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.** , k THE PLAI>TDEALER J. VAN SLYKE, Editor and Pub. 1 MoHENRY. iLLiNora a TONNAGE TAX LEVIED CLEVELAND ADOPTS RETALIA­ TORY MEASURES. German Vessels Entering Onr Ports Must Pay Port Dues--Disjiracef ul Prize Fight in Cook County Hospital tn Chicago--Massacre of Italians. Tonnage Dncs on German Vessels. The President has issued a proclama­ tion suspending after January next the operations of the act which relieves Ger­ man vessels entering I. nited States ports from the payment of tonnage dues and other shipping charges. This action was taken upon proof that American vessels are denied corresponding privileges in German ports. The shipping charges un­ der our laws are based on a. sliding, scale. The President's - action doubtless will arouse . widespread interest in ship­ ping • circles.The President s proc­ lamation will go into effect the morning of Jan, 3, after which date the vessels <jf : Germanyentering our ports must pa> shipping" charges ranging on a sliding scale of from 0 to 30 cents per ton per annum. , ; A Disgraceful Affair. The Chicago Evening. Post says: "An eight-round 'prize-fight between Eddie Santry a ndv Jimmy Carroll, of Omaha, <was 'pulled off' in the County Hospital in the small hours qf Tuesday morning, and was witnessed liy about twenty-five of the employes and young doctors, who are on duty in the hospital and in the pay of Cook County. There was a purse made up by those present and the occasion was the closing number on the program for the farewell reception given to Chief Clerk M. R. Mandelba um. who is to be­ come thief deputy coroner, and who leaves the hospital Monday. From tin- reception and balljjiven in Mande-lbaiun s honor in Columbia Hall the favored one« who were 'on' retired to the large room in the tower over the front driveway in the main hospital building and proceed^ to business shortly after midnight. The room is on the fourth floor and the 'ring was a square for this light, and a brus- sels carpet, paid for by the taxpayers of the county, was the turf from which the two fighters sprang at each other.' Work of a Chicago Miscreant. Two hundred people, led by a scream­ ing washerwoman who had just been robbed of the only dollar she possessed in the world, chased Edward Rogers, a pick­ pocket, in West Madison street, Chicago, Thursday night and took part in a battle between the thief and the police in a dark alley near by. Finally, after one police­ man lay on the ground badly wounded by a bullet from the robber's revolver, after a street car conductor had been shot through the hand, and after the face of another policeman had been filled full of powder-and his cloth es-pierced with hnl- lets, the crowd, the policemen, and the screaming washerwoman closed in on the thief and the policemen stretched him on the ground with a blow. There were otli- • er minor casualties. a* follows: "I will be pleased to see I that section. In the vicinity of Houston Gen. Clarkson and staff in Canton on f a norther blew for three days, and the ' first*snow since Feb. 14, 185)5, fell to a depth of several, inches west of there. Wednesday." Railroads connecting Lake Erie with the iron, steel and coal producing dis­ tricts will be required to reduce the car­ rying charges on those commodities. An­ drew Carnegie has asserted over his sig­ nature that the railroad from Conneaut to Pittsburg, in which he is interested, expects to make its investment pay on a basis of three mills per ton mije, which means lie believes iron ore can be trans­ ported to CKTfurnnees for about 45 cents per ton. The present charge is $1.05. A' terrible shooting affray, in which one person was almost instantly killed and two others were so badly injured that they cannot recover, took place at Dur- yea, three miles north of Pittston, Pa., Friday. The trouble started in a saloon, where twenty or thirty Poles were drink­ ing. Nearly all of the men were-armed with revolvers and shooting began at once. James Motsley was killed. John Butts was shot through the left side and the back and cannot recover. Another man who was carried away by his friends was shot in the breast. His injuries'are fatal. WESTERN. NEWS NUGGETS. All thfc factories under the control of the Pittsburg Plate Glass Company in the'country resumed operations in full Wednesday after a long idleness. Each factory employs hundreds of hand# Mrs. Mary J.J Sweringcn, of St. Louis, has won lier famous suits against the city and the St. Louis, Keokuk and Northwestern Railway Company. They involved possession of $85,000 worth of real estate on the river front near Dock street. She claimed title on the ground that the property was accretions from the river to land she owned which had been left high and dry by the deposits of years. The massacre of Senor Cecchi, the Ital­ ian .consul at Zanzibar, the captains of the Italian warships Yolturno and Staf- fetta. and six other Italian officers by the Somalis at Magadoxo on the coast of Somaliland, East Africa, took place Sat­ urday, Nov. 28. The party was accom­ panied by seventy Askaris, and was on a trip into the country outside of Maga­ doxo when the Semalis attacked the Ital­ ians, killed all the whites and also killed, thirty of the Askiras. It is probable that early