here bringing odious
charges against me without proofs, and
finally denouncing me as a liar. I will
tHl you why. These are the men who
rrranufactuied the Esterhazy affair, as it
jR-as presented to the court-martial. '
"They also engineered with Major
Paty De Clam the previous affair. It
was they who forbade 'fresh inquiry into
the Dreyfus affair when in the course of
my duty, by reason of fresh discoveries
in regard to Esterhazy. I revealed the
mistake that had been made.
"It is because I persisted in pursuing
the inquiry that they have attacked my
honor as a man and an ofllcer. It Is
I for this that tomorrow, peihaps, I shall
be diiven from the army, which I love."
Then there followed another scene,
when 31. Labori intimated that 31. Hen
ri's testimony was not true. Henri left
the witness box and sprang toward the
lawyer, shouting:
"I will not permit my word to be ques
tioned."
3L Labori replied that he did not ques
tion 31. Henri's honor, but his version
did not agree with that of his brother
officers, and therefore he concluded that
the witness was mistaken.
The court finally intervened and re
fused to permit any rurther puisult of
this line of inquiry, which bore directly
upon the Dreyfus case.
3L Demenge, who was the defendant's
I lawyer in the Dreyfus court-
martial, was the next witness.
As he had not spoken through
out the agitation during the past
two years there was intense interest in
what lie might say. This interest was
fully justified by his levelation, which
he made in spite of the effort of the pres
ident to check his words.
He affirmed fiist that Mathieu Drey
fus had followed his advice in de
nouncing Esterhazy and then had en
countered obstacles which convinced
the witness that the government was
opposed to throwing light upon thc
affair and would combat a re-opening
of the Dreyfus case, even although it
was proved that his conviction was il
legal. He, thereupon, advised the
I Dreyfus family to postpone further
proceedings until the present excite
ment subsided, because the false issue
of the honor of the army had been
raised and it would be impossible to
obtain justice.
31. Labori asked the witness if Drey
fus had been condemned legally. 31.
ivm.'iige replied:
"It is absolutely certain that he was
not legally condemned. There was
communicated to me a statement by a
member of the Dreyfus courl-marti.il
that a secret piece of evidence of which
I and my client were ignorant, was
submitted to them."
As 31. Demenge made this answer the
president sat back in his chair in angry
discomfiture, and a gre.it murmur arose
in the crowded court room while 31. La
bori waited a moment for the effect of
the witness' words to pass away,
ZolaS Friend Heard.
A large force of cavalry cleared the
streets near the Palace of Justice when
the session ended. The crowds were
the greatest that have yet assembled
during the trial, but they contented
themselves with the usual cries. The
advocates of 3L Zola were sufficiently
numerous and their cry, 'Long live the
republic," being in contradistinction to
the enemies' cry of "Long live the
army."
There is no doubt that there will be a
real duel between Col. Picquart and 31.
Henri, growing out of today's incident,
as soon as the former., is released from
the technical arrest in which he has
been held pending a decision of the
court of inquiry which considered his
alleged indiscretion last week:
31. Henri succeeded Col. Picquart as
the head of the secret service division
of the war department a few days ago.
3I3L Zola and Labori have been
almost exhausted by the strain of the
week's trial, but are in excellent spirits.
Both feel that their real object has
already been accomplished, irrespective
of the result of the trial, and that time
will bring their fullest justification
even at the hands of the fickle, deceiv
ed French people. An interesting point
of French judiciary methods proved
valuable today. A juror was ill. There
are six supplementary jurors who listen
to the evidence the same as the regular
jurors. One of them took tl vacant
place and the trial proceeded without
interruption.
It is impossible to refrain from in
stancing a flagrant case of prostitution
of journalism by the French press. The
Petit Temps, a pony edition of the
semi-official government organ, pub
lishes tonight a full report of the evi-
dence of 3131. Bertillion and Jaures and
one or two more unimportant wit
nesses, but not a single word of the
grave revelations in the -testimony of
31. Demange, Col. Picquart, 31. Henri
and others appears in the paper. It is
scarcely surprising in these circum
stances that the blindfolded French
public commit themselves to error and
injustice. "
There was a short, sharp debate in
the chamber of deputies today on an
interpellation respecting the Dreyfus
affair. Gen. Billot, 3Hnister of "War,
demanded a postponement of the dis
cussion until a verdict should be ren
dered in the Zola case. He continued
with great heat:
"For the sixth time since November,
189G, the 3Iinister of War declares to
the chamber that Dreyfus was judged
and condemned justly by his peers.
