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THE PLAINDEALER J. VAN SLYKE, Editor and Pub. McHENRY. - - - ILLINOIS TREASURY IS.AHEAD. DECEMBER STATEMENT WILL SHOW $1,500,000 SURPJ-US. Union Pacific Payments Not Included in Figures--Heavy Interest Pay- ments May Produce Another Deficit in January. Heavy Gain in Receipts. A Washington correspondent writes: The Government's revenues have at last overtaken its expenditures. The treasury statement for the complete month of De­ cember will show a surplus in current re­ ceipts over current payments of about $1,- 500,000. This is, of course, exclusive of the receipts on account of the Union Pa­ cific Railroad. The statement a-few days ago showed a: surplus of $007,000, re­ ceipts for the mohtli having been §25, 700.000, against expenditures amounting, to $25,029,000. Aside from the Union Pa" cific transaction the deficit for the, first six months of the current fiscal year, end­ ing with December, will approximate $-44,- 500,000. On account of the heavy inter­ est-payments the January statement may shoW a deficit which will carry the total shortage close to $50,000,000. The pro­ ceeds of the sale of the U liion Pacific, in­ cluding the item of $8,551,i.H'0, swell the "total receipts for the six months to a lit­ tle over $200,000,000. The statement for the full month will show total receipts and disbursements for the six months to be about equal in amount. Her Joke Cost Her Life. It develops that the shooting of Katie Dosenbacli by Marcus Nassauer at Clay­ ton, near St. Louis, and his own suicide •was the result of a practical joke. It is said Nassauer's friends constantly told him the girl loved him deeply, and she herself entered into the spirit of the fun 1>y telling him she was about to leave for Oregon to be married. Driven to des­ peration by the thought of losing her, Nassauer called at her home and shot her and then blew out his brains. NEWS NUGGETS. ment. The liabilities t.t* placed at $539,- 000 and the assets at $1,318,000. Francis B. Loomis, United States min­ ister to Venezuela, lias reached New York ou the steamer Caracas from La Guayra. At Haverhill, Mass., William Dolan was stabbed and killed by William Daly, his brother-in-law. He was about 70 years old. Both had been drinking. Ex-Vice-President Levi P. Morton has accepted the presidency of the newly formed Fifth Avenue Trust Company in New York. New York custom house authorities pro­ pose to put a ban on the kissing between incoming tourists and their waiting friends because it delays the work of the inspectors. Mr. and Mrs. Wesley McBride, of Stan­ ton, Del., were killed and their daugfhter Carrie, aged 0 years, fatally injured, at the Stanton crossing of the Philadelphia, Wilmington and Baltimore Railway. At New York James F. Colman, an en­ gine driver in the fire department, rather than run down a woman and a little girl, gave the engine too sharp a turn and it toppled over, killing him almost instantly. "Deacon" Stephen V. White, the well- known stock broker, ~ announces that he has paid every dollar due creditors at the time of his latest failure and has applied for readuiission to the New York Stock Exchange. . * •• . A new bail bond in the sum of $7,000 was entered in the United Circuit Court of appeals at Philadelphia for John D. Hart, andvlie was released. Hart,is under conviction and sentence for aiding in fili­ bustering. J. Piqrpont Morgan and, Thomas A. Ed­ ison have' purchased important water- privileges on the Housatonic river at Falls Village, and will erect a number of the new Edison ore separators. They control valuable ore beds, a canal and other equipment. Four children named Malbetski were suffocated by smoke in an attic room occu­ pied by the family at 17 Christian street, Philadelphia. Their parents were both away and the house caught fire from an overheated stove. Rudolph Bocrieke, aged 33 years, and his brother Edward, of Chicago, were rowing on Iveuka Lake, three miles from Hammoudsport, N. Y., when the boat was upset. Both men were taken from the water alive, but Rudolph died almost im­ mediately after he was brought ashore. WESTERN. Ji'hn Howard of Iowa was fatally shot wliile resisting footpads near Emporia, Ivan. Princeton is to have a boat crew next year. Broker Henry Michaels ate 100 oysters and won a wager of $30 at New York. The Equitable and East River Gas Companies at New York have consoli­ dated. The young Countess Castellane (nee Gould) has given birth to a boy, her sec­ ond son. John J. Stevenson of New York has been elected president of the Geological Society of America. As a result of the Union Pacific reor­ ganization the offices of the company will be removed from Boston to New York. Dr. Wiley Meyer of New York lias dis­ covered a new anaesthetic, consisting of chloroform, sulphuric ether and petrolic ether. Mrs. Ethel Mary McCallum has been granted a divorce at Fargo, N. D., from William C. McCallum, formerly of Kim- berly, South Africa. President Callaway of the Lake Shore Railroad believes the long-distance tele­ phone is responsible for the decrease in railway passenger earnings. Gertrude Coghlan, the young actress, has decided to apply for a divorce from Reginald Cameron, to whom she was se­ cretly married two years ago. Alexander R. Shepherd, formerly Gov­ ernor of the District of Columbia, has been stricken with apoplexy at Batopilas, Mexico, and is dangerously ill. Dr. Thomas W. Evans, the American dentist who died in Paris, left a fortune of $4,000,000. His brother, who is left only $10,000, will contest the will. A special session of the Tennessee Leg­ islature has been called to meet Jan. 7. A successor to the late Senator Isham G. Harris will be elected, and important