in the session of Congress one of the niches in the wall of the Senate chamber at Washington made for the reception of busts of those who have held the office of Vice Presi­ dent will be filled by a njarble bust of John C. Breckinridge. It is the work of James Voorhees and has just been com­ pleted and turned over to the architect of the capitol. The bust is commented upon "by those who knew Mr. Breckinridge in life as a thoroughly accurate production. Four masked robbers, supposed to be headed by "Dynamite Dick," held up Storekeeper. Ernest Powell at Ingram. O. T., and made him deliver $300. After securing the money and while leaving the store the outlaws were fired on by Pow­ ell, The fire was returned and a farmer named Ellis, who was in the store, was shot. The robbers are supposed to be thi same who held up the postmaster at Floyd Tuesday night and secured $1,2(14. Tuesday Secretary Carr, of the Chi­ cago health department, set fire to the old smallpox hospital at 20tli street and Sac­ ramento avenue. An hour later the old ruin was burned to the ground and the possibility of its spreading disease germs was past. The hospital had not been in •use for several months and had been a source of much annoyance to health de­ partment officials, and the children resid­ ing in the neighborhood insisted upon making daily visits to the wreck for the purpose of carrying away firewood. The administration building of the New Jersey State Institution for Feeble-Mind- ed Children at Vinelaiid took fire and was destroyed. Loss, .$25,000. No lives lost. Fire which originated from a lamp ex­ plosion, destroyed the works No. 2 of the Variety Iron Company at Cleveland. The loss will be between $40,000 and $50,000. John Opie, part owner of the Puzzler " amine on Straub Mountain, near Victor. 'Cold?, was killed by falling down the shaft 120 feet. Ilis fall was due to the breaking of the rope on which he was de­ scending. Mayor Edward T. Burke, of R'awHns, Wyo., has. been arrested, charged with passing a bogus check. • '„v It is certain that a bill -will be intro­ duced in the Missouri Legislature this winter making Vt a misdemeanor or a fel­ ony ro play football in the State. A num­ ber-of members have measures drawn up placing football upon the 'same plane as prize fighting; ' • :<.r. -'* The Missouri National Bank at Kansas .City, Mo., 'closed its doors,Monday morn­ ing. owing to.The heavy withdrawals of one of its principal depositors. The de­ posits are $1,500,000. but a statement of the bank's assets and liabilities is not yet obtainable. The bank, was classed 'one of the strongest in the Southwest. The steamer City of Kalamazoo, own­ ed by the T. II. W. Williams Transfer Company, took fire Monday morning at South Haven, Mich., and is almost a total loss. Robert Van Ostratylo and Joseph Land, who were on the boat, were over­ come by smoke and burned to death. Three other men escaped without their clothing. Van Ostrando was a single mar., but Land had a family. The origin of the fire is unknown. George E. Ross, of Kansas City, Mo.. missing money clerk for the Pacific and United States Express Companies, has been located iu St. Louis by the surety company that furnished his bond, and is now under surveillance. It is stated that the express company officials had all along known of Ross' exact location, but have kept it quiet because there are, it is said, others implicated who are not yet in custody. The officials still refuse to give out information of a definite charac­ ter, but enough has been learned, says a local paper, to merit the statement that evidence of collusion between certain em­ ployes to rob the express companies has been turned up. Sunday there was han­ dled through the office over which Ross presided money packages containing $110;000. Already $2,300 of this amount is known to be missing and the books are still being gone over. Shortage checks have J>een coming in so regularly since the examination began, it is said, that the officials have renewed their efforts, and now ffarTliat the wtrolf~^liO,OQO may never have reached its destination. Almost the entire Northwest was vlf- ited Thursday night and Friday with one of the severest blizzards ever known, and fears are entertained that a number of lives have been lost in the prairie -sec­ tions. At a number of poiuts in Minne­ sota and the Dakotas business was prac­ tically suspended and a number of trains are reported to be snowbound. On the prairies there was such blinding and drifting snow as to make it unsafe for ranchmen to go to their stock unless they had "life lines" stretched, and stock suf­ fered both from cold and lack of care. Great uneasiness prevails as to the effect on stock on ranges west of the Missouri River which may not have been placed in shelter. The thermometer registered nearly zero. Railroad lines west of Sugar planters are uneasy, as a big freeze would cause great loss, most of the cane standing in the fields. At Port Lavaca, Texas, it has been excessively cold, all shipping being temporarily tied up owing to the snow and sleet storm. Three inch­ es of snow fell in Eagle Pass. This is unprecedented for that; section of the country. At Little Rock, Ark., Charles H. Guuu, traveling salesman, of "Quincy. IU., be­ came suddenly insane