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McHenry Plaindealer. F. K. QRANOER, Publisher. McHENRY, ILLINOIS. EVENTS OF THE WEEK w It Ski m; lTrwlerick T. Clark of McKeesport, P«., U:}T , *bot and fatally wounded his wife, who 13 ' had refused to live with him, and then , killed himself. The shooting took place htyn" at the home of Mrs. Clark's parents, -where Clark endeavored to kill hie moth- fcr-in-law. | L A t C i n c i n n a t i , R i c h a r d A . R o b e r t s , a g;#. barroom porter, ran a knife into the pj;$ throat of Charles Prietsch, a mechanical ijjK*- draughtsman, and turned the knife r-'% * around in the wound. Death was instan- , taneous. They had disagreed about throwing dice, , - Near Oregon, Mo;, Samuel Crow, aged V; t.: 70 years, an eccentric character, was mur- „ \ l • ' dercd while asleep by robbers who bent • his head to a pulp with an ax handle. Robbery was the motive. Crow being con- 10^0 sidered wealthy. The amouqjt ot-booty .W' * 1$/"' any. secured is not known. The btfiler of a locomotive drawing a train of empty coal cars on the Philadel­ phia and Reading Railway exploded nine p miles north of Reading. Pa., Oscar Leisy, a brakeman. was killed and Lyman Km- erich, fireman, and George D. Zimmer- . man, engineer, were injured. *• ' - In a freight train wreck on the Fort Wayne and Chicago Railroad, near Pitts- burg. James A. Bracken, engineer, aiid a;i Janies R. Lowe, fireman, both of Pitts- |j- "j burg, were killed; C. F. Brandenbangh, brakeman, was fatally hurt, and a prop- ; i erty loss, of $25,000 was caused. ,4r Arthur Croke. aged 17, charged with J the murder of his father: L. S. Medler, I'; aged 25, charged with highway robbery: rr • Dominick Perelo niyl Edward Baker, both f ; waiting trial for burglary, bruke jail at Si Cauyon City, Colo., by removing some of | *> the bars of the cage ::nd digging through ?? 1 the wall. . The Secretary of the Treasury has is- • sued an order for the free admission of hinding twine to the United States from Canada. This is because of the fact that the new Canadian tariff puts binding twine on the free list when imported into that country, and our tariff law only im- ,poses a duty on the twine when imported :from countries which make .the article ^dutiable. Druggists attribute the recent advance <of 65 per cent in the price of quinine to "the great consumption due to the Spanish -Vjwar. The consumption of quinine during -the last bubonic plague in India was also ; immense. It is said that many cultivators ;j?©f cinchona neglected their trees when ahe price fell below a profitable figure and 'that this has caused the marked strin- vjgency in the market. pi- f A report conies from Dawson that two Swedes, mining on a gold claim on lower ff'V Dominion creek, Klondike, struck the , "well-preserved body of a monster main- , anoth at a depth under the surface of § , forty feet. So well preserved was the „ ^ •* fmonster that the hind quarter, weighing 15.042 pounds, was taken to Dawson in sections and served in a restaurant in . place of moose meat. " ' 4 f- R. G. Dnn & Co.'s weekly review of jftrade says: "Business is not frightened either by the great capitalization of new * companies or by the wild fluctuations in r'H ,f "Wall street. No matter how much the ' Ip^ ̂ ^tock operations in New York may count, 'i %' business elsewhere is large enough to warrant a wonderful expansion of indus- : ' tries and that is the thing most important ; 'to observe. In no considerable branch \ has production diminished, but in prac- # tically all it has been increasing during - the last week. In iron and steel a little lower price for Bessemer appears at „ - Pittsburg, but with gray forge 75 cents higher there and Southern iron at Chicago 50 cents to $1 higher. Chicago is taking many contracts for building in Boston, t H New York and Washington, amounting to - fiis " 4,000 tons, bnt makers elsewhere are over- crowded with work. The minor metals - are all weaker with the reaction of Lon- % don speculation. Wool is at the doubting i point, with large sales ordered from the I interior by tired holders, and some con­ cessions made to secure transactions at ,• Philadelphia and Boston, though quota- i tions show only moderate decline, and sales at the three chief markets are al­ most as large as in 1892. Failures for the week have been 200 in the United H; ' : States, against 251 last year, and 24 in .r Canada, against 21 last year." ope containing a bonus of 10 per cent of the wages earned during the last ftir, The gift to the employes is in lieu<4>f an increase in wages. Prof. Mark W. Harrington, formerly chief of the weather bureau and latterly in charge of the weather service in Porto Rico, has been relieved and will go to New York. Prof. Harrington's recall is due In part to ill health and in part to friction with the military authorities on the island. The southwestern limited on the Lake Shore road was wrecked at West Seneca, N. Y.. by an ice-clogged switch. Engl neer Henry S. Shattuck was killed and Brakeman George W. Roberts was se­ verely injured. While the passengers were roughly shaken up, none was in­ jured. The engineers of the Jones & Laughlin Steel Company's mills at Pittsburg have been notified that their wages will be ad­ vanced 10 per cent April 10. A represent­ ative of the firm is responsible for the statement that on the same date there will be a general advance in all depart­ ments, Affecting