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Jo MEET DEMWu' fOR bOOtS f foMirmr HMwmraisi tmKM. TSRjT 16 H HogYmm LiitDmKce,# ROIKTSE T/(M5 INITIO STATES ILLINOIS STATE NEWS THE OCCURRENCES ; DURING PAST WEEK. . - " : Soil of the State Pronounced Suitable for Ssgar Beet Culture p Miners Finally Agree on n Scale--Klopes with Another Man'sWife-F^tal Fall. SugaV Beets in Illinois. The first sugar-beet convention of the State was held at the University of Illi­ nois, at Champaign, being presided over by Prof, Eugene Davenport, head of the college of agriculture at the university. Prof. Davenport has been making close investigations into the sugar-beet indus­ try the last few mouths, and.lias come to the conclusion that the beets can be suc­ cessfully and profitably raised by Illinois farmers. More than 150 persons, most of them large landowners in different parts of Illinois, attended the convention. Frederick Hopke of- Nebraska, one of the authorities on sugar-beet raising, occupied the entire forenoon explaining the meth­ ods employed in the cultivation of the beet. Jn 1891, he said, he farmed 1.200 acres of beets, and since then has raised them extensively. He has made a careful examination of Illinois soil; and assured those present that b(>ets can be raised suc­ cessfully in Illinois.' The afternoon was devoted to a discussion of the factory to be used and the -relations between the manufacturer and the farmer; Elopes with a GrocA1', wife. Dr. William C. Johnson; one of the most prominent physicians of Central Il­ linois, and the wealthiest man in the com­ munity in which he lived, has eloped with Mrs. C. E. Clayton, the wife of a grocer. His wife and two married daughters are prostrated over the affair. Several weeks ago the startling announcement was made that the doctor intended to sell his real estate interests and go to the Klondike. His home, several farms, the Pawnee op­ era house and several business blocks were disposed of, and he left for Chicago with the proceeds of the sales, about .$75,000. Mrs. Clayton presumably join­ ed him in Chicago. Ftate Miners Are Agreed. The State miners' convention and the joint convention of miners and mine op­ erators, in session at Springfield, ad­ journed after settling upon a scale for the entire State to go into effect April 1. The question of day labor of all kinds was re­ ferred to the joint committee, which meets in Columbus, Ohio. The question of powder and supplies was also referred to Columbus. It was also agreed that for all narrow work or yardage an advance should be paid in proportion to the ad­ vance in mining rates. Farmer Shot and Robbed. Williar* String, a rich Litchfield farm­ er, , was s/Tiot in the head and robbed by masked men at his home. He was report­ ed to have large sums of money buried on his premises, which the robbers secured. They left their victim for dead, and he was found unconscious by a neighbor. When he recovered he stated that he knew his assailants, but refused to give names. Hydrophobia from Dog's Bite. Edward Kirkendall, son of a farmer liv­ ing near Dwight, was bitten by a dog some time in November. One recent night he became suddenly mad and it took three men to bind him and keep him from injur­ ing himself and others. He was taken to Chicago to the Pasteur Institute. The dog is still alive and to all appearances is not mad. Her Dog Came to Her Rescue. At Rock Island a tramp attacked Tillie Clark, 17 years old, in her. yard as she was ueturning from school and demanded money. On her refusal he seized her and threatened to kill her, when a St. Ber­ nard dog owned by the family sprang up­ on him and fore most of the clothes from him. The police are on the man's trail. Fatal Fall from a Windmill. August Busk.v, a farm hand, 23 years of age, and employed on a farm three and one-half miles southwest of Litchfield, while at the top of a windmill making some repairs, was struck by the wheel and thrown to the ground, a distance of thir­ ty-five feet. He received injuries which resulted in his death a few hours later. Brief State Happenings. Fire -destroyed the entire apparatus of the Hock Island telephone exchange. The corn crop of Adam Ort. of Green Valley amounted to 17,000 bushels, shell­ ed. The President has sent to the Senate the nomination of W. E. Hull to be post­ master at Peoria. Congressman Andrew J. Hunter, of Paris, has decided to retire from politics at the end of his present term. Residents of Flora were treated to .a rare sight, when a bright colored semi­ circle appeared in the sky, extending east, west and north from the sun. Inside of this circle were five small sun dogs and several bright red spots. A. C. Frost, a traveling salesman for a Chicago dry goods firm, committed suicide at the Barnuni Hotel in St. Louis by tak­ ing a dose of poison. He left two letters. One was addressed to the coroner and the other to his brother. W. H. Frost, Postal Building, New York City. Coroner Jesse Bendure has begun a suit against the county of Macon that is re­ garded as one of the most important ac- • tions started in that county in many years. It involves a decision won a sec­ tion of the statutes tlnr has never been passed upon. Within the last year the County Board of Supervisors has refused to allow the bills of the coroner for eight inquests, holding that the estates of the dead persons were able to pay the fees, amounting to $11 in each case. Before that the County Board has paid for all inquests without question. No matter what the decision in Decatur, the