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FIRE AT SEA.
riallory Line Steamship Leona
Partially Destroyed.
BLAZE OCCURRED AT NIGHT.
Thirteen Passengers and Three of the
Crew fleet a Horrihle Fate.—Frantic Ef¬
forts Were Hade to -Save Those in the
Steerage.—' rigin Unknown.
A telegram from Now York saye the
Maiiory Line steamer Leona, which
left her pier Saturday, bound for
Galveston, put back and arrived in
port Sunday night with sixteen corpses
on board. The dead were thirteen
steerage passengers and three mem¬
bers of the crew, who succumbed to a
terrible fire which occurred off the
Delaware coast at an early hour Sun¬
day morning. The terrible horror
of the story can hardly be told. Those
who lire dead were penned up below
decks, and although frantic efforts
wire made by the officers of the vessel
to wive them, the fire hnd gained such
terrific headway before the danger was
discovered that ail escape was cut off.
The ttlenmor curried In her cargo
many bales of cotton bagging. It is
not known how the fire originated, but
when It was discovered it burst forth
with such fury that It was impossible
to reach the steerage. Even the steer¬
age passengers were apparently un¬
mindful of the danger, else the smoke
and flames had not reached them. The
saloon passengers were first aroused
and in such a manner as to occasion
little alarm. When II became apparent
that Hie fire luid cut off the steerage
the captain and his men poured great
quantities of water down the ventilat¬
ors and the most frantic efforts were
made for the escape of those penned
up. In tills way eight of the steerage
passengers escaped.
A Passenger's Story.
Among the passengers was S. V.
Winslow, of Rutherford, N. .1. On his
return to Hits city late Sunday night
Mr. Winslow told the followinggrnphic
story of the tire:
"We left the pier at.Ti o'clock Satur¬
day afternoon with clear skies and
beautiful weather. We passed through
making excellent time, the chief en
g'ueer congratulating himself that all
was well and even making the remark
to one of his assistants that ne could
not itelleve this good luck could con¬
tinue, for tiie trip had started under
«tich favorable auspice*.
"Sandy Hook was passed and the
lights of .the Jersey shore were st*.U
vlsiJtle if j«vB JHi'fveiH' to bed. 'ty the
time we panned Barnegnt light at 10
o'clock all the passengers were in bed.
The pnssenger* in the steerage had al¬
to retired to their bunks.
"The watch going off at 12 o’clock
reiiorted everything well. There was
no suspicion of any tire or other trou¬
ble. The sen was very smooth and
there was no wind. The moon was
shining brightly.
“First Mate Wallace was pacing the
bridge at 2 a. m. when ho thought ho
smelled smoke coming from the fore¬
castle. He went down the forward
companionway and opened the door to
the steerage. The moment lie dill this
(here wax
A Burnt of Flame
which burned his face. Wallace turn¬
ed and rati on deck and cried the alarm
of fire to the forward watch, teling bint
to waken tlie steward and have all Hie
passengers aroused ns quickly as possi¬
ble without creating any excitement.
The steward did this in a quiet man¬
ner, going to each stateroom and wak¬
ing the occupants.
"He said In a calm tone that there
«* of the * ship, * n ' aU and it ,! U might ' h ;\ f r be V a, "^ visab V Z\ c
for the passengers to get t eh Lings
tni?rthf»r It miirht be possible, m* ml
,„M. that the ship would have event
unity to be abandoned.
"There was no excitement among
Hie saloon passengers, Must of them
packed their luggage and carried it
from their staterooms Into the main
saloon and remained there, after the
officers assured them that there was no
Immediate danger; they took matters
quiet ly.
"The steward made frequent trips
forward and came back with reports of
tiie progri ss of the flames, lie said tiie
tire was I'ollfllH’ii Inflow decks, and as
the flame did not rise very high the
passengers did not fully realize their
per!!.
"Captain Wilder
Rushed on Deck
at the fire alarm, clad only in an under -
shirt ami trousers. He a-urned com
maud and at once ordered the crew to
rescue the steerage passengers. On the
name deck with the steerage, on the
port side of the ship, a large quantity
of cotton bagging was stored, sepa
rated from the steerage passengers by
a board partition.