Drevfus is a traitor and is truiltv. Tf'
! ever the madness of nassion accom
plishes a revision of the Dreyfus de
cision" you can looli elsewhere for a
minister of war. Gen. Billot will not
remain in the ministry."
By a vote of 47S to 72 the chamber de
cided to postpone the debate on the interpellation-
until the Zola trial was
finished.
ENGLAND'S TROUBLES.
The Ministry Beset by Doubts and
Suspicions.
(Special cable -Copyrighted.)
London, Feb. 12. The British public
had hoped that the opening of parlia
ment would illuminate the darkness
enshrouding the political horizon. "What
scanty rays of light were s,hed you
have already heard. Tlie only people,
even partially satisfied are a portion
-of the government's opponents. The
outcry of the Tory press, which greet
ed the news of the Talienwan surren
der, was renewed on "Wednesday, anti
today's (Saturday) Review laments:
"It is impossible now to disguise the
fact that our diplomacy has lately sus
tained a series of humiliating checks.
It really seems as if Labouehere was
right when he declared that Lord Sal
isbury and he were the only two little
Englanders left."
The news of the admiralty's coal
corner in the far East and today's an
nouncqment of the Burma Railway
concession have done something to
mollify the rank and file of the Tory
party, while the fact that Japan has
intimated to China that she will not
wait for the installment of the war in
demnity has caused some hope that
Great Britain is utilizing Japan in thi.l
fashion in order to compel Peking to
reopen the loan negotiations, still the
Tories are full of resentment at what
they consider Lord Salisbury's betray
al of the country's honor.
Th fact is that Ihra situation is every
where as grave as ever,, andthe mild
attitude of the opposition leaders Is
only explicable by the rumor that Lord
Salisbury has given the earl of Kim
berly a confidential resume of the situ
ation abroad and a statement of tho
preparations made for meeting all
eventualities.
The West African question grows
more difficult. It is certain the colonial
secretary, Chamberlain, and Lord Sal
isbury are stubbornly and diametrically
opposed jon this point, the former be
ing desirous of meeting France in tho
most uncompromising fashion. Th
condition of things now readied may
be indicated by a remark credited to
Sir Charles Dilke that if the Goyern.
ment does not retreat ignomlnlously
from the position it has taken up in
"West Africa It will be extremely diffi
cult to avert war with France. Tliiq
is doubtless an exaggerated "view of
the situation, but it is equally doubtlesu
that Lord Salisbury is skating on th
thinnest ice with danger marked every,
where.
A stern-wheel steamer destined for
the Yukon was successfully launched
at Queen's Ferry on Thursday. She in
named the Research. She embodies thn
intentions and aspirations of what i.
probably tho most capable and besl
equipped party leaving England dur
ing the coming season to seek fortune
in the Klondike. She draws two feel
and six-Jnches of water, with a speed
of ten knots. She will carry stores for
fifteen months, and the most elaboratn
mlning outfits. She has a commodious
deckhouse, in which twenty-two men
expect to pass the next winter com
fortably. So confident of success aro
, they that they have constructed a spe
cially designed bullion tank for storing
the gold they say they are sure to find.
A unique copy of the Kilmarnock
edition of Burns's poems in the origlna4
paper covers fetched H45 guineas at an
Edinburgh sale on 3Ionday. The edi
tion was one of COO published in 177C at
three shillings. Burns's profit on tho
transaction amounted to 20.
3Iore than usual Interest has been
taken in this year's, preparation for tho
Oxford-Cambridge boat race, Cam
bridge starting early. Their energies
were bent to a vigorous effort to stem
the tide of misfortune. For a timo
everything promised well under thl
coaching of Fletcher, one of the best
modern Oxonian oarsmen. Now dis
sension has broken out in the crew, and
Bell and Howell, the only two old blues
left, and perhaps the strongest oars
at Cambridge, have refused to continue
in the boat. Coach Lehmann presided
at the captain's meeting yesterday.