leg­ islation is pending. Gov. Adams of Colorado has refused to honor the New York requisition for Editor William H. Griffith of Leadville, indicted for larceny on complaint of Broker Richard J. Bolles. The Atlantic Coast Line will add to its system an important line by securing the Charleston and Western Carolina Rail­ road. The property is paying, it is stat­ ed, 5 per cent on a $5,000,000 capitaliza- t tiou. Adlai E. Stevenson, former Yice-Presi- dent of the United States, has accepted the position of Western counsel of the North American Trust Company of New York, with a membership in the board of directors. S. P. Lock, a prominent business man of Memphis, Tenn., secured a berth in a Pullman sleeper to go to Jasper, Ala. Subsequently the trainmen found his re­ mains on a trestle. The supposition is that Lock walked in his sleep and fell off. A story is current in Wall street of a possible amalgamation of Metropolitan, Manhattan and Third avenue lines. The proposition is said to haw the backing of the entire Philadelphia Traction Com­ pany, including Elkins, Widener, Yerkes, Dolan and others. The will of Charles Coutoit, filed for' probate at New York, after bequests to relatives and friends, leaves the residue of the estate, valu«d at $1,500,000, to be divided among the general theological seminary of the Protestant Episcopal Church, the domestic and foreign mission­ ary society of the Protestant Episcopal Church and a large number of New York institutions. The Chicago and Northwestern Rail way filed in the register of deeds office at Council Bluffs, Iowa, a mortgage for $105,000,000 in favor of the United States Trust Company of New York. It covers all the property of the compaaiy and is given for the purpose of extinguishing outstanding bonds amounting to $114, 302,000. Joseph Hopkins, the negro who mur dered two white farmers o Christmas day at Glendore, a small inland town near Minter City, Miss,, was lynched by a posse at daylight the other morning on the James plantation, near Swan Lake. penke and Ohio Canal Company, but the financial affairs of this company become s6 bndly involved that when it failed the shares of stock were never acknowledged to the general government, as provided for in Washington's' will. The bequest, with compound interest to date, would amount to more than $4,401,000. Senator Morgan of Alabama^ of the Committee on Foreign Relations, said at Washington that it would be impossible for the United States to remain compla­ cent should European nations undertake the dismemberment of Chiua^. Senator Morgan said: "If partition involves the abrogation of treaties this country would be left to make terms again with each European nation separately in the terri­ tory to which its sovereignty extended. Therefore, unless the powers now ambi­ tious for territorial extension take into account the importance of American com­ mercial relations with China, it will be necessary for the Government to inter­ vene in self-defense. If the cession is ab­ solute, then American interests must be taken care of through the treaties between America and the countries to which the absolute cessions are made respectively. If the territory is given up merely for a time there will be a mixed responsibility, a.nd it is a good time for intervention and the* exorcise of American diplomacy. The German occupation of a part of China and fhe prospective occupation of Other parts by various European nations is an effort to complete a cordon of offense to American commerce from, Vladivostok to Marseilles or'^o Liverpool. That cordon is being stretched to contract the trade of 000,000,000 of people who have direct trade and intercourse with the Pacific ocean. , There is a great deal in the Chin­ ese problem that vitally interests Ameri­ cans and which seems to demand immedi­ ate consideration from the State Depart­ ment and Congress." FOREIGN. The meeting of the American Historical Society at Cleveland promises to be well attended. At Leipsic, O., Hallie and Hilda Orem, aged 12 and 15, were suffocated from coal gas from a stove. Mary Costello of San Francisco, Cal., died from fright, the result of an attempt of a former Japanese lover to shoot her. Henry L. Hayward, editor of the Long- mont, Colo., Ledger, is dead. He was 82 years old and the oldest editor in Colo­ rado. At Cridersville, Ohio, a buggy contain­ ing H. A. De Long and family was hit by a train. Two persons were fatally in­ jured. The first of the carriages for the ten- inch rifies to be mounted for the defense of San Diego, Cal., harbor, has arrived in that city. Dr. J. D. Goddard, under sentence of sixteen years for the murder of F. J. Jackson at Kansas City, has been releas­ ed on $13,500 bail. The Comptroller of the Currency has authorized the Nevada National Bank of San Francisco to begin business, with a capital of $3,000,000... P. I). Armour has Eotif ied his local rep­ resentative at Youngstown, O., to sub­ scribe $100 to the Reuben McMillan free library fund of that city. A careless gunned on tb^ cruiser Ore­ gon, at Seattle, Wash., lost overboard a costly Whitehead torpedo. It has not been recovered. An inquiry may follow. Because Miss Katie Dosenbach has re­ fused his offer of marriage, Marcus Nas- sauar shot her and then himself in Clay­ ton. a St. Louis suburb. Nassauar is dead. William Roberts, alias Doyle, alias Dublin, a levee routabout, was arrested in St. Louis and confessed to the murder of Jacob Weinard, who was found stran­ gled in his home. A wreck took place at the Memphis road's depot at Liberal, Mo. Local train No. 40 broke in two on the down grade going into town, and the two sections came together in front of the station. Five persons were injured, two