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from ship builders all over the country, as to what they are willing to dp, and as the report of the chief constructor and engi- •neer-jn chief is based on these proposals, there is no likelihood that there will be any difficulty in placing the contracts as soon as the President determines what to do. PLAINDEALEE J. YAK SLYKE, Editor and Pub. ILLINOIS mchenry. Declares She'll Have No Inter ference in Cuba. THE KLONDIKE RUSH. (ALASKA FEVER IS RAMPANT IN AUSTRALIA. 33isc Exoilus from the Islands of the Pacific to the Yukon Is Reported- Affairs Are Disorderly at Fort Wran- jfell^Where Emergency Money Goes. Make Insolent Proposition to Settle the Maine Affair. DISCUSSING THE SITUATION IN THE CUBAN JUNTA AT JJfEW YORK Gold Fever in the Antipodes. The British steamship Cape Otway is on her way to Alaskan ports with 250 gold seekers from New Zealand and western Australia. The Cape Otway was obliged to remain in Honolulu two days in order to have her machinery overhauled and re­ paired. She then proceeds to Victoria and Vancouver, where a majority of her passengers will outfit for Klondike, con­ tinuing her voyage later to Alaska. The Cape Otway's passengers are for the most part Australian gold diggers. There are ten women, in the party. Honolulu has .been full of Klondikers for ten days and excitement runs -high. ,The royal mail steamship.Miowera passed through bound for Vancouver, with a party of 140 Klon­ dikers oil hoard. The Oceanic .liner Ala­ meda bore another large party. They say the Klondike fever is raging worse than ever in the colonies and that thousands of people are selling out their business or leaving good positions to join the rush. The indications, are that the movement toward the Cook inlet mining district of Alaska will be formidable this year. There are fully .">00 persons in Seattle awaiting • transportation to that country. Of these 150 have banded together and will charter a vessel. The bark Harry Morse of the Boston and Alaska Transportation Com­ pany's line sailed for St. Michael. She carried about 120 persons, nearly all me­ chanics, who will be employed in the con­ struction of Yukon river boats. The steamer Navarro arrived at Seattle from Lynn canal ports. She reports a decided­ ly disorderly state of affairs at Fort Wrangell. About 2,000 persons are en­ camped at the mouth of the Stikeen, be­ ing unable to ascend the river owing to ehish ice. Sunk in the Straits, The big schooner Northwest, which was being towed from Chicago to Buffalo by the steamer Aurora, was sunk in the straits of Mackinaw at the Waugoshance " lighthouse by being cut through by the ice. The crew was safely taken off by the steamer Aurora before the boat went down. The steamer Raleigh, which had been cut through by ice. was compelled to put into Mackinac Island for repairs. The Northwest left Chicago with 70.000 bushels of com, shipped by Counselman & Co., to Buffalo. The boat was insured for $22,000, and the cargo for about .$30,000. Both-are believed to be total losses. The Northwest was owned by James Corrigan of Cleveland. Disposition of the Fifty Millions. i a in ijcviv iai4» .utiftciji/un vi till.' War Department at Washington has made public a statement showing that up to this time there has been allotted to the department $9,279,107 from the emer­ gency fund of $50,000,000 appropriated by Congress. The different bureaus receiv­ ing this money are: Ordnance, $4,233.- 767; engineers, $4,425,000: quarternias- ters. $500,000; signal offices, .$120,400;. Of the entire amount allotted $927,805 has been expended, but as much of the work begun and the munitions of war bought is by the contract system the Government is liable for considerable of the remainder. block, a fi >ur-story and basement brick building adjoining on the west, is also a total loss. The loss is placed at between $125,000 and $150,000. The insurance on the two buildings and stock of Davis & Co. is something over half of the loss, Tl\e fire spread westward and threatened the entire square. The Western Union tele­ graph office, which occupies a building in the block east of the Davis building, mov­ ed everything out but the instruments. Ian Maclaren's "Beside the Bonnie Brier Bush" has just received its first metropolitan production at McVicker's Chicago Theater. The success attendant upon its preliminary engagement in Washington forces the conclusion that the play will equal in popularity J. M. Bar- rie's "The Little Minister," which has proved the sensation of the past season. Unanimous was the endorsement of the critics and clergy of Washington. Praises were lavished upon the skilled dramatiza­ tion and its admirable presentation. James MacArthur and Tom Hall, who have prepared the stage version of these widely popular tales of Drumtoehty life, have drawn their incidents and charac­ ters from the eminent cleric's three books, "Beside the Bonnie Brier Bush," "Auld Lang Sjrne" and "Kate Carnegie," and the Whole is blended into a humorous and pathetic play. The plot relates the love story of Flora Campbell and Lord Hay and Kate Carnegie and Rev. John Car- michael, their happy termination proving the truth that "love knows neither rank nor creeds." The Governors of four States, Utah, Colorado, Idaho, and Wyoming, are con­ certing plans of operations