Saturday njght and had to be placed in the lockup to prevent his doing violence. Shortly be­ fore 1 o'clock Sunday morning a tele­ phone alarm was received at police head­ quarters to the effect that there was a crazy man at the union depot who was trying to kill everybody in the neighbor­ hood. He told Sergt. King that three detectives were after his mother and sis­ ter, trying to make them a sign a note, for $2,000; that he could see them then. His purse contained $45 , in bills and $7 in change. His expense account was ac­ curately kept, showing he had arrived from Memphis Saturday. His house waa wired his condition. A rich and extensive discovery of rock phosphate has been made in Tennessee. The deposits underlie four counties in the. vicinity of Nashville--Davidson, William­ son,'Rutherford, and Maury. The rock lies in a. vein averaging from three to twelve feet in thickness, and is but ten feet below the surface, The commercial value of the discovery it is impossible to estimate, but the output will be very rich. Mr. Clark, of the firm of Pratt & Clark, chemists, of Atlanta, while in -Nashville some four weeks ago on business, passed some men digging a sewer. He picked up a piece of the soft., crumbling yellow rock, had it analyzed, and found it 82 per cent, pure phosphate. ^George W. Scott, a capitalist of Atlanta, was in­ formed. He, with a crew of picked laborers, went to Nashville. All the property near the location of the sewer was bought up, the vein followed, and farms bought wherever the rock was found. The fertilizing companies of Chi­ cago managed to get a generous siice. It is said Philip D. Armo,ur has a chemist and representative in the field, who are looking for more land. FEAR A GREAT FLOOD DANGER AT-CHIPPEWA FALLS, WISCONSIN. FOREIGN. St. Paul were in^bad shape. The wind drifted the snow into cuts along all lines. In the northern region the snow drifted to the depth of twelve feet, and at some points in North Dakota and Montana drifts eighteen feet high were formed. All trains from the West were delayed several hours. None of the coast lines sent out their overland trains from St. Paul. There was not a telegraph wire through to the coast. But little difficulty was encountered east of St. Paul. A special to the Cincinnati Commercial Tribune from Key West says: "Wey- ler's tlfreat that he would starve Maceo out seems likely to be carried out. as from all reports from Mariel. near where Weyler is now, the work of destruction^ is being carried out fully. The Spanish army 'sweeps everything before it, kill­ ing beeves that it cannot use, burning cane fields and small stores with their provisions, and leaving a wide waste of ruinlind desolation in its wake. People vainly implore Weyler to leave them pro­ visions to keep them alive, but his brutal officers refuse with oaths and -insulting words, if not'-worse. Over 300 refugees have come into Mariel since Weyler went out this last time, all giving the same story of rapine, plunder and murder by the Spaniards. A Spanish guerrilla cap­ tain named Colazzo is accused of mur­ dering over 100 persons in the valleys south of Mariel during the latter part of November. In one instance he is ac­ cused of confining *a number of women and girls in a church, and, after they had been repeatedly maltreated by his men. burned the building with them in it. Many other outrages, all as horrible, are charged to him and his company. There has been a continuous exchange of telegraphic messages'recently between the British consul at Manilla and the IIong-Koilg Government. As one of the results the British second-class cruiser Pique has gone to the Philippine Islands. The Volksraad at Pretoria, South Af­ rica, formally passed the immigration re­ striction bill, requiring immigrants to pro­ duce passports showing that they possess j the means of support or that they can obtain work. The measure goes into force Jan. 1, 1S97. News comes via Jacksonville, Fla., from Havana that orders were issued Thursday night doubling the guards at the fortifications around the city, and that word had reached the Captain Gen­ eral of the presence of large guerrilla forces near the city. The troeha was forced twice during the week, each time large bodies of Cubans crossing with slight loss. A military train was dyna­ mited near Mariel -Thursday, causing n Spanish loss of six or seven soldiers killed .vijli several wounded. The comparative statement of the re­ ceipts and expenditures of the United States shows that during November, 1805, the total receipts were $25,210,090 and Jhe expenditures $32.200,720. The receipts for the five months of the year amount to $131,050,489 and the expendi­ tures to $171,597,335. The deficit for the month of November, therefore, is $8,050. 024, and for the five months $39,946,84(5. as compared with $15,809,337 for the cor­ responding five months of last year. The receipts from customs during November amounted to $9,930,385; from internal revenue, $13,104,828. and from miscel­ laneous sources, $2,175,482. This is a loss in customs, as compared with No­ vember. 