“The main deck was almost complete
ly filled with freight, cutting off all
exit from the steerage to the after part
of the ship. The oniy way out from
Hie steerage was up the forward com
panion way. captain’s ordcfe.
“Tite crew, on the
rushed for the companion way and at¬
tempted to descend. 'They were driven
Pack by dense volumes of smoke, and
flames quickly followed, The smok>
arid flames also came up through the
ventilators, and it was apparent that
below decks was a roaring furnace. 1
"Then it dawned on the officers ant
crew that the unfortunate people Sit
the steerage were probably burning tv
death. Gapt. Wilder saw his crew,
driven back from the companion
and the realization of the horror
low made him desperate.
“He rushed to the stairs and
od to go below. He did not go down
more than a dozen steps when the in
creasing smoke and the flames shoot¬
ing up around him drove him back.
"He stepped back to the shelter of
the pilot house
His Face Was Scorched.
His eyes were burned off. He stood
there dazed arid overcome for a mo¬
ment. Then he exclaimed: “My God,
no man can go through there and come
out alive.’
“When the steward aroused me I
jumped up hastily and dressed. I ran
forward to see how extensive the fire
was. The captain was just coming out
of the companion way after his fruit¬
less effort to go below. I stood by and
irk'd to look down the hole, but the
heat anil smoke were so great that I
was driven back.
“When I looked down into that horri¬
ble hole the thought came over me
like it had over the captain and crew
that there were helpless people down
below who were probably burning to
death.
"I tried to peer through the smoke to
see if the steerage passengers were
running around inflow, and 1 hoped we
would be able to reach them in some
way.
"I listened for sounds, but could hear
nothing save the roar of the flames us
they grew steadily in volume below
and rolled round and round iu the nar¬
row quarters. There was not a scream,
not a groan, and no signs of life be¬
low.
“On deck there were only the hoarse
shouts of the captain and the hurry
and bustle of the crew as they rushed
about laying lines of hose and pouring
streams of water down the companion
way and through the open ventilators.
“Only a slight wind was blowing
from tiie south, and that carried the
volumes of smoke aft over the full
length of the ship and enveloped hei
in a shroud of ehoking black, until the
captain gave oisder* tc change tin
nrnene completely, so the smoke would
be blown over the bow. The speed ot
the ship was first slackened, then the
order was given to keep up bare-steer
age way.
“I stood in the loo of the pit of the
house watching the officers and crew
making futile efforts to reach the steer
age. The horror of the situation was
at first paralyzing. It seemed n>
tbough the men and women whom 1
had soeu go into tiie steerage the day
before were being cremated beneath
my feet.
“The deck was getting blistering hot.
The flames began creeping higher and
higher, through every outlet from be¬
neath the deck. The pouring of water
down the companionway and through
the ventilators had no effect save to
send up the smoke in great puffs and
cause angry spurts of fire to dart me
naclngly above.
"When the news of the fire reached
the forward part of the ship where the
stokers were feeding the boilers, they
deserted their posts and ran to the
deck, eighteen of them in all. They
clambered l nto the second boat on the
port side and began cutting it away,
h irst Officer Wallace and Engineer
Taylor J were after them in a moment,
^ ^ ^ ^
refused to obey.
the .ash.ugs •
and went on cutting away
of the boat.
‘Come out of that boat.’ rrare.1 Tay
lor. Then he added, reaching with his
hand for a revolver, ‘I will shoot the
man who cuts away the boat.'
"The Spaniards looked at the chief
engineer and then sullenly obeyed.
“During the excitement of tiie first
hour we did not know any one who
had gotten out of the steerage alive,
but later we found that eight of them
managed to get out.
“The fire burst up through cracks
about the pilot house and then Into th«
house itself. The quartermaster stuck
to the wheel until the Ham, s almost en
vclopisl !. . i. Cap:., a Wilder ordered
signal lights of distress burned and In
n'verv few minims then- flashed uy
i . the darkness far to the north an an
gw#rUlg 6iguaL u eaIm , from the Citj
>f | Augusta, of the Savannah Line
„. h ch oamt , alongside about daylight/
_____
In Kantneky tt. w.mt is
taut tfi* Wttiaksr *» All ri fbL
JitdMow advarttalng pay*
CAPITOL NEWS.
