VOL. VII.
McCRORY, ARKANSAS, THURSDAY, JANUARY 23, 1908.
NO. 10.
NEWS OF THE WEEK
the latest news of the
WOFti-E briefly told.
north, east, west, south
Foreign Lands Throughout the Na
tion and Particularly From the
Great Southwest.
CONGRESSIONAL.
Representative Hacaney of Missouri
introduced a bill so amending the in
state commerce act that common
earners are permitted to issue passes
to the widows of deceased employes
and to their minor children.
Chairman Hepburn of the house com
mittee on interstate and foreign com
merce gave notice that on the first
Tuesday in March the committee will
begin pubuc hearings on the Gronna
and Watson bills to provide for the
inspection and grading of grain enter
ing into interstate commerce and to
secure uniformity in standards and
in the classification of grain.
Surgeon General Rixey of the navy
asked the house committee on naval
affairs to raise an appropriation of
$1,500,000 for the construction and
equipment of a navy hospital ship.
This estimate contemplates the in
stallation of I he most modern instru
ments and appliances which science
has perfected in the surgical field. The
committee’s attitude was friendly to
the request.
The house committee on patents,
through Mr. Htnshaw of Nebraska, re
ported favorably the Dalzell bill, which
bestows on the United States court
of claims the power to consider claims
by inventors for compensation on ac
counts of patents appropriated by the
government without recompense to the
patentees in cases where contracts
were entered into. A bill similar was
passed by the senate at the last ses
sion and was favorably reported to
the house, but on account of the in
clusion of a retroactive clause as an
amendment, the measure failed of
passage bv the house. The Dalzell hill
is non retroactive.
The senate passed a resolution de
claring that no communication from
heads of departments, chiefs of bu
reaus or other executive officers will
be received by that body unless they
are sent in compliance with law or
are transmitted by the president. The
resolution was the result of objections
made by Senator Hevburn and Senator
Hale to the reception by the senate of
bills sent by Secretary Garfield in con
nection with a communication.
Senator Warren, chairman of the
committee on military affairs, intro
duced a bill increasing the pay of
army officers as follows: Lieutenant
general. 10 per cent; major generals
and brigadier generals, 15 per cent;
colonels, lieutenant colonels and ma
jors, 20 per cent; captains and first
and second lieutenants and cadets, 25
per cent.
There was a running fire of criti
cism in the senate of the bill to re
vise the criminal laws of the United
States, which Senator Heyburn, chair
man of the Joint committee, framed.
The bill met with many explanations.
Senator Bacon claimed that the print
of the bill was not arranged In a way
to make clear every change of law con
tained in the bill. Senators Heyburn
and Sutherland defended the bill, ex
plaining that they were ready to give
full explanation of each section when
reached.
The senate committee on commerce
considered the revenue cutter service
prsonnel bill, which reorganizes the
service and increases the pay and rate
some of the higher officers and
ordered a favorable report upon it.
is is the first of the bills increasing
p Pay of any part of the military or
n.Ual service to be reported to the
■ (n,vi'. a small increase of officers is
Provided in the hill.
Tlic senate ratified and made public
treaty between the United States
am Spain, wherein it is agreed that
Pam shall, upon requisition, deliver
ip to justice persons charged with
.n' "l a ttst of certain crimes ranging
>°tn murder to slave trading.
miscellaneous.
Mrs. Herbert M. Sears of the well
“°Wu and wealthy family of that
nin ' -0l ®oston' committed suicide by
nsmg from a window of her apart
”n *he thirteenth floor of the
St- Regis, to the Fifth avenue
Pavement, in New York.
to Preparations are being made
Ne® vte Mrs' Augustus Stetson of
shit. F°llv C’ty to tlle supreme leader
The ° •ttl6 Christian Science church.
ennw/'1 lnie movers in the scheme are
Mir-'ij0? t*le venerable Mrs.
J nker G. Eddy is close to death,
thi. ,? |)an*on attorney has reported to
WarJ??ent that conditions do not
ret* ,"1the Pardoning of Thomas Bar
Penito ffral |)risoner, in the Missouri
tenoi r ry’ servin& a fi'’e years’ sen
franH= orl complicity in naturalization
Lom- wh,ch were unearthed in St.
nearly five years ago.