against "Butch" Cassidy and his band of outlaws. Ever since the liveT stock commission drove the Wyoming rustlers out of busi­ ness in 1892 "Butch" has been a thorn in the flesh of the authorities of the four States in which he carries on his opera­ tions. Rewards amounting to $20,000 have been offered for "Buteh" Cassidy dead or alive, and still he lives a life of violence and crime. The Governors be­ lieve in still hunt methods, and it is thought that a large number of experienc­ ed mountaineers and bandit hunters will be placed in the field, each State to fur­ nish its quota, and that the bandits will be rounded up in much the same fashion as cattle are. "Butch" has 500 men at his beck and call. Their depredations are upon a scale never before reached in the history of frontier crime. They know every foot of the vast territory in which they operate, taking in, as it does, the wildest and most inaccessible portions of four States. The force is divided into four bands, each controlled by its own leader, with Cassidy as the supreme pow­ er. The outlaws now practically control the sparsely settled region extending from Central Wyoming southwesterly through Northwestern Colorado and Utah, and al­ most to the Arizona line. The thefts of live stock run into the millions. Ranch­ men are murdered and driven out of bus­ iness, and the officers of the law are pow­ erless. There are five camps where the various bands make their headquarters, each of which is well nigh inaccessible ex­ cept to the bandits themselves. Two of the most famous are "Robbers' Roost" and "Hole in the Wall."; l The former is in south Central Utah, on the San Rafaele River, a few miles west of the Green River. The latter is hidden away some­ where in that wild, mountainous district to the northwest of Casper, Wyo. SOUTHERN. FOREIGN, Great Britain has demanded a lease of 1 the Chinese port, Wei-Hai-Weiy as a com­ pensation for the disturbance of the bal­ ance of power in the gulf of Pe-Chi-Li. The demand has been acceded to by the Chinese Government. The tattered United States flag has been taken from the gaff of the wrecked Maine in Havana harbor, where it has floated since Feb. 17, two days after the explo­ sion. It was taken down by an officer and a boat's crew from the Fern. Piper Findlater, who distinguished him­ self at the storming of Dargai Ringe and who is now at Hetley, England, receives hundreds of letters daily from all parts M Great Britain offering theatrical engage­ ments, marriage, a "home for life" and so forth. A rumor was eftrrent in Paris that Al­ bert Dreyfus, tbe former captain of ar­ tillery, who was sentenced to imprison­ ment for life for betraying important mil­ itary secrets to a foreign power, is dead. He was undergoing imprisonment on Devil's Island. ' . The rising of the Colinas in Zambales, Philippine Islands, has been subdued by the Spanish troops. Thousands of na­ tives, including, hundreds of women and children, were killed. All the prisoners taken were shot without trial. Sixty who were arrested in Manilla were killed the same day. * \ , " ". An official note published in Rome states that the Pope, deeming that the breaking out of hostilities between the "United States and Spain was imminent, tele­ graphed to the Queen of Spain offering mediation. The Spanish Government an­ swered accepting. The United States will probably also accept. In the cases of Andres Santos, Marga- rito Cavazos of yaliecillo and Adolfo Rodriguez of San Ignacio, Mex., the three leaders of the proposed Spanish invasion, now held incommunicado in Nuevo Laredo by the Fedei*al authorities, the Mexican court has rendered its decision. The men are charged with violationof the neutral­ ity laws of Mexico, and the court held that there was sufficient evidence to hold them. A Spanish report says that a party of 200 insurgents at the plantation of El Desquie, province of Puerto Principe, Cuba, recently surprised twenty-five Span­ ish soldiers by ambuscade, killing one officer and twelve soldiers and wounding six soldiers. A detachment of 100 Span­ ish troops went to the aisistanee of the surviving Spaniards, who were surround­ ed and dispersed the insurgents, inflicting considerable loss upon the enemy. Negotiations Closed: and Time for Action Is Near. Efforts of the United States for Hon* orable Peace Are Answered Only with Insolent Defiance and Evasion of the Seal Issues--!• pain-Seeks to. Justify Her Course, and Declares the American Demands Are Intolerable --Little Hope that War Will Be Longer Averted, IN GENERAL. NEWS NUGGETS. Joseph Huffman was overpowered and robbed of $400 at Tiffin. Ohio. Baron Fava will resume his duties as Italian ambassador at Washington in a few days. The Republicans of the third Kansas district have renominated S. S. Kirkpat- rick for Congress. Fifteen Spanish men-of-war have been ordered to leave Cadiz immediately for the Cape Verde islands. ' Miss Jessie E. Parker was elected May­ or of Kendrick, Idaho, after a spirited contest. Her opponent was one of the most popular men, in the city. Margaret Mather, the actress, died at the Hotpl Ruffner, Charleston. W. Va., after an illness that was of short dura­ tion. Miss Mather was suffering with nervous prostration. Again the big German steamer Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse"has eclipsed all west­ ward records between Southampton and New York. It crossed the ocean :i| an average speed of 22.09 knots. Its t|frie, from the Needles to the lightship, was fcve days and twenty hours, or more than two hours a'liead of its former record, which was made on its maiden voyage in Sep­ tember last. " The Sc-hoen Pressed Steel Company at Pittsburg has been awarded the. contract Tor the manufacture of 1.000 steel cars of the ore and coal hopper pattern by the vE5jinnsylvania Railroad Company for a su&'vttPRroximatiug $1,000,000" This is the largest yngle.