seriously. The Chicago Coliseum, the largest exhi­ bition building in the world, burned to the ground in less than an hour the other evening. Cause of the fire is not posi­ tively known. The loss is about $700,000. It was in this building that Win. .T. Bryan was nominated, for the Presidency in isyi]. An unusual suicide was that of L. W. Kampel, a Cincinnati tailor, who was found by his daughter dead on his work bench. He had attached a rubber tube to the gas jet and from it inhaled the gas until he was overcome. He was at one time quite wealthy and had divided his property among his children, whose in- ratitude weighed on his mind. A new Chilian cabinet has been formed with Senor Antonio Valdes Creuvas as premier. Kurdestan raiders have massacred all the inhabitants of a town of 800 souls near Salinas, Persia. The British cruiser Leander, accompan­ ied by the torpedo destroyer Virigo, has arrived at San Diego, Cal., en route to Esquimault,, B. C. ° Great Britain lias declined to accept the invitation of the United States to join with the United States, Russia and Jap­ an to stop sealing in Behring Sea. The Argentina Chamber of Deputies has adopted a bill authorizing the Gov­ ernment to increase duties on imports from any country when necessary, as a measure of protection to the intercuts of the country. It is reported that seventeen British war ships are off Chemulpo, Corea. south­ west of Seoul, supporting the British con­ sul's protest, really amounting to an ulti­ matum against the king's practically yielding the government of Corea into the hands of the Russian minister. The pro­ test is especially directed against the dis­ missal of McLeavy Brown, British ad­ viser to the Corean customs, in favor of the Russian nominee. Japan is said to be supporting Great Britain. IN GENERAL. AMOUNTS 10 LITTLE. THE IMITATION OF PARTIClPA- g, TION IN AFFAIRS. The Real Work in the Legislature Halls Is Done by Leaders, bnt That Does Not Put a-Stop to Endless Cau­ cusing. About the Cloak Rooms. ^Washington correspondence: OST members of Congress * think that they know pretty well what Would be the best policy to be fol­ lowed by their party. In the Sen- ate recognized leadership does not go so far as it does in the House, and there each man feels that lie is en­ titled to be, and he is, consulted' concerning t h e course to be fol­ lowed by his party, in the House leadership counts for every­ thing, and,, while every member may feel that he should be consulted, very few of them are. Most of the business of the House is done by a few men, and little or nothing is accomplished, without the Speaker's consent. To a greater or less extent this lias keen the case under all administrations during many years, much depending on the character of the man in the chair, but the power of leadership has developed very remarkably during the past few years. Perhaps none before have had the power that is exerted by Speaker Reed. It may be that his power is to have a test before the close of this Con­ gress such as it has never had before, but there is very little in past experience to encourage the hope of successful antago­ nism of him by members of his own party, IK immediate present, or directly to legisla­ tion. For instance, it is not known wheth­ er Speaker Reed will, in the succeeding Congress, be a candidate for Speaker, or that he will be in the House at all. It has been intimated that he might retire from the House at the end of this term. Out of this possibility grows another sort of cloak-room caucus. Men not now ex­ actly leaders are. engaged in making friends. The possible candidates for the speakership of the Fifty-sixth Congress are "mixing" and making display of their talents. Who's to come back, and "how I can be:of service" are subjects of discus­ sion. The embryo speakership candidate passes from group to group, and is inter­ ested in all that interests his colleagues. This sort of speculative and anticipa­ tory consultation is particularly active on the Democratic side. There, they being in th,e minority and having little to do with present legislation, mapping out a pro­ gram for the future and a present policy relating entirely to the future is the only profitable thing to be done. They have to deal with an abstract proposition. They have nothing to manage but themselves. It is a struggle to retain or to gain a lead­ ership for the prospect it may hold out in the future. Consultations are constant aiid active, confidential, mysterious. Each aspiring statesman is constantly moving among his followers, to hold them in line, to . inspire them with confidence , and to. keep them alert against the devices of the, followers of a rival. Half a dozen little caucuses are being held every hour in the cloak rooni'j around the fireplaces in the hall and in the body of the House. COLISEUM IN RUINS. Quickly Chicago's Vast Structure AViped Out l>y Fire. At Chicago Friday night, fire destroyed the Coliseum building, in which the Dem­ ocratic national convention was held last year. The fire was one of the quickest ever seen in Chicago. Within twenty' minutes after its origin, which was caus­ ed by the crossing of two electric light wires, the Coliseum was a pile of hot bricks and twisted iron. The building had been rented for a manufacturers' exposition and was filled from end to end with booths, all of which THE COLISEUM AS ORIGINALLY PLANNED. EASTERN. Herman F. Dale committed suicide at his home in a fashionable apartment liouse in Grammercy square, New York, by Bwallowing carbolic acid. The consolidation of the Equitable and East River companies of New York which has been pending for many weeks, has finally been accomplished. James Flamiigan and Patrick McNulty of