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EIGHTEEN DIE
IN STAMPEDE
Frightful Panic Occurs in Negro
Church in Philadelphia.
FOLLOWED BY CRY OF FIRE
Congregation Made Mad Rush for Exit
and Nearly Score Were Trampled
to Death in Jam That Ensued.
A wild i>anic following a loud
shriek of “Fire!” brought death to
eighteen colored people, and serious
injuries to a half hundred of others
Sunday night in St. Paul's Baptist
church, Philadelphia.
The terrible rush to gain the street
was of brief duration, and that more
were not killed in the stampede was
probably due to the fact that the
church was not crowded.
The smell of smoke added to the
panic, and, despite the heroic work
of the pastor of the church, who tried
in vain to allay the fears of the
frightened worshipers, the terror
stricken people made a desperate
rush to leave the church, only to be
choked up on the narrow stairway.
Those in the rear leaped over the
prostrate forms of those who fell,
and when the rush was over, eigh¬
teen lay dead on the first floor and
stairs of the building. Death in near¬
ly every case was due to suffocation
or trampling.
A defective flue set fire to the chim¬
ney, causing smoke to issue through
the crevices in the floor near- the pul¬
The disaster occurred while a col¬
lection was being taken up. The pas¬
tor had just concluded his sermon,
the seemingly ominous text of which
was “Why Sit We Here Until We
Die.” Following the collection there
was to have been a baptism of a man
and wife. Some of the colored peo¬
ple, owing to the lateness of the even¬
ing, had left the chuich', and others
were about to go.
As the pastor was arranging the
pulpit preparatory to beginning the
baptismal service, a woman in one
of the front rows of the left side of
the pulpit gave a loud shriek of
“Fire!” Instantly all those about her
were on their feet- locking for the
blaze.
There were no flames in sight, but
those near the pulpit smelled smoke
and started down the aisle toward
the pulpit. Then followed half a
dozen cries of “Fire!” and the whole
congregation became panic-stricken.
The pastor in a loud voice, which
only added to the confusion, called
to the terror-stricken people to be
seated. No one listened, and, despite
his frantic appeal, a rush started that
meant death to many that were in the
church.
When the rush started those in the
rear of the church did not fully real¬
ize and were slow to move. The
frantic shrieks of the women and
children became louder and more gen¬
eral and many were knocked down
in the two aisles of the church.
Then came the terrible rush down
the stairways. For some unknown
reason, everybody tried to get down
1 lie left side of the building, com¬
paratively few attempting to leave by
the right stairway. One eye-witness
says that perhaps a dozen persons got
safely down the stairs when several
people tripped and fell and caused
the narrow way to become jammed.
Several men on the first floor at¬
tempted to hold the people back, but
were knocked down, and then the hu¬
man stream came tumbling down. The
weaker ones fell only to be trampled
upon and crushed by those coming
from behind.
The terrible shrieks sent up by the
prostrate persons added to the con¬
fusion, and by this time even the
cooler ones in the rear of the fight¬
ing mass of men, women and chil¬
dren became terror-stricken. Dazed
men, in fear that the building was
falling, leaped over the heads of wo¬
men and children and fought only for
their own safety.
SEEKS TO BAR NEGRO CHILDREN.
Mississippi Legislator Alter Negroes Whc
Fail to Pay Their Poll Tax.
In the Mississippi state senate Sat¬
urday Mr. Glover referred the con¬
current resolution seeking to amend
the constitution by providing that no
children shall be admitted to the pub¬
lic schools where the parent is liable
for poll tax for the current year, and
same remains unjxild.
The effect of this amendment w-ould
be to bar nine-tenths of the negro
children from the schools, unless ne¬
groes pay the poll tax with more fre¬
quency than at present.
MORRIS AFFAIR DROPPED.
senate Overwhelmingly Defeats Till¬
man’s Resolution Calling for
an Investigation.
A Washington dispatch says: There I
was an echo of Wednesday’s stormy
session in the senate Thursday, when
Mr. Tillman presented his resolution
directing a senatorial investigation
into the removal of Mrs. Minor Mor¬
ris from the white house. The reso¬
lution provoked no debate and Mr.
Tillman contented himself with a
brief statement, in which he said
that he would not have introduced
the resolution but for the taunts of
Mr. Kale. When he concluded Mr.
Daniel moved that the resolution be
laid on the table, and this disposition
was made of it by a vote of 54 to S.
Mr. Tillman’s resolution was as fol¬
lows:
"Resolved, That the president of
the senate be authorized to appoint
a committee of five senators to in¬
vestigate the recent unfortunate inci¬
dent at the white house resulting in
the expulsion from the executive of¬
fices of Mrs. Minor Morris, and re¬
port to the senate.”