"Ward, captain of the Cambiidge boat,
complained of Bell's and Howell's re
fusal, and inducing a member of their
college to refuse to row. Howell de
nied the charge, and Lehmann at
tempted, without success, to smooth
over the difficulties. A few years back
the angry discontent in the university
led to some reform. It is regrettable
to find a place like Cambridge display
ing the unsportsmanlike spirit which
has lately been too prominent in all
branches of athletics in this country.
THE LONDON TIMES' FOLLY.
It
Lack of Discretion ninclcs; li
Chinese Loan.
New York, Feb. 12. "Lord Salisbury,
as became an astute diplomatist, talked
light heartedly to the House of Lords
this week of what he called the curious
Talienwan legend," says the t.ndon
correspondent of the New York Even
ing Post. "The fact is, however," con
tinues the correspondent, "that this
question of making Talienwan a treaty
port has been a matter of the gravest
International difficulty during the past
few weeks. The British loan to China
would have gone through, Russia would
have been effectually checkmated In
her designs to shut the trade of the
rest of the world out of 3Ianchuria, but
for the indiscreet Impulsiveness, to use
a mild word, of the Times newspaper.
"The facts, which reached me from
unquestionable sources, are that when
Lord Salisbury realized that Russia's
hold on Port Arthur would mean the
ultimate shutting of the door against
British and all other enterprise except
Russia, in North China, and when
China asked fof'a ,loan, he informed
the Chinese council in strict secrecy
through Sir Claude 3Iacdonald that
England would require as one 'condition
the opening of Talienwan as a treaty
port, thereby forever preventing Russia
from shutting the trade of the world out
of the Llaotung peninsula. That was
on January 15. On January 16, by some
strange means, some suggest through
the Chinese embassy here, which is
quite equal to this kind of thing, the
Items of the proposed deal reached the
Times and one other London journal.
This other journal, realizing that if It
were published Russia at once would
coerce China into refusal, took the item
to the foreign office, and yielding to
earnest solicitation, on the grounds of
national interests, withheld the news
from the public The Times, on the
other, hand, published It as a telegram
from Pekin, with the result that Russia
at once bullied China into a refusal.
"Lord Salisburyfeeling that he could
not go to war to force a loan on China,
had to accept the refusal, and England
lost what would have been a trump
card in the strenuous game now pro
ceeding between London and St. Pe
tersburg; Then, to make matters
worse, thf Times came out with a sec
ond telegram, that the Talienwan con
dition had been withdrawn, thus set
ting English public opinion angrily
buzzing round the government's ears
for weakly yielding to Russia, though
the Times itself, no doubt unwittingly,
had been tlie real cause of England's
backdown- -
"Of course, the government was fu-
rious with the Times, which, to cover
up its action, published a later mes
sage from Pekin, with4the astounding
explanation that Chinese diplomatists
do not understand tlie necessity for se
crecy in such matters. To-day's news
suggests that Lord' Salisbury is meet
ing witli more success in his other
moves Jn China. The"perml8sion se
cured from the Chinese council for an
extension of the Burmese Railway into
Yunnan Is a great point gained for
British trade and 'for free commerce
generally, and Is gained in some way at
the expense of France, who long has
wished to tap southern China through
Tonquin. In official quarters to-day
there is, moreover, tajk of the British
loan to China going through, after all,
on British conditions.
"All this, however, leaves English
public opin'on profoundly nervous ovc2
the fact that Russia. Germany and
France have secured new and definite
footholds in China, which may at any
moment be developed into occupations,
ultimately becoming annexationiT, with
as effectual a ringed fence of tariffs
against the rest of the world as France
has erected in 3fadagascar. AIL Eng
land has secured Is Russian and Ger
man pledges to keep Open ports, but
experience in 3Iadugaacar and else
where shows that pledges of this kind
are not worth the paner they are writ
ten on when annexation ensues. Eng
land will not light without grave prov
ocation. Indeed, shta has not the 200,
000 men necessary to make an effect
ual display of force, now, then, can
she checkmate the itussian, German
and French selfish game of grab, and
keep China open for the commerce of
the whole world?"