^yntract ever giv(5n-«r steel cars, and tEe awarding of it by one of tbe great trunk lines permanently es­ tablishes the steel car industry and takes It out of the experimental stage. A dispatch from Madrid says that the ambassadors of France, Germany, Kus sia and Italy waited together upon Senor Gullon, the foreign minister, and present ed a joint note in the interests of peace. Senor Gullon, replying, declared that the members of the Spanish cabinet .were unanimous in considering that Spain had reached "the limit of international policy In the direction of conceding the demands and allowing the pretensions of the Uni­ ted States." The owners of the Left Hand gold mine Qn Keating hill, near Helena, Mont., have struck a large vein of ore that nets them $7,000 per ton. Sheriff F. M. Maples of Sevier County, Tennessee, shot and killed Squire William •Wynne. The men were old enemies and met in the court house, when their former quarrel Was renewed. William J. Bryan was honored with a reception in. the Ohio Senate chamber at Columbus the other afternoon. He also Visited the House, amd later wais given a public reception at the Great Southern Hotel. A boiler explosion four miles north of Campbellsville, Ivy., killed four men out­ right and fatally hurt another. At Lick Station, Tenn., Giles Bradford Jr., was murdered by Clay Braswell and his two sons, James and Claude. Fire at Rock Hill, S. C„ destroyed twelve buildings, involving a loss of $250,- 000, upon which there was an insurance of $150,000, distributed in sixteen companies. The origin is yet a matter of speculation. Guilty, with life imprisonment, was the verdict returned against Dr. W. H. Lips­ comb at De Kalb, Miss. At the first trial for the murder of Charles T. Stewart Dr. Lipscomb was doomed to death,, but the decision was reversed by the supreme court on technicalities. Two boilers at the Wheeling iron and steel works at Benwood, W. Va., ex­ ploded. David Geary, steel worker, and Owen Taffe, Bellaire, were killed. Louis Walkenfust, Fred Lambrey, Steve Mat- ish, Vincent Gentle, John Gosney, Joseph Angels, George Rousher, Joseph Denny and Frank Berry were burned seriously. In the fall of 1S9G a family by the nrme of Cotton, in Tangipahoa parish, La., was murdered by negroes, with the exception of one girl. She escaped and told the story, resulting in the lynching of two of the negroes. A third has recently been captured and was lynched by a mob about seven miles above Amite City. This ne­ gro was first hanged and his body riddled with bullets. WASHINGTON. i WESTERK. ... I. N. Kelly, postmaster at Kenton, Ohio, hanged himself for fear of losing his position. The coal miners in the Ohio district ha>ve ' returned to work excepting those in Jack­ son County. The disagreement was more ly over the interpretation of the settlement between the miners and the operators effected by. the Columbus and Chicago conferences. . A I Fire in the wholesale and retail carpet and furniture house of A.M. Davis & Co at Lincoln, Neb., totally destroyed that building and contents. The Richards Stf • H . • The-^resident has nominated S. H. Jumper* to be postmaster at Aberdeen, South Dakota. Miss Clara Barton of the Red Cross has left Washington for Cuba to again take charge of the distribution of relief sup­ plies among the reconcentrados. Lieut. Garransea, the new Spanish at­ tache who succeeds Lieut. Sobral, has arrived in Washington and taken up quar­ ters at the Spanish legation. No prepara­ tions are being made for the removal of the legation from Washington. The annual meeting of the American Tract Society was held in-the New York Avenue Presbyterian Church, Washing­ ton, D. C. The Rev. Judson Swift, field" secretary at New York, presented a brief report of the society's work. The society publishes books in 153 languages and dia­ lects, and the total number of volumes that have been published in all languages at New York is nearly 3G,000,000. Total number of books and tracts is about 500,- 000,000 and the total number of period­ icals upward of 251,000,000. President McKialey is considering the advisability of investing $7,000,000 in the construction of 100 torpedo-boat destroy­ ers and torpedo boats. In anticipation of the decision of the President' to build the boats, plans for their hulls and machinery have been prepared and contracts can b€ let as soon as the decision is formally an­ nounced. The proposition to build 100 torpedo boat destroyers and torpedo boats arose as a result of the failure of the agents of this Government abroad to pur­ chase a satisfactory number of vessels of these types. Up to the preseut time but two torpedo boats, ope a seagoing boat and the other inten<iied only for harbor defense, have been secured and the au­ thorities admit that there is little