fully 5,000 men. WESTERN. NEWS NUGGETS. Angusta, Ga., will erect a monument to : Hon. Patrick Walsh. Mrs. Anne Hayes Alexander died at Ki K!" West Charlton, N. Y., aged 101 years. , In a fire at Memphis, Tenn., four people ^'4* . Tost their lives and several were seriously k-li * A' '•f- T Pt ' • injured. Kichard Cadbury, h^ad of the great cocoa manufacturing company, is dead at London. It is reported in Newark, N. .T., that manufacturers of fertilizers are about to effect a combination. Mrs. Rachel Esterbrook, widow of the celebrated penmaker, is dead at her home in Plainfield, N. J., aged 87 years. John Butler, said to liave been the oldest bachelor in the United States, is dead in Huntington, L. I., in his 101st year. A desperate attempt was made to fire the Lafayette Hotel, the largest hotel in Philadelphia, by thieves for the sake of plunder. A German-American swindler, Q. W. H. Reif, has been sentenced at Dresden, Germany, to forty-two months' imprison­ ment for obtaining jewelry from a court jeweler under false pretenses. Robert J. Burdette, the humorist, and Mrs. Clara B. Baker were married at ^ Pasadena, Cal. Mr. and Mrs. Burdette Ipf;\ i > will make their future home in Pasadena, l&H * where Mr. Burdette will fill the pulpit of |;5-; the First Presbyterian Church. "Annt" Katy Snodgrass died at Mil- PP ford Center, Ohio, of grip, aged 103 years. ' She was the oldest woman in the Worn- sj? * an's Relief Corps in the United States. If/ With little hope of his recovery, Albert Griffith, known the vorld over as "Young Griffo," the pugilist, has been sent to the r Jefferson, 111., insane asylum. Excessive | ~ " use of liquor has wrecked his mind. A gasoline launch blew up at Folsorn Street wharf, Sau Francisco. George Nel- son, the only man on board, was burned fe;. , about the face and lost both eyebrows, but was not fatally injured, The launch P " was totally wrecked. EASTERK. Matthew Mills of Chicago has been elected president of the Yale Y. M. C. A. John M. Downey is dead at Sugar Lake, Mo., of brain fever, aged 00 years. He was known as the "apple king," and was one of the proprietors of the Reece & Downey orchard, one of the largest in the country. An endowment fund of $500,000 has been subscribed for the purpose of remov­ ing Washington University of St. Louis to its proi»osed new site west of Forest Park. Erection of the new buildings will begin at once. Train No. 5, a fast through west-bound passenger train on the Erie road, jumped the track at Rittman, Ohio, the engine and baggage car going into the ditch. En­ gineer Wallace Logan was almost instant­ ly killed and his fireman seriously injured. The two mine pump men, Charles Reuss and Burt Froy, who were imprisoned in the Bon Air mine at Leadville, Colo., thirteen days before, were reached the other night and restarted to their friends. They show little effects of their experi­ ence. 9 Mme. Melba had a narrow escape from death while attending a reception given in her honor by M. H. De Young at San Francisco. She was hit on the head by a heavy bronze statue which fell from a pedestal, and was unconscious fifteen min­ utes. ' The women suffragists of Oklahoma, who are just beginning a plan to capture the next Legislature, have decided to en­ list the endless chain letter in their cause. Secretaries of the women's clubs in every county will' write the letters and start the chains. Judge Dillon of Portland, Ore., has reached Seattle from the head of Brain- erd's inlet, on the southeastern Alaskan coast, with the news of a big placer find on a creek in that vicinity. An old sea captain made the strike and in tliree hours took out three ounces of gold. At Lincoln, Neb., Federal Judge Car- land of South Dakota, acting for Judge Munger of Nebraska, sentenced Frank M. Dorsey to six years ib the penitentiary at Sioux Falls. Dorsey was convicted of wrecking the First National Bank of Ponca, Neb., of which he was the cashier and manager. An unusual condition prevails at New- comerstown, Ohio, in that sufficient labor cannot be secured by the local manufac­ turers. The James B. Clow & Sons' pipe works, the Novelty brick and tile works and the Buckhannan Coal Company are hiring everybody in the town who will ac­ cept work, and still they are unable to meet their demands. John Moore, the Hutchinson, Kan., man who killed his five children, has made a tacit confession. He said: "It I com­ mitted the crime it was when I did not know what I was doing. I ought to have gotten into the fire and burned myself a little, then I suppose it would have been all right." Moore set fire to the house after killing the children. Thomas Wiggs, son of State Senator Joseph W. Wiggs of Pike County, Ind., literally cut Wesley Hurt to pieces. Wiggs had been employed temporarily to teach school at Carbon. Hurt called at the school bouse, and, flourishing a pistol, told Wiggs that he had a grudge against him and oue of them had to die. Wiggs ran at Hurt with a pocketknife and slash­ ed him across the chest and abdomen, and his brother, who was,a pupil in the school, stabbed him in the back. The Tacoma police say that J. Schwartz, who, according to .Dawson ad­ vices, has been sentenced to eight years' Imprisonment, is the "King of Diamond Swindlers," who is .notorious in Europe and America. The offense for which he is being punished was committed last July in Dawson. He was in the habit of pay­ ing his bills with gold dust, in which