New York drank corrosive sublimit whisky, with the result that the for is dead and the latter dying, e Overman Wheel Company o Falls,. Mass., has made an The Lloyd-Booth company is making a pair of shears to weigh 175 tons. Nicola Tesla claims to have discovered a plan to use energy generated in the sun. There is talk of extending the scope of the new steel wire trust so as to include the steel billet mills of the country. The United States is reported to be ne­ gotiating for a narrow strip of land in northwestern Greenland for a naval and coaling station. Captain William C. Oldreive has plan­ ned to walk across the Atlantic ocean with his seagoing shoes, starting from Boston July 4. Captain William A. Andrews will accompany him in a new fourteen- foot sailboat. A. P. McQuillan, who has just arrived at Victoria from the Yukon, says there is enough food in Dawson City to last the 0,000 men now there all winter, those without food, about 2,000 in number, hav­ ing gone to Fort Yukon. The case against the directors of the defunct Union Bank of Newfoundland, charged with conspiracy to defraud, was dismissed because the jury had already acquitted the directors of the Commer­ cial- Bank, who were arraigned on the same charge. R. G. Dun & Co.'s weekly review of trade says that the weekly reports show a remarkably large holiday trade, at many points the largest for five years. More­ over, at the season when wholesale busi­ ness usually shrinks, the pressure of de­ mands for immediate deliveries, which results from unprecedented distribution to consumers, keeps many establishments at work which usually begin their yearly rest spell somewhat earlier. Instead of de­ creasing, the demand for products shows an unexpected increase in several import­ ant branches. Foreign trade continues satisfactory, the review says, even in comparison with the remarkablo record of a year ago, when exports exceeded $117,- 000,000 in December. Bank failures at Philadelphia, due to individual operations, cause no disturbance, and commercial fail­ ures for the month have been less than half last year's to the same date. and the antagonism of the minority, of course, counts for but little. In spite of the fact of all members of the House feeling that they know a thing or two, astonishingly few ever go to the Speaker to advise with him about party policy or nny question of more importance than the fate of some little lo^al bill in which the member himself is alone inter­ ested. There are scarcely more than half a dozen with whom the Speaker consults, and very few beyond that number who would venture to advise him about a mat­ ter of policy. There is very little consul­ tation with the great mass of the mem­ bers who form the Congress. Among the Members. To make up for this there is much con­ sultation and discussion among members themselves. The House is in a constant caucus or group of caucuses. All phases of politics and policy are constantly being discussed. Legislation is suggested and the suggestions are analyzed and criticised with earnestness and wisdom. Members busy about with the energy of insects whose nature it is to toil and keep in mo­ tion. Heads are put together and fists are brought down upon palms hi earnest­ ness to give emphasis to weighty argu­ ments and matters are mooted and con­ curred in that might change the whole course of government. Yet of all this nothing is ever heard beyond the little eir- SOUTHERN. Sheriff Stanton MeWilliams shot and killed Edley Heard at Dunlap, Tenn. Self- defense is pleaded. Peter Coleman, who murdered his wife at Old Church some months ago, was hanged at Hanover Court House, Va. The remains of Miss Herbert, who killed herself at Washington, were interred in the family burying ground at Montgom­ ery, Ala. Will and John Livingston, brothers, of Blue Creek mines, Alabama, quarreled, and the former shot the latter to doatlf. He is now in jail at Birmingham. The announcement is made by the Mem­ phis and Charleston reorganization com­ mittee that arrangements have been per­ fected for the purchase of the road by the Southern Railway Company. WASHINGTON. were destroyed, with their contents. The fire originated in a booth which was used fdr an exhibition of X rays, the booth oeing managed by M. J. Morley and Wm. Robertson. The two men were examining their Roentgen machine when they were startled by o. sizzling noise behind them and upon turning saw a part of their ex­ hibit ablaze. Crossed electric light wires which were over the exhibit are thought to have caused the flames. They at first tried to smother the fire, but before they secured water and cloth the fire had spread throughout the entire booth. About 300 people were in the building at the time of the fire, and at the first alarm there was a rush for safety. Fortunate­ ly the aisles were wide and owing to the comparatively small number of people in the building there was little difficulty in reaching the doors. Within ten minutes after the fire began the roof was ablaze and in a very short time after the fire had appeared on the top of the building one of the large arches that spanned the building gave way with a tremendous report, and then another, and another, each' one going down with a sound like the report of a cannon. The building fell very quickly, as after the first arch Went down the weight was too great for the arch next to it and all col­ lapsed. It took not over twenty minutes to make a complete ruin of the building. The total loss on building and contents is said to be $478,(^)0. Of this amount $370,000 was the value of the building and $128,000 the estimated cost of the exhibits and material ill the exposition in progress in the building. Insurance to the amount