likeli­ hood that any further boats will be.pur­ chased. In view of this fact, Secretary Long directed Chief Naval Constructor Hichborn and Engineer in Chief Melville to report to him the number, displacement and cost of torpedo boat destroyers and torpedo boats which should be built by this Government. This report was submitted to Secretary Long the other day, and by him has been presented to the President for official consideration. It is understood that the_report of the officials recommends the construction of about thirty destroy­ ers of from 325 to 350 tons displacement, capable of making a maximum speed-of 30 knots an hour, and to be built within a period of four or five months. The'torpe­ do boats are to be each of about 100 tons displacement and capable of making a speed of from 20" to 22 knots. The boats must be completed within 90 days. •As the department has*received proposal* A majority of the Western Base­ ball League players have been signed. The sealing steamer Iceland arrived at St. John's, N. F., with 23,000 seals. She reports that the steamer Aurora has 25,- 000 and the Diana 20,000. The'lceland has tbe heaviest seal cargo she has car­ ried in twenty-five years. Her captain was obliged to throw overboard a large quantity of coal and provisions. The joint commission appointed by the general convention of the Episcopal church in 1892 for the purpose of revising the constitution and canons of the church has completed its task, and submitted copies of its report to the delegates to the general convention to be held in Wash­ ington, D. C., next October. One of the subjects wlfich is sure to stir up strife in the church at large is the revision of the canon on marriage so as to forbid the mar­ riage of either of a divorced pair during the lifetime of either. Travel to Alaska has fallen off tremen­ dously. During the last few weeks arriv­ als at Tacoma, Wash., from Eastern States have been fewer than at any time since December, while almost every day has seen another steamship added to the Alaskan fleet. The steamship Australia sailed with only 100 passengers from Ta­ coma and Seattle, though she can carry GOO. Her freight is likewise light. The falling off in travel is attributed to dis­ couraging reports from the trails. Bradstreet's takes the following view of the state of trade: "A week of rather quieter general trade and of smaller dis­ tribution, due to easily explainable causes, closes a quarter -which has been eminently satisfactory to nearly all brnaches of trade and productive of an unprecedented business in favored lines. The heavy foreign demand for our prod­ ucts, particularly agricultural staples, and the active domestic movement in most lines are evidenced by the heavily in­ creased bank clearings reported for the quarter. Exports of wheat--flour includ­ ed--are smaller than for some weeks past, but are much larger than in correspond­ ing periods of previous years, aggrogatii.^ 3,550,GG4 bushels, against 3,890,000 'fJiisu- els last week, 2,404,045 bushels in this week of last year, 1,093,927 bushels in 1890, 2,853,933 bushels in 1895 and -2,- 778,150 bushels in 1S94. .'Corn exports are, on the other hand, larger than for some weeks past, aggregating 4,507,722 bushels, against 4,490,257 babels last week, 4.970,127 bushels last year and 2,199,000 bushels ifl 1890." Washington correspondence:" It seems apparent that the administra­ tion has been lenient in its dealings with Spain. President McKinley sought to bring Spain and Cuba to some amicable arrangement which would,, satisfy both, and not be too humiliating to the Spanish government, but Sagasta temporized and deceived until at last the President had to lay down the definite proposition that the independence of Cuba was the only satisfactory solution to the American peo­ ple and the United States Congress. Sa gasta sought for further delay, but, when he could not secure that, his ministry sent a reply which is an insult to the President. The reply of Sagasta, when stripped of its diplomatic verbiage, informs the Uni­ ted States that it should attend to its own business and not meddle with the af­ fairs of Spain. Spain will not submit to dictation from this government in the affairs of Cuba. She will leave Cuban af­ fairs to the Cuban Parliament and she will consider the question of amnesty when the insurgents ask for it. The Span­ ish note answering the demands was tel­ egraphed from Madrid to the powers, to­ gether with a copy of the American de­ mands. In this note Sagasta sweeps away all his diplomatic pretensions of desiring the help of the United States in settling the Cuban question and insolently tells the President to keep his nose out of other people's business. This reply from the Sagasta ministry was rather stunning, but it was no surprise to the members of the cabifiet who have for some time urged determined action and expressed distrust of Spain's pretensions of a desire io end the war and settle the Cuban question in a way to satisfy the American people. h„, Sagasta also added insult to presump­ tion and offered to arbitrate the question ged that a reply might be given at ©nee. Again there came from the Spanish min­ ister of foreign affairs the word, impossi­ ble. , Nevertheless, nothing daunted, Mr. Woodford, 'seeing his way--and this the only way--to an honorable and