YALE 3IEN APPLAUD ZOLA.
Bain Postpones a Demonstration of
Enthusiastic Students.
New Haven. Feb. 12. Yale boys weic
cheated out of their pet plan of holding
a gigantic Zola demonstration this after
noon. AH the morning was spent by the
seniors who loom in Yanderbllt Hall in
preparing transparencies labslled "Viva
Zola" and other expressions of enthu
siasm for the French novelist and ie
formor. Some of the transparencies
contained red-hot epithets againsa Major
Esterhazy and others eulogized Drey
fus. The march was to start at 2 o'clock,
but a heavy rain was falling, and tlie
Idea was given up till Monday, when, it
was stated, it will surely take place.
The seniors, after parading Green and
St. Jolm streets, will pause in front of
the Fiench Catholle Church, where an
address will be delivered, extolling Zola.
oirrporiuxos ok Klondike.
Immense Piorits Anticipated From
the Spring Gleaning.
Portland. Ore.. Feb. 12. The steamer
Oregon-arrived from Skaguay last
evening, oringiyg news from Dawson
of January 3. It brought down a par
ty of six, who had with them about
J30.000.
A. D. Nash, one of tJie party, said:
"There are plenty ot supplies, in Daw
son to last until the opening of spring.
"Tlie latest strike was made on Rose
bud Creek, which Hows into the Yu
kon, six miles above Sixty 3Iile Creek.
I estimate the spring clean-up will be
between $10,000,000 and 512,000,000."
Gen. 3Ierriam and one hundred tons
of Government relief supplies will go
on the Oregon 3Iondr.y.
HOISTED HIS DEATH SIGNAL.
Pathetlc; Incident Aboard Ship OfX
Brunswick, Ga.
Brunswick, Ga., Fb. 12. A singular
incident accompanied the fatal fall into
the sea from an outlying vessel here
this morning. Just three minutes be
fore Alvin Du'elus met his death he
was told to "set the flag." Being a
new man, he left it hanging at half
mast. Tlie captain noticed the mistake
and told him to put the flag on top of
the mast, adding. "There Is nobody
dead on board this ship."
The young sailor said, "Aye. aye,
sir," but saw he was needed at the an
chor and said lie would raise the flag
as soon as he got through. But he
never finished. He lost ills life while
at work on the anchor.
The captain of the ship said it was
tlie first time that he ever knew a man
to announce his own death, the raising
of the flag being equivalent to that.
IN 1IONOK OF THE FLAG.
National AssoeiaiioiuEIects Officers
and Adopts Itesolutious.
New York, Feb. 12. The American
National Flag Association, which has
for its object the pieservation of the
national colors, and the prevention of
their use for advertising- purposes, met
today in the city hall.
A motion was adopted in favor of mak
ing it a misdeameanar to destroy or
In any way mutllato the national colors
or the coat of arms of America.
A resolution for preventing the use of
the flag for political purposes during a
campaign was defeated.
The following officers of the associa
tion were elected:
President. Col. Ralph E. Prime; first
vice president, Gen. O. O . Howard;
second vice president. Col. Fred D.
Grant; secretary, Gen. Thomas Wilson;
assistant secietary. Col. E. H.TIall, and
treasurer. 3IajorJ. Langdon Ward.
-THOOPS SAIL FOR SKAGUAY.
Departure uC tliij Klondike Itelief
Expedition From Scuttle.
Seattle. Wash., Feb. 12. The ship Lu
cille, under convoy of the tug Sea Lion,
departed for Skaguay tcmight.- This ves
sel was chartered by the .Government to
carry lroop3 and provisions, constitut
ing the Yukon-Klondike lellef expedi
tion. There wereillO pack mules, ISO ex
perienced Government' packers, and a
detachment of regulars under the com
mand of two officers.,
The dredger Pauline Warner and the
steamer Alpha sailed tonight with
twenty-one men, haiJhig from New Yoi k
city. Their destination is southeastern
Alaska, and then westward:
TANNEH'S VOICE FOR CUBA.
The Governor of Illinois Echoes tlie
Country' Sentiment.