He then said that the question at
issue involves two vital propositions.
The first of these related to the pro¬
tection of the president from danger¬
ous characters, and the second the
protection of the rights of the people.
He declared that to absolutely pro
tect the president would be to make
him a prisoner. He proceeded to say
that in case of the removal of the
president he would be replaced, and
probably with a better man. But
when the liberties of the people are
destroyed, nothing is left but despot¬
TILLMAN Ji IS
AT PRES: ENT
Uses Pitchfork in Dei xing the
Treatment of Mrs. Mil Morris.,
WEPT WHILE SHAKING
Bitter Language of Sou Carolinian
Hurled at Roosevelt C i Forth
Protest from Hale an wid.
A Washington specie’ t’ s: Scath¬
ing in its bitterness 01 vective to
a degree that called fi the open
charge that he was airi u personal
grievance against and sting his
personal spleen upon ti ef exec u
tive of the nation, *.! j ecli in the
senate of Senator Til x was the
sensation of the day a 'ashingtou,
Wednesday.
Beginning with the cussion of
’ Domingo
President Roosevelt's i
policy, Senator Tillman up to the
brutal ejection of Mrs. lor Morris
from the white house, i io extreme
were some of his refi ies to the
president for his inacti ,-ith regard
to the Mrs. Morris affai at not only
Senator Hale, but Sen: Daniel felt
called upon to iuterrup at he might
enter protest against h a discus¬
sion in the senate.
The South Carolina or wielded
his pitchfork with old i vigor. lie
was bitter without tra -nding the
! bounds of legislative \ iety, scath
, ing without resorting iparliamen
tary language, drama’ his man
: nor of utterance, logici M s method
of leading from p) "* of his sub- '” ,K
- one
“That is the whole subject,” he
as he took his seat.
TRIAL BEGINS IN EARNEST.
Which Will Serve in the Greene and
Gaynor fose is Seiecled.
A jury was chosen Thursday in the
and -Gaynor case at Savannah
the actual trial of the defend¬
upon the charges of conspiracy
against the United States govern¬
embezzlement, and receiving
known to have been embezzled
tn e United States, commenced
”-t41’nast.
Some thirty witneu: > is believ¬
ed, will be examined, but there is a
greater mass of documentary evidence
to be presented than the oral tes¬
timony will constitute.
Owing to the delay in the arrival
of trains bringing the jurors, it was
12:13 p. m. when the federal court
convened, The call of the venire
showed that nearly all of those who
had been summoned were present. On
inquiry it developed that several of
these had valid excuses, and they
were excused from serving.
The defense exhausted its tea
strikes before the jury was finally se¬
lected the government having made
two strikes. The jury as chosen is
as follows: Hope Thomas, Quitman;
Henry G. Hester, Valdosta: Wiley W.
Haddock, Quitman; G. H. Touchstone,
Naylor; Robert S. Heath, Thomas
villa; William A. Simms, Ousley;
Thomas Danpier, Ousley; John Al¬
len. Nashville; G. R. Poole, Thomas
ville; Nat H. Turner, Merrillville ;
Samuel R. Patten, Miiltown.
AFFAIRS CE BANK AT WADLEY
Made Known to Public in Statement Issued
k by President Rent/.
11 . W. .Jamerson is still checking
up the books of the Wadley, Ga., bank.
A representative of the Germania
bank of Savannah claims the bank
of Wadley borrowed $10,000 on the
cashier's receipt for 250 bales of cot¬
ton. There is no cotton in sight.
There is a shortage of $1,300 on Sat
urday’s business. No entry on the
books show where the money went.
Shortage so far is $13,000.
President Rentz gave out a state¬
ment that every depositor will be paid
in full.
REPORTED ARREST OE WALLING A FAKE.
News Emenated from a Jew Editor and
Proved to Be Canard.
The correspondent of the Associated
Press at St. Petersburg having been
queried concerning the reported ar¬
rest of William English Walling in
that city for revolutionary activity,
telegraphs that Mr. Walling has not
been arrested and that the report to
that effect is without foundation.
The Associated Press received the
statement from Abraham Cahan, edi¬
tor of the Jewish Daily Forward, in
New York, and accepted it as cor¬
rect.
ROAST FOR DEPEW. |
Brackett, in Fiery Speech ifl
New York Legislature, Biffs Joker
Chauncey Hard.
The New York state senate Tues¬
day by a vote of 34 to l rejected
the resolution of Senator Edward G.