1895, of $1,524,920, a gain^from internal revenue of $04,744 and a gain of $084,379 from miscellanepus sources. Letters received in Key West, Fla., from Cuba state that young Oscar Ces- pedes,- an American citizen and corre­ spondent of the Key West Herald, who has been confined in prison in Matanzas for several months, will be tried by court martial. Young Cespedes is accused of being a filibuster, and, although an Amer­ ican citizen, his friends fear that- he will be condemned to death by the Spaniards and executed. The case of Cespedes is similar to that of Ona Melton, corre­ spondent of the Jacksonville Times- Union, who has been confined in the Cabanas for the last nine months. Both cases have been reported to Secretary Oinoy, with the request that he intervene. Ona Melton had just had an attack of yellow-fever and is very weak. It is feared that he will die unless speedily released. The dispatch. from Havana announcing the Competitor prisoners were bcinjr tried again by secret court martial in the Cabanas Fortress and wer* not allowed counsel, not even an inter­ preter. has been denied by Gen. Weyler's subordinate, but is confirmed by a letter from Mr. Melton, smuggled out of prison, which reached the New York World Mon­ day. EASTERN. Water Held Back by the Enormous Icp Gorr;efTlireatciis to Iuundatg the Whole Valley--Fitzsimmons Loses the Fi--ht on a Foul. Chippewa Falls' Disaster. A calamity" distressing in its results and in some respects unique is that which has befallen the people of Chippewa Falls, Wis., where an ice gorge forming in the river has dammed up the water, causing ft to overflow and flood the surrounding territory. The extent of the disaster and the formidable nature of the elemental, forces causing it may be conceived from the fact that within a very short time the river has risen to a height of twenty-four feet. There is danger of its changing its course and flowing into the town. As it is. the little place, is flooded, buildings on certain streets, being submerged to the second story. The inhabitants are get­ ting away and carrying as lhueli of their property with them as possible. .Not only Chippewa Falls, but. several adjacent towns, must suffer, unless the 'gorge is broken within a very short time. Im­ mense quantities of dynamite.'have .beep' exploded with a view to breaking the gorge. It is reported that iiearly 9,000 people are homeless, and the intense cold, makes their situation worse. '" • ;. At the time this is written the water is still rising, with little .hope of breaking the gorge.* The Chippewa River is twen­ ty-eight .feet a bo v el; > w - \va t e'r, mar k. All places of business on Spring, River and Lower Bridge 'streets are vacated. " One rumor to the effect that the nVer would cut out a passageway for itself through the high banks north of .the Wisconsin Central Railroad bridge save rise to great apprehension. The river's course is se­ riously obstructed by the gorge, that has reached within a short distance of the dam and the turning of the course of the stream upon the city seems so plausible that every one is panic-stricken. FITZSIMMONS. LOSES IT ON A FOUL. Fitzsimmons Fails to Get the De­ cision Over Sharkey. The fight between Robert Fitzbimmons and Thomas Sharkey in San Francisco proved one of the most sensational in the histofy of the ring. Sharkey w a s knocked down with a left crook on the j a w i n t h e e i g h t h r o u n d and was carried u neons cious from the ring amid great ex­ citement. Some confusion fol­ l o w e d w h i c h the crowd did not understand. F. i t z s immons was trying to speak, but. could not be heard. Then it was learned that Referee Wiley Earp had awarded the fight to Sharkey on a claim of foul. It was claim­ ed that Fitzsimmons struck Sharkey in the groin with his knee as the latter was falling. Fitzsimmons protested and the crowd, hissed and groaned. In the eigth round Fitzsimmons soon had his man going and went at him ferociously. A right-hahd j;wing staggered the sailor and then came ;i left-hand swing, and a left-arm punch under the c-hin that sent Sharkey over with a thud.. While the marine was fall­ ing the referee, claims that Fitzsimmons struck him in the groin with his knee, thus committing a foul. Sharkey was undoubtedly badly hurt... His -seconds, rushed into the ring and raised him -up, but lie fainted away and was borne from the ring unconscious. Hardly any one among the spectators saw the foul, and the decision was received with hisses and groans. No event in the history of pugilism ou' the Pacific coast ever attracted so much public attention. Between 15,000 and 20,00 people ocupied all the available space in the big Mechanics'- pavilion and watched the contest, which every one re­ garded as practically deciding the cham- tionship of the world. The long, lean •'wjf* jv/ArHi«ij '1 <'! '^4i, Vi w1 - THE ICE GORGE AT CHIPPEWA FALLS. Scene from the wagon bridge looking toward the Chippewa Falls Lumber Company's mill. The river presents a terrible appear­ ance. The ice gorge is forty feet high, uid backing water on the city at the rate >f {-. foot an lionr. Poor people are suf- ferin:; terribly from the cold. The Wrs- cons.n Central dej-it and tracks are un- <u r water. All business is done over the .