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.--..mber 19 1913 PACIFIC HALFWAY ACROSS THE CANAL X«BRty Tors of Dynamite Opon Stretch of Work. BIG cut rapidly filled. V«sj 1 1 ,„,, • DredflM Expected to Complete Work —af Establishing Channel at Western End In Short Time —The Cut Is 5,000 Feet Long, 500 Feet Wide and 41 ' Feet Deep. Panama.— The last remaining barrier g t the Pacific end of the Panama canal has been blown up by dynamite. It was an intensely interesting spec tacle. An electric switch was turned on, and a moment later the 1,500 spec tators and the officers of the British cruiser New Zealand saw a wonderful sight Hundreds of tons of mud and stones were thrown high in the air. There they seemed to hang, then fall back as the roar of the explosion echoed in the nearby hills. About twenty long tons, equivalent to 44.800 pounds, of 45 per cent dyna mite constituted the blast, which was one of the largest ever set off in the canal. The charge, which was planted in 541 holes at an average depth of thirty feet, tore a big gap in the bar rier, but not to a sufficient depth to permit the water to flow through, as the sea level channel was at low tide. Equally as interesting as the explo sion was the actual breaking of the barrier, the tide creeping steadily up until it was level with the top of the gap. A workman seized a shovel and made a small trench, through which a rill of water trickled. Gradually it widened until an hour afterward a tor rent, with a thirty-five foot fall, pour ed through an opening 400 feet wide Photo by American Press Association. BLAST AT PAX ASIA CASAL. fnto tlmt part of the canal between Gamboa dike and Miraflores locks which Lad been excavated by steam shovels. This cut, which is 5.000 feet long. 500 feet wide and 41 feet deep be low mean sea level, was immediate ly filled when the waters of the Pa cific touched for the first time the solid masonry of the Miraflores locks. Dredges passed through the opening, and in a few days the last vestiges of ( the barrier will be removed, establish ing a practically complete channel at the Pacific end The dredges have be gun to remove the last barrier of the Atlantic channel. When that work is accomplished ships uiay navigate to the locks at both euds. On May 18 the engineers of the Pan ama canal exploded 32,750 pounds of that had been loaded into 236 holes to dispose of the first dike Uolding back the Pacific ocean. This dike had dammed the waters of Ancon harbor, in the gulf of Panama, until the engineers practically finished exca vating a long stretch of the canal near Miraflores. The mighty blast was successful, and the waters of the Pa cific flowed into the canal up to the point where it was checked until the last blast removed another barrier. DOG BARKS FOUR DAYS. ie l Finally Attracts Notice to Its Dead Master. Alpena. Mich. —For four days a small water spaniel lay whimpering in front of his master's shanty. Dozens of persons noticed the dog's peculiar ac- and passed on. Several offered feed the animal, but it refused to eat. Finally it ceased to whine and began to yelp and succeeded in inducing neighbors to enter the dilapidated building. There they found the body °f Frank Cleveland, whose sole com panion for years had been his dog. Hen Lays Egg In an Egg. Milton, lnd —J. M. McMahan has a hen egg inches in circumference one way and nine Inches the other and weighs 5% ounces. A few days ago the egg was blown, and the yolk *nd white of the egg filled a teacup one-third full. NUN DESERTS CONVENT. •ister Leooadia Believed to Bo Teaoh ing Music In New York. Niagara Falls, Ont-Slster Leocadia, teacher of music In Mount Loretta Convent, at Falls View, a mile south of this place, has left the convent, where she had spent more than twen ty-five years of her life. It has just become known that Sister Leocadia. apparently wearying of the life within the cloister, made her departure from the convent several months ago. It is believed that she made her way to New York and is trying to earn a livelihood by tgaching music. At the age of eight Margaret Coulter of Philadelphia entered the Mount Loretta convent She was an orphan who had one brother. Her next near est relative was an uncle* She be came a novitiate at the age of sixteen and took her final vows at the age of twenty-one. when she became known, as Sister Leocadia. Soon after she took the veil she became teacher of music in the convent Girls from all sections of the United States and Canada have studied music under Sister Leocadia. It is said that she was very popular among her pupils as well as among the sisters of the convent because she was comely In appearance and charming in manner. Her beauty had often been remarked by persons who were in the habit of I visiting or passing the convent j Mount Loretta Convent is the parent I institution of the Loretta Sisterhood in ; Canada. When inquiries were made recently at the convent for Sister Leocadia it was learned that she had not returned. Mother Joseph, assistant to the mother superior, said that Sister Leocadia had gone away, and she added that she did not know her whereabouts. Mother Joseph, however, said she believed that Sister Leocadia was somewhere in the United States. QUEEN MARY BARS BIG GAMBLING CLUB Consort Ends Plans For Exclu sive Woman's House. London.