case will go to the Supreme Court. Fire damaged the Trioli block at Gales- burg, to the extent of $4,000. E. B. Basliford and C. A. Peterson are heaviest losers. William Grady's little son was coasting on Highland avenue, Elgin. His sled ran in front of an electric car, and the boy re­ ceived a blow in the heady that crushed his skull. At the Free Methodist ministerial meet­ ing of the Fox and Rock River district, in Elgin, resolutions were adopted pledging support to the American Bible Society, and in favor of the use of the Bible as a text-book in the public schools. Mrs. Caleb C. Church died at Elgin. Her late husband was once in thelumber business in Chicago. His paternal grand­ father is said to have owned the farm on which the famous old charter oak stood, aud his maternal grandfather, Col. Wads- worth, was the one who hid the charter in the oak tree. Seven lives were snuffed out and two persons were seriously injured when an omnibus filled with pleasure seekers was struck by the New York express at the Western avenue crossing of the Grand Trunk Railroad in Blue Island. The ac­ cident Was said.by spectators to lie due to Jack of foresight on the part of the om­ nibus driver. ' Gov. Tanner has assigned Captain E. S. Swift, U. S.- A., to the general staff,, as assistant inspector general, with thf rank of colonel. March 15 the Kensington postoffice will be abolished and carriers from PullmaD will deliver mail in Pullman, Kensington and West Pullman. Having finished its tour of inspection of the Chicago river and harbor, the congres- sipnal committee on rivers and harbors has returned to Washington. The clothing store of Schweizer & Woody at Champaign has been placed in the hands of a receiver. The stock and fixtures a,re to be closed out. Four thousand bushels of corn were sold at Clarence the other day for $1,130, or at 28% cents per bushel, the highest price paid there in three years. Street car service in Belvldere and Kan­ kakee was tied up for several hours lr»y the recent storm and railway trains were hours behind time all over the State. At Areola, an insane man was found lying across the Illinois Central track by the trainmen of an early south-bound train <fie other morning. His name is not known. During the year ending Jan. 15, 1898, it is estimated that 987,000 pounds of fish were caught 'in the vicinity of Beards- town. The value of the fish is said to be about $28,000. Henry Fritz, a motorman, was killed and two passengers in an electric ear were injured in a collision at the Ashland ave­ nue crossing of the Grand Trunk Rail­ way in Chicago. »"• , Fourteen divinity students of Lombard College at Galesburg have been suspend­ ed by President Nash for struggles over senior class colors. Three of th" students suspended are preachers. James McNamara, formerly of Spring., field, and Clara Sclialler of MascoUtah were found at the Windsor Hotel, St. Louis, with their throats cut, making elev­ en suicides in that city within forty-eight hours. The Senate has conCimed the following Illinois postmasters M. F. Walsh, Har­ vard; W. H. Shaw, Canton; M. A. L. ON sen, Dekalb; II. Mayo, Ottawa; J. W. Fornof, Streator, and J. Bromilow, Chil- licothe. Ex-Judge Elliott Anthony died at his home in Evanston. He had been in poor health several years and was seriously ill several weeks before his death. Mr. An­ thony was one of the pioneer lawyers of Illinois. Prof. Worden of Warsaw has made many valuable additions to the State mu­ seum at the State capital building. When the work is completed the collection of Illinois birds will be the most complete one known. II. G. Gleason, one of the best-known railroad men in that section, and who has been connected with the Illinois Central since 1853, and was a railroad pioneer contractor in the West, expired at Free- port, at the age of 72 years. Fourteen cases of Eskimo curios and household utensils have been received by the Field Columbian Museum, Chicago. The collection comprises 15,000 specimens, and is the third consignment received from Capt. Minor W. Bruce. The annual oratorical contest was held in the Eureka College chapel and re­ sulted in a decision in favor of II. G. Harward, whose oration was on "Our Country's Heritage." Second honors were won by A. R. Spicer, who spoke on "Vin­ dication of Democracy." The prisoners in the Montgomery Coun­ ty jail have caught the war fever. They organized a company, electing John Bar- sein captain, and sent the following tele­ gram to Gov. Tanner: "We, the prisoners in county jail here, tender our services to the State in case of war. We are all waiting to leave here at once." A coal-oil lamp in the hands of work­ men repairing the gas pipes exploded in O. V. Parkison's dry goods store at Cen- tralia. A dangerous fire resulted. The oil flew in all directions, saturating the workmen's clothing, and driving them to the open air, and spreading the flames over the entire garret. The loss by water and smoke on the goods is heavier than the loss on the building. The trial at Carlinville of Capt. F. Y. Hedley, who shot and killed Mayor Rich­ ards of Blinker Hill, the following jury was chosen: Joseph Spicer, Shaw's Point; Frank Pogler, South Otter; Pardy Neice, Barr; T. I'. Weller, South Palmyra; A. L. Palmer, Scottvillc; Peter Richards, Girard; " James Sayer. Shipman; Silas Nevins, Nilwood; William Wadkins, Me- dora; Bell Rutherford. Barr; John Ilinckle, Barr; Samuel Walton, Honey Point. In the Sangamon Circuit' Court at Springfield, State's Attorney Smith brought suits