Springfield. Ills., Feb. 12 Gov. Tan
ner issued a proclamation yesterday ask
ing aid for starving" Cubans. He 'con
cludes by saying": ? f
"It Istir5e. to,,end the war by recogniz
ing' the Cuban"Republic and insisting
that the freedom. andT independence of
the Cuban people shall be respected
throughout the world."
Coall-Coalt Coal!
55.2."S psr ",24U, delivered, Uaytun Move,
egg, and nut. Powhatan Coal Co., 1 11(58
C st. mv.; 'phoue 02Q; or dealers generally.
fel3-tr '
IVY BUSINESS COLLEGE-Sth audK.
None better; S2C a yean day or night.
RESCUED IN MIDQOEAN
Thrilling Experience of the
Veendam's Passengers.
THE ST. LOUIS JUST IN TIME
A, Dei diet Disables the nollnnd
American T.iuer und She Begins
to 31ake Wutcsr Hapidry Cool Con
duet of the Captain Saves -.,i--Set
on File and Abandoned.
New York, Feb. 12. The steamship
Veendam, of the Holland-American
Line, bound from Rotterdam for New
York, stove a hole in her hott last
Sunday either with her own shaft or by
hitting a submerged derelict. After a
terrific tussle with the pumps, in spite
of which the water that poured into
her kept gaining on the workers and
when she was within, at the most, five
hours of sinking, Providence sent along
the American Liner St. Louis. In the
dead of night, with the sea whipped and
to.ssed by a tempest, the passengers
and crew, 212 in number, were trans
ferred in safety, not a soul lost, or hurt
in the slightest.
The Veendam's captain, the last man
to leave his ship, piled higli in her cabin
the chairs and tables and other furni
ture, and throwing kerosene oil over
the maps, fired the ship. The St. Louis
sailed off just at the gray dawn of last
31onday, leaving the doomed ship
almost on her beam ends with smoke
curling up from her hatchways and
sheets of flame licking eagerly what
little woodwork there was left to burn.
The St. Louis got here early this
morning. She signaled the observer at
Sandy Hook that she had aboard tlie
Veendam's passengers and crew. He
sent the news to New York. The Veen
dam was not due until Tuesday and the
arrival of her passengers three days
ahead of time and the news that she
had been wrecked was so astonishing
a combination that her agents could not
believe the report at first.
The Veendam was a nine-day boat,
behind the times as an Atlantic liner,
but In her day, when she was known
as the Baltic and was one of the White
Star fleet, she was one of the finest
boats that floated. She was the best
passenger steamer that the Holland
American Line had.
She left Rotterdam on February 3,
She had nine cabin passengers. They
were Dr. and 3Irs. Galowitz, 3L Kap
teyn, and Miss 3rary Arlinger, in the
first cabin, and 3Ir. Kronwell and Miss
Bertha von Fekete. of Budapest: 3Ir.
Frank Lohrnan, of Boston; 31rs. Fanny
Golub. and "William Bleling. in the se-
cond. She had also IIS steerage pas- Poh Roads refused to report the nouiln.t
sengers. She was three days' out from tion favorably to the Senile duriu" the
Rotterdam on Sunday last, and was t iast ios-ion or Cnngrcw, but it wa not
SrllaJf dT.?eWseeSa ? " I ""?, fT " ?" P
from recent gales and the Veendam Mre "McU t,,e ff'nt brought on cer-
nltehed and rolled as she nlnuc-hed hr
way westward, it was half past 5
o'clock in the evening, and dusk had
just begun to settle over the ocean.
The ship's lights were run up. For
half an hour before this the officers
had noticed bits of floating wreckage,
and the passengers who had seen
them, too, speculated on what boat had
been wrecked. Suddenly the ship
seemed to tilt up forward. The same
instant there was a fearful crash aft
that racked the boat from stem to
stem. Then there was another and
then silence for an instant, followed a
moment later by the roar and hiss of
escaping steam from the exhaust pipes.
This is what tlie passengers heard.
Down in the engine room, when the
smash came, the steady kerchug of the
engines gave way to a whirr and a
buzz of deafening magnitude. The en
gines raced like lightning. The shaft
had broken and the engines, with full
head of steam and no steadying strain,
leaped ahead. The engineers opened
the safety valves. But above the roar
of the escaping steam they could hear
the splash and spurt of water in the
after part of the ship. They knew the
boat was aleak, but did not for an in
stant suspect how badly.