Members of the Bimetallic Com*
i
mission Sail.
TARIFF COMMISSION WANTED
Senator Cullom Believes that a Permanent
Tariff Commission Composed of Experts
Would Results in Much Good to the
Country.
James M. Tyner, of Indiana, has
appointed Assistant Attorney
Geuera [ for the Postoffice Department
^ 'jvner at once entered on the dis
c . baxg g of Ws duties,
Dr. J. H. Hollander has been ap
; polnte ^ Secretary of the International
Bimetallic Conference Commission.
1 — ig Professior of Economics at the
[Us-Hopkins University and a
inch and German scholar.
Jtter lflie first experimental exportation made of
from this country was
Vfednesday from New York City when
tlj Government, through department an agent,
SI jt by the agricultural
jiped three-quarters of a ton of se
lectod butter for sale in Europe.
ti. H. J. Taylor, colored, Recorder of
Dti-ds for the District of Columbia,
called at the White House one day last
week and It is understood that his
res.gnatlon will be tendered and that
his successor will be Ex-Representa
tlvAcheatham, also colored, of North
Carllina. Taylor is from Kansas City.
CMimissioner of Pensions Evans
lias discovered a decision rendered
by t^ Supreme Court some years ago,
in w bh it is held that pension exam
inin ! Surgeons are not employes of the
Gov iment, hence cannot come with
in ttl pale of the civil service. There
are put six hundred boards of these
exanXiers, nearly every doctor of them
Democrats. As fast as Mr. Evans can
do the'work they will give way to Re¬
publicans.
Ex- Ice President Adlai E. Steven¬
son, (tin. J. H. Payne and United
StatesJfeenator Edward O. Wolcott,
who tile recently appointed by Presi¬
dent > Kinley as a commission to con¬
fer wi I the heads of European Gov
erntnei-, relative to the holding of an
int t# - inal bimetallic conference,
Bit if Havre on the French liner
depari'i V- liS^Slfoirda/'' Before their
Mr. Stevenson said that the
eomuils.* on would go directly to Paris
auu aft* t conneeXqn with the expedi¬
tion wa 'rants, wc fid visit London,
Berlin, 1 r ienna and the capitals of the
other El ropean Governments. He ex¬
pected tpat much good would be ac¬
complish ed by the commission and did
not antic ipate any trouble in inducing
the Gov< rnments to appoint delegates
to the ci mtemplatcd conference.
The Donate has agreed to an
amundmt nt to the sundry civil
bill, rev ok lag the order of Presi,
dent Clc-eland made on February 22,
last, establishing forest reservations
aggregating 17,000,000 acres. The de¬
bate brou gilt out much criticism of Mr.
Clevelandj's order, Rawlins Senators and Pettigrew, White
Wilson, Turner.
speaking against it. Mr. Gray, of
Delaware* defended the course of the
President, pointing out that it was the
result of an inquiry authorized by
Congress and conducted by the Nation¬
al Academy of Science. Mr. Allison
end-uvoreil to have the amendment re¬
stricted so as to leave the question of
revocation to the President, but he was
defeated oil an aye and nay vote—14
to 32. Mr. Gorman made a point of
order against the amendment, but this
being submitted to the Senate, was de¬
feated—23 to 25. The amendment was
then agreed to without division.
Rev. Silas Myers, of Simpson
eount y Mississippi, is in Wash
i
ington locking after the bill to
pension tiie ex-slaves. The bill was
introduced by Senator Thurston some
years ago. and created a great furore
amoug ihe ex-slaves in tiie Southern
State*, particularly those in Missis¬
sippi and Louisiana. Because of the
credulity of the Southern negroes,
many sharpers and schemers took ad
vantage of them and . have worked , all „
wrts of devices to extort money from
"»’*“■ Rev Myers brings with lum
the signatures of over KW0 M.ss s.sip
Pi ex-slaves who have sent him here
to investigate the matter and to see
"doit ^ done. He is indorsed by
the colored press of the South and pro¬
poses to state his business before Con¬
gress in a few days. He is a remark¬
able negro of the old slave class; is
_ ,, ,___.
tall, do
oueut y and full of reminiscences. . _
In reply to inquiries as to his Y ! ews
on a permanent tariff commission
Senator Cullom has written the fol
lowing letter:
Washington, D. C., May 6.