against members of the Springfield Coal Association, commonly called the coal trust, to recover the penal­ ties provided by the anti-trust, law, which is a line of not less than $500 or more than $2,000. The defendants are: The Citi­ zens' Coal Mining Company, Black Dia­ mond Coal and Tile Company, the Spring­ field Coal Mining and Tile Company, the West End Coal Company. Annie Starne, Jennie Hurst and Charles Hurst, the Junction Coal Mining Company, the Woodside Coal Company, the Sangamon Coal Company, Springfield Iron Company, Springfield Co-operative Coal Mining Company and the Capitol Coal Company. The State Board pf Agriculture has come out with a printed report about the recent Chicago horse show, telling all about the deficit in that affair. John A. Logan and Joseph Leiter are severely criticised in this report. The deficit, ac- cording_to the figures offered 'by the board, •was $30,705.04. The board, says the re­ port, has attempted to collect the guar­ anty, and adds that personal appeals have be& made to the guarantors for the money. If these fail suit will be entered against every one-named in the list which Mr. Leiter furnished. The board sets forth that it demanded the guaranty from Mr. Logan after the show opened, but was told by him that it was in the hands of Mr. Leiter, who was the financial chairman of the citizens' committee. The present officers of the United Mine Workers of Illinois, for the first time in the history of the organization, have been elected by acclamation, which means a full indorsement of the course of proced­ ure during the suspension of 1897, which was directed by these officers. At the Hotel Fay, Peoria, the Kickapoo Club, one of the leading Illinois Republi­ can organizations, gave its second annual banquet and its guests, numbering nearly 200, included the local party leaders and a number of men prominent in State poli­ tics. A reception was held in the hotel parlors prior to the feast. Judge Baume, president of the Grant Memorial Associiition at Galena, has re­ ceived a letter from Judge Emory Speer of Macon, Ga., accepting an invitation to deliver the oration in that city at the celebration of the birthday anniversary of Gen. Grant on April 27. The women's clubs of Elgin have ac­ complished the formation of an organiza­ tion to be known as the Federation of Woman's Clubs of the City of Elgin. The organization .took place at a meeting of the women ofoElgin at Spurling Hall and the object asserted is for sociability, mu­ tual benefit and the advancement of the interests of tlie people of Elgin, socially, financially, morally and in charity. PLAN OF FUSI0NISTS. THREE-CORNERED ALLIANCE OF ANTI-REPUBLICAN FORCES. Democrats, Populists and Silverite3 Will Endeavor to Fuse in the Coming Congressional "Elections- Confidence in the Administration. The Fusion Movement. A Washington correspondent has out­ lined very clearly the plan of the Dem­ ocratic authorities;" of the Populists and of the silver Republicans to fuse in the coming Congressional elections. To be­ come all Bryanites,t in other words to devote themselves to the single cause of Bryanism--a term which we should not desire to use.offensively, but to de­ note the new doctrines which have taken possession of the Democratic party,. There have now been Issued to the voters of the country the addresses of Chairman Jones to the Democrats, of Chairman Butler to the Populists, and of Chairman Towne to the Silver Re­ publicans. They all dwell upon the im­ portance--to their various organiza­ tions and to the" success of their various parties, of course--of beginning right away to effect fusion in the various Congressional districts where there is going to be this fall ii lighting chance. And Ave can say truthfully, find it is what we want to say, that they have a fighting chance in many, many dis­ tricts. Where it seems most likely to be successful to>un a Democrat these Ifusionists will run a Democrat; where the opportunities are best for a Popu­ list, tju' a Silver Republican, these re­ spectively will be nominated. The fu- sionists are looking for the large end of the political cornucopia. Further, they hope distinctly that such an alliance of anti-Republican forces will be formed in '98 that it will be a broad enough stances agaifist the whole world, If nec­ essary. In almost any other country a similar occurrence would produce an immediate depression of business; in the United States it.has not yet cause a ripple on the smooth commercial stream. A people of such a temper and such confidence in their power and readiness to npholcl their national honor are unconquerable. Of such mettle are made the nations which endure when others decay and pass into oblivion.