The attorney general announced
that, pending a decision ot the su
preme court as to the provision of the
Hepburn law, which requires railroads
to dispose of their coal mine holdings
by May 1 of this year, the government
will not prosecute the roads for fail
ure to obey the law.
O. B. Hewitt, an attorney of Taylor
ville, 111., shot and perhaps fatally
wounded Donald W. Stevenson, a min
ing promoter of Kansas City, Mo., in
a drunken brawl on the public square.
Hewitt shot four times with a re
volver, two of the shots taking effect.
Only one of them is dangerous.
Augustus Hartje has at last decided
to abandon his litigation to obtain a
divorce from his wife, Mrs. Mary Scott
Hartje.
More than 100,000,000 ties were used
in railroad construction and renewals
during the year 190G, according to a
circular issued under the joint
auspices of the Forest Service and
Census Bureau of the government, me
figures show that approximately three
fourths of the ties were hewed and
the others sawed, while the average
price paid per tie was 48 cents.
Charged with having operated upon
and wilfully caused the death of a
woman hospital patient while he was
under the influence of drugs, Dr. P. H.
Dahl, one of the wealthiest and most
prominent surgeons in Northwestern
Iowa, is under arrest at Fort Dodge.
Skeletons in the family closet of
Col. Thomas Snell, the dead million
aire, whose will is in danger of being
declared invalid, were exposed for the
benefit of a jury in the circuit court.
Letters which he wrote and received
were produced and their contents cre
ated the greatest sensation.
The daily export of manufactures
from the United States during 1907 av
eraged in value more than $2,000,000,
according to a bulletin issued by the
bureau of statistics of the department
of commerce and laoor.
Mrs. Lydia Bradley, millionaire
philanthropist, founder of the Bradley
Joiytechnic Institute, died in Peoria,
111., aged 93.
As a result of a decision handed
down by Justice Hough in the United
States circuit court, ffi. H. Harriman
will be compelled to appear before the
interstate commerce commission and
answer all questions put to him save
those relating to the purchases of
Union Pacific and Southern Pacific
stock in connection with the dividend
of August, 190G. In the same order,
Justice Hough directed that Otto H.
Kuhn of Kuhn, Loeb & Co., do like
wise.
England is alarmed for Japan’s fu
ture. British statesmen think the
combined political and financial crisis
there about the most serious any na
tion could possibly face. It needed
only a glance at the country’s balance
sheet to tell some time ago just what
was coming, but no one seemed to ap
preciate the imminence of the danger.
Mae Wood, in her divorce suit in
New York, declares Senator Platt
paid $10,000 for the return of letters.
Plans are under way for the boring
of a test oil weli >n White county, Il
linois, and nearly $5,000 has been sub
scribed in Carmi. The first well will
be put down in Emma township, to
a depth of 2,500 feet if necessary. The
Jennings interests of Pittsburg have
taken leases on 12,000 acres of ground
in the county.
The coroner's jury has returned its
verdict in connection with the investi
gation of the Monongah mine disas
ter. It finds that the explosion was
due to either a blown-out shot or to
ignition of powder which in turn ig
nited the gas in the mine.
The desire of a woman scorned to
have vengeance on the man she had
once loved enough to forsake for him
husband and friends, was revealed as
the cause of the shooting which broke
up the trial of former Banker John K.
Walsh and sent Attorney Samuel R.
Hamill of Walsh’s counsel scurrying
for shelter from the rain of bullets
which swept the corridor of the fed
eral building in Chicago.
A sensation has been created in
American circles by the resignation of
the Rev. J. E. Dickie, the veteran
pastor of the American church in Ber
lin. The resignation is the outcome of
a bitter quarrel between the minister
and Ambassador Tower.
The first day of shore leave for the
men from ihe American battleship
fleet at Rio Janeiro was marred by a
collision of large proportions between
about 300 of the bluejackets and at
least 2,000 natives, following the ar
rest of a native by the fleet police.
The Norwegian Storthing was for
mally opened by King Haakon. In
the speech from the throne he referred
with satisfaction to the conclusion of
the Norwegian integrity treaty and to
the part played by Norway in the
peace conference at The Hague.