a large percentage of brass filings was mix­ ed, and was successful for a long time before his artifice was discovered. The Brooklawn Hotel in Cleveland was partially destroyed by fire shortly after 5 •'clock the other morning. Over fifty peo pie were asleep in the building when the fire broke out. A high wind was blowing and the flames had gained great headway when discovered by a policeman. The latter promptly ran through the building, awakening the guests. In many cases it was necessary to break in doors in order to arouse the sleepers. A panic ensued, but all the occupants finally escaped with out injury. Several women were carried down the fire escapes by firemen. The origin of the fire is unknown. Loss about $10,000. tt&tiikpna badly hurt and property te tin TOW* # several thousand dollars destroy* ed. Vht ̂ piosioa oecurred ia tfc* store of S. L. Leslie. A report was heard and the explosiMi which followed wrecked the building. About a do*en people were in the building at the time, including Mr. Leslie's family and acme customers. Two of Leslie's children were fatally btirned. The others were more or less injured, sev­ eral badly, but not fatally. It is supposed the explosion was caused by the children playing in the store, Who, it is thought, accidentally set Sre to the keg of powder. • 7^ 7^ AN ANCIENT PROVERB RBVERSE0W lit !*»<&,«<* BM te the , Un< ' • 1 i fers : Bufa;fe W«rth toaom«zMor*tlift» certalil Valae la Hand. , v it V ^_ t W , ; ; 1 FOREIGN. , - .f t lte*. yimies'A. Spurgeon. Wrot^r of the late Rev. Charles H. Spurgeon, was fQund dead in a railway carriage at London. According to advices from the Orient the Emperor of Corea has caused a sen­ sation by appearing in a fuH uniform cut in American fashion. His attendants also have been attired in American style. In an interview given the London Times Rear Admiral Sampson says the United States has more to gain from an alliance with Great Britain than that nation has and he rejoices in the growth of interna­ tional amity. , The Queen Regent of Spain has signed the decree giving Jules Cambon, French ambassador at Washington, full power to represent Spain at the exchange of the ratifications of the treaty of peace with the United States. Joseph Chamberlain declared In the British'-House of Commons that the rela­ tions between Great Britain and the South African Government constitute a real danger and that President Kroger had broken every pledge. The leaders of the Radical party in Porro Rico have decided to organize a Republican party, with a thoroughly American platform. The platform will pledge fidelity to the American flag and hail the prospect of annexation to the United Slates. An alarming explosion occurred in a laboratory of explosives attached to the War Department in Paris, where experi­ ments were being made with a new kind of gunpowder. Chief Engineer Veil, As­ sistant Engineer D'Ouville and a third official were injured. Ambassador Draper has sent word from Italy that the court of cassation, the su­ preme tribunaJ of Italy, has held that Cerruti, in person, who has figured in the famous Cerruti claim. Is entitled to re­ ceive the $240,000 paid by Colombia un­ der an award by President Cleveland. The United States Philippine commis­ sion has held its first meeting at Manila and decided to issue a pronunciamento to the inhabitants. The document will explain the spirit in which the United States intends to fnifill the trust imposed, and will call upon the people of the isl­ ands to lay down their arms and co-oper­ ate in the interests of good government. The legislative council of India has adopted the countervailing sngar bill. The viceroy of India, Lord Curzon of Kedel- ston, expressed satisfaction at the unani­ mous feeling of the council on the subject of the bill. He said the fullest inquiries had shown the necessity of urgency in the case, and he condemned the bounty sys­ tem as being "a vicious expedient for selfish interests." J'SsI i ; . . ^ '-rvAJ; i'.rV' M m tw0! ARW Ft- Articles of incorporation of the National Salt Company, with a capital of $12,000,- 000, were filed at Trenton, N. J., with the Secretary of State. The company is au­ thorized to produce and deal in salt. Mrs. Anna Hays Byers, widow of Eben ML Byers, the Pittsburg millionaire manu­ facturer, whose last sickness and the events connected with it a few years ago caused such a sensation throughout the country, has been adjudged a lunatic. * Every employe of the Buffalo smelting Works, a branch of the Calumet and Hecl.i J^oinj Company, has received an envel- : h-* ?-.• • • . mr • SS&glt SOUTHERN. The great Port Arthur, Texas, canal is finished. Two children were fatally injured, sev­ eral* other persons badly hurt and consid­ erable property destroyed by a powder explosion at Dewitt, Ark. In a riot at Laredo, Texas, over remov ing smallpox patients to the pest house, two men were killed, a woman and several of the rioters seriously injured. At Columbus, Ga., three river steamers --the Owens, Flint and Bay City--were destroyed by fire, together with two barges. Loss $40,000, partially covered by insurance. Patrick Walsh died at Augusta, Ga. of nervous prostration. He was former United States Senator from Georgia, Mayor of Augusta and editor of the Au gusta Chronicle. In an appealed counterfeiting case from Texas the United States Supreme Court decided that the acts of persons appointed to judicial positions by the