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CRAZY CRANKS CHOKE MAILS With Millions of Chain-Letters and Postals Containing Silly Prayer. OFFICIALS ARE WORRIED Unde Sam Inaugurates Fight Against the Craze—Postals Thrown Out hut Sealed Letters Cannot be Reached. According to a Washington dis patch the “chain letter’’ epidemic has again broken out. This time it ap pears that all the religious cranks in the country have been set to writ ing prayrs. The more prayer letters, the more imprecations from postal clerks and carriers. The thing seems to have taken a tenacious hold upon the super stitious in widely separated communi ties, and their name is legion. The innocent cause of the trouDle has sought to stem the tide and entirely disclaims responsibility for the scheme whifch has loaded the mails with these prayer letters. Ministers have de nounced the fake and urged tneir con gregations to burn the missives and pay no attention to the threats they contain, but still the letters multiply and are seriously overloading the mails. It seems that nothing but com mon sense will serve to break up the chain. The letter is as "follows: “Dear Friend and Christian: Below is a prayer chain just as it was sent to me, so I send it out to others, for I do not want it broken in my hands. May God bless you and others to keep it going: “ ‘Oh, Lord Jesus, we implore thee, O Eternal God, to have mercy on all mankind; keep us from all sin, and take us to live with thee eternally. Amen.’ “This prayer was dictated by Bish op Lawrence. He commands it to be written and sent to nine other per sons. He who will not do it will be afflicted by some misfortune, and per sons who pay no attention to it 'will meet with a terrible accident. He who will write this prayer for nine days and send it to nine others, commenc ing the day you receive this (only one each day), will after nine days ex perience some great joy. At Jerusa lem, at the feast, it was said he who would write this prayer would be de livered from every calamity. Please do not let this drop in your hands. I have written this just as I received it. Now, please send it to others. Sin cerely, CHRISTIAN." Through fear of being overtaken by some dire calamity, as predicted in the letter, the superstitious recipients have invariably set down and complied with the instructions to write a letter each day for nine days. Asa consequence, millions of prayers have been writ ten and sent through the mails in the form of letters and postal cards. Postal cards are thrown out by the clerks and carriers under instructions from headquarters, but of course the seated letters are usually sent through to their destination, since there is no way of telling from the outstde what they contain. In speaking of the matter an official of the postal department said: “The Bishop Lawrence referred to in the letter indignantly denies that hs ever commanded or authorized anyone to uSe his name in such a matter. He thinks the originator is either a prac tical joker or some religious enthu siast, possibly possessing more piety than common sense. *he bishop asserts that the originator of the “chain” was not a good Christian or he could not have incorporated the falsehood in his original letter, sewing forth the bishop’s supposed connec tion.” A newspaper correspondent called at the assistant attorney general’s of fice in the postoffice department and was shown the card reproduced above. ITie assistant attorney was asked un der what law this matter could be ex cluded from the mails. He referred to the act of September 26th, 1868, which refers to “scurrilous matter.” CONIRGVEKBY OVtR IHRCt IBLANDS. Canal Zone Properly Claimed by llncle sam ;8 iild by Others. Richard Rogers, general counsel for the Isthmian canal commission, who started for Panama with secre tary Taft and his party, will investi gate the titles to the tnree Rock Is lands in Panama harbor and recom mend what steps shall oe taken for their acquisition. The Pacific Mail’s Company are using® one of the islands anu claims title to the property. OTHERS WANT PARDONS As Result of Alabama Goveruor's Pub lished Views ou the Un written Law. Governor B. B. Comer of Alabama may have more of the unwritten law on his hands than he bargained for, as a result of a statement made by him several days ago, when he pardoned W. E. Shill. Shill had killed a man for betraying his young daughter, and the governor emphatically stated that he pardoned him on the ground that a man had the right to protect his own home. Others who were serving time for this class of killing are com ing to the front and asking for re lease. The latest man to seek release is Gilbert Jarvis, a well-to-do white man of Mobile, who took the life of the man who betrayed his niece some years ago. The governor has been no tified that