In a quarrel over the cutting of ce
dar posts at Burnt Springs, Col.. Da
vid Lowry, aged 55, was killed by Wm.
Heidriek, and Frank Hunt, 16 years
old, was probably fatally wounded by
Lowry before he was killed. Hunt was
there' is little hope for his recovery.
A posse is in pursuit of the Lowry
boys and their mother.
NEWS OF
ARKANSAS
Throat Cut and Pocket* Rifled.
When the horse and buggy belong
ing to A. W. Thorpe stopped at his
home four miles from Argenta, near
Oak Grove school house, about 9
o’clock Wednesday night, Mrs. Thorpe
ran out of the house to meet her hus
band, who had been away all day
working at his tinner’s shop in Ar
genta. When she reached the buggy
Bhe found her husband lying in the
bottom, dead, with a ghastly knife
wound in his throat. He had also been
shot, and his body was covered with
blood. His trousers pockets turned
inside out told the motive for the hor
rible deed. There is little doubt but
that robbery was the motive for the
crime, but it is known that Thorpe
did not have a large amount of money
on his person. Just where the murder
was committed has not been discov
ered. The murderer had evidently
climbed into the buggy to commit the
crime, and then had allowed the horse
to carry its dead master on to his
home. Mystery surrounds every detail
of the murder. No arrests have been
made, and the county officers are at
a loss to fix the guilt. Robbery was
undoubtedly the motive, as the man's
pockets were turned inside out and
their contents scattered over the bot
tom of the wagon in which his body
was found wrhen the horse, without
guidance, brought it home.
J. L. Cravens Dies at Fayetteville.
Col. J. L. Cravens, one of the
pioneers of Arkansas, a graduate of
West Point, commander of a Confed
erate regiment during the Civil war,
prominent business man and well
known throughout the state, died at
Fayetteville Thursday of pneumonia.
Col. Craven^ was about IS years old
and is survived by his wife and five
children. The children include two
sons, William Cravens and Hat Crav
ens, and three daughters, Mrs. Vol
Walker, Mrs. Oliver Cravens, and Mrs.
Gregg. Col. Cravens had been con
fined to his bed for several weeks. He
was a cousin of Jordan E. Cravens,
whose daughter, Mrs. F. B. T. Hollen
berg, lives at 617 Cumberland street,
Little Rock. His nephew’, Benjamin
Cravens, is a member of Congress
from Fort Smith.
To Save City’s Water Front.
The official announcement of the
letting of the contract for the construc
tion of the government levee on the
north side of the Arkansas river at
Pine Bluff, has reached Secretary J.
L. Caldwell of the Pine Bluff Board
of Trade, and work on the new levee
which is to be installed to prevent a
“cut-off" by the Arkansas river at this
point, will begin at soon as the rights
of way are approved by the govern
ment.
Five Years for Murder.
Marcellus Penton was tried in the
District Court of Bowie county at Bos
ton Wednesday and convicted on a
charge of murder in the second degree
and given five years in the penitenti
ary. Penton’s victim was another ne
gro whom he slew with an ax at a
negro festival in the winter of 1905.
He was tried once febore, but the trial
ended with a hung jury.
Tradesman's Weekly Review.
In the Tradesman’s review of South
ern industries the following appear
this week: Pocahontas—$10,000 ware
house and gin company; Arkadelphia
—$100,000 development company;
Mansfield—$5,000 planing mill; Hope—
Hardware company; Camden—$100,
000 mining company; Guthrie—$100,
000 manufacturing company; Caddo—
$100,000 oil and gas company.
Schools In Three Buildings.
The Gurdon public school has been
closed since fire destroyed the school
house two weeks ago. School opened
again Monday in various buildings.
One branch is in the Christian church,
one in the Methodist church and an
other in the Negro Society building.
Engineer Will Lose Leg.
John R. Holman, an Iron Mountain
engineer, ran his train into an open
switch in the south end of the Gur
don yards, and in jumping from the en
gine broke his leg above the ankle.
The break Is a bad one, and the leg
will have to be amputated.
Accepts Big Bridge For Couty.