just peace, satisfactory to Spain, the United States and Cuba, cabled to the President, who gave him full poweMi to act in the direc­ tion indicated. Failing acceptance of the plan, the President authorized the minis­ ter to break off diplomatic relations with Spain. This, Of course, meant certain in­ tervention by the United State® in Cuba, Finding Senor Gullon non-compliant Mr, Woodford applied, through the minister of foreign affairs, for a conference with Premier Sagasta, asking that Ministers Gullon and Moret might be present. This most ^olemn meeting, which really meant peace or war, was held on Tuesday fol­ lowing the Maine board of inquiry report --a. sitting which will remain historical, and truly remarkable. Mr. Woodford SF.NOR SAGASTA. g SUBSTANCE OF SPAIN'S REPLY. THE following official statement of the contents of the cablegram re­ ceived from Minister Woodford, In which was given the substance of Spain's reply to the demands of the United States, Is made public: That the Spanish Government has. placed at the disposal of the governor general the credit of 3,000,000 pese­ tas ($600,000) to the end that the country people may return at once and with success to their labors. The Spanish Government will ac­ cept whatever assistance to feed and succor the concentrados that may be sent from the United States, in accor­ dance with the plan now in operation. Spain proposes to confide the prep­ aration for an honorable and stable peace to the insular parliament, with­ out whose concurrence the Spanish Government would not be able to ar­ rive at the final result, it being under­ stood that the powers reserved by the constitution to the central govern­ ment are not lessened or diminished. As the Cubiyr' chambers will not meet until th<f 4th day of May, the Spanish Government will not, on its part, object to a suspension of hos­ tilities, if asked for by the insurgents from the general in chief, to whom it y will belong to determine the duration C and the condition of the suspension. WHY THEY FAVOR SPAIN. Powers Fear America May Aid Eng­ land in the Far East. The chief European interest in the Spanish-American quarrel is its bearing upon the far-Eastern crisis. Regarding this aspect of the question, it may be said that the British Government is very glad that the differences bptweln. Spain and America have reached nn issue, while the continental powers urfe correspondingly regretful. The reason fov this attitude ia easily discovered. Russia, France and Germany hoped that Cuban affairs would keep America occupied for a long time, and prevent her ever giving any co-operation in the far East to Great Britain. England, natural­ ly, hopes to see the Cuban crisis settled by a brief war, if necessary, because this process of settlement might give her an opportunity to win American good will, The United States would then be able tot turn her attention to the great issues pend­ ing in Asia. America has not done any­ thing thus far in regard to the Chinese situation which would excuse any Euro­ pean power for assuming any attitude save that of benevolent neutrality be­ tween Spain and the United States. DONS PLANT MINES. Are More Engines of Destruction Placed in Havana Harbor. Forty floating submarine mines were secretly planted in Havana harbor last Wednesday night by the Spanish Govern­ ment, This information comes from of­ ficial.-sources and is absolutely correct. Ihe mines were laid in the narrowest part of the channel, between Morro and Punta, in two lines of twenty mines each. They are spherical and float about twenty-four feet under the surface. Each is attached by an anchor chaip to a heavy cable an­ chored on the bot(on. The detonating \vires run up tlie chains. There is suffi­ cient force there to destroy the biggest ships afloat. MARKET REPORTS. 'Chicago--battle, common"rto prime, ~«S3.00 to $5.75; hogs, shipping grades, $3.00 to $4.25;-sheep, fair to choice, $2.50 to $5.00; frfae«t, No.:2 red,>$1.05 to $1.00; corn, No. 2, 29c tt>\30c; oats, No.-2, 25c to 20c; rye, No. -2, 50c *tS~"51c; butter, choice creamery, 19c to 21c; eggs, fresh, 8c to 10c; potatoes, common to choice, 50c to G5c per bushel. Indianapolis--Cattle, shipping, $3.00 to $5.50; hogs, choice light, $3.00 to $4.00; sheep, common to choice, $3.00 to $5.00; wheat, -No. 2, 92c to 94c; corn, No. 2 white, 31c to 32c; oats, No. 2 white, 29c to 31c. St. Louis--Cattle, $3.00 to $5.75; hogs, $3.00 to $4.25; sheep, $3.00 to $5.00; wheat, No. -2, 98c to $1.00; corn, No. 2 yellow, 27c to 28c; oats, No. 2, 20c to 27c; rye, No.-2, 49c to 51c. Cincinnati--Cattle, $2.50 to $5.25; hogs, $3.00 to $4.00; sheep, $2.50 to $5.00; wheat,.No.'-2 red, 94c to 95c; corn, No. 2 mixed, 31c to 33c; oats, No.