there will be a delegation on hand to present the case, which is very like that of Shill. There is opposi tion to clemency, it is stated, and there is prospect of a contest. But the fact seems to be that the position taken by the governor is about to open the floodgates and he will lie swamp ed with applications cf men who de sire to be let out of the penitentiary. NICARAGUANS WIN BIG VICTORY. The Allied Forces of Salvador and Hondu • ras Get ticking. The state department received the following dispatch Friday from Jose D'Olivres, the American consul at Managua, Nicaragua: “This government reports that on March IS an army of 5,000 Salvado rans and 1,000 Hondurans, command ed by General Presa, a Salvadoran, attacked the Nicaraguan- vanguard near Namsique, Honduras. The battle lasted three days, result ing in the complete rout of the Sal vadorans, who lost 3,0-GO killed. Nica ragua has 20,000 troops at the front, and will commence an immediate at tack on Chaluteca and Tegucigalpa.” Senor Corea, the Nicaraguan min ister at Washington, has received a cablegram from his government con firming the press report to the effect that the Nicarguan navy has captured the important Honduran Caribbean port of Ceiba fIENDIbH BRUIT 81 ILL AT LARGE. All Negroes Arrested lor feirmount Crime Istiibllsh I heir Innocence. After a frightful experience when cries of “Lynch him!” “Burn him!” reached his ears, the negro held for assault and murder of an infant at the Tolbert home, in Fairmount, Ga., proved an alibi and was given his lib erty. Several other n*?groes have been taken in custody, but in each instance they proved to be innocent of the crime. GRAND JURORS INDICI IHIMSELVES. Novel Result of a Meth Hist Revive! in Mississippi County. Every member of the grand jury in the circuit court at Rolling Fork, Miss., indicted himself for violating the Sunday liquor law, and each .tj peared before Judge Booth and was fined $lO, with a lecture from the bench. The self-indicted grand jury men also returned bills against sev eral petit jurors for the same of fene. A religious wave, following a Methodist revival recently, swept over Sharkey county, and people o' high and low degree are purging themselves BUR ION NOW eur Of JAIL. fx-Senator from Kansas Completes Sen tence of Bix Months. Joseph Ralph Burton, who, until his conviction in the federal court, was United States senator from Kansas, was Friday morning released from the county jail at fronton. Mo., having completed his sentence of six months, imposed for appearing before a gov ernmental department as the paid rep resentative of an alleged “get-rich quick” concern of St. Louis. “CLANSMAN” B*RREO BY COUNCIL. Dixon’s Play Prohibited in Americus Be cause ol Apprehen -.ton. The presentation of “The Clans man,’' dated at the theater in Ameri cus, Ga., has been prohibited by the council at the request of local col ored preachers, >vho were doubtless apprehensive, in view of the murder of I’olice Officer Moris by a negro, Bill Reese, recently, and the shooting to death of Reese by a posse after wards. Georgia Cuilings Curtailed Items of Interest Gathered at Random. Reward Offered for Murderer. Governor Terrell has offered a re ward of $250 for the arrest and de livery to the sheriff of Gordon county of the negro fiend who attempted to assault Mrs. James Tolbert at Fair mount, and murdered her 2-months-oid child. The reward was offered in re sponse to requests from Gordon county. * * • Savannah Still Holds Palm. The close of the naval stores year comes ou Marcit 31. As it approaches it is apparent "hat Savannah’s supre macy as the greatest naval stores mar ket of the world remains unthreaten ed. Thus far receipts are short only about 14,000 casks of spirits and 33, 000 barrels of rosin. Despite the fact that Savannah ter ritory is being thinned out in turpeu- Wne-bearing timber, its business in naval stores holds good. * * * Expert to Examine Roa<f. After discussing for practically an entire day the evidence introduced in relation to Bowdre Phinizy’s charges that the property of the Georgia rail road and Banking Company is in a rundown and unsafe condition, the railroad commission decided to ap point an expert to make minute ex amination of that road and its rolling stock, and report his findings to the commission. Gen Evans Declines Honor. Gen. C. A. Evans has announced positively that he would not accept the proffer of the position of adjutant general of Georgia. This means that Col. A. J. Scott, now assistant adju tant general, will be the next adju tant general. When the offer was first made Gen eral Evans, he declined, after consid ering the matter two weeks. He was requested to reconsider, and give his answer later. He did so, but now states positive ly and finally that he will not accept General Evans is deeply appreciative