County Judge James Gould Wednes
day afternoon inspected the new iron
bridge, across Bayou Bartholomew
four miles south of Pine Bluff on the
Monticello road, and accepted it. The
bridge was recently built at a cost of
$3,500 to the county. It is 280 feet
long, 16 feet wide and is made en
tirely of iron. It i3 wide enough to
admit the passing o* two vehicles, and
is said by Judge Gould to be one of
the finest road bridges ever built in
that county.
Negro Coachman Cut to Death.
In the presence of the object of their
rival affections. Grant Jones, one of
the best-known negroes in Little Rock,
was cut in the throat and killed by Ed
Bruden, a mulatto, Monday night,
shortly after 9 o’clock in the room of
Lily Heard, a domestic employe^ at
the residence of J. H. McCarthy, at
1296 Lincoln avenue. Little Rock. Ac
companied by the Heard woman, Jones
staggered to the Physicians’ and Sur
geons' Hospital, a few doors to the
west, and died there about thirty min
utes after the cutting. Bruden is still
at large. For 20 years "Grant,” as
he was known, has acted as coachman
for some of the best families of Little
Rock, and as driver of public, cabs.
Some of the most promnent residents
have been driven to society functions,
to their weddings and finally to their
graves by the negro. He numbered
his friends among the white people by
the hundreds. Nearly every man who
moved in society circles knew and
liked the negro. The fathers of the
present generation of society leaders
insisted upon having Grant as driver
for all occasions, just as their sons did
up to the time of his death.
El Dorado Has $35,000 Fire.
While owners and employes of the
Arkansas Wholesale Grocery Com
pany, one of the leading concerns of
El Dorado, were gathered in the front
office of the building at 3:30 o’clock
’Tuesday afternoon, unmindful of the
danger and disaster threatening them,
flames were enveloping the rear of the
house and its doom wras sealed before
a brakeman on a passing train discov
ered the fire and gave the alarm. The
house and contents were totally de
stroyed. The loss is about $35,000, but
it is believed that the insurance will
practically cover the loss.
Asks Tests of Arkansas Coal.
Congressman Reid was able Tuesday
to report real progress in the work of
bringing to the attention of department
heads the value of Arkansas’ anthra
cite coal for use by the government for
its smokeless qualities. He has devel
oped a plant in conjunction with the
quartermaster general who, so soon as
the geological survey reports on its in
vestigation with plats and information
as to the number, will detail an army
officer to go to Arkansas to super
vise the packing of samples of the coal
which will be shipped here for exten
sive tests.
Negro Slays Husband of His Divorced
Wife.
John Stokes shot and killed Charley
Billingsley in the negro coach of an
Iron Mountain train Tuesday morning
about two miles from Helena. The
slayer and the body of his victim were
taken to Helena and turned over to
local authorities. Billingsley had mar
ried Stokes’ former w'ife and the two
wrere fighting in the courts for posses
sion of Stokes’ two children. They
were going to Helena to attend court
when the shooting occurred. Stokes
claims self-defense.
Standridge Back in Penitentiary
Yates Standridge, the escaped con
vict from the state penitentiary, who
shot and killed two people in Newton
county recently and seriously wounded
another, and who was recaptured in
Baxter county Sunday, was taken to
the state penitentiary Monday morn
ing. Standridge is now kept in a lock
ed cell at the penitentiary. He is not
even allowed to go out into the cor
ridors with the sick convicts.
Money for Drainage.
Congressman Robinson took a hand
in the drainage movement Monday by
introducing a bill, providing that $2.
000,000 be appropriated for the inves
tigation and survey of the swamp, wet
and overflow lands, of Arkansas, and
to devise a system for their drainage.
May Bridge the St. Francis.
Representative Macon's bill to per
mit St. Francis county to construct a
bridge across the St. Francis river at
Madison, which had passed the house,
passed the Senate, and consequently
wrill become a law as soon as President
Roosevelt signs it.
Early Closing at Pine Bluff.
The new midnight closing ordinance,
affecting saloons and other places that
sell intoxicating liquors, at Pine Bluff,
went into effect Wednesday night, at
12 o’clock, the official publication of
the new ordinance having been made
Tuesday.
Arkansans in Distress.