An investigation was set on foot in
stantly. The passengers, overcome by
fright at first and screaming in a panic
stricken way, were calmed by the slow-,
ing dowh of the ship and the assurance
of the officers that there was not any
thing wrong. The engineers, headed by
the chief, made their way down to the
shaft tunnel and tried to enter it. They
were swept back by a "rush of water.
Again and again they dived at the
opening, but gave up thd attempt
eventually. The water in the after
compartment became ankle-deep, then
knee-deep, then waist-deep. The par
tition btwen the after-compaytm,ent
and the compartment next forward
strained and burst out with the mighty
pressure.
The pumps were set to work, hjit tlie
water gained a foot in an hour. The
steamship settled aft perceptibly. The
passengers began to lalize the dan
ger. The women in the steerage set ujj
a wailing, the children -cried, and some
of the men screamed. The cabin pass
engers shared in the fright. The cap
tain had his hands full directing the
men under him and putting the steer
age passengers at work. He called the
passengers around him now and told
them that the ship had met with an ac
cident and that she was leaking.
"Now," he said, "if you people will
be reasonable and calm and stop your
noise T will guarantee that I'll get you
into port or land you aboard some oth
er vessel safely If you don't I won't
guarantee anything, and everyone of
us will go to the bottom."
This is not the captain's exact lang
age, but is In substance what he said.
The men at the pumps puffed and
strained. Tlie steampumps sent out
their huge volumes of water. Still, inch
by inch, the water in the hold gained.
A second hour pased. The engineers re
ported that the water had gained an
other foot, and .the hole had enlarged.
"The water will be up Id the fires in a
few minutes," reported the engineers.
The donkey engine was started, in order
to be ready to run the pumps when that
should happen. The' water 'had broken
through the second bulkhead, and now
there were three compartments flood
ed, and it was only a question of a few
minutes when tlie sea would have com
plete possession of the engine room, the
coal bunkers, and the fire room. If it got
any further than. that the'Chances of the
boat keeping afloat at all were slim, in
deed. This few minutes the engineer
used in. shoring- up the bulkhead of the
next compai tment. The male emigrants
who were not at the hand pumps were
formed into bucket brigades, and -set
to work bailing out the boat.
A third hour passed. The engineer
(Continued on Third Page.)
HAS LEE DESIGNED?
A Rumor to This Effect in Circula
tion Last Night.
It was rumored in this city late last
night that Consul General Lee has re
signed. No information as to the correctness
of the rumor could be obtained.
Nothing Is known about it at the
White House.
WILL PLEAD JUSTIFICATION.
XMan of Defends Jn the T.attiuser
Trngedy Unfolded.
Wilkesbarre, Pa., Feb. 12. The com
plete plan of the defense of Sheriff
3fartin and his deputies has been un
folded. The prosecution has fifty wit
nesses yet to call. This will occupy
most of .the next week. The motion
to take the case from the jury will be
omitted. "The commonwealth lias not made
out a case," said Counsel Lenahan, for
the defense, "but we have decided that,
as the side of the deputies has never
been heard in court, or in the newspa
pers, each defendant shall be given a
public hearing. We shall prove com
plete justification.
"Two hundred witnesses will be call
ed by the defense to prove that the
strikers had terrorized the neighbor
hood for two weeks; that many citi
zens had their houses barricaded for
fear of the strikers: that at West Ha
zelton the greatest forbearance was
used; that at Lattimer the sheriff ad
vanced 100 yards ahead of the depu
ties' line to meet the strikers, forty of
whom dragged him Into a ditch, while
the others rushed at the deputies,
brandishing clubs and stones; that two
strikers, having got behind the depu
ties, waved the mob on and fired the
first shot wounding Deputy Emback;
that the deputies had to run for their
lives or stand and have their guns tak
en away from them and be shot with
them or shoot; that in the excitement,
some deputies lost their heads and
tired oftener than "they-thought they
did."
Attorney Scarlett, for the prosecu
tion, says a good case has been made
out, as the act of one deputy is the
act of all, and illegal killing has been
proven
3Iiss 3Iary Kohler, who was a r.ar
vant girl at Lattimer, saw the begin
ning of the shooting and ran into the
house. She said the people were afraid
when they heard the strikers were
coming and some of them left their
homes and fled to the mountains.