Mr. Samuel B. Archer, Secretary the
Tariff Commission I.eague, Newark,
N. J.:
My Dear Sir: You have asked me
two or three times whether I have
been and am now in favor of a perm a
nent tariff commission. I have for
many years thought that there ought
to be some means devised by which
we could avoid these constant and ex¬
treme changes in tariff legislation—
first going far in the direction of a
high tariff and on the occasion of a
change in politics going as far the oth
er way.
I believe that through the judicious
agency of a permanent tariff commis¬
sion composed of experts, statisticians
and business men, such changes could
be made from year to year by Congress
as might be Indicated and clearly
shown to be wise.
This would save the necessity of re¬
quiring a change of the whole tariff
system by whatever party came into
power.
Certainly we cannot continue indefi¬
nitely as we have been doing with
reference to that subject, because the
business of the country will not tol¬
erate it. I hope sincerely that this
Congress may provide for some kind of
a commission which will aid in chang¬
ing the situation and should be glad
if an amendment of the kind Indicated
were to be Incorporated in the bill now
before the Senate known as the Ding
ley bill. Very truly yours,
S. M. CULLOM.
riobile’s New Outlet.
The grading of the Mobile, Jr.ckson
& Kansas City Road from Mobile to
Dog River, a distance of twenty-eight
miles, has been completed, with the
single exception of two miles to the
eastward of Big Creek, where the con¬
tractor is behind time on account of a
wet cut, or one filled with springs.
The cars are running out thirteen
miles, a mile beyond Clear Creek tres¬
tle, which is 1,000 feet in length. The
entire force is at work on the line, and
everything is being as rapidly pushed
as possible. Colonel Merrill, the head
of the road, has left England for Mo¬
bile, and is now on the ocean, and his
arrival is expected in a few days.
There has been no let up in the work,
and judging from the substantial man¬
ner of the construction it evidences
the determination to complete it as
a first-class road.
TO WITHDRAW.
A f
Oreek Troops to Be Called Home From
Crete.
A dispatch to the New York Journal
from Athens says Prime Minister Italli
says that the Greek troops will be with
drawn from Crete. The government
having need of all troops possible, he
says he has decided on gradually with¬
drawing the army from Crete.
This would facilitate arrangements
with the great powers, which have
been unofficially Intimated. Greece has
officially notified the foreign ministers
of her intention to withdraw from
Crete, and has demanded the admission
of Greek warships within the blockade
for this purpose.
Greece awaits the official offer of the
great powers to make proposals of
peace between her and Turkey, if they
please, but will not ask for it.
An official note from the powers w'll
probably be presented at once and all
depends on its terms. The report iu
the papers of an armistice is not true,
but an armistice will probably be
agreed upon if peace negotiations are
opened.
JUDGE HARALSON
Re-elected President of the Souther" Bap¬
tist Convention.
At Wilmington, N. C„ the Southern
Baptist Convention last Saturday af¬
ternoon re-elected its old officers as fol
i ows; president. Judge Jonathan Ilar
a | g0Dt of Alabama, and Secretaries, Dr.
Bansing Burrows, of Augusta, Ga., and
J)r 0 Gregory, of Baltimore.
The following Vice-Presidents were
c h oscll: w. J. Northern of Georgia; J.
r Kaff [ e , of Arkansas: R. A. Marsh,
of North Carolina, and J. Levering, of
Maryland.
Complete Assignment.
A deed of assignment of ail the as¬
sets of every nature, property notes,
mortgages and debts of the Southern
Building & Loan Association was filed
in the county register's office at Knox¬
ville, Team., Friday morning. The eon
veyauce is made to the receivers of the
association, D. A. Carpenter and John
W. Conner. The purpose is simply to
formaUy place the assets of the as
soeintioiu in the receiver's hands as or
dered by the Chancery decree and to
avoM ‘Staking of unnecessary proof
on litigation m other States. Aside
from this ... it . has no significance. ,
CONDENSED TELEGRAMS.