-- San Francisco Call. Patriotism and Style. In a recent issue Of the Washington Post, Mr. E. M. Baruett, -the represen­ tative of a London exporting firm, is quoted as saying: There will always be a demand for su­ perior lines of merchandise of every de­ scription from the old country. My house makes a specialty of fine arts, and our trade with the United States is very sat­ isfactory. The firms that send over high priced woolens are doing a splendid busi­ ness. They make clothes so much better and liner than they can be produced in America,, for climatic reasons, that men who will wear only the best clothing can­ not be satisfied with anything that is not imported..' There is no sort of a tariff law that! your Congress can frame that will shut us out of your markers. It is a melancholy fact that a large l'Umber of well-dressed American men "cannot be satisfied with anything that is not imported." They seem un­ able to dispel the illusion that if you want the best yon must go to Europe for it. They have not learned, and it is difficult to convince them, that the time lias passed when America must depend upon foreign looms for its high- grade woolens, and that some of the finest fabrics produced any where in the world are being woven to-day in Amer­ ican woolen mills. The cloth used in the inauguration suits of President McKinley and Vice President Hobart was woven in Con­ necticut, aud is pronounced by experts BECAUSE OF A PROTECTIVE TARIFF. HERE. basis for all anti-Republicans to stand upon in 1900. These facts we believe in pointing out repeatedly in order that all who are not anti-Republicans, that all. in short, who are Republicans, may recognize what they have in store, and may range themselves in battle lino accord­ ingly. The free silver proposition, which formed the chief plank of the Chicago platform of 189(5, will still be one of the chief planks of the Bryan fusion platform of 1900. Perhaps the chief idea dominating that convention, that platform, and that campaign, however, will be the general socialistic tendency and creed of all the anti-Re­ publicans. The Republican party has yet two years of good, clear power. It will come out of them with a single honor in any of our diplomatic entan­ glements. It will propose, if it cannot succeed in passing, wise currency re­ form. Republican leaders had better try hard to keep their promises; for the people will hold them, and will have a perfect right to hold them, as, indeed, it is their duty to hold them, to the strongest possible account. The Republican party is expected by this country and by the nations of the world to be a signal light of American pregress. It must be all this or fail. There will be plenty--Democrats, Br.v- anites. Populists, Socialists--to try to break it down.--Dolgeville Herald. A Cloudless Commercial Sky. Commercial reports all say that fav­ orable conditions dominate trade at the moment. Not even the Maine disaster checked the upward course of business, except on the New York Exchange, where, of course, it unsettled specula­ tion, as was to have been anticipated. All the prominent staples show a hard­ ening tendency and it is mentioned as a noteworthy fact that compared with a week ago not a single one shows a de­ cline, while some have advanced. Con­ spicuous in this latter exhibit is the iron and steel trade, of which it is re­ ported that in the Central West 90 per cent, of the pigiron furnaces are in full blast. All over the country there is a marked increase in the demand for dry goods and groceries, which indicates the arrival of the spring call for goods. In the Soutli the demand for cotton, sugar and rice is steadily growing, and collections in this section are becoming easier in consequence. The failures last week were 269, against 325 for the same week last year. The bank clearings of the country increased 52.3 per cent, over 1S97, and no important city show­ ed a decrease of any consequence. Wneat and its dependent cereals, met­ als,-notably steel billets, copper, lead and tin, and a long line of merchandise articles are higher in price than a week ago, and the prospects for a further ad­ vance are good. Exports of cereals continue to increase. The shipments of wheat, including flour, for the week tvere 3,932,744 bushels, as against 2,120,- 000 bushels last year, 3,149,000 bushels in 189G and 1,808,000 bushels in 1895. The bulk of this increase is chargeable to large flour exports. It is interesting to note the utter fail­ ure of the Maine incident to affect out- internal or foreign trade. We go right on buying and selling and manufactur­ ing as if it had never occurred. On 'Change, as well as on the street, but little is heard about it from the busi­ ness point of view. The lesson con­ veyed by this apparent indifference is in the highest degree laudatory of the temper of the American people, the permanence and stability of their form of government and their unshakable confidence in the nation to take care of Itself at all times and under all civcum- to be equal in all respects to any ma­ terial manufactured in Europe. Mill­ ions of yards of equally good cloth are being turned out right along in Ameri­ can mills. The four years of Wilson-Gorman free trade tariff and wholesale under valuation of foreign cloths were years of severe strain upon the woolen indus­ try of the United States, but in spite of the difficulties incidewt to unfair competition and insufficient protection the American mill men hung on brave­ ly to the home market and .hoped for better times. Better times are here, and under their influence the art and industry of cloth-making in this coumtry may be depended upon to make tremendous strides. It only needs a settled rate of tariff and actable market to enable this industry to do in woolens what many other domestic industries are do­ ing in their respective lines--that is, produce goods that defy competition !n either quality or price. In the mean/time, however, the fact should not be forgotten that in all ex­ cepting a few specialized lines--for ex­ ample. West of England, Belgian and German broadcloths--the high-grade woolens for men's wear that are made by the leading mills of America are not in any way surpassed, and in some ways are not equaled, by woolens of foreign manufacture. No American gentleman, be he nev­ er so exacting as