President dur­ ing a congressional recess are valid. General Duckett, a negro, who mur­ dered James Stockton, a planter, was lynched by a mob at Texarkana. Duckett had been hiding in the bottoms since the crime, but was forced by hunger"to sur­ render. He confessed the killing. There was a wreck on the Atlantic Coast line inside the city limits at Augus­ ta, Ga. The rails spread on a very sharp curve after the engine had passed. The first-class coach left the track and fell off a slight embankment, completely turning over. The passengers were severely shak­ en up. The only one seriously hurt was the 0-year-old daughter of President Mack of Denmark. A terrible explosion of powder occurred at Dewitt, Ark., as a result of which two Children were fatally injured, seveial etb- 'i- : Affray Takes Place In the Cafe of the Auditorium Annex. In a crowded dining room of the Audi­ torium Annex in Chicago, where there were nearly 100 guests, most of them women, H. H. Hammond shot John T. Shayne Tuesday afternoon. Three shots were fired, two of which took effect,. Hammond made no attempt to escape, but surrendered to the house detective and was locked up. Both men are well known in Chicago, Shayne being the head of the firm of John T. Shayne & Co., furriers. Hammond is a merchant tailor at 180 Wa­ bash avenue. Jealousy of a peculiar nature was the passion that led Harry Hammond to wreak vengeance on John T. Shayne. Mr. Shayne was dining with the divorced wife of Hammond and two other ladies. Since her divorce Mrs. Hammond had been re­ ceiving the attentions of Shayne, who is widower, and it was alleged they were soon to be married. It is not apparent that Hammond grieved over the loss of his wife by divorce; in fact, he made no effort to prevent her securing one. At, the commencement of the shooting the ladies with Mr. Shayne fle.d to the palm gallery at the end of the room. Mrs. IN GENERAL. Rich gold discoveries are reported in the Mackenzie river basin, near Fort Good Hope. During the absence of John Dian and wife of Grenfel!, Man., from their farm their residence caught fire and tbeir five children were burned to death. The steamer Laurada, which receatly arrived at Seattle from the north, brought $150,000 from the Klondike, being the first shipment of treasure from there this year. West Point men are indignant because certain cadets who were found deficient in their studies and who on that account were dismissed from the military acad­ emy, have been appointed second lieuten­ ants in the army. Rev. Dr. Knapp, former principal of Queen's College, Newfoundland, who mysteriously disappeared from his resi­ dence in Brighouse, England, Jan. IS, writes to his friends that he has reached New York in a sailing vessel. Bernard Gross, a soap manufacturer of Milwaukee, claims that he is unable to buy tallow from any of the packing house men. Other soap manufacturers are in the same predicament and may have to shut down their works. It is said that the soap combine has shut off the supply of tallow in order to cripple the independent dealers. Miners who have arrived at Seattle from Copper river, Alaska, say that Gov. Brady has been requested to ask the Gov­ ernment to send a vessel to Copper river for the purpose of bringing home stranded prospectors. There are between 200 and 300 of these men who are without means to secure transportation. Many of thepi are suffering from scurvy- Twenty-seven colored families, number: ing 104 -persons in all, are stranded in Jer­ sey City after having gone from the West to go to Liberia, as is alleged, under a con­ tract with the International Migration Society. It is claimed that the Interna­ tional Migration Society promised to send those people to Liberia, and; that they have failed to carry out the promise. Most of them are destitute, and tjieir. condition is pitiable. ' THE M ARKFTS, JOHN T. SHAYNE. Chicago--Cattle, common to prime, $3.00 to $0.00; hogs, shipping grades, $3.00 to $4.00; sheep, fair to choice, $3.00 to $5.25; wheat, No. 2 red, G9c to 70c; corn, No. 2, 35c t6 30c; oats, No. 2, 26c to 27c; rye, No. 2, 52c to 54c; butter, choice creamery, 20c' to 2lc; eggs, fresh, 11c to 13c; potatoes! choice, 00c to 05c per bushel. IndianapoIis-rCetfJe, shipping, $3.00 to $5.75; hogs, choloe light, $2.75 to $4.00; sheep, common to choice, $2.50 to $4.50; wheat, No. 2 red, 07c to 09c; corn, No. 2 white, 34c to 35c; okts, No. 2 white, 31c to 32c. St. Louis--Cattle, $3.50 to $6.00; hogs, $3.00 to $4.00; sheep, $3.00 to $4.75; wheat, No. 2, 70c to 73c; corn, No. 2 yellow, 33c to 35c; oats, No. 2, 27c to 29c; rye, No. 2, 55c to 57c. Cincinnati--Cattle, $2.50 to $5.75; hogs, $3.00 to $4.25; sheep, $2.50 to $4.50; wheat, No. 2, 71c to 73c; corn, No. mixed, 37c to 38c; oats, No. 2 mixed, 28c to 20c; rye, No. 2, 58c to 00c. Detroit--Cattle,. $2.50 to $5.75; hogs, $3.00 to $4.00; sheep, $2.50 to $4.50 wheat, No. 2, 71c to 72c; corn, No. 1 yellow, 34c to 35c; oats, No. 2 white, 31c to 33c; rye, 56c to 58c. Toledo--Wheat, No. 2 mixed, 72c to 73c; corn, No. 2 mixed, 34c te 30c; oats, No. 2 white, 27c to 28c; rye, No. 2, 54c to 56c; clover seed, new, $3.45 to $3.55. Milwaukee--Wheat, No. 2 spring, 07c to G8c; corn, No. 3, 31c to 33c; oats, No, 2 white, 29c to 31c; rye, No. 1, 55c to 56c barley, No. 2, 40c to 47c; pork, mess, $8.75 to $9.25. > Buffalo--Cattle, good shipping steers $3.00 to $5.75; hogs, common to choice $3 .25 to $4.25; sheep, fair to choice