\jortl.wi stern line. The city is in com­ plete darkness, as gas and electric light service are shut off by the water. The Chicago. Milwaukee and St. Paul has suspended its service through the Chip­ pewa Valley, being unable to get a train through the flooded territory.. Logs and limbs of trees are strewn many feet high on the track. On low grades the water rises many feet above the ties, and high enough to extinguish the engine fires. An engine and coach that went out to the low lands below Durand came back rtfjtn'eu WSSE©EIS1IW New Zealander,. who had had a succes­ sion of victories in the United States for the last five or six years, entered the ring with aUfeost every apparent advantage in his favor. He could count upon his ex­ perience and science, his height and reach, and every other quality which enters yito the making of the successful prize-fighter. Against him was the sail­ or lad. who was unknown six months ago, but who rose to fame recently when he came perilously near trailing in the dust the colors of California's idol, James J. Corbett. BABES DIE IN SMOKE. DISTKiCT TIIRF.ATKXRD BY FI.OODS. The home of Luther Greenman, a farm­ er, four miles northeast of Perry, N. Y„ xvas destroyed by fire Sunday morning, and the entire family, consisting of five persons, were burned to death. The National Council of Administration of the G. A. R.. with Commander-in-chief T. S. Clarkson in the chair, met at Buf­ falo, N. Y., Monday. It was decided by the committee to have the encampment Jo Buffalo the last Week of August, be- ginning Aug. 23. During the meeting a telegram was received by Chief of Staff Winans from President-elect McKinlcy SOUTHERN. Kentucky s official count was had Fri­ day and showed 281 majority .for the leading McKinley elector over the lead­ ing Bryan elector. The electoral vote in the State will be twelve for McKinlcy and one for Bryan. Two electors on th<- Republican ticket are tied for last place, and the question as to which one is de­ feated by the leading Democratic elector will have to be decided by the other twelve electors when they meet in Jan­ uary. Rev. M. B. Hill, formerly missionary to China, was stricken with paralysis while delivering a sermon at the Benton- ville. Ark., Methodist Episcopal Church South Sunday morning. The church was crowded, and when the sermon was about half through the minister reeled and fell backward into the pulpit chair. Excitement ran high in the congregation. Dr. C. H. Cragile. a particular friend, with others, helped the afflicted minis­ ter, who is still alive but slowly dying. Key West, Fla., dispatch: Unable to crush the insurgent armies, Captain Gen­ eral Weyler has renewed his war on non- combatants with savage energy, accord­ ing to advices received from Havana.- It is stilted that Weyler some weeks ago issued a secret order to his commanders in the various provinces to "clear the country of non-combatants." This or­ der has been interpreted by the Spanish commanders as an edict to massacre old men, women and children, and the result is an appalling list of butcheries. Dispatches from various points Southern and Central Texas indicate that a severe norther, combined- with a sleet and snow storm, prevailed through^? MARKET REPORTS, t i Chicago--Cattle, common to prime, $3.50 to $5.50; hogs, shipping grades, $3.00 to $8.75; sheep, fair to choice, $2.00 to $3.T5; whekt, No. 2 red, 81c to'82c; corn. No.^,2, 28c to 24c; oats. No. 2, 17c to 19c; rye, No. 2, 42c to 44c; butter, choice creamery, 21c to 23c; eggs, fresh, 22c to 23c; potatoes, per bushel. 20c to UOc; broom corn, common green to fin*? brush. 2Vjc to 5%c per pound. Indianapolis--Cattle, shipping, $3.00 to $5.25; hogs, choice light, $.'$.00 to $3.75; sheep, common to priiiie, $2.00 to $3.75; wheat, No. 2, 92c to 94e; corn, No. 2 white, 23c to 25c; oats. No. 2 white, 22e to 23c. „ St. Louis--Cattle. $3.00 to $5.25; hogs, .$."'>.00 to $3.75; wheat, No. 2. 93c to 95c; corn. No. 2 yellow, 21c to 23c; oats. No. 2 white, 18c to 20c; rye. No. 2, 30c to 38c. Cincinnati--Cattle. $2.50 to $5.00; hogs. $8.<H) to $3.75; sheep, $2.50 to $3.50; wheat. No. 2. 90c to 98c; corn, No. 2 mixed. 22c to 23c; oats. No. 2 mixed, 19c to 21c; rye, No. 2, 30c to 38c. Detroit--Cattle, $2.50 to $5.00; hogs. $3.00 to $3.75: slieep. $2.00 to $3.50; wheat. No. 2 red. 90e to 98c; corn. No. 2 How. 21c to 23c; oats, No. 2 white, 21c to 22c: rye. 41c to 42c. Toledo--Wheat, No. 2 red. 99c to $1.00; corn. No. 2 mixed, 21c to 23c; oats, No. 2 white, ISc to 20c: rye. No. 2, 42c to 44c: clover seed. $5.40 to $5.50. Milwaukee--Wheat. No. 2 spring, 82c to 84c; corn, No. 3, 24c to 25c; oats, No. 2'<white, 20c to 22c: barley. No. 2, 30c to 30c: rye, No. 1, 42c to 44c; pork, mess, $0.75 to $7.25. Buffalo--Cattle, $2:50 to $5.25; hogs. $3.00 to $4.25: sheep, $2.00 to $8.75; wheat. No. 2 red, $1.01 to.$1.02; conl. No. 2 yellow. 