to his apparel, need 1m? ashamed to follow the admirable example set by the President and Vice President of the United States on in tiuguration day, March 4, 1897, and wear American woolens. It is possible to be patriotic and perfectly dressed at the same time. The South Should Wake Up, A large per ce?it. of the raw niaieifial which abounds in Arkansas should^be converted into finished product at home, giving employment to skilled labor and at the same time enlarging the home de­ mand for farm.products. Within twelve months there lias been an advance in ad farm products but cotton. Iron, lead and zinc have also advanced. Foreign demand has doubtless caused the price of grain to go higher, but the restora­ tion of business to old conditions lias Caused metals and other raw material to advance. The protective system stimulates production. It is claimed the protective system has built up the East and enriched that section out of proportion with the West and South. If this is so, it is time the South were improving the opportunities qud bener fits to be derived from protection. All Republicans believe this--thousands of Democrats believe it also.--Little Rock Republican. Congress Is Apathetic. One thing is certain. No system of reciprocity that the vyit of the wisest statesman can devise will enable us to compete with England and Germany for the control of the South American markets so long as goods intended for shipment to South American ports must first be shipped to England and re- shipped there to the port of their ulti­ mate destination. It must be said that Congress is strangely apathetic in its treatment of this question. It is wast­ ing its time in useless discussions on civil service reform and other minor matters, but not a voice is raised to re deem the pledge given by the national convention in regard to the revival of American shipping. It should be, the duty of the Manufacturers' Association and of every kindred body in the coun­ try to stir up the laggards in Congress and secure prompt action.--Brooklyn Times. NEW REVENUE LAW. • s 'ir̂ . ' "*• Brltif Summary of Its Most Important Provisions. The new revenue law, which was passed by the Legislature of Illinois upon the last day of the special session, will go into effect July 1 next. The measure is prac­ tically an entire revision of the revenue code. Following is a summary of its im­ portant provisions: , In counties not under township organ­ ization the County Treasurer shall be ex- officio County Assessor. The county shall be divided into convenient assess­ ment districts and a deputy assessor ap­ pointed for each district. In counties under township organization^ less than 125,000 inhabitants the County Treasur­ er shall be ex-offieio Supervisor of Assess-, ments in his county. In all counties con­ taining 125,000 or more inhabitants thera is created a board of assessors, consisting of five persons. The first board of assets' ors shall be elected at the regular county election in the present year. Their terms of ofllce shall commence Jan, 1, 1S99. They shall hold office two for two years, two for four years, and one for six years, Their successors shall hold office for six years, one or two, as the case may be, being elected every two-years. Each As­ sessor shall receive a salary of $3,600 per annum. t The Board pf Assessors shall have pow­ er to appoint as many suitable persons us in their judgment are necessary to act as deputies, subject to the approval- of the board of review as to the number and time of service. The compensation of dep­ uties to be fixed by the board shall not exceed $5 a day. All property in this State shall be subject to assessment and taxation as provided by the general reve­ nue laws, except such property as may be exempt by such general laws from tax­ ation. All property subject to taxation shall be listed and assessed at the place and in the manner required by law, with reference to ownership, amount, kind, and value on the first day of April in the year for which the property is required to be listed, in­ cluding all property purchased on that day. Real property shall be assessed every fourth year beginning with 1899. He shall also between the first day of April and the first day of June in each intervening year, list and assess in like manner all real property which shall become taxable and which is not upon the general assess­ ment and also make and return a list o$ all new or added buildings, structures, oi other improvements of any kind, the vahie of which shall not have been previously added to or included in the valuation of the tract or lot on which such improve­ ments have been erected or placed, speci-. fying the tract or lot upon which said improvement has been erected or placed, the kind of improvement, and the value, which, in his opinion, has been added to such tract or lot by the erection thereof; and, in case of the destruction of or injury by fire, flood, cyclone, storm or otherwise, or removal of any struc­ tures, of any kind, or of the destruction of or injury to orchard, timber, ornament­ al trees, or groves, the value of which shall have been included in any former valuation of the'traet or lot on which the same stood, the Assessor shall determine as near as practicable how much the value of such tract or lot bus vlinxinisliou in consequence of having such destruction or injury, and make return thereof. On or before the first day of June in each year other than the year of the general assessment the Assessor shall determine the amount, in