Other evidence given today was sim
ilar to that submitted heretofore.
FOIJ HIS .MOTHER'S SAKE.
President 31 cKiuley Will 3rake a
Xo.tmiitei V 1'onitfoit Su re.
Perry, 0. T., Feb. l:.'. It is a matter
ot some -surprise in Oklahoma, that the
President has not s-ent to the Senate
the nomination of G. A. UJedler, who
was appointed pohtiua-ter of Oklahoma
City nearly a year ago.
The Coomuiittee on l'ostoffices and
lal" mcinoers ot tile committee.
Senator Chandler, who led the fight
against Biedler than, has not changed his
views on the question of his confirmation.
The President has been made aware ot
this condition, anil only the other day
intimated to a member of the House that
if it was mtessary hi would not end the'!
nomination to the Senate until the clos
ing days of this seion, at which time it
would he too late for them to take ad
verse action.
It is ia id that 3Irs. ifcKinley, the
Presidents mother, on her dpathbeil, asked
the President to see to it that "good
old Brother Biedltr" was not disturbed ia
the position which he held as poMmater
of Oklahoma City. So the probabilities
are, unless Senator Chandler can he pre
vailed upon to withdraw his opposition to
Bieiller's confirmation, the nomination will
necr be sent to that body for confirma
tion, hut will b2 made out at the adjourn
ment of each sjssionot Congress, and thus
Biedler will le enabled to continue hold
ing the office of postmaster during the
remainder of this Adniinhtration.
VON DKH AIIE IN JAIL.
Placed by Hf "Xldnnpei" Behind
Bui's in IMUshurg.
rittsburg, Feb. 1.-Chris Vou der Abe
was cnt to jail at 6 o'clock tonight.
Von der Ahe and his attorneys had
waited all diy, either for .some one to
arrive from St. Louis to release Chris, or
fortlipmto send the money which is needed
to square up the judgment against him.
Neither arrived,' and Vou der Ahe will
stay In jail at least until Monday, when, he
thinks, the money will arrive.
There was sume talk of appealing to the
"United States Supreme Court, but it was
decided lo pay tlie money and to depend
upon the State of .Missouri to demand
the punishment of dos damned kid
napers," asiT'hrls calls them.
A.VOIir AT EVANS.
An Indiana G. A.
quest His
Terre Haute. Ind..
talion composed of
It. Battalion
Re-
Itcniovnl.
Feb. 12. The bat-
repiesenta tives of
the-.G. A. R. of this county adopted
resolutions condemning Commissioner of
Pensions Evans for his mling that re
jected applicants cannot lenew their
claims within a year, unless they present
new evidence within ninety days. The
G. A. R- at Newport, Vermillion county,
adopted i -solutions filing. on President
McKiniey to remove the commissioner.
Couftliouhe and Kccurit Burned.
Dallas. Tex., Feb. 12. The Lee county
courthouse, at Glddiugs, was burned last
night, and only a small portion of the
records was saved. Th; fire is believed to
have been the work of Incendiaries, whoJ
wished to destroy Indictinentsuind evidence
against criminals soon to Come to trial
The property loss is estimated at .GO.ilOu
New Movement of the Heart.
Paris, Feb. 12. Pi of. .Bouchard has
discovered a new movement of the heart
by means of the Roentgen rays. It is a
lhythmic dilation during respiration,
and is not connected with tlie ordinary
movements of the heart.' It appears to
arise from a diminution of Hie pressure
la the interior of the thoracic cage dur
ing inspiration.
Fresh Fronrtlie Workshops.
Finest and handsomest of Spring Neck
wear. Especially rlclr Ascots. Jn. silks
and .satins, 50c. Auerbach's, 6"a Pa. avet
It
UN 0LTIII1 10 SPHII
Our State Department Sends an
Imperative Message.
A REPLY IS RECEIVED
Minister Woodford Instructed to
Say That u Disavowal of Xe
Lome'.s "Utterance Is Expected
By Thin Gore rn ment at Once
Judge Day ReeclvcH a Long Cable
gram in Answer to the Demand
Not Yet Tianslnted, But Believed
to Contain an Expression of He
gret and Apology Will Be 3Iulo
Public Today.