25c to 27c; oais, No. 2 white, 23c to 25c. New York--Cattle, $3,00 to $5.50; hogs, $3.00 to $4.50; sheep, $2.00 to $4.00 wheat. No. 2 red, 90c to 91c; corn, No. 2, 29c to 30e; oats. No. 2 white,,23c to 24c batter, creamery, 15c to 24c; eggs. West­ ern. 20c to 25c. with two score of women and children on board who were driven from their homes by the water and were found near­ ly dead from exposure and cold. The en­ gineer said he could not finish the trip on account of the rising water. It looks at this writing as though the entire city will be inundated. A great number of visitors are at the scene of the ice gorge. To realize the great danger it is only nc-cessary to visit the banks,of the Chippewa. It is a dou­ ble-headed danger that is threatened. What means relief to Chippewa Falls will bring devastation to Eau Claire, Du­ rand and other points below. The ice jam will likely remain intact, perhaps for months, and only natural causes can break it. The con.'inoii of affairs was considered at a business men's meeting in Eau Claire, but it was felt that no human agency could relieve the situation. Chicago Woman Locks Her Little Ones in the Home and Ther Smother. In Chicago Mary Bartovich locked her four babes iu her hovel while she went to search for coal along the railroad tracks. It took her two hours to find 5 cents' worth. She was delayed longer than she expected, because the lumps were few and far between. The babies grew restless and, ransacking over the single living room, found a box of match­ es. They lit a candle which sat with tin dishes on the home-made table. They lit all the caudles they could find in the house. The curtain's caught fire. The bureau full of clothing burned. All the old coats and rags about the walls were fuel for the terrible tragedy which was being enacted. There was no air for a flame. The wood in the floor and the bare laths in the ceiling caught the spark. All th had been bo: coals smoldered and smoked. The whole inside became a furnace which needed only a breath of air to stir it until it should eat through the wood and give an alarm to the neighborhood. The mother, knowing the value of coal picked lump by lump in a sack, had pro­ vided that no breath of air should get in during her absence. The provision was deadly. The babies raced about the room until all the crude furniture was over­ turned. They then rushed into the little box hall and huddled in the corner. They each had a rag h&ld tight over the mouth. They were found dead side by side, the rags still covering the faces as witnesses of the desperate thoughtfulness of the eldest--JoSeph--barely in his sixth year. The mother returned home about noon and was almost crazed at the discovery of her little ones dead. in mo ceiling caught the the cracks |n the side walls >arded for the winter. The TREATED LIKE A WILD BEAST. PERISH IN THE BLIZZARD. Insane Girl of Denver Chained to the Wall by Her Parents. Bound to iron rings anchored in the walls and caged like-'a wild beast. Grace Solomon, the daughter of a wealthy pawnbroker of Denver, has raved for tho past seven months in a condition and un­ der surroundings the most •terrible. Her condition is the result of investigation of spiritualism, it being charged that her mind was affected by spiritualistic dem­ onstrations. She was taken to the little room and when she became violent was chained to the wall, where her condition became worse and' Where the most com­ mon wants of human kind were denied her. J. Soiomon, her father, is one of the wealthiest men of the West, an old-time pawnbroker, who counts his cash by hundreds of thousands. The case is the most terrible ever brought tolhe attention of the Denver authorities. Two railway laborers named Carey and Hopkins attempted to burn their way out of the Mena, Ark., jail and the fire got beyond their pontrol and burned the building. Both men perished. Reports of Suffering: and Death from North Dakota. It is a week since a train arrived in Langdon. N. D. Tho storm was excess­ ively severe in that section, and the tem­ perature dropped to 30 degrees below zero. Three persons are known to have lost their, lives and several others are missing. Mrs. Mikelson was frozen to death in her house and a man and his wife succumbed to the cold while fleeing from the fire. From Emmons County a pitiful pase of suffering and death is re­ ported. A Russian family named Belo- vitzy used all their firewood in the storm and had torn down and burned a part of the house. This let in the intense cold, and the whole family--father, mother and three children--were found frozen to death. There is a wood and coal famine in that section, the farmers having bought sparingly bceatise of high prices. -Mail Agent Burroughs was buried in the drifts three miles west of Devil's Lake. The body of William E. Ilerron, sheriff of Plymouth County, was found frozen stiff and badly bruised by the side of the railroad track near Merrill, Iowa. Half a dozen steamers are said to be bound tight in the ice along the north shore of Lake Superior, and it will be impossible to release them. A snowstorm of almost unprecedented severity for this season of the year broke upon Atlanta,, Ga„ Wed­ nesday morning. Snow began falling at 0 o'clock and tell without cessation until 11- when it lay four inches deep. TO REFOEM CURRENCY /NDlANAPOLIS CONFERENCE IS- SUES A CALL. Meetinsr of Board of Trade Represent-' atives in the Iloosier Capital Takes Action Upon the Question of Hold- ins a Convention. Monetary Convention. The preliminary'conference in Indian­ apolis of representatives of the leading commercial bodies of the Middle Western Spates issued a call for a general con­ vention of commercial bodies of the Uni­ ted States, to be held in that city Jan. 5, to consider tlie reform of the currency and banking laws. The vote, by which it was decided to call the convention, was unanimous. Chicago and Indianapolis were the only cities suggested" for the convention. 