The Arkansas Senate has killed the
Trill forbidding candidates to treat.
Alexander Bechhofer. publisher of
the Baltimore Herald, died last Friday
morning after a lingering illness.
Dr. William MeSwine, member of the
Mississippi Legislature from Grenada
county, is dead,
Mrs. Darling, of Rogers, Ark., enter¬
tained one of her visitors by slipping
a bullet between his ribs. Now she Is
held for attempting to do murder.
The Transvaal Government has re¬
pealed the immigration law. Mr. Cos¬
ter, Transvaal Attorney General, re¬
signed because such action was taken.
Editors of the El Corlinto Ameri¬
cano, a paper in sympathy with Cu¬
bans at Mexico City, are under arrest
charged with Insulting a friendly na¬
tion.
Robert Collins, aged 14. and hig
brother Edward, aged 17, were playing
in the woods near Christianburg, Va.,
when the former was shot and killed
accidentally by the latter.
The Louisville & Nashville Railroad
has begun the erection of a grain ele¬
vator with a capacity of 500,000 bush¬
els near their new docks in Pensacola,
Fla. The elevator will be completed
by October 1.
N. W, Nelson, President of the Met¬
ropolitan Bank of Richmond, Va., was
found dead in his bath room Saturday
morning with the gas turned on. Ha
had been a great sufferer for some
time and it is believed ended his life
to get rid of his pain. Mr. Nelson was
77 years old.
The Comte de Bouthelier de Chavtg
ny, whose residence is at Richelieu,
fifteen miles from Montreal, has been
sadly bereft by the Bazaar De Chari
tie fire In Paris. Among the victims ol
that terrible catastrophe were the
Comte's mother, sister, two aunts and
several of his mother's distant rela¬
tives.
The revolution in Ecuador, accord¬
ing to all advices received, seems to he
in the nature of a holy war. Among
the leaders of the rebels are many
priests. The uprising, which started in
the provinces of Canar and Chimbor¬
azo, while not as serious as was
thought at first, is still causing some
apprehensions.
E. Kellogg Beach, a retired capital¬
ist, committed suicide in Chicago Sat
unlay in the bath bouse of his heme,
NcULT State street, tfy shoi»3n>
himself in the mouth. Despondency
over ill health is supppsed to have been
the cause. Mr. Beach was a graduate
of West Point. His fortune is estimat¬
ed as about $1,500,000.
A dispatch to the London Daily
Mall from Rome says the pact of the
powers constituting the triple alliance
was renewed Thursday, for a period
of six years, The right to with
draw, under the terms of the or¬
iginal agreement, expired on May 6,
and Germany has succeeded in per
suading Italy not to exercise the right
of withdrawal.
President Charles W. Spalding, of
the defunct Globe Savings Bank, Chi¬
cago, was brought into court tne other
day to plead to twenty-nine indict¬
ments against him, mostly charges of
■mbezzleinent. He entered a plea of
aot guilty to each of the indictments,
uid was then sent back to his cell in
i he county jail. He has not yet been
able to secure boudsmen in the sum
of $300,000.
One day last week the Chicago grand
jury returned seven indictments
against Dwight W'. Andrews, ex-State
Grain Inspector, and Benjamin F. Jen¬
kins, ex-cashier of the State Grain In
s[rector’s office, both being accused of
embezzling State funds. Andrews is
accused of embezzling a total of $11,-
450 and his bonds are fixed at $0,500,
Jenkins is charged with taking $3,200.
11 is bond is fixed at $9,000. Neither
lias been arrested.
Government gauge Natchez,
Miss., Saturday, showed .a rise o a
a tenth in the river at that point. cj
oral parties who have private gauges
sa y Government gauge is not relia
j,i,, t he present stage in an eddy at
the corner of the wharf and that the
river has shown a slight decline for
several days. The weather was squal¬
ly with showers Saturday, but so far
as heard from no damage to the levees
resulted. The water behind the Louis¬
iana levees rose only one and one-half
inches Saturday, but already a large
portion of Concordia parish is under
water and each inch of rise means a
greater spread of the overflow.
In New York city a man named Got
hell is applying for a divorce. Per
haps that is the very reason.