of $120,000 was carried on the Coliseum, but of this amount $100,- 000 will go to the holders of outstanding bonds to pay those obligations in full. The owners of the building will get but $20,000 out of their insurance. WHAT 1897 HAS SEEN. RECORD OF THE IMPORTANT EVENTS OF THE YEAR. Groeco-Turkish War and the Cuban Insurrection--The Great Strike in the Coal Fields--Political Changes of Twelve Months. SUSPICION RESTS ON HIM. A CLOAK KOOM CAUCUS. Secretary Sherman denies the report that the United States has demanded $8,- 000,000 from Spain for losses sustained by American traders in Cuba. The interstate commerce commission has issued a circular to the railroads pro­ mulgating the order extending for two years the time within which the railroads shall equip their cars and engines with automatic couplers and driving brakes. Great in twos t. has been aroused in an old subject by the meeting in Washing- toil recently of the ladies of- the Wash­ ington University Association. These la­ dies have organized for the purpose of es­ tablishing a university such as Washing­ ton wished to see When he lived and ksuch as he provided for when he died. In Washington's will a bequest ,is left for such an institution of fifty shares of Po­ tomac stock. These shares, of $500 par value, have never been accounted for, and nobody to this day knows where they are or who has possession of them. . in the Potomac company tnirfk&t&tttkr anchises and privileges to MARKET REPORTS, Chicago--Cattle, common to prime, $3.00 to $5.75; hogs, shipping grades, $3.<)0 to $3.75; sheep, fair to choice, $U.OO to $4.75; wheat, No. 2 red, 98c to title; corn, No. 2, 20c to 2Sc; oat#. No. 2, 22c to 24c; rye, No. 2, 40c to 48c; butter, choice creamery, 20c to 22c; eggs, fresh, 10c to 21c; new potatoes, 5<ic to 05c per bushel. Indianapolis--Cattle, shipping, $3.00 to $5.25; hogs, choice light, $3.00 to $3.75; sheep, common to choice, $3.00 to $4.50; wheat, No. 3, 02c to 04c; corn, No. 2 white, 27c to 20c; oats, No. 2 white, 24c to 2(Jc. St. Louis--Cattle, $3.00 to $5.50; hogs, $3.00 to $3.75; sheep, $3.00 to $4.75; wheat, No. 2, 09c to $1.00; corn, No. 2 yellow, 25c to 27c; oats, No. 2 white, 22c to 24c; rye, No. 2, 45c to 47c. Cincinnati--Cattle, $2.50 to $5.25; hogs, $3.00 to $3.75; sheep, $£2.50 to $4.75; wheat, No. 2, 93c to 95c; corn, No. 2 mixed, 29c to 30c; oats, No. 2 mixed, 24c to 26c; rye, No. 2, 40c to 48c. Detroit--Cattle, $2.50 to $5.25; hogs, $3.00 to $3.75; sheep, $2.50 to $4.25; wheat, No. 2, 92c» to 94c; corn, No. 2 yellow, 29c to 30c; oats, No. 2 white, 25c to 27c; rye. 40c to 48c. Toledo--Wheat, No. 2 red. 95c to 90c; corn, No. 2 mixed, 27c to 29c; oats, No. 2 white, 22c to 24c; rye, No. 2, 40c to 48c; clover seed, $15.20 to $:?.30. Milwaukee--Wheat, No. 2 spring, 88c to 90c; corn, No. 3, 2Jc to 29c; oats, No, 2 white, 25c to 20c; rye, No. 2, 47c to 49c; barley, No. 2, 38c to 43c; pork, mess, $7.56 to $8.00. Buffalo--Cattle, $3.00 to $5.75; hogs, $3.00 to $3.75; sheep, $3.00 to $5.00; wheat, No. 2 red, 95c to 97c; corn, No. 2 yellow, 32c to 33c; oats,' No. 2 white, 28e to 29c. New York--Cattle, $3.00 to $5.50; hogs, $3.00 to $4.25; sheep, $3.00 to $5.00; wheat, No. 2 red, $1.02 to $1.03; corn, No. 2, 35c to(30c; oats, No. 2 white, 28c to 20c; butter, creamery, 15c to 23c; eggs, Western, 20c to 25«* ele within which the discussion occurs and where the plans are laid. The policy adopted by the leaders is not change(d or sought to be changed, if, in­ deed, it is known or inquired into; nor does any legislation or motion towards leg­ islation follow. Sometimes a group of members of the majority side of the House, having agreed among themselves that they have struck a pretty good idea, will scatter themselves among the mem­ bers on the minority side to see how the idea will be received there. If it meets with favor there will be mutual congrat­ ulations and felicitation, and the caucus­ ing will become more active and compre­ hensive. It will spread over both sides of the House and into the cloak rooms. Perhaps the same subject will occupy them for a day or two. Majority members will go over to the minority cloak room, and minority members will visit the cloak room of the majority. There will be much mysterious whispering. An air of importance will come pver the assembly. Groups will become larger and more com­ mingling. Leaders and subleaders will spring to the front and emissaries will worm in and out from aisle to aisle and from one side to the other. After all has been said and done that could be without actually doing something the matter wiil quietly subside. The majority and minor­ ity negotiations will come to a close. The conferences will scatter and the caucuses divide up into smaller groups discussing other subjects or trying to originate other plans for some other project. Meanwhile no one has suggested the lately agitated project to the Speaker. The sound of the discussion has not reached his ear. The agitation has not made a motion on the surface of the legislative mill pond. They have been simply blowing thistledown across the water aiid calling it commerce. The cloak room caucus has ended in cloak room legislation. Decided by-the Leaders. Day after day goes on this "endless imi­ tation" of participation in affairs, while what is to be done is decided on by the leaders and Sy them exec it tod. About the only time when these cloak­ room. caucuses have serious import is . |hen they dc not relate to things of the Titled Frenchman Suid to lie Guilty of Treasonable Transactions. Col, EsterbazyT the man who, it-is -said, is the real culprit in the treasonable trans­ action for which Captain Dreyfus is now suffering life imprisonment in the Devil's Island, is a natural sou of one of the Aus­ trian Counts Esterhazy. His mother was a French woman. The count recognized his son, but did not legitimize him. Young Esterhazy was finely educated, and his social position in France was the best. He entered the army »nd ^vas rapidly promoted. His stars and crosses made him a very desirable guest in afiy drawing .