Weary from traihping Hi miles, Jo
seph Risden and wife, who walked
from Parkin, Ark., to West Memphis,
are being cared for at police headquar
ters by Matron Roark. Risden and
wife are without funds and anxious to
get to Bluff City, Tenn., where they
say they have relatives who will care
for them.
Killed by Freight Train.
Jesse Gurgin, for 20 years in the
dray business at Fayetteville, wa*
killed Thursday by a moving freight
train.
Commits Suicide.
William T. Dunn, manager of the
Southern Cotton Oil Company’s plant
of Little Rock, committed suicide by
sending a pistol ball into his right tem
ple at the residence of Capt. J. H. Mc
Hugh in Newport, Friday morning. The
bullet went clear through his head. Mr.
Mr. Dunn lived at Little Rock, but was
a frequent visitor there and kept the
room in which he died for use when
in Newport. The suicide was discov
ered by the housemaid, when she went
into the room to clean it. No mes
sage of any kind was left to explain
the deed, and it is a great mystery to
all his friends why he should have
taken his life.
Prairie County Dry.
Prairie county, is now on the dry list
in its entirety. The last stronghold of
whiskey in the county was De Vail’s
Bluff and local option ;-as been fought
in the courts. Saturday saw the defeat
of the whiskey fight. At the afternoon
session the attorney foi the liquor men
arose in court and, in a brief and
courteous statement, announced that
the odds against his clients were too
great, and they had decided not to
continue the contest.
Glanders at Texarkana.
A horse belonging to S. B. Kelley,
1724 West Thirteenth street, Texar
kana, was investigated Saturday by a
commission appointed by County Judge
Sinelser, and was found to be suffering
from glanders. The judge at once is
sued an order that the animal be killed
and the body cremated, which order
was executed by Deputy Sheriff W. E.
Peters. This is the second case of
glanders in the community in the last
two weeks.
Citizens Pay For School.
Leslie is trying a new experiment in
running a school. The school fund
was exhausted before Christmas. The
enterprising citizens met and, after a
full discussion, decided to raise enough
money by popular subscription to con
tinue the school three months longer.
A free school is now maintained by
popular subscription. The first week
has just closed, with a larger atten
dance than there was before the holi
days.
Many Companies Formed.
Secretary of State Ludwig has just
compiled figures which show that a
total of 93 5 companies incorporated
under the laws of Arkansas the past
year. Of the entire number only 29
were incorporated before the passage
of the Wingo act. Of the entire num
ber 456 were domestic incorporations
and 479 were foreign corporations,
the foreign companies being in the
majority.
Has Nothing to Say.
Chancellor John M. Elliott of the
Chancery court has stated that no offi
cial order had been received from
United States Judge Jacob M. Trieber,
announcing the appointment of a re
ceiver for the Bluff City Lumber Com
pany. He refused to make a state
ment regarding any action that he
might take. This does not obviate
the possibility of a clash between the
state and federal courts.
Bank President Arrested.
J. A. Henry, president of the First
National bank, is under $2,500 bond
until the Grand Jury meets in June,
having waived preliminary examina
tion, following his arrest on a charge
of falsifying a deed to 320 acres of val
uable land owned by C. E. Traweek,
but against which Henry held the
notes by both Traweek and his wife.
Will Investigate Death of Carruth.
After examining the body of Ladd
Carruth, who was killed in a fist fight
at Clarendon Saturday morning by
Dolph Bowers, the coroner's jury held
a secret session and then adjourned
their deliberations until later without
examining any witnesses. They will
make a thorough investigation.
Held for Assault to Kill.
Friday a man named Shuts was lodg
ed in jail at Arkadelphia, charged with
assault with intent to kill. Shuts was
arrested there during the past summer
by Deputy Sheriff Golden, but he sur
rendered only after emptying his gun
at the sheriff, and it is for this that
he is being held.
Surrenders Charter.
The Johnson Investment Company
Monday filed notice with the secretary
of state that it had surrendered its
House Boy Had Stolen Goods.
Charles Sanders, a negro housebov,
formerly employed at the home of Mr.
and Mrs. Hubert B. Strange, of Pine
Bluff was arrested Wednesday'by Con
stable Frank Stewart on a grand lar
ceny charge and was later identified
by Mr. Strange as the negro who stole
some clothing from his home on
Christmas Day. The negro had on
Mr. Strange’s shoes when arrested.