1 In view of the fact that the call for the preliminary conference had gone out from Indianapolis, it was decided to take the general convention there. The detailed work of preparing. the call and fixing the basis of representation was left to a committee composed of one delegate from each city represented in the con­ ference. President Justus C. Adams, of the In­ dianapolis Board of Trade, called the meeting,yto order;, and in a well-timed address /referred to the importance of the subject hvWi'eh if-bqd '/been called con­ sider. \y v ; E, O. Stannard, of St. Lppts, ex-Gov­ ernor of Missouri, presided after Mr. Adams^had finished his speech. Ex-Go.v. Stannard said that lie felt assured, that if the commercial bodies of the country offered to Congress a financial system that -would not be subject to change it tvould be accepted. The principal address before the conference was by John It. Wilson, of Indianapolis. He said there was a practical demand for reform. Ex­ pedients adopted by Congress in the stress jf war as temporary measures had be­ come an enduring system. The legisla­ tion of Congress on finance had been from hand to mouth since 1801. E. V. Smalley, who represents the St. Paul Board of Tradev. said the people of the Northwest, irrespective of party, were heartily in favor of the proposed national convention. The resolutions he intro­ duced provide for a national convention Df representatives of all commercial bod­ ies in cities of more than 25,000 popula­ tion, "for the consideration of the cur­ rency system of the country, and to rec- jmmend to Congress such measures for the remedy or such defects as will com­ mand the indorsement of • the business public." The conference agreed to that part of Mr. Smalley's resolution providing for a convention, but there was much discus­ sion as to. how large the convention should be, and it was decided to leave that question to a committee composed of sne representative from each city present. In the call, as finally agreed upon, it is proposed that the convention shall be composed of 1,251 delegates. The basis Df representation is calculated upon tho United States census of 1S90, and gives to cities of 8,000 to 10,000, one delegate; 10.000 and less than 15,000, two dele- gat es;._15,(K)0_and_ less than 25.000. three delegates; 25,000 and less than 50,000,four delegates; 50,000 and less than 100,000, five delegates; 100,000 and less than 200,- D00, six delegates; 200,000 and less than 400,000, seven delegates; 400,000 or over, eight delegates. AVAILABLE SUPPLY OF GRAIN. World's Total of Wheat Decreased 306,000 Bushe'e Last Week. Special cable and telegraphic dispatch­ es to Bradstreet's, coverin'g'the principal points of accumulation, indicate the fol­ lowing changes in available supplies last Saturday, as compared with the preced­ ing Saturday: Wheat--United States and Canada, east of Rockies, decrease, 2,070,000 bu.; afloat for and in Europe, increase. 2,304,000; total decrease, world's available, 30(3,000 bu. Corn--United States and Canada, east of Rockies, increase 104,000-bu; Oats--United States and Canada, east of Rockies, increase, 335,000 bu. The more important decreases in avail­ able stocks of wheat last week not in­ cluded in the official visible supply state­ ment were 1,050,000 bu. in Northwestern interior elevators, 541,000 bu. at Fort William. Out.; 172,000 bu. at various Manitoba storage poiiits, 82,000 bu. in Chicago private elevators, 49,000 bu. in Milwaukee private elevators, 40,000 bu. at Louisville and 23,000 bu. in Kingston, Ont. There were very few increases in available stocks worthy of note last'Sveek. aside from these reported in the official visible supply statement, the more con­ spicuous being 253,000 bu. at Pittsburg. 09,000 bu. at Rochester and 20,000 bu. each at Syracuse and Fulton, N. Y. Kalhrine Clemmons. The young actress to whom 'Howard Gould is engaged. His family oppose the union and it is said that by the terms of Jay Gould's will Howard may lose a large part of his inheritance by marry­ ing against the wishes of the others. Telegraphic Brevities. An unknown man and woman were asphyxiated in a New York hotel. Sir Charles Stavelv died at Dublin. He was conspicuous during the Crimean and the Chinese wars. While exploring ail onyx cave near Mansfield, Mo., a party of hunters un­ earthed four human skui:s. The Alabama Senate has passed a bill permitting women to practice law in all of the courts of Alabama. A committee of investigation has found that great cruelty is practiced in the Waterbury, Vt., insane asylum. A locomotive that will run 200 miles an hour has just been completed at the Baldwin locomotive works in Philadel­ phia. Bondsmen of ex^County Tprasurer W. J. Dawell. of Omaha, have been called upon to make good an alleged shortage of $3,500. A flowing oil well lias been discovered at the bottom of San Franeisco'Bay. It is located about 500 yards to the south of Goat Island. Robert. A. "Vhitehand, proprietor of the "Old Curiosity Shop" store in Wash­ ington, committed suicide by blowing out Vis brains. ' FINANCES OF THE GOVERNMENT.' Statement of the Public Debt and' Other Fiscal Matters of Interest* The statement of the public debt, issued Tuesday, shows that on Nov. 30, the debt, less cash in tho treasury, amounted to $995,709,159, an increase; for the month of $8,270,203. This increase is account­ ed for by the corresponding decrease in. the amount of cash on hand. The debt is recapitulated as follows: Interest-bearing debt, $847,364:,520. »' Debt on which interest has ceased since- maturity. $1,591,620. r Debt bearing no interest, $372,170,117. Total. $1,221,126,257. Thi^ does not include $567,5^23,923 in. certificates and treasury notes outstand­ ing, which' are offset by an equal amount of ca«h,in .the treasury. The cash in the treasury is recapitulated as follows, cents- omitted: Gold, $109,527,101. Silver, $509,680,450. Paper, .