wetU- ers, $3,50 to $5.00; lambs, common t« extra, $4.50 to $6.50. New York--Cattle, $3.25 to $5.75; hog^ $3.00 to $4.50; sheep, $3.00 to $5.50 wheat, No. 2 red, 81c to 82c; corn, No 2, 43c to 45c; jats, No. 2 white, 35c to 38c; butter, creamery, 15c to 23c; egg% • - . . . WEALTHY CHICAGOAN SHOT. GERALD LAPINER FOUND. Kidnaped Child Imprisoned tn an Ohio Farmhouse. A clever country girl solved the mys­ tery. Chicago police were quick to take her advice after almost a year's fruitless tvork. , Then the sheriff of Lake County, Ohio, ar­ rested the alleged tbductors of Gerald Lapiner on a farm two miles west of Painesville and re­ stored the long-lost child to his mother. The prisoners are John Collins and Mrs. Ann Ingersoll. The boy had been TO WHEAT. GERALD I-APINKB. kept carefnjUy locked up for ten months in a little out-of-the-way farm house. No motive has been discovered yet to have induced the woman to lure the child from his„ home, 4835 Prairie avenue, Chicago, last Memorial Day. Louis Lapiner and his wife, after offer­ ing rewards and following clews all over the lake States, had almost given up hope of ever finding the youngest of their three boys. It seemed a "Charley Ross case No. 2." Detectives all over the country abandoned the chase, and little Gerald, once so prominent because of his strange disappearance, had been well-nigh forgot­ ten. The real discoverer of the lost child was Miss O. C. Ferris. Miss Ferris saw the child by accident as she passed the win­ dow of the farm house kitchen. He was tied to the table, crying lustily. As no one came to his relief she knocked at the door until she convinced herself no one else was in the house. Then she tried to open the door, but it was locked. All the windows were bolted, an unusual thing in that part of the country. Next day she set inquiries afoot and found that an old man and a mysterious woman had gone to live in the farm house months before. Her instinct told her it was a case of kidnaping. She went home and racked her brain to think of some case of abduction she had read about in the newspapers. The only one she could remember was that of little Gerald Lap­ iner. She sought her brother and they wrote to Chicago, and baby Lapiner was found. Hammond had seemed to fear trouble on observing Hammond enter the cafe, and had cautioned her companions not to speak to him. After the first shot the victim of Hammond's rage dropped under the table. iiuiuTpn U| A panic reigned in the hotel immediate- WINTER WHEAT IS DAMAGE^ ly. Guests ran into the lobbies scream­ ing for assistance, and waiters sought placcs of safety on the second floor. The assailant started to leave the room by the entrance to the lobby, but was confronted by the head waiter and chief clerk. He was led unresisting to the private office of the Annex, and taken into custody. WIOENED AREA FROM WMJOi ObMPLAINT 18 MADE. ' ^ •_ • - -4i." There Is, However, Little Fear of Crop Failure-The Season Is Backward^ ^ but ApTil Weatber Ma^ Change i Many Adverse Opinions! * 1 Weather conditions during the week have not been such as to materially change the whiter wheat situation, al­ though alternate freezing and thawing has probably tended to reduce the vitality of the plant in districts where it was al­ ready weak. At the same time the close of the week finds a deeper conviction upon the crop. In southern Kansas, Oklahoma, Tennessee and Kentucky the area from which complaint is received has material­ ly widened and the character of complaint .is more projiounced. . . Over that part of the wheat belt lying north of the latitude of Cincinnati there is still no opportunity for definite judg­ ment of actual present conditions, the ground remaining frozen to a great depth and over the greater part of the 'district even the sut*faee continuing frozen. There is practically no spring growth north of the Ohio river, though fields in Ohio and portions of Indiana are beginning to show up green. Until we shall have had at least a week of good arid continuous growing weather it will not be possible to determine with any degree of satisfaction the extent to which the crop is injured. South of the Ohio river, however, the situation is beginning to clear up. It does not yet appear that the damage in Texas, Tennessee and Kentucky is sen­ sational, but it is evident that it is wide­ spread. Two weeks ago a considerable share of the local reports from these States were hopeful that the crop would come out all right. This week's reports from the same sources almost unanimous­ ly admit extensive winter killing and marked lack of vigor in the remaining plant. Another section in which while there has been but slight crop advance­ ment it is sufficient to give a clearer idea of the situation is southern Kansas and Oklahoma. From there the reports this week are also gloomier than those here­ tofore received. It is not yet time to say that the spring Is late, though it is verging upon it. In comparison with last year there is a rad­ ical difference. The following statement shows the number of counties- in each State from which reports have been received during the week and the average of the returns from these counties. These returns come from 911 sections of the States, and the averages represent the consolidated opin­ ion of the county reporters, but the fig­ ures must be read in the light of the com­ ment on the value of conditional reports at this date: Counties Average reported, condition. Texas ... Tennessee Kentucky Ohio Michigan Indiana .. Illinois .. Missouri . Kansas .. Nebraska California Oregon .20 . . . . . . . . 