-2 mixed, 28c to 30c; rye, No. 2,- 51c to 53c. Detroit--Catties, $2.50 to $5.50; hogs, $3.00 to $4.00; sheep, $2.50 to $5.00; wheat, No. -2, 95c to 97c; corn, No. 2 yellow, 30c to 32c; oats, No. 2 white, 30c to 32c; rye, 51c to 53c. Toledo--Wheat, No. 2 red, 97c to 99c; corn, No. 2 mixed, 30c to 31c; oats, No. 2 white, 20c to 27c; rye, No. 2, 50c to 52c; clover seed, $2.85 to $2.90. Milwaukee--Wheat, No. 2 spring, 90c to 98c; corn, No. 3, 29c to 30c; oats, No. 2 white, 28c to 29c; rye, No. 1, 50c to 52c; barley, No. -2, 40c to 44c; pork, mess, $9.25 to $9.75. Buffalo--Cattle, $3.00 to $5.50; hogs, $3.00 to $4.25; sheep, $3.00 to ' $5.25; wheat, No. 2 red, 97c to 99c; corn, No. -2 yellow, 34c to 35c; oats, No, 2 white, 30c to 32c. New York--Cattle, $3.00 to $5.50; hogs, $3.00 to $4.50; sheep, $3.00 to $5.50; wheat,"No. 2 red, $1.03 to $1.04; corn, No. 2, 36c to 38c; eats, No. 2 white, 32c to 33c; butter, creamery, 19c to 22c; eggs, 'Western, 9c to 11c. of the Maine. This was more than the President could endure with patience. He had made no demand upon Spain, but had •sent to Sagasta the findings of our court of inquiry, and left to his own sense of honor the offer of a way for treatment of this question without that of war. But Sagasta's only reply is that he will submit this question to arbitration. If seems ap­ parent at this writing that Sagasta is ready to end all the differences between this government and Spain with war, and ;hopes to provoke war by insult. Tbe President is done with diplomatic consideration of these questions. Con­ gress, the war-making power, will deal with it. President McKinley will not unite with Spain in an effort to relieve distress in Cuba. Spain's appropriation of $000,000 to feed the starving Cubans at this late day is regarded here as only a bluff, with no intention of spending a dollar for that purpose. Sagasta realizes that this gov­ ernment will intervene in Cuban affairs, drive Spain from the island, and then re­ lieve the starving people. The only ques­ tion to embarrass the administration in its program of intervention is a request that is said to have come from the insur­ gents, that this government simply recog­ nize Cuban independence and leave to the insurgents the business of driving Spain out of the island. The Cuban situation has now become s»ch that this government cannot stop at simply a recognition of independence without making that independence secure. It r .nnot recognize the Cubans as inde­ pendent and then leave them to starve as 'they have been starving for the last year. And, since Sagasta has failed to realize the President's hope that Spain would of­ fer some honorable way of taking the Maine question out of the situation, there was no way of meeting it except by allow­ ing Congress to take it up with the Cuban question. All the evidence points direct­ ly to Spanish treachery in that disaster. Congress so views it. Gist of the Negotiations. Some time ago a note was sent to the Spanish Government, not suggesting in­ tervention, but urging that Government to think of some means by which the un­ fortunate condition of affairs in Cuba should he brought to an end. The reply to this by the minister of foreign affairs was that it was impossible. Senor Gul Ion is a somewhat haughty statesman, who clings to the tradition that Spain is perfectly able to manage her own affairs, esp<tpially those which concern Cuba. At the same time a request was made that America should be allowed to give and distribute $500,000 worth of food among the starving Cubans. This latter request was agreed to. This gave an open* ing to the United States Government, and Minister Woodford pursued his course in the cause of peace by suggesting vbat nn armistice lie announced by the Spanish Government, he undertaking that the United States would obtain the acceptance of the same by the insurgents. He heg- iiau, It is said, intended delivering notes of requests which he had written down, and retiring with a few words, but he changed his mind, and after reading the requests made, which are summarized above, he proceeded to plead that there were good reasons, upon the score of hu­ manity, common sense, economy and peace, which made it evident that Spain had but one course to adopt. He told the ministers how anxious the United States was for peace, and anxious, in this way, to prove it. Sugasta, the veteran Spanish statesman, at this, spoke out, and in his most brilliant oratorical style, cast doubts upon the methods of America in showing her deBire for peace by arming to the teeth. Minister Woodford was diplomatic, persuasive, considerate, toward Spanish sensitiveness, impressive, and never once left this point. Sagasta, cold at first, was roused by what Woodford"said, and seem­ ed really to be perturbed by truth so elo­ quently told. The United States minis­ ter ended up by reminding his very distin­ guished listeners that, after all, the Cu­ bans and the soldiers they were figlitinp were both equally Spaniards, children o! Spain, and surely Spain, as their mother would do all in her power and accept ai offer which would stop their shedding eac! other's blood. Then he advanced to th, desk of the president, and said: "Gentle­ men, I want to be frank and open with you. I will telegraph to the President of the United States from here as to the re­ sult of our meeting, so that you may all see it before it goes to the President." Then before the ministers had time to get over their surprise at this remarkable example of diplomatic frankness Mr. Woodford, upon note paper headed "Coun­ cil of the President," sent a cablegram" to President McKinley somewhat as follows: "At a meeting which I have had with Senor Sagasta, Senor Gullon and Senor Moret we discussed terms which would es­ tablish peace, peace safeguarding ...the honor of Spain, which would be satisfac­ tory to Cuba and to the large interests held there by the United States. A reply will be given on Thursday, which