his opinion, of any change in the value of any tract or lot of land, if any such change has taken place and is not already entered in the assessment books, and add to or deduct from the as­ sessment accordingly. Personal property shall be assessed annually on the first day of April. The A ssessor is required to furnish to every property owner a print­ ed blank schedule, which is to be filled out with a statement of the personal prop­ erty owned by such persons. The prop­ erty owner shall make oath to the correct­ ness of the schedule. In counties having a Board of Assess­ ors (Cook County) the board shall meet on the first Monday of June in each year for the purpose of revising the assess­ ment of real property, and on the third Monday of June of each year for the pur­ pose of revising the assessment of per­ sonal property. The office of the Board of Assessors shall be open all the year during business hours. The general assessment shall be publish­ ed in some newpaper in the county, the cost of publication not to exceed three cents per name. In Cook County the as­ sessment shall be published in pamphlet form by election precincts in lieu of news­ paper publication, a copy of the pamph­ let to be delivered to every taxpayer. The changes in the real estate assessment and the entire personal property assessment shall be published annually. In counties under township organiza­ tion of less than 125,000 inhabitants the clerk of the County Court, the chairman of the County Board and some citizen resident of the county, to be appointed by the county judge on or before June 1 of each year, shall constitute a board of review to review the assessments made by the County Supervisor of Assessments. In counties not under township organiza­ tion the Board of County Commissioners shall constitute the board of review. In counties containing 125,000 or more inhabitants there shall be elected at the regular county election in the year 1898 a board of review, consisting of three per­ sons. The board of review shall meet on or before the second Monday in July in each year. The C-ounty Clerk shall estimate and determine the rate per cent upon the proper valuation of the property in the respective towns, townships, dis­ tricts and incorporated cities, towns and villages in their counties that will pro­ duce within the proper divisions of such counties not less than the net amount of the. several sums shall be required by the County Board or certified to them accord­ ing to law. " . In counties containing 125,000 or more inhabitants the amount to which any county, city, township, school district or other municipal corporation shall be al­ lowed to become indebted in any manner or for any purpose shall not hereafter ex­ ceed 2y2 per cent on the assessed value of the taxable property therein. In any municipality or taxing district in any county or counties containing a pop­ ulation of 125,000 or more inhabitants, in which the aggregate of the levies or taxes certified to the Qovnty Clerk exceeds 5 per cent, a reduction shall be made by the County Clerk in the taxes so certi­ fied, so as jo reduce the aggregate of such taxes to 5 per cent in the manner follow­ ing: . . The rate of county taxes throughout the county shall be fixed by reducing the ag­ gregate rate of taxation in the municipal­ ity or taxing district within the county in which such aggregate rate is the high­ est to 5 per cent by a pro rata reduction of all the levies certified therein, exclu­ sive of the State taxes. The rate of each of the other kinds of tax levies shall be fixed in the same manner. The State Board of Equalization shall hereafter assemble annually on the first Tuesday after .the tenth day of September. The State Board of Equalization may so lower or raise the total assessed value of property in any county as returned by the County Clerk as shall make the prop­ erty in such county bear a just relation to the assessed va>^» of property in other counties of the State. DIE IN A COLLISION. Omnibus Filled with Pleasure Seek era Run Down by a Train Near Chicago. Seven lives were snuffed out and two-- persons Mere seriously injured when an omnibus filled with pleasure seekers was struck by the New York express at the Western avenue crossing of the Grank Trunk Railroad in Blue Island, a Chicago suburb, at [8:30 o'clock Saturday night. The nine persons were' riding~in a bus driven by George Sauerbier of Blue Isl­ and. Sauerbier's son and the other occu­ pants were employes of the Bellaire Stamping works at Harvey, four miles from Blue Island. They were going to Blue Island to attend the birthday party of Jennie Landgraff, daughter of Fred Laudgraff, proprietor of the Union House. Louis SaUerbier, who was a playmate-of the young woman, was the host of what was intended to be a merry surprise party. Fate intervened and the proposed frolic became a earnivai of death. The pleasure sepkers left Harvey short­ ly after 7 o'clock, George Sauerbier, a veteran and experienced driver, was on the box. The occupants of the omnibus had no premonition of disaster, and as the wheels creaked in the snow on the lonelj' road they showed their good spir­ its by singing and laughing. The team was moving slowly west in Spalding ave­ nue, which runs parallel with the Grand Trunk Railroad tracks, aud turned into Westerh avenue, which crosses the tracks at an angle of.45 degrees. The horses were almost on the tracks when Sauerbier saw the headlight of the express train rushing toward him. With a stfdden fear the aged driver