2 5 27 59 . . . 2 9 . . . . . . . . 5 6 ..70 65 55 28 12 11 OTHER EXPENSIVE CONGRESSES Apyropriations of 37th and 88th Ex­ ceeded Those of 55th. A Washington correspondent asserts that men and others who characterize the Fifty-fifth Congress as the most expen­ sive in the history of the country speak with'ji memory less than a third of a cen­ tury old, when the cost of the civil war had to be provided for. The grand total of regular and permanent annual appro­ priations made by the Congress just clos­ ed was $1,500,890,016. Of this amount $482,502,083 was due, in the estimation of the chairman of the Committee on Appropriations, to the war with Spain. The appropriations on this account run through nearly all the several bills, and are ascertainable in them with reasonable accuracy. The agricultural bill, for instance, carried an item of $00,- 000 for the establishment of weather bu­ reau stations in the West Indies, made necessary by the war with £>pain. The army and navy bills were increased re­ spectively $57,300,850 and $42,858,791. Other trills contained the amounts named as follows: Fortifications, $5,232,582; leg­ islative^ executive and judicial (clerical force), $1,316,300: postoffice, $300,000; de­ ficiencies, $345,342,200; miscellaneous, $23,870,000. The permanent annual appropriations were increased $6,000,000, to pay the in­ terest on the $200,000,000 war loan. In other cases the war appropriations are more difficult to discern. For instance, nearly $200,000 was added to the sundry civil bill to provide additional accommo­ dations at the Government insane hoa: pital for the benefit of the victims of the war. The appropriations made by the Thirty- seventh Congress, which was charged with the duty of appropriating for the fiscal years ending June 30, 1863 and 1804, respectively, cannot be arrived a* accurately, for much of their legislative was indefinite, carrying no specific ani fixed sums, as is the rule of the'prese^ day. But the expenditures of the Govern raent for those two years which, under the constitution, could not exceed the ap­ propriations and which probably fell short injhat respect, amounted to $1,570,003,- 307. not including the postal receipts. The $1,560,800,016 of appropriations charged to, the Fifty-fifth Congress in­ clude $204,856,484 for postal expenditures. If the sum of $180,000,000, the estimated amount of postal receipts for the two years in question, be deducted from the aggregate named, it leaves $1,380,890,01G as the amount of appropriations authoriz­ ed by the Fifty-fifth Congress, against $1.570,CH!o..'{(i7 expended under authoriza­ tion of the Thirty-seventh Congress. The Thirty-eighth Congress made even a greater demand upon the treasury than the Thirty-seventh, the expenditures un­ der ks appropriations amounting to $1,- 818,304,641, exclusive' of the receipts for the postal service in the year* - Peculiar Weather Conditions Are Re­ sponsible for This. That the winter wheat sown last 'fall uudcr the most favorable condition has. been seriously damaged by the^p^culiar weather conditions which have prevailed is shown by reports from all tlip. winter wheat producing States. The estimates as to the damage vary in a marked de-t gree, some States reporting almost a total loss, while others report that the crop will be of fair size, but of a poor quality. Ohio, judging from the reports, appears to have suffered less than other"'States, while the conditions in Illinois are un­ favorable, to say the least. Favorable weather from now on may change all this, however. Apprehension, rather than se­ rious damage, has been caused on the Pa­ cific coast by lack of moisture, but it is believed that at the proper time the West will come forward with her regular crop. Winter wheat was sown last fall under very generally favorable conditions. There was abundant moisture over the whole belt, with excess in but limitde dis­ tricts. Opportunity for carefully prepar­ ing the seed bed was ample and the crop went into the ground in excellent shape. The only complaint came from some dis­ tricts in the central valleys, where there was an excess of moistqre, which delayed seeding and finally resulted in the seed going into a soil that was too wet at a date later than is considered desirable. On the Pacific coast seeding was de­ layed by the absence of the usual fall and early winter rains. To this review of the general character of the season little can be added in the way of definite statement of the actual effect on the crop. Ap­ parently all conditions have been favor­ able to serious and widespread injury, and that such has been the result is the opinion of at least t^iree-fourths pf the local observers upon whose data this se­ ries of crop reviewsjs based. WOMEN PERISH IN A FIRE. Blaze in an Omaha Business BlOclc Deals Death and Injuries. As a result of what was at first said to be an explosion of a gasoline stove nearly two score women were imprisoned in the third story of the Patterson block at Omaha. Thirteen of the women leaped to the stone pavement below. One was kill­ ed Instantly and all the others more or less seriously injured, and a number are ex­ pected to die. The plight of the victims was witnessed by thousands of people, who were unable to render aid. The wom­ en were