$139,616,155. i Bonds, disbursing officers, balances, etc.. $17,137,872. Total, $835,901,529. against which there are demand liabilities amounting^to $010,- 004,481,^ which leaves a cash balance in the treasury of $225,357,098. r The comparative statement of the. re­ ceipts and " expenditures of the United States shows that during November, 1890, the total receipts were $25,210,690, and the expenditures $32,260,720. The receipts for, the five months of the fiscal year amount4to $!3!,050,4S9. and the. ex­ penditures $171,597,335. The deficit for the month of November, therefore, is $7,050,024, and for the five mouths 339,- 940*846, as ...compared with $15,S69,337 for , the corresponding five months of last year. -• «- .. ; The receipts from customs during'No­ vember amounted to/£9,930,385; from in­ ternal revenue, $13,104,§28, and from miscellaneous soruces, $2,175,482. This is a loss in customs, as compared with November, 1895, of $1,524,929; a gain "'oni internal revenue of $04,744. and a liu of $084,379 from iscellaneoite sources. The monthly statement of the Comp­ troller of the'Currency shows that on Nov. 30 the amount of national bank notes in circulation was $235,312,103, an increase for the month of $414,440. and for the last twelve months of $21,440,1)07. The amount of circulation based on Uni­ ted States bonds was $21U,009,0S4, an in­ crease for the month of $99,470, and for the last twelve months of $20,140.15S. The amount of circulation secured by lawful money was $18,702,410. a if, in­ crease for the month of $314,770, and a decrease for the last twelve months of $4,099,351. The amount of United States registered bonds on deposit to secure cir­ culating notes was $241,272,150. and to secure public deposits $15,903,000. The statement of the director of the mint shows that during the month of November, 1890, the total coinage at thy mints of the United States was $7,458,- 722, of which $5,004,700 was gold, $2,- 305,022 silver and $89,000 minor coins. The coinage of standard silver dollars during the month was $1,914,000. WILD BEASTS GROW BOLD. They Are Troublesome to the Wis­ consin Lumber Camps. The lumber camps in Northern Wiscon- siTrure- con si der ably annoyed .this winter by the depredations.Of wild animals, more particularly the wildcat and the lynx. It has come to be impossible to leave a shoulder of beef outside the cook»shanty over night without, its being attacked by the fierce animals which have become so numerous that the woodsmen furnish am- 3 READY FOR A SHOT. munition to any man who wants to take a gun"and wait for the appearance pf the brutes. There is a bounty for the deliv­ ery of scalps of the lynx, wildcat and wolf in the State, and it is expected that there will be many claimants for it this winter. The „wolves and wildcats are much more numerous than they have been for years past and have encroachet3 upon the limits of civilization. Timbe: wolves are frequently seeu ou the out­ skirts of South Superior. A settler from Lyman Lake, Gustave Peterson by name, reports* that the pests are unusually nu­ merous in that vicinity. Peterson brought to town with him a big wildcat, which weighed thirty-five pounds, and two lynxes of the "booted" variety, the larger breed. Peterson shot the wild cat about a week ago. One night after ,he had turned in there was a hurried knock at his door and a much frightened lumber camp hand told him that lie had been vis­ iting a neighboring camp, and on the way back had been followed by a couple of wild cats. The man was in considerable fright, but Peterson took down his rifle and went out. He saw a glaring pair of eyes and fired, bringing down his game. The other animal, got away. The next night Peterson shot the lynxes, which were prowling about the clearing. Tho wild cat was of unusual size. It is very seldom0that they will follow man, but it is reported from the more remote dis­ tricts that the lumber jacks will not ven­ ture out in the woods after night un­ armed. HORSELESS MAIL WAGONS. ! Postoffice Department Will Experi­ ment with Them in New York City. A scheme to use horseless mail wagons in New York City has been proposed, by Second Assistant Postmaster General Neilson. One of the vehicles is in the courseof construction, and the experiment will be tried soon. If the horseless wag- IIORSKI.KSS MAIL WAGON. ons should, prove to be a success mail taken from the street boxes and sorted during the collection ̂ from "box to box at the end of the trip can be taken direct to postal cars. This change would relieve the pressure at the branch stations and the general postoffice.