—Queen Mary by reason of her unconquerable aversion to gam bling in any form by women has pre vented the establishment of a woman's club in London which, from a social point of view, by far would have out ranked any existing woman's club in the city and which, in fact, would have been a kind of woman's Marlbor ough club. The incident at the same time shows how, in spite of the queen's strong and constantly "demonstrated objection, the society women of England are equally determined not to be deprived of their big or little gambling. A plan was formulated a short time ago to start a woman's club the mem bership of which was to be restricted to past and present ladies of the vari ous royal households in England. At first everything pointed to its imme diate great success. Nearly every royal lady residing in England prom ised to join, and a strong body of la dies of the royal households imme diately came in. Of course it was absolutely essen tial that such a club should have the support of the queen, as she is the head of the select body from which the members were to be selected. Lady Agneta Montague, the organiz ing secretary of the club, immediately approached Queen Mary as soon as the successful establishment of the club was assured. A couple of weeks ago the queen wrote to Lady Agneta that she would join the club, but only on the conditions that there should be no card room in it and that no male vis itors should be received. These conditions were made known. ! and two weeks sufficed to show that they rendered the formation of the club impossible, for of the 180 ladies who formed the original nucleus of the organization 140 have now with i drawn their names. As a result the [ scheme has been abandoned. LAST OF CROW INDIANS. L«ke Metimop Dies on Reservation Near Saginaw, Mich. Saginaw. Mich.—Lake Metimop. said to be the last of the Crow Indians, died on a reservation near Saginaw. For many decades he was closely as sociated with the Crow reservation, and for some time had been its only living founder. He had been blind for the last three years. While some people doubted that the Indian was as old as he claimed to be. 107 years, it was believed that he was Michigan's oldest Meti mop. better known as Met Wop. set tled in the Saginaw valley before white men commenced to colonize that sec tion. Although quite a leader, he was considered more of a farmer than a fighter. BECOMES RICH IN A DAY. Widow, Support of Four Children, la Heir of Brother-in-law. Los Angeles. CaL—Mrs. S. A. T. Jones, a widow supporting four chil dren by working as a copyist in county offices here. is a millionairess. William Jones, a brother of the wo man's husband, died in Australia He left to his brother's widow an estate which is estimated to reach the million mark. Jones, a Welshman, and his wife came here many years ago THE KENNEWICK COURIER, KENNEWICK. WASHINGTON WANTS U.S. PUNT FOR ARMOR PLATE Houso Bill Galls For Expendi ture of $7,000,000. AIMED AT ALLEGED TRUST. Plan to Force Manufacturers to Keep Prices Down —Government as a Com petitor Would Not Produce All of Its Own Plate—lncrease In Prices Has Been Felt. i $ , i Washington.—Seven million dollars to provide for a government armor plate plant is asked for in a bill intro duced by Representative Britten of Il linois. The bill was introduced coinci dent with the announcement by the navy department that bids for $3,000,- 000 worth of armor for battleship No. 39 had been rejected because they are identical: Although Representative Britten is a Republican, his bill fol lows generally the ideas of Secretary Daniels, who has reported that a "trust" evidently exists in the armor plate business and that the govern ment should have a plant of its own, not to make all its armor, but to pro vide enough to make competition with the private mills. In addition. Representative Britten is about to take up with several sena tors the advisability of changing the Underwood tariff bill so as to admit armor plate free of duty. Representative Britten's bill provides for the acquisition of a site, the erec tion of suitable buildings and the pro curing of necessary machinery and supplies for the establishment and maintenance of the plan. Active op