forced to jump or be burned to death. ^ The victims are all members of the women's branch of the Royal Neighbors and of the Maccabees, and at the time the fire broke out were in session in Labor Temple, which occupies the top story of the building. The explosion occurred in a closet under the stairway leading to the room occupied by the women, and from the first their escape from that direction was cut off. A fire escape was available on the opposite side of the building, but the only woman who bad presence of mind sufficient to reach that point was Mrs. Brosius, and she fainted from excitement the moment she reached the ladder and It will be noted that on very compre hensive returns Ohio makes a claim of very high condition, while Indiana make9 a showing but little less promising. REPORT AS TO FARM ANIMALS. Department's Figures t how a General Increase in Value, The annual report of John Hyde, statis­ tician of the Department of Agriculture, on the number and value of farm animals will shortly be ready for distribution. It will show an increase in the number of sheep and milch cows and a decrease in the number of horses, mules, swine and neat cattle other than milch cows, with a general increase in value. The following changes in these statistics are shown: Horses, decrease in number 295,004, in­ crease in total value $32,712,400; increas­ ed value per head, $34.20 to $37.40. i.^eat cattle (not milch cows), decrease in number, 1,269,972, increase in value $25,634,501; increase per head, $20.92 to $22.79. Milch cows, increase in number 149,229, increase in value $39,420,099; increase per head, $2.21. Sheep, increase in number, 1,457,493, increase in value $14,970,397; increase per head, 29 cents. ftfuVes, decrease in number 50,069, de­ crease in value $140,255; increase per head, $1.06. Swine, decrease in number 1,108,362, decrease in value $4,241,666; value per head unchanged. The total value of farm animals is con­ servatively estimated at $1,997,010,407, an increase of $108,355,482, or 5.74 per cent, during the last year. Spain Is Defiant. Notwithstanding the fact that Gen. Otis refused to sanction negotiations between the Spaniards and Filipinos for the ran­ som of the Spanish prisoners held by the latter, on the ground that the money would be used to aid the insurgents against the Americans, the Spanish Gov­ ernment has. offered Aguinaldo 5,000 pe­ setas for each soldier, and 2,500 pesetas for each civilian. News Notes from Cuba. There are 2,000 Cubans in the streets of Santiago without work. The new asphalt mines have been dis­ covered at Arroyo Blanco, in Santa Clara province. The Second Illinois regiment, now at Buena Vista, has been ordered by Gen. Lee to the Isle of Pines. In Santiago de Cuba Sunday closings of all places of business are now in effect, the city market not excepted. An American syndicate has bought 60,- 000 acres of land in Porto Principe prov­ ince for a big cattle and horse ranch. The Chinese of Cuba are emigrating to Mexico. Twenty to thirty leave Havana for Vera Cruz or Progreso every week. The United States regulars composing the garrisons of Forts Cabana and Morro have removed their camps to the high­ lands, west of Cojimar, as a more healthy** location. Twenty million feet of American lumber is to be employed in the erection of bar­ racks for the United States army of oc­ cupation in Cuba, and for commissary and other buildings. Cardenas is so far the only Cuban town whose municipality has openly and for­ mally protested against Acting Captain General Brooke's decree removing the old Spanish stamp taxes. Among the telegrams of congratulation received by Gen. Gomez upon his recent entry into Havana was one from Vice- President Lithgow, Governor of Porto Plata, Republic of Sau Domingo. Unpaid deserters from the Cuban pat­ riot army in the eastern districts are fast 'developing into organized gangs of high­ way robbers, overrunning the sparsely set­ tled districts and terrorizing peaceable residents. Acting Captain General Brooke has sent 50,000 additional rations into the province of Pinar del Rio, to be distribut­ ed to needy Cuban families of Bahia Honda, Vinales, Consolacion del Norte, Ban Cayetano, Mantua, etc. Mormonism has met a foe *t last will test all its prowess. The women o! Jamestown, N. Y., have passed strong res­ olutions against Mormon elders who have ; been doing missionary work in that place and a fight to which the fair combatants will give no quarter is being waged. To, cultured women the religion founded by : Joseph Smith and practiced by Brigham • Young is partifularly repugnant. It mat­ ters not that the law of the land has de- clared against the polygamous featKrerSf • Mormonism or that some elders in the - Church of Latter Day Saintg may have spoken against polygamy; the fact re­ mains that, according to popular belief, * the creed which made it right for men to < transgress one of the most profound ele-' *aents of the strongest human passion has ' in no way been altered. Woman was the greatest sufferer through the fullest ex­ ercise of that creed ai^l it is not surpris­ ing that she should be the bitterest enemy , of those who would seek to make con-: verts to it. A religion which has aroused the antagonist of women is sooner or later bound to become moribund. We are likely to have a statue of Wash- = ington as well as of Lafayette to unveil in Paris on the 4th of July, 1900, for the association of