I feel confident will be satisfactory, and there­ fore I beg you to take no action until I have communicated that reply to you." Tuesday a cabinet council was held, at which the discussion was very keen, the ministers of war and marine being opposed to Moret. Sagasta was cold and calm as usual. All recognized the seriousness of the occasion. Beyond the queen no one outside the ministerial circle knew what the result was goiug to be. It was serious. The fate of thousands of men and their life's blood, not to speak of thousands of millions of dollars, hung in the balance, but the ministers kept silent. Their first duty wne to communicate with the queen at a council held at the palace, and then with the United States Government. ) War News in Brief. Pieliminary arrangements have been made lor a war loan. The number of medical officers in the navy Is to be increased. Chicago people are asked to contribute to a local war fund. Ihe new torpedo boats Gwyn and Talbot went into commission Saturday. Consul General Fitzhugh Lee was the subject of prayers by a. Frankfort, Ky„ con­ gregation Sunday. Indiana officials say that every militiaman in the the State will enter the government service in the event of war. The Que,en Regent has bought the fast yacht Giralda for herself and the young King, in case they have to fly from Spain. A cruiser of 1,800 tons displacement has been purchased for the United States Gov­ ernment at the Thames Iron Works in Eng­ land. A consignment of twenty-five Maxim guns of the new type are looked for daily at the ordnance department of the New York navy yard. It is estimated that in the last ten days 500,000 pounds of canned goods have been purchased in Chicago by the navy depart­ ment. Philadelphia militia could go out, with every company marked up to its full war complement of 100 men, Inside of forty-eight hours. The United States naval cadets of the first class at Annapolis Saturday morning re­ ceived peremptory orders to join their ships at once. A bill was introduced Friday in both branches of the Ohio Legislature asking for lie appropriation of $1,000,000 as an emer- cency war fund. in the past two weeks marine war risks iave been written by New York under­ writers upon not less than $50,000,000 worth of vessels and cargoes. By unanimous vote of both houses the Iowa Legislature placed an emergency fund of $500,000 in the hands of Governor Shaw for use in case of war. El Giobo, the ministerial organ in Madrid, Intimated Saturday that the European powers had taken steps to mediate between Spain and the United States. Ten thousand cases of canned meats were shipped to New York Saturday night from Feared Spanish Treachery. The State Department Saturday night cabled to the consuls in Cuba to repair at once to Havana and be prepared to leave there at a moment's notice. Consul Gen­ eral Lee was cabled to the same effect. The St'ate Department, in view of the Spanish character, was fearful of some treacherous blow to these men. lle-Jt and Yellow Snow. The Grand Ducal observatory at Heidel­ berg has issued an interesting report deal­ ing with recent red and yellow snowfall-*. Yellow snow fell on the Engadine on March 7, and red snow fell to the'depth of eight centimeters on the same day, at Rardl, in Kaernlen, WOODFORD'S RESIDENCE IX MADRID. Chicago In forty freight cars, to be used as food for sallors'aud soldier^. The government has practically closed a contract for eight 400,000 candle power searchlights and dynamos to be set up in fortifications in New York harbor. There are live cutters and three gunboats at the Norfolk yard and l.SOO men are eu- gaged night and day in putting them ia condition for sea duty and fighting.. Arrangements have been made by th® Navy Department for placing in operation the new coast line signal system by which ships may communicate with the shore. President Itandall of the State Senate Friday introduced a bill appropriating $200,- 000 to enable the governor to arm and equip the militia and naval reserve of Maryland. > Miss Clara Barton of the Red Cross So­ ciety has returned to Cuba. She expects to again take up the work of superintending the relief of the starving reconcentrados. OFFICIAL DRAWING SHOWING THE MAINE'S WRECKED BOW. /fate r £•/'*/£ Friday was to have been private bill; ,day in the House, but the rules were sus­ pended and private bills will be heard. Tuesday. The naval bill was then taken up. After several hours of wrangling, during which all sorts of amendments were offered and voted down and many speeches were made, the vote was taken upon the Cannon substitute to reduce the number of battleships to one and to in­ crease the torpedo-boats and torpedo-boat destroyers to twelve each. It was defeat­ ed, 78--124. Mr. Underwood (Dem.) of Alabama offered an amendment appro­ priating $4,000,000 for the establishment of a government armor plate factory. The amendment was ruled -out on a point of order. An amendment to reduce the price of armor plate to $300 per ton was de­ feated. This completed the bill and it was reported to the House and passed. Then, at 0 p. 