of the high compliment thus paid aim * * * Troup County Prohibition Fight. The prohibition fight is now on in earnest and will be waged to a finish in Troup county. Committees are cir culating petitions for signatures re questing the ordinary to call an elec tion under what is known as the Buch anan law, and the information is that the petiitions are being numerously signed, and the required signatures of one-third of the qualified voters will be secured within a few days. The prohibitionists are showing considera ble enthusiasm. It is claimed that they will carry the county overwhelm ingly. So far there has been no ef fort to organize the friends of the dis pensary system for & fight in its be half. * * * Not Right Kinds of Immigrants. A letter from James A. Strachan, who is now in Scotland, representing Georgia in the matter of securing im migrants, just received by Commis sioner of Agriculture T. G. Hudson, announces that he has sent another party of seven Scotchmen to Savan nah. It is expected they will arrive there within a few days. Three :;t these are carpenters and the others are painters and machinists. Commissioner Hudson has written to Mr. Strachan urging him to turn his attention to the matter of secur ing laborers for farms, mills and fac tories, as we already have skilled la bor in abundance, comparatively speaking, though there is plenty of room for all of this class who wish to come. Georgia Holds the Record. Announcement was made in a dis patch from Montgomery, Ala., a day or two ago that Alabama had leased 100 convicts, able-bodied of course, to a lumber company in that state at $43 per month per convict, and it waa commented that this was thought to be the highest price evei paid for convict labor. But Georgia can furnish an instance surpassing that, though it is not the state that is receiving the price. Un der a subcontract recently made by Hamby & Toomer, lessees of 5<W Georgia convicts, this firm sublet the labor of 100 able-bodied convicts at $47.50 per month each, which is in ex cess of $lO per week for common la bor. And yet the subcontractors ex pect to, and doubtless will, make money out of their deal. In view ci the Alabama assertion it may be con sidered quite probable that Georgia STOP AT THE ZETTLER HOUSE. The best SI.OO a day house in the c:ty. 2f,3 FOURTH ST., MACON. G<L, Mrs. A. L. Zeltler, Proprietress. now holds the record for the price ot convict labor. The state, in the meantime, is re ceiving an average of only $225 a year for its able-bodied convicts, or less than $lO pei month, hence there is a profit of about s2C.st> per mouth per convict to the lessees. * * Will Hold Cotton School. Plans were agreed upon at the con vention, held in Bartlesville dunng the past week, of the Farmers’ Union, lor the establishment of a cotton school to be held at Barnesvilie during July and August, and every arrangement will be made for making it a great success. Experts on cotton will be se cured for giving lectures for the pur pose of instructing farmers in the handling of cotton. These lectures bv experts will cover grading, marketing and the handling of cotton in all its phases and conditions. President Duckworth and the other state officials are quite enthusiastic over the movement and expect hun dreds of farmers from all over the state to be in attendance on the school. It is asserted that the instruc tions given at that time will be of the greatest practical value to cotton growers. The Agriculture.l Contests. Interest in the agricultural contests among school children increases each week. The demand for bulletins de scribing the contest*! and giving sug gestions for study of corn and cottcu comes from all parts of the state. W o have sent out about four thousand copies during the past week. The boy who reads and thinks and works wt-.l be the success!ul man. It is the far mer who practices diversified farming that is independent. Th6se contests are offered in order to make the far mer boys study their crops and plan how to increase the yield of each and the profit of the farm. Two farmers in Coweta county were talking last week about their year s work. It happened that each had used seven mules. The younger said he made 9-5 hales of cotton. The older said he raised 85 bales. The listen ers laughed at him for allowing the younger to beat him. “Hold on,” said he, “let’s see if he beat me. 1 raised sixteen hundred bushels of corn. How many did he raise?” “Two humped bushels,” was the reply. In this wuy it was shown that the older farmer had raised, besides his 85 bales of cotton, 1,600 bushels of corn, 500 bush els of oats, 200 bushels of wheat, 150 loads of hay, 20 hogs, 15 beeves, had 8 gallons of milk a day and 4 pounds of butter, and kept 120 hens, from which he received 80) dozen eggs. His neighbor raised 95 bales of cotton, 2uo bushels of corn, no wheat, a little fod der, no hay, and did no* keep sufficient hogs .cattle and hens to supply his own family. It does not, take a blind man to see which was the better far mer. Now, what this farmer does we want every young farmer to do.