>00111 of Paris. The colonel recently re­ signed his commission, anticipating, so it is said, the explosion connecting his name with the Dreyfus affair. He is very tall and of a square build. His shoulders are high and his Mephistophelia.il face, sunk­ en checks and high cheek bones give him all the air of a man who could do just what Captain Dreyfus was charged with. He was placed on the retired list a few mouths -ago. The action was most unex- COLONKL KSTrr . I IAZY. peeled. The pretext was ill health, but the colonel was never known to complain. In fact, he is perfectly well. There is no doubt that he was retired because of the persistent leak in the war department. Co!. Esterhazy a few years ago was poor man. lie lias since grown rich how, 110 one knows, unless it be that the seerets lie told--if ,he did tell secrets of state--were well paid for. The former colonel's position is becoming more involv­ ed every day. A Chronological Table. The year 1897 has been, it might be said/ almost a commonplace one, since its com­ mencement, that is, no events of over­ whelming moment have taken place, but there has been 110 dearth of important occurrences. The war between Turkey and Greece, the struggle for freedom in Cuba, the costly and long-drawn-out strike in the Ohio and Pennsylvania coal fields, the change of national administra­ tion, the enactment of the Dingley tariff law, the disastrous spring floods in the Mississippi valley and autumn fires-in the West and Northwest, and the epidemic of yellow fever, in the Southern States are clearly not matters of small importance in the history of the-world. The year has been an unusual one from the fact that but few inert of really great reputation have passed from the stage of their earth­ ly labors; their number caii be computed upon the fingers of the two hands. The most important events of the year are recorded below in the order of their occurrence; ' , JANUARY. 1--Thirteen miners perish at • P&chuca... Mexico.... Extremely high temperature and heavy rains in Northwest.... .'Filigree inaug­ urated Governor of Michigan. ... 2--W. A. Hammond, wrecker of. Illinois National Bank, commits suicide... .Fatal storm in South west. ... Nashville, Tenn,, has $400,000 fire....West and Northwest del­ uged by rains. 3--Snow and frost succeed rain. 4-- Furious blizzard in the West....Gov. Scofleld Inaugurated at Madison, Wis.... Three "St. Paul banks fail. 5--Gov. Altgeld pardons 10 criminals. .. .St. Stanislaus parsonage at Bay City, Mich., sacked by warring chureli factions. .. .Four children die by fire near Westfleld, .Wis.; three near Babcock, Wis. 6--Illinois Legislature meets... .Seven Ur- Emline nuns perish by fire at Convent of Our Lady of Lake St. Johns, Roberval, Quebec. 11--Tanner inaugurated Governor of Illi­ nois with much pomp and ceremony.... Mount Inaugurated Governor of Indiana with very simple style. ... House ki'.ls Pa­ cific funding bill. .. .American-British arbi­ tration treaty signed. 12--Five children drown, skating, at St.' Louis. ... Four die in powder explosion at Shamokln, Pa. 13--Five killed in a Pottsville, Pa., coal shaft. lit--W m. E. Mason chosen Senator from Illinois. .. .Three negroes lynched in Louis­ iana. 21--Nine sailorr, drown off Long Island. 20--Fourteen below 7i*ro at Chicago; 700 poor families aided; relief measures adopted over entire city. .. .$2,500,000 firs at Phila­ delphia. .. .$350,000 fire at Chicago. 27--Continued cold weather lu Northwest. 2S--Lyman J. Gage of Chicago accepts treasury portfolio. 31--Family ef seven die by fire in Hobo- ken, N. J Cruiser Brooklyn 011 the rocks. FEBRUARY. 2--Pennsylvania State eapltol burned; loss $1,500,000. .. .Venezuelan treaty signed. 8--Admiral Bunce's squadron In a storm off Hampton Itoads; three seamen swept away, several injured... .$200,000 railroad shop fire at Princeon. Ind. 10--Bradley-Martin ball at New York costs $500,000... .Phenomenal drop In price of steel rails. 13--Aid. O'Malley acquitted of murder at Chicago. .. .Death of J. Randolph Tucker at Lexington, Va., and Gen. J. O. Shelby at Adrian, Mo.; both noted Confederates. 14--Greeks bombard Canea, Island of Crete, under Turkish rule. 15--Appeal of Jos. R. Dunlop, convicted of Improper use of mails at Chicago, to Supre-me Court fails. 10--Millionaire Duestrow hanged at Union. Mo., for wife murder; I'eter Schmidt and Sam Foster hanged at Clayton, Mo.... Greeks enpture Turkish fort at Crete. 17--Powers of Europe protest against ac­ tion of Greece. 18--Two thousand Moslems slain In Crete by Greeks. .. .Big shortage of State officials discovered in Nebraska. 21--Canea bombarded by the powers.... Baby girl at the Harrisons'. J--General observation of Washington's birthday.... Floods in Ohio Valley. 25-- Powers decide Greece must evacuate Crete. » MARCH. 4-- McKinley inaugurated. .. .Sis killed at Boston by gas explosion. 5-- Extensive floods in Mississippi Valley, and in Ohio, Kentucky and Indiana.... Greece defies the powers. v--Foundering of steamer Ville de St. Na- zaire off Carolina; 65 lives lost. 9--Tremendous rainfall In central States. 10--Six killed in a wreck near Princeton, Ind. 12--Blizzard sweeps the Northwest--$400,- 000 wholesale grocery fire at Chicago. 15--$1,500,000 fire at St. I^ouls. .. .Floods in Mississippi Valley make thousands of ne­ groes homeless. 