whipped up the animals desperately in the hope of clearing the danger line. But it was too late. When the horses were clear of the track and the omnibus half way over the engine crashed into the vehicle and seven lives were destroyed. Richard Water, the engineer, applied the air brakes, but the velocity of the train forced the engine a quarter of a mile before it was brought to a stop. A horri­ ble sight met the eyes of the train crew. Impaled on the pilot of the engine were found the crushed and torn bodies of Fred Maserno and Jennie Willette. Hun­ dreds of feet back was lying Thomas Hayes, terribly injured and unconscious, while strewn about were the other vic­ tims. The first news of the collision which reached Blue Island was the appearance of the horses which had run wildly In Western avenue, dragging behind them the broken gearing of the bus. Foaming and puffing they galloped up the street and were sighted by Officer Harneck, who stopped them. Officer Harneck no­ tified Chief of Police Cinnamon, who call­ ed Mayor Relini and Commissioner Beer. The party, which gleaned from the ap­ pearance of the rig that it had been struck at a crossing, started for the railroad. On its way it met George Sauerbier, limp­ ing with pain, his iirad with blood. With tears he told of the disaster. GREEKS GIVE THANKS. Rejoice in King George's Escape from Assassination. The escape of King George of Greece from assassination has aroused a great patriotic outburst all over the country. lanksgivmg services were held every­ where. The King's courage and coolness in protecting his daughter is praised on every hand. The press is unanimous in , condemnation of the outrage. A solemn Te Deum was celebrated in the cathedral, K I X G G E O R G E . to give thanks for the King's escape. The metropolitan officiated and the ceremony was very impressive. The cbwFeb was crowded with high state, military, and na­ val officers, members of the municipal government, and well-known residents of the city. All members of the royal fam­ ily in Athens were present. The police are scouring the country for the two men who attempted to kill his majesty. There has been {••• revulsion of feeling in favor of the King, who has been deeply unpopular since the war with Turkey. Telegrams have been received from everywhere in the provinces ex­ pressing unfeigned indignation at the at­ tack on the King. His majesty declines to believe that the crime was of Greek origin. No Greek, he says, would lift a hand against him, and if a conspiracy ex­ isted it had its origin abroad. REINDEER ,STOOD TRIP WELL. Over Five Hundred Landed at New York in Good Condition. Tlie Lapland reindeer Yukon relief ex­ pedition of the government reached New York Sunday night on the chartered steamship Manitoban, twenty-four days from Bosekop, arctic Lapland. The ex­ pedition is in charge of Dr. Sheldon Jack­ son, who introduced the first domestic reindeer into Alaska, and now under tlie auspices of the general government is placifig there the first colony of Lapp set­ tlers. The Manitoban brought a unique ^argo, the first of its kiud ever imported into the United States. It consisted of 113 immigrants, 537 reindeer, 418 rein­ deer sleds, 511 sets of reindeer harness, and between 3,000 and 4,000 bags of moss for feeding the reindeer en route. The immigrants consist of forty-three Lapp, ten Finnish, aud fifteen Norwe­ gian reindeer herders and drivers and their families, making a party of sixty- eight men, nineteen women, and twenty- six children. But one deer was lost on the journey of 4,000 miles from Lapland, and it died from injuries received in fight­ ing on shipboard. The expedition was loaded at once on special trains and start­ ed to Puget Sound, where it will take a steamer for Southeast Alaska. From Southeast Alaska the expedition will cross to the Yukon valley. Dr. Jackson said he was agreeably surprised that the animals had stood the voyage so well. TEN DEAD AT KALAMAZOO. Fire and Explosion in a Drug House Make a Great Disaster. At Kalamazoo, Mich., fire and an explo­ sion in the Hall Bros.' pharmaceutical works Saturday uight caused the death of ten men. A score are more or less in­ jured, some with legs, hands or faces mangled or blown off, and others with their backs broken or maimed in some other way. - The building, a four-story- structure, was occupied jointly by Hall Bros, and the Kalamazoo Paper-Box Company, the latter concern having the two upper fioors- The total loss is about 30,000, about $25,- 000 being sustained by Hall Bros. The explosion is supposed to have been caused by the ignition 5f nitrous ether, but the origin oi the fire cannot be accounted for. nrrrrrr At a reception given recently by a fot* eign minister a woman was discovered in the act of carrying off a large plate of chicken salad. . She had slipped it under a rich wrap which she wore and had pro­ ceeded as far as the outer door when a. detective in the employ of the caterer headed her off. This is hardly an un­ usual occurrence. At the 'public recep­ tions women thieves have been accus­ tomed to steal china,; silverware and even common dishes. So great has become the nuisance that those giving the receptions no jpnger-use their own dishes. A cater­ er is hired to supply everything and he also supplies-detectives to watch his prop­ erty. These detectives are sometimes in ,the disguise of maids', who; assist the la­ dies with their wraps, but more, ofteh ap­ pear as guests in proper gowns and suits. A short time ago a lady who goes'in the