— J. S STEWART, Athens, Ga. PARUON SPURNED BY BUR ION. L’onv ctcd Senator Alleges that Roosevelt Ottered to Release Him. Former United States Senator Bur ton, after delivering the speech which he had prepared in advance, made the statement at Abilene, Kansas, Satur day night that the president offered him a pardon. He said: ‘Five days after 1 was in jaii the president of fered me a pardon. It came to me per sonally at Ironton. I never answered it. I would not answer it. I would not accept a pardon from him under any conditions. He is the one that should have the pardon.” PKESIULNI BONILLA aKIiUOOS. Llvef Ixecutive ot Honduras forced to i lee lor ins me Santos Ramirez, director general of telegraphs in Nicaragua makes the following statement: “The Nicaraguan forces have cap tured Choiuteca, Honduras, which was leld by the Honduran and Salvadoraa iroops, and President Bonilla has lied by boat. Steamer:: will pursue the fugitive president. J. believe the war * ended ” Blanchard Disapproves of Move. Governor Blanchard Declines. Governor Blanchard of Louisiana has declined to appoint a commis sion of three from that state to study the race question. GUN NUMBER 1 ARE CONFUSr j Many Errors in the Evidl Brownsville “Shooting U i CORRECTIONS FROM f Secretary of War Sends a Sopi l " ary Report to Senate Coma ot Investigation. Secretary Taft B'riday to the senate committee oiA l *y affairs in session at Washing re " port of General Crozicr, chim'd" nance, with reference to th^ 01 ' 8 of guns assigned to the nagders of company B,- C and D o^ 111 infantry on the night of At i ast when Brownsville, Texas, ‘‘ s bot up.’’ It appeared from ihe let eral Crozier (hat on the L *ie lists of guns, as forward ,he commanders of the comp diere were certain errors, aridi°* ja bly from mistakes in transef from the property books of thp an * ca The effect of this is to *- doubt whether two of the guns ex " pert examination at thdrgfiold arsenal of shells picked j stro^i- 8 of Brownsville to have used in the affray, were in aA e3ts company B, under luckily* an< * not issued to soldiers, indi cated by the former > scnt - 10 the committee by the ,auce de partment of the army.M® le-Lter, transmitting General C* s supple mentary report, Sceretfu-’f says: “it will be observed does not affect in the slight o conclu sions of Lieutenant HM S < ex " pert who examined t s ' ie " s made further tests at Springfield arsenal, as to the nun of sunsf from which the shells on the streets of Brow® were ( ' !S " charged. The lists c® S un uum- bers as assigned to t^ en were no * sent to Lieutenant ff ns an< * wc “ re never in his possess) matler only affects the ques as to f;US ' tody of those* gumfl 'he names of the enlisted mei: ie company to whom they were fched, to all3r of them.” In order to remov e possibility of error Secretary Tab's ordered the property boohs of i irea companies sent to the war Jrtmeut and he has notified the sej committee that the books will arrj n a or two He says it will pfl-bly be possible from them to cof errors ap parent on the lisp pointed out o the upplementarpP ort oC General Crozier. Another report Pin ie ordnance bureau of the ai sent to the committee by Sf-’Hiry laft., which shows that theP mu ' IltlU!1 or new Springfield i e cannot be used In any other gulexcept the Mauser and Schmidt, fer the caliber or the fact that tlfepringfleld ammuni tion uses a case, excluding, all other arms* When the c<fittee convened FrH day morning b?-tor Foraker called to the stand TUtenant Hawkins aty began an exe/nutlov of '* ie concerning 0 reports of tests ranY at the Sprinkld arsenal ol the cj tridge in the streets/ Brownsville. / During thfdtting of the cominjf a request w received from the si tilry of w for the retuin orf three bull* taken irom "'h houses in (Townsville and to the eimittee as an ei.hjT the. reporof the assistant dT general, i rd y- / to The wf department 3enf gr have the? bullets analyzed L rm y to detei-ne if possible guns wtft used in dirchar d nB and if * the numbers of In viev/of this request, tjf aro j na . tee decldd to postpone 1 y to tlon of tie export wltnef adjourt u itil Monday. / i/o-moky mi\n\tih uUU And twenty-four Peraun/i JI '- d ®* 'JWMjry.four [jcrsaii/' l ' inJ “ ’ Jo seriously, auj #•“" ““* lal occupied by a cked at m vlng pictures, vjf aa ufecnfteld, led., mJ* efplosion of natural/* 18 - ui ~ u tie building. In thiame that follow tfl, men, women a/ children r )or the doors andfranipled m/e Another. That note was Wile right is consider (j nothing a miracle. /