New Creamery For Gillett.
The Gillett Creamery Association is
just completing a substantial $4,200
creamery.
PLOT TO DESTROY FLEET
Brazilian Police, Warned by Washing*
ton and Paris Authorities, En
deavoring to Thwart Ruthless
Design of European Anar
chists to Sink Fleet.
Rio Janeiro.—The Brazilian police
have discovered an aranchistic plot
here having as its object the destruc
tion of part of the American fleet,
now lying in the harbor. The con
spiracy, while centering in Rio Janeiro
and Petropolis, has ramifications in
Sao Paulo and Minas Geraes. An in
dividual named Jean Fedher, who re
sided in Petropolis, was the chief con
spirator here, although it is under
stood that foreign anarchists are deep
ly involved in the plot. Fedher is
believed to have fled to Sao Paulo and
the police who know him have been
sent to that place for the purpose of
arresting him.
One of the detectives, who was well
acquainted with Fehder, having serv
ed on the police force at Petropolis for
some time, returned from that place
Sunday, after having made investiga
tions there, and had a long conference
with the chief of police at Rio Jan
eiro. The latter gave it out later that
the Sao Paulo police are on the track
of the arch-conspirator and expect to
arest him soon.
In an official note which the chief
of police sent to the correspondent
of the Asociated Press, he says:
“Sometime before the arrival of the
American fleet at Rio Janeiro, the
Brazilian government received from
Washington and Paris information
that anarchists of different national
ities intended to damage one or sev
eral of the ships of the fleet. The
names and addresses of the conspra
tors were indicated by information
which the police had received from
France and German}'. The police of
this district are working with the
police of Sao Paulo and Minas Geraes
and I am sure every precaution will
be exercised and the most rigorous
vigilance observed, both on land and
at sea, to prevent any injury being
done.”
The chief of police, after having
made this -official statement, said that
he did not feel he should go into
any further details with regard tw
the conspiracy, but he authorized the
statement that the plot was organ
ized by Fedher, and he added that the
people of the United States could rest
easy, as all of the conspirators had
taken refuge in the interior.
Entombed Miners Rescued.
Ely, Nev.—After having been en‘
tombed 46 days in the Alpha shaft of
the Ciroux mine, A. D. Bailey, P. J
Brown and Fred McDonald have been
rescued. At 8:30 o’clock Saturday
night Bailey was brought out. Four
teen minutes later McDonald came
to the surface, while 10 minutes lat
er Brown was brought up. Whistles
all over the district blew loudly, while
crowds cheered in the streets of Ely
and every bell in the town was ringing.
"Ah!” This was the first exclama
tion of Bailey when he reached the
outer air. Without another word he
■tottered forward into the arms of
comrades, who stood ready to assist
him, and was led to the change room
of the Alpha shop, where in a few'
minutes he recuperated. “By George,
it certainly seems fine to be out of
that hell hole,” said Fred McDonald,
as he was led away, telling his broth
er in a high-pitched voice of his ter
rible experience. "Say, somebody
give me a chew of tobacco,” said
Brown, “I’m on the bum all right.”
All of the men were supremely happy.
France Is Rich.
Paris.—Contrasting France’s finan
cial situation with that of other coun
tries, Finance Minister Caillaux calls
attention in an interview to the enor
mous assets of the French govern
ment and the Communes compared
with their liabilities. “Within forty
years,” he declares, “these will be in
creased by the escheating to the local
authorities of valuable franchises, such
as lighting, etc., and between 1959
and I960 all the railroads will become
the property of the nation.” The min
ister says the system of old age pen
sions for workmen, which will cost
$20,000,000, and to which both work
men and employers must contribute,
cannot be realized for some years to
come.
Insane Boy Cuts Throat.
St. Louis.—“I killed a man with a
beanshooter and I will pay the pen
alty” written with a pencil on blood
spattered paper, was the note left by
Charles Deskell, aged 18, a shoecut
ter, who killed himself here Sunday
by slashing his throat with a razor.
His body and the note were found
by his mother. It is believed from,
the note that he became suddenly in
sane.