'in.,, the House adjourned until Monday. The Senate spent almost the entire day in the discussion of the res­ olution reported,Thursday from the Sen­ ate Committee on Foreign Relations for the acquisition of the West India islands owned by. Denmark and the session was closed by the practical withdrawal of the resolution by Senator Lodge, its author. While there was no attempt to force consideration for a resolution regarding the Cuban situation in the House on Monday, there was one brief outbreak in which the warlike temper of the gal­ leries was manifest. It came over a bill to authorize the President to erect tem­ porary fortifications in case of emergency upon land when the written consent of the owners was obtained. The bill was pass­ ed. The remainder of the day was spent in the transaction of District of Columbia business. In the Senate prepared speech­ es upon the Cuban situation were deliver­ ed by Messrs. Perkins of California, Clay of Georgia, Mantle of Montana and Baw­ ling of Utah. The sundry civil appropria­ tion bill was then taken up. The whole of Tuesday in the House was spent on the private calendar, with the result that several bills were passed, among them one to pay the heirs of John Roach, the shipbuilder, $330,000 on a claim which has been pending a dozen years, and another to pay O. C. Bosby- shell, superintendent of the Philadelphia mint, $17,000 extracted from the gold vaults by a weigh clerk. At 5 o'c'ock the House recesvsed till 8 p. m. The even­ ing session was devoted to private pension bills. In the Senate speeches upon the Cuban crisis were delivered by Senator Chandler. (N. H.), Mr. Turpie (Ind.), Mr. Harris (Kan.), and Mr. Kenney (Del.), all of whom took strong grounds for vigor­ ous and instant action by the United States. The House on Wednesday took up the consideration of the army reorganization bill. The request of the President that action on the Cuban question be delayed until after receipt of his message the next Monday was granted. Ten minutes after the Senate convened consideration of the sundry civil bill was resumed, and, with the exception of eight minutes con­ sumed by the executive session, in' which Senator Davis announced that no mes­ sage would be sent in, almost the entire session was consumed by the appropria­ tion committee. Almost no routine business whatever was transacted by either branch of Con­ gress on Thursday. Congressmen and Senators alike devoted most of their time aiid attention to Cuban affairs. Efforts were made in both houses to decide upon some plan of action when President Mc- Kinley's message should have been sent to Congress on the next Monday. The bill for the reorganization of the army was under consideration in the House. It was opposed by Mr. Sulzer (N. Y.l. and Mr. Lenz (Ohio), the latter making a se­ vere onslaught upon the administration on account of its course in Cuban affairs. The administration was defended by Mr. Grosvenor of Ohio. Told in a Few Lines. The deaths from the black plague in Bombay, India, now average 1,100 week­ ly. A People's-Democrntic-Silver Republi­ can fusion State ticket has been made in Ohio. Spain is negotiating with Austria for the purchase of a vessel of the Austrian navy. Fred Prnitt. of Forrest City, Ark., was fataWy injured at Wynne, Ark., by being thrown from a buggy. The Russian Government is construct­ ing an ice crusher, said to be capable of reaching the north pole. Steps are to be taken at Chicago to or­ ganize a national association of horse breeders and horse dealers. A bill prohibiting a saloon to be opened within 300 feet of any church has been enacted by the New Jersey Legislature. E. Iv. Woodbury, 80 years old, was killed at Port Chester, N. Y„ while try­ ing to rescue his bicycle from under a train. John Clark of Mount Vernon, N. Y., has asked for a divorce on tlfr ground that he has found out that his wife is a ne- gress. An absent-minded man iii New York entered a neighbor's house by mistake, was taken- for a burglar, shot and in­ stantly killed. A bald head was the principal means of establishing the innocence of Michael Na- zaro in New York, after lie had been ar­ rested through mistake. San Diego, Cal., will soon be safe from attack. Forty thousand pounds of ammu­ nition have arrived there for the big guns being mounted on the fortifications. John Fuller of Sherman, Tex., was shot and instantly killed by the accidental dis­ charge of a target ritle in the hands of a 0-ytvr-old boy. Fuller leaves a wife and child. It is reported that Great Britain will no longer resist the dismemberment and par­ tition of China, but will make the best of the situation and endeavor to get her share of-tlie Spoils. A dispatch from the Island of Perim, in the Indian ocean, states that the pas­ sengers, mail, specie, etc.. on the steamer \ China, which is ashore on The island, have been landed. The ship will bo a total loss. The Italian Foreign Minister says that, outside of Austria, which morally sup­ ports Spain because of relationship be­ tween the royal families of those coun­ tries, no European power is inclined to show practical sympathy for Spain. Two quarrelsome residents of Baltimore went to a police station together recently. - preferred counter charges of assault and battery, swore out warrants for each oth­ er's arrest, were given a hearing and, were bundled into a police van and were sent to jail, where they now are awaiting trial. The whole operation, from the time of their appearance at the police station to the time of the disappearance of tlie vau, occupied just six minutes. m