17--Fitzslmmons whips Corbett at Carson City, Nev....78 lives lost by foundering of French steamer off Carolina. 21--Powers blockade Cretan ports to Greek ships. " Cyclone kills eight and Injures 23 school children at Arlington. Ga.j. family of five killed in Henry County. Ala. 23--Heavy fall of slushy snow in North­ west. 30--Forty-five killed by a cyclone at Chand­ ler. O. T. 31--House passes Dingley tariff bill.... Powers bombard Cretans. APRIL. $"^Cartot H, Harrison -elected Mayor of Chicago by 75,000 plurality... .Alarming floods in Mississippi Valley. 8--$1,000,000 fire at Knoxvllle, Tenn; 17 people killed. 0--Snow storm in Central States. 10--Daniel W. Voorhees, former D. S. Sen­ ator from Indiana, dies nt Washington. 15--Riots in Indianapolis over 8-eent car­ fare. .. ..$500,000 fire at New Orleans. 17--War between Turkey and Greece. 18--Fierce windstorm In Chicago: $150,000 fire. 20--Desperate fighting in the Levant.... First execution by electricity in Ohio. 23--Osman Pasha assumes command of Turkish troops, which have met severe re­ verses. 24--Turks capture Larissa... . Vast floods in Missouri and Mississippi Valleys. 26--Hundreds of families nt Ottumwa, Iowa, and Qnincy. 111., homeless by floods. 27--Dedication of Grant's tomb at New York. .. .$2,000,000 tire at Newport News, Va. 28--Greeks at Athens riotous because of army reverses. .. .Flood at South Guthrie, O. T., kills over 70. 29--Ralli heads new cabinet of Greece..., Wild gale with loss of life and vessels on Lake Michigan. 30--Greeks win a big battle. .. .Seven ne­ groes lynched by a mob of negroes in Texas. MAY. 1--Snow at Chicago. 2--$4,000,000 fire at Pittsburg, Pa. 4 4--One hundred die by fire In a Parisian bazar. 7--Brutal murder of the Harris family, near Waukesha, Wis., by Wm. Pouch. 0--Sixteen die by fire on Mallory Line steamship Leona, off Sandy Hook. ... .Greece asks intervention of powers. 14--Snow at Chicago. 18--Czar intervenes to stop war in the Levant. 31--Severe earthquake shock In Cincin­ nati and southeast.,. .Five of a picnic par­ ty killed on Long Island. JUNE. 2--Spanish cabinet resigns. 3--Two of a mou of lynchers killed at Urbana, Ohio, and nine wounded, by militia under command of Sheriff McLean. 7--Sis kilied iu a wreck near Hudson. Wis. 9--$200,000 fire at Carliuville. Ill Death of Alvan Clark, famous lens-maker, at Cam­ bridge, Mass. 11--Wife murderer French hanged at Rockford. 111. 12--Mayor Richards killed at Bunker Hill, III., by Editor Hod ley. 13--Attempt to kill President Faure by a Paris bomb-thrower. 14--Suicide of Barney Bnranto at sea. 15--Temperature of OS in Cfcicago; 40 pros­ trations?^ 30-17--Nort'iwe^t suffers from awful heat. 18--Storm kills four children at Lincoln 111.--Cyclones in many Western localities. 21--Victorian Jubilee celebration com mences at London. '24--Cyclone in Kansas kills three; hail bombards Topeka. 25--Lynching at 'Crystal Springs, Miss.... •Race war at Key West over attempted lynch­ ing. .. .Cornell defeats Yale and Harvard in college boat race....Four legal executions 1 at St. Joseph, Mo., Fay'.itovUle. W. .Va., -Atlanta, Ga-, and Houston; Testa. 85--Seven killed In a Wreck at Missouri' .City, Mo. 30--'All districts report many fatalities from heat. JULY. 1--Continuance of fearful heat. ...Close of Victorian Jubilee. 3--Awful heat in Chicago kills six and prostrates 40; 13 die at Cincinnati Snow­ storm in Colorado... .Deluge at Duluth does $1,000,000 damage. r. 4--Heat and fatalities continue east of Mis­ sissippi Valley; thunderstorm at midnight relieves Chicago, after eight have died. 6--Ten killed by cyclone at Lowry, Minn. ... .Nine killed by boiler explosion at Harts- vllle, Tenn....Coal miners' strike becomes general in the East. 7--Continuance of extreme heat and con­ sequent fatalities--Senate passes tariff bill. ....Six killed at Bay City, Mich., by-street car plunging into an open draw. 8--Chicago and Alton freight house bums at Chicago; loss $250,000... .Heat and death roll increases... .Death of Senator Harris of Tennessee. ^10--Drop of 35 degrees in temperature at Chicago; change general. 12--Death of Millionaire Columbus R. Cum- mings of Chicago. 15--Negro lynched for assault and murder nt West Point, Tenn... .Illinois and Indiana coal miners go out. 17--News of fabulous gold finds in Alaska. 19--Tariff bill passes the House... .Snow- storm in Chicago. 22--Logan monument unveiled at Chicago. 23--Four killed by explosion of naphtha on steamer at Bridgeport, Conn $1,000,000 grape sugar factory fire at Peoria, 111. 24--New tariff law enacted; Congress ad­ journs... .Cloudburst. at Boston. v 1,30--Seven killed by cyclone at San Jose, • ; • AUGUST. ' . '8--Elevator fire at Chicago kills four fire­ men, harts 20 more; and does $500,000 dam­ a g e ' - ' < - . . . . . . . • 8----Assassination of Premier Canovas of Spain. 15--Orieanlst . Prince Henri seriously wounded by Italian Count of Tijrin in a duel at Paris. •' • • • -. - • v . l.O-^Great boom in wheat.. . .Cold wave at Cl«go. ' \ ! ... 17--Snowstorm in South Dakota... .Wheat touches 98c at Chicago. 19--Unknown man killed by farmers near Chicago, for assault... .Four kilied by glu­ cose factory explosion at Davenport, Iowa. 21--Wheat reaches the dollar price in sev­ eral cities and occasions great excitement. 23--Three hundred Sepoys massacred by Afridls In India. 26--President of Uruguay assassinated. 29--News of a great tidal wave in Japan. 30--Steamer Portland arrives at - Seattle with Alaskan treasure. I 31--Yellow fever breaks out at Ocean Springs, Miss. w .. - p SEPTEMBER. 2--Crops reported greatly damaged by long continued drought. 7--Railroad collision near Emporia, Kan.; several killed Lake St. Clair yacht cap­ sized, drowning six. 9--Terrible head-end collision near New­ castle, Colo., kills 30 people and mangles many others. 