American women which > has been engaged for several years in raising funds to present one to the people of France In exchange for the Lafayette' statue which stands in Jackson park in Washington has made a contract with ; Daniel C. French, the well-known sculp­ tor, to make an equestrian figure of he­ roic size, with the understanding that it» shall be completed and ready for unveil­ ing on the day named. Mrs. Field, wife of the associate justice of the Supreme1 Court; Mrs. Hobart, wife of the Vice- President; Mrs. McMillan, wife of the Senator from Michigan, and Mrs. Phoebe A. Hearst are the committee in charge, and have the co-operation of many promi­ nent women in different parts of the coun­ try. A large portion of the funds has al­ ready been raised, but $15,000 more is ; needed, and an appeal will soon be made' for contributions from the patriotic worn-' en of America. There has been an enormous falling off' both in the number and the value of draft animals in this country since those faith­ ful friends have had to compete with the bicycle and the electric motor. According „ to the statistics of the Agricultural De­ partment on Jan. 1, 1893, there were 16,-. 238,000 horses in the United States, rep­ resenting a value of $1/007,593,030, which was an average of about $00 each. On - Jan. 1, 1899, there were only 13,961,000 horses, valued at $478,362,000, or an aver­ age of $34 a head. On Jan. 1, 1893, we owned 2,315,000 mules, valued at $175,- 000,000, and last January only 2,190,282, valued at $90,100,000, the decrease in the value per head in six years being from $75 to $44. Texas owns the largest'num­ ber of mules and New York the largest number of horses. Pennsylvania, because of the coal and mining industries, has more than ten times as many mules as New York. Illinois comas second in the list of horses and Missouri second in the list of mules. All the volunteers in the Philippines are. armed with the Springfield rifle. All the regulars now there and the re-en forcef ments now en route;htave the Krag-Jor- gensens. The Tolmrteets use the Spring- fields because the military commanders consider it the more effective rifle in their hands. They ate using smokeless powder and the effective range of the Springfield is almost as great as the Mauser, which is being used by sharpshooters among the rebels. The complex mechanism of the modern rifle is difficult to care for and to use, while the Springfield will stand any amount of rough handling. This reason, more than any other, influenced the ex­ perienced army officers to recommend their use by the volunteers. The destruc- tiveuetss of the Spriugik-iU 45-calil>ci Lull is far greater than the Mauser, as it is almost sure to kill, whereas the latter only wounds. The mechanism of the modern rifle would scarcely become familiar to the volunteers during their term of enlist­ ment. -:--:- As the bill for the establishment of a bureau of domestic sciences in the De­ partment of Agriculture failed in Con­ gress, Secretary Wilson has consented to take the matter up and encourage such instruction in the agricultural colleges and such investigations at the experimental stations as will carry out the object of the National Domestic Science Association in seeking this legislation. The State granges and farmers' institutes will also encourage the movement, and it is hoped thffet at the next Congress authoi'ity may be given for the Secretary of Agriculture to disseminate information that will make farmers' homes happier and farmers* wives more competent in feeding their families as the farmer is now enabled by the aid of the Government in feeding his cattle and sheep. Since the approval of the war revenue act on June 15, 1898, the collections under it have been $02,012,191.25. There have also been collected on additional tax on tobacco of $778,487 and on fermented liq­ uors stored in •warehouses $104,927.62, making a total of $02,955,005.87 derived from the war revenue act from the time of its passage up to the 1st of February. The largest part of this sum, $20,383,440, comes from the sale of documentary and proprietary stamps, $20,084,450 from the increase in the tax on beer, $8,102,021 represents the increase in the tax on snuff and tobacco and $2,503,058 on cigars and cigarettes. Fronj legacies $253,951 has been realized. The Japanese minister has semi-official- ly notified the newspapers here that "the published statement that Japan is discuss­ ing a plan to adopt Christianity as its state religion is not true, and there is no possibility of this being done. Unlike Russia, England and other European countries, the Japanese Government has no state religion, but according to the con­ stitution of the country every religion is given the liberty to exercise its functions so long as it does not interfere with or dis­ turb the peace, order and morals of so­ ciety." News of Minor Notfe A large tobaceo company In Winston, N. C., is substituting white for negro la­ bor. Great Britain and Ireland have 220,059 acres of land devoted to the cultivation of fruit. Boston wool dealers are considerably excited over the prospect of the combined woolen mills of the eouil'try buying their supplies of wool direct from the growers. Sweat shoii investigations in New York have found that men, women and children work as much as eighteen hours daily, the men for 45c a day nud women and chil­ dren fer much less. .-si,* ..rr'1-rf«x " ~s2§f Trs.r' "7