erations on the plant are to be begun within six months after the passage of the bill. In discussing his bill Representative Britten said that he had had in mind for some months the introducing of a "plan that would break up if possible the trust now controlling the armor plate situation in this country. "The opening of the bids of the navy department for $3,000,000 worth of ar mor for battleship No. 39. appropriated for last year, in which the bids of the three armor producing companies in the United States corresponded exact ly and giving the same amount per ton as last year." said Mr. Britten, "shows conclusively the collusion existing in the bidding regardless of the fact that each bidder attests in an affidavit sub mitted with his respective bids that the company is not engaged in any such agreement and proves conclusive ly that competition for this enormous amount of government business is a farce. "The only way to procure armor plate at anything like a reasonable price is for the government to enter into direct competition in its manu facture with the companies already engaged in this work. 1 am not in favor of entering into the field to such an extent as to put the other ar mor producing companies out of busi ness, but to manufacture a sufficient amount of this commodity so as to force them into competition and com pel them to offer us their armor at least at a fairly reasonable cost. "Investigations recently made in this direction have shown that in a govern ment plant capable of turning out 10.000 tons a year, which is about half of the armor needed on a two battle ship program, the cost of the armor will not exceed $314 a ton. The differ ence between this and the amount bid last Tuesday, which was exactly the same per ton as the bids submitted last year. $454: on 10.000 tons, at a j saving of $140 per ton over the price now paid, the government would save ; $1,400,000 per annum. Deducting the interest on the money used in building the plant the government will still save considerably over $1,000,000 a year, which amount in a very short time will completely cover the cost of the plant, and at the same time we will be independent of this branch of the steel trust As a business proposi tion the plant would net the govern -1 ment more than 17 per cent on the en -1 lire investment after allowing 3 per cent on the total expenditure ior $1,200,000). "In 1906 the price of armor plate was $340 a ton. in 1907 the trust jumped It to $420 a ton. and last year it was rais !ed to $454 a ton. The price goes up constantly and remains up, and the evidence is not lacking that the price at the present time is based more upon what the companies think they can get than what it costs. "Some years ago we were confronted with the same problem in the purchase of powder for the use of the army and the navy. We built a powder plant entered into direct competition with the powder companies and today are saving $268.80 on each ton of powder. "We manufacture our own powder in part, we manufacture our own guns, and there is no reason in the world why we should not manufacture a part of our owu armor plate. The cost of the plant is not prohibitive, and the cost of operation will not be a severe obstacle "1 am convinced that the govern ment should erect a plant large enough to manufacture a goodly portion of the armor plate required a fid give the rest of the work to such tlrms as are will : ing to bring their prices down to what will be shown by the government plant to be a reasonable figure. This Is the intent of my bill." JUDQE WANTS HEARING. Emory Spaer of Savannah, Ga., An* iweri His Accusers. Washington.—Following the bringing of charges in congress against Judge Emory Speer of Savannah. Ga.. the justice at once forwarded to Henry Clayton, chairman of the judiciary committee of the house, an informal answer to all the charges. In his answer the judge states that his only source of information was through the newspapers, and be asked for a copy of the original charges. JUDGE EMORY SPEER. He denied each of the allegations and wants a hearing just as soon as he recovers from an attack of hay fever. Among the charges was one that Judge Speer aided his son-in-law by giving him appointments in court. This was emphatically denied. An swering the charge that he was tem peramentally unfit for a judicial sta tion. Judge Speer says that he only in sists on order and decorum in his court room. He asserted that the men who "attempted to defame me in their statements were counsel for defend ants in cases of great embezzlement or representatives of predatory interests." PRIORITY OF DEATH TO FIX GREAT ESTATE Relatives of Aged Couple Fight For $1,000,000 Fortune. Springfield, Mass.