10--Twenty-two striking coal miners near Latimer, Pa., shot dead by deputy sheriffs; many others wounded. 11--Miners' convention at Columbus set­ tles the great coal strike. 13--Thlal wave along the Texas coast took many lives and did great damage to prop­ erty, 15--Five alleged burglars taken from jail by a mob at Versailles, Ind., and lynched. 10--Anarchist assaults President Diaz of Mexico; death of the assaulter at the hands of a mob. 20--Outbreak of yellow fever in New Or­ leans. 21--President Ratchford of the United Mine workers declares the coal strike ended. 26--Nine men killed in a bloody riot at Girardville. Pa....Mrs. John Becker and five children slaughtered near Carroll, Iowa. . .. .Railway hold-up at Moorhead, Minn. 29--$1,000,000 fire In Washington, D. C..., Fall of Azcarraga ministry In Spain. 30--Resignation of the Ralll ministry In Greece. OCTOBER. 1--Five bandits held up a train in Indian Territory... .Thirty persons hurt In rallv.-s- accident at Medford, Mass. 5--Death of Gen. Neal Dow. 4--Sagasta ministry assumes control 18 Spain. .. .Austin, Pa., almost entirely de­ stroyed by fire. -- 5--Connecticut votes an educational teal for voters. 6--Alton train held up near Kansas City,. Mo Thousands of lives lost and mucli property destroyed by a typhoon in the Phil­ ippine Islands. .. .$117,000 fire at Chicago 6tock yards. ... Large fire in Detroit. .. .Sis girls burned to death at Planklntou, S. D.... Disastrous fire at Medora, 111. 7--Two prisoners roasted in Opellka, Ala., jail. 8--Gen. Weyler recalled from Cuba.... Death of ex-Senator MePherson of New Jersey. 12--Bandits rob a train near Austin, Tex­ as....Death at Detroit of ex-Senator Chas. W. Jones of Florida. 14--Four people killed in a railway acci­ dent at Stlttsvllle, Ont. 15--Four persons killed and many Injured by caving in of a theater roof in Cincin­ nati, , -• 16--Steamer Triton sunk In Caribbean Sea and 150 lives lost. 17--Windsor. N. S., fire-swept and 3,000 people left homeless... .Death of Chas. A. Dana of the New York Sun. 19--Death of Geo. M. Pullman of Chicago. 21--Jury in Luetgert murder case in Chi­ cago disagreed. 24--Twenty lives lost In New York Cen­ tral accident at Garrisons, N. Y Bank wrecked at Blairsburg, Iowa. 27--Wabash Railroad offices in St. Louis burned. 29-- Henry George, single-tax advocate, died of apoplexy at New York. NOVEMBER. 1--Sale of the Union Pacific Railroad. 2---Thirteen firemen Injured by a gasojlne explosion at a fire I11 Philadelphia... .Elec­ tion day: New York elected Van Wyck (Tammany) Mayor; Ohio, Pennsylvania, Iowa and Massachusetts went Republican; Maryland, Nebraska, New York, Kentucky and Virginia Democratic; Colorado was car-, led by silver mea, and in South Dakota Re­ publicans and Democrats won over Populists. 4--Chesapeake and Ohio train wreck at Charlottesville, Va., In which four people are killed and ninny injured- pi ye men. badly burned by molten iron In Milwaukee, and two die from their injuries. 0--Train robbery near Grants, N. M Fourteen lives lost by the sinking of thb steamer Idaho ou Lake Erie. 11--Yellow fever quarantine declared off in New Orleans... .Thieves steal $14,000 in money and jewelry from a Silver Creek, N". Y., bank. 1.2--$50,000 fire at Fostoria, Ohio. 13--Three Indians lynched by a mob at WUliamsport, N. D. 17--Three people Injured In a railway wreck near Cleveland, Ohio... .Panic in a Cincinnati school caused the Injury of four children... .Rozel, Kan., sinks into the prairie in a night. ' 19--Three miners killed in railway wreck at Coal Bluff, Ind....Great fire in London, England; loss $25,000,000. 20--Masked negro, attempting to hold up a Kansas City street car, shot conductor and motornian. 21--Fire at Melbourne, Australia, in which $5,000,000 of mercantile property was de­ stroyed. .. .Two motormen kilied in a collis­ ion in Baltimore, Md... .Fire at La Grange, Ohio, In which $25,000 worth of property i\as destroyed. 23--F. A. Novak found guilty of murder| at Vinton. Iowa. 25--Capt. Lovering found guilty by court ] martial at Fort Sheridan, Chicago. 28--Resignation of the Badeni ministry in J Austria... .Three men asphyxiated in the^ Grand Trunk tunnel at Port Huron, Mich. 30--New cabinet formed in Austria.... Eleven' persons killed in a railway accident at Warsaw, Poland... ̂ Martin Thorn con-1 vlcted of the murder of Wm. Guldensuppe at J New York. DECEMBER. 1--Thirty-seven miners killed in Hombur. Bavaria, by explosion of fire damp....Furl ous riots at Prague, Bohemia. 4--Three- men killed and several personsJ Injured in a collision of trolley cars near] Detroit, Mich. 5--Resignation of the Italian ministry. 6--Congress convenes in regular session atJ Washington. 11--Two men killed in railway collision atJ Oakland, Cal Haytian cabinet reslgned.f 13--New Haytian ministrv formed. 14--Resignation of Chilian cabinet.. Rudini cabinet reconstituted iu Italy. 16--Three men killed in C., E. & I. wreckl at Clinton, ind .Deatli of Alphonse Dau-f fiet> noted French author... .William Tec riss, English actor, assassinated in LondofiJ ....Ratification of peace treaty hetweej Greece and Turkey... .New Chilian cabinet formed. 17--Six lives lost in fire at Ottawa. Ont.. Three persons perish in an $S50,000 fire Grand Forks, Dak. 18--Zero-weather in Chicago;.. .Death ofj Hon. Washington Hesing, of Chicago. 20-- Five' train wrecks--at Castle R<] Colo., two persons killed; at Pontiac, five persons injured; near Benson, Arlz.,| man killed; near Ripton, Ala., four killed; at St. Louis, one man killed and | Injured. * 21--Sucide of Miss Leila Herbert at ington, D. C Three skaters drowne Tonawanda, N. Y.... .Three skaters droij at Gurdner, Mass. '