very best Washington society was-dis­ covered stealing valuable pins from the dresser at a small private dinner." She was confronted by her hostess- and said she had slipped the jewelry into her pock­ et so that it might not be stolen by the maids who jrpre about the dressing room. 0 * * ~ -• ' The most unique application for offiee that has yet been filed under this admin­ istration conies from Alonzo Bradford, who wishes to be postmaster at Hay- wards, Cal. Accompanying his applica­ tion is a letter of recommendation, sign­ ed by a large number of Republican poli­ ticians aiid citizens of the place, together with an X ray photograph of his left knee. The photograph shows that a bullet en­ tered his knee at the joint, pushed up the kneecap and lodged between the bones of the upper and lower parts of the leg. The bullet is still there, it being impossible to dislodge it by probing, and the only way in which it can be removed is by amputation of the . leg. Mr. Bradford stated that the bullet was received at the battle of Fort Donelson, and that he had carried it ever since. * $ $ Washington is now enjoying its annuat invasion of women. The National Wom­ an's Suffrage Association has recently been in session. Next we have the Daugh­ ters of the Revolution, aud after that the mothers' congress, a convention of colonial dames aud other assemblies of the feminine persuasion. The hotels are filled vvith women, they occupy the side­ walks, crowd the street cars, and in the reception rooms of the Senate and House of Representatives and the White House have displaced the office seekers from the benches they have occupied so patiently since the 4th of last March. The hotel corridors, which are usually redolent of tobacco smoke, are now scented with lilac o tiji musk, n.iid there is n for better all around. Vf • * » The statement is frequently made that Speaker Reed is a rich man, but a close personal friend says that this is far from the truth. Only lately he said Mr. Reed was complaining that he had to live in one small room at the Shoreham aud write for magazines to eke out his income. The Speaker receives a salary of $8,000 a year. His position requires, that he live fairly well, and with a wife it must cost nearly this sum for regular current ex­ penses in Washington. • * • There is a hopeless lack of interest in the proposal to legislate against the adul­ teration of flour and corn. It took Sen- * ator Mason two weeks to get a meeting of his committee on manufactures, and then there were only two out of fivemem- bers present. The representatives of the Millers' Association read their arguments to Senators Mason and Harris, but as there was no quorum nothing could be done. * * * It lias been definitely determined that the Dupuy de Lome letter was stolen in the Havana postoffice. It was offered for $250 to the correspondent of a newspaper in Havana. When he declined it the thief offered it to another correspondent for $100, and then, not being able to make a sale, it was offered an agent of the junta, and purchased for a price that cannot be ascertained, * <• * There is a telephone war in Washing­ ton which has got into the courts and Con­ gress, and will undoubtedly result in the passage of a law regulating the charges and service on some more equitable basis than we have been accustomed to. The . charges in Washington rauge from $S0 to $120 "a year, according to the distance of the subscriber from the central office and the number of messages sent. WILLIAM M. SINGERLY IS DEAD. Well-Known Philadelphia Banker and Publisher Passes Away. William M. Singerly died suddenly at his residence, 1071 Locust street, Phila­ delphia, Sunday afternoon. Heart lesion was the immediate cause of death. Mr. Singerly had been suffering for about ten days from a cold and had remained at home since last Wednesday, although his indisposition was in no way serious. While sitting in his bedroom smoking a cigar he was seized with a violent fit of coughing and immediately afterward fell over dead. In the room at the time were' Mrs. Singer's granddaughter. Miss Mabel Singerly Meredith, and two servants. His son-in-law, James S. McCartney, had left a few moments before the sudden end came, leaving Mr. Singerly apparently in good health, apart from his slight cold. The physicians say they had frequently cautioned Mr. Singerly that his heart was weak, as a result of excessive smoking, and of late his custom was to take a "dry smoke." Sunday, however, his cigar was lighted and it is thought that the smoke brought on the coughing spell, the sever­ ity of which ruptured a valve of the heart. Mr. Singerly -leaves a daughter, Mrs. E. Singerly Balch, who is at present touring Europe. William M. .Singerly was proprietor of the Record Publishing Company, presi­ dent of the Chestnut Street National Bank and the Chestnut Street Savings Fund and Trust Company, which recent­ ly collapsed; and president of the Singer­ ly Pulp and Paper mill. He was a mem­ ber of the Fairuiount Park Commission and until lately the treasurer, and a trus­ tee of the Philadelphia Commercial Ma- Notest of Current K vents. A bill providing a government for the territory of Alaska has beeu reported to the Senate. Attorney General Griggs was formally presented to the United States Supreme Court and was admitted to practice befor* that tribunal. - i » While following the deerhounds, near Aiken, S. C-, Mrs. William C. Whitney, wife of the ex Secretary of the Navy, was knocked from b.«r horse aud seriously In­ sured ' . 1 ;.