An ultimatum was sent to the Span
ish government yesterday, and it is be
lieved a reply has already been receiv
ed. The answer was not translated last
night, but its contents will be made
known to-day.
The foregoing paragraph contains Jn
brief the developments of the past
twenty-four hours in the De Lome in
cident. The President, after a conference
with Judge Day, Assistant Secretary of
Stats, directed him to send an impera
tive dispatch to Gen. Woodford, tbe
American minister at 3radrid, to de
mand of Spain an immediate disavowal
of the sentiments expressed in the no
torious letter written by Dupuy de
Lome. Tie cablegram was sent at once,
and it Avas terse and to the point, and
contained instructions to the minister
to make the earliest possible reply.
This reply was received late last
night and will be made public to-day.
The cablegram was sent to the home of
Chief Clerk 3Iichaelr but arrived too
late to be translated from cipher into
English. It will make about 300 wordc?.
and while its contents are not knowm.
it is believed to be an assurance- froirr
GenJWoodfcrd that the Spanish govern
ment expresses regret at the written
utterances of Dupuy de Lome. This
was particularly true of the referBfio
to autonomy and reciprocity in the tet
ter. The dispatch to Gen. Woodrord st
forth that the seventy-two hours tlwt
it is customary to give offending na
tions to make explanatory remarks had
passed, and that further delay by tlio
Spanish government would be con
strued as an acquiescence in the views
of the late Spanish minister.
The action of the President in order
ing this message sent Is looked upon by
the few persons made aware of It an
an ultimatum to Spain, and that it
Spain ignored it or did not properly
disavow the insulting letter a serious
crisis would follow.
It was known to all who have follow
ed the diplomatic controversy cretl
by the letter of Dupuy de Lome that
the President's patience was exhausted
when no word of regret or apology
from Spain was placed before him yes
terday morning.
He sent for Judge Day as soon as
that official reached his office, and after
a brief conference with him it was de
cided to send the imperative demand
mentioned to Gen. Woodford. This ac
tion, it Is said, Is fully warranted by
the contemptuous manner in which the
Spanish government has acted in re
spect to this Government in the silence
it ha3 maintained concerning the In
sulting letter of the former Spanish
minister. Authorities on diplomatic
matters say that this indifference on
the part of Spain is a greater insult to
this nation than the obnoxious Ietter
was that the minister wrote. The
Spanish government, it is said, should
have disavowed the sentiments of the
letter immediately after being placed
in possession of the information it con
tained, and should not have waited for
any request on the part of the Ameri
can Government for such a disavowal.
That Spain was brought to a proper
consideration of the affair is undoubted,
because of the dispatch received last
night from 3Iinister Woodford. It is
believed that this dispatch contains a
disavowal, and if It does not, and a
proper explanation is not made, the
State Department will cable Gen. Wood
ford to come home, and all friendly in
tercourse will cease between the two
nations.
While the President feels keenly the
uncalled for reflections cast upon him
personally in the letter written by
Dupuy de Lome, he feels much worse
over the reference to autonomy and re
ciprocity, and the dispatch sent to Gen.
Woodford was peremptory in the de
mand that Spain should disavow the
sentiments of Dupuy de Lome in this
respect.
The President feels that there sh ut
not be the faintest doubt as to the k
tentions of Spain in respect to auton.
my and reciprocity, vital questions u- ,
Cuba, and he has firmly determined
that the Spanish government shall
make perfectly clear to the American
people whether or not the sentiments
expressed by Dupuy de Lome relative
to these questions are the sentiments
of the Spanish government.
The facts contained in the cablegram
received last night will be made known
to-day, and then, if it is learned that
the Spanish government refuses to
comply with the demands made by
this government, an exciting issue will
confront the people of America.
One of the most prominent men in
the Senate yesterday said that the
President should have recognized the
letter of De Lome as an official expres
sion, and the moment that individual
admitted the authenticity of the let
ter, the President should have-adted
upon De Lome's admission that -the.-
war was a failure and that Spain could
IContluuod on Third Tage.)
t ij.
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