—Disposition of a $1,000,000 estate binges on whether Sherman D. Porter or his wife died first in a grade crossing accident at South Deerfield. According to the med ical examiners, both were killed in stantly. Relatives on both sides are aligned for a legal fight. The case may be further complicated if Mr. Porter's will makes a substantial bequest to his chauffeur, who was for many years in his service and whom the railroad com nany blames for the accident. Since the fatality the Porter home has been visited by relatives who were never entertained there in the lifetime of Mr and Mrs. Porter He was eighty and his wife much younger. If it can be established that his death occurred an . instant before hers, her relatives would become heirs to the estate. His relatives intimate that the will bears a codicil which alters the provisions of the instrument if her death should oc cur before his. Under old court rulings, when hus band and wife perished together. tHe wife was presumed to have died first, being the weaker of the two. but later rulings have been based on close in quiry into all the circumstances. The relative ages of the two. it is said, may become determining factors in the Por ter case. Mr. Porter made a fortune in the candy business and at the time of his death was president of the Klbbe Bros.' Manufacturing company, whole sale confectioners and importers. TO JAIL TO SAVE FATHER. Rough Rider Sacrifices His Liberty. Mother Caug.'t Gun Man. Craig. Colo.—Eugent H. Decker and Clarence E. Decker, father and son. who were tried at this term of the dis trict court on the charge of horse stealing, were found guilty and inno cent respectively. The son is one of the most widely known cow men and rough riders in this country. The horse was the property of Ira H. Olm stead. Young Decker pleaded guilty in or der to free his aged father of complic ity in the crime. His mother single handed captured William Morgan, the notorious Hole-in-the-Wall gun man. last fall after Morgan had for three weeks eluded sheriff parties in three counties. Boy of Three Lost Two Days In Wilds. Muskogee. Okla-—After tramping two days ove/ the mountains without food. Oran Trammell, a three-year-old boy who had wandered away from a construction camp at Woodstan, was found by James Payne, an old hunter. Payne declined the reward of $000 offered by .1. T Trammell. the child's father. The csuntry through which the child wandered was infested with wolves and wildcats. , ENTRY BLANK Better Babies Contest, Kennewick, Washington Third Annual Columbia River Valley Grape Carnival September 25, 26, 27 Name of Child Boy or Girl Address Age (in Months) Father's name Nationality Occupation Father's age Mother's maiden name Nationality Occupation (if employed outside the home) Mother's age <J Fill out this blank and give or trnd it to C. R. CRAK FORI), Manager, Commercial Club. We earnestly solicit your bus iness at the local creamery. Lucerne Butter Columbia Valley Creamery Co. Phone 741 W. W. Delameter, Manager "Frontier Days" Celebration WALLA WALLA SEPTEMBER 25, 26 and 27, 1913 A realistic portrayal of the early life and scenes of the great Western Frontier Times. The story of its settle ment and development. A vivid picture of the range— cowboys, cowgirls, wild horses, Indians in their tribal sports and customs. • LOW ROUND TRIP EXCURSION FARES $1.80 Kennewick to Walla 'Walla and return via the O=W. R. & N. Tickets on sale September 21 to 27, 1913 Final return limit September 29, 1913. Plan to attend this great show with its world's champion pionship contests in broncho busting, steer roping, bull- I dogging, fancy riding and all kinds of exciting races for I ||V'l*| large purses and trophies. For further information re garding schedules and fares eall on J. B. Thomas, Agent, Kennewick, Wash. c F Van de water, D.F.&P.A., North Yakima, Wash. BETWEEN THEM But it's the kind of coolness that helps him win his "suit"—the kind that will help you do the same. It is the refreshing, invigorating cool ness distributed by a General Electric Fan— • the device that makes summer visiting a pleasure instead of an ordeal. When you make your regular calls on Her this summer your chances will be vastly better if a General Electric Fan creates a "coolness" between you; she will be more receptive—in a more likely mood to « »» J say yes. The General Electric Fan can be attached to any ordinary light ing socket, and can be operated for the insignificant cost of less than one cent on hour. A commonsense regard for your comfort and general fitness demands the u;e ct cne. have a complete hne of (_»cn?r;'l Electric Fans in various types and sizes displayed in our show rooms, cr we will gladly have a representative call and demonstrate their mcz.j advantage?- ''Always At Your Service" Pacific Power & Light Co. PAGE THREE