Brackett of Saratoga demanding the
resignation of Chauncey M. Depew
from the United States senate. After
a debate lasting more than three
hours, and criticized on the one hand
by Senator Brackett’s unsparing de
nunciation of Senator Depew and the
insurance companies on the other by
almost equally harsh criticism of the
judgment and the motives of the in¬
troducer of the resolution, the roll
call showed Senator Brackett’s own
vote to be the only one in favor of the
resolution. Every other republican
senator voted against it, with (be ex¬
ception of Senator Armstrong, who
was absent.
The fourteen democratic senators
were excused from voting on the res¬
olution, though the motion to exxcuso
them was opposed by Senator Brack¬
ett, who expressed his desire to “put
every senator on record on this moral
issue.” Senator Grady, the democrat
ic leader, said the democrats regard¬
ed the Depew issue as purely a. re¬
publican affair; they felt like the mail,
who looking on while liis wife fought
with a bear, cried: “Go it, old wo¬
man; go it, bear.” The more severe
the consequences to both the “old
woman” and the “bear” in this in¬
stance, the better the minority would
like it.
I -
A 01 Kl HI Al)S THE C0NI1RENCE.
Explains Object oi Great Gathering to Ois
cuss Moroccan Affairs.
ject to another until reached a
climax in the Mrs. M ; case, and
he kept his temper th hout in the
face of interruptions, H earlier in
his congressional care- would have
provoked angry outl a of pas
sion.
With the exception of occasional
outburst of laughter overjmne Tore was of 1,10 no
■South Carolinian’s terms,
demonstration. Senators flowed him
intently. The interrupts of Sena¬
tors Ilale and Dajjjel did break the
trend of his
During mu' ,ie republi
can sv’* 1 m a on their
faces «s£* 1, Wli^n he
- - ... i 1 ilCiC-u
' ’a the pres
republican sei.
ident’s defense, voiee was
heard. The tensi Relieved l>y
Senator Hale, who ?ed tlie gal
leries with a motion to > into execu¬
tive session.
The speech abound! in Mr. Till¬
man's peculiar expressions, and was
characterized by many ievere and ex¬
ceptionally personal tbusts at the
president. At times h- wept over
vhat ne regarded as th--indignities to
Mrr. Morris, and his t ea were full
of tears when lie decimal in the l’aco
of protests from his lilow senators
tnat he would demand n investiga¬
tion ot: the white hous incident.
He declared that tin president had
been derelict in failing to punish his
subordinates for Iheii course, and
quoted statements fr-* i persons said
to have boon witness-, to show that
the proceeding had f n inhuman. He
said tiiat he would fop ally present a
resolution for an inv ligation of the
entire incident.
The introduction this resolution
called out a protest om Mr. Daniel,
while Mr. Hale objeted to the pre¬
sentation of the matir at all, except
upon proof. Mr. Tillian declared Ids
determination not t be guided by
their advice and clued with the re¬
iteration of his detc nination to bring
in the resolution.
OPEN SWITCH O lES WRECK.
Brake-man Killed ant Engineer Badly In¬
jured on thrSouthern.
In a freight wrek on the South¬
ern road Wednesiy morning at
Cookeville, Tenn,, f orge Worrell, a
brakeman, was kikd, and Engineer
Fisher and Firema Green were se¬
verely injured. Ai open switch wa«
tiie cause of the acident.
STRIKING CIGARVKERS DEPORTED.
Committee TromCuiis Sent Back Homo
by Key Wf* Citizen*.
The crisis came t the cigarmakers’
strike at Key WestWednesday when
a second commltte of the Torce
dores Union, the tly one remaining
out, refused to co lder any proposi¬
tion to settle the H ike. On a signal
given the citizens'iommittee, heavily
armed, surround® the Torcedores
hall, captured the ororoittee of twen¬
ty-five and took t m to the steamer
Mascotte, which ailed at once for
Havana.
GOV.VARDAIAN
WHIPS CONVICT
Mississippi Chief Executive Once
More in the Limelight.
USED A BROOM AND BOOT
Action Results in Great Sensation and
Will Be Investigated by State
Prison Commission.
1 Jackson, Miss., special says: Gov¬
A
■
ernor Vardanian’s self-confessed whip¬
ping of a negro convict, employed as
a misty around the executive man¬
sion, and which is to be given a thor¬
ough probing by the penitentiary in¬
vestigating committee, according to
assurances from members of that
body, lias aroused the liveliest sen¬
sation ot recent years, anil is now
the most absorbing topic of discus¬
sion among the members of the legis¬
lature.
The governor does not attempt to
deny any phase of the story, but very
candidly admits in answer to ques¬
tions that he soundly thrashed the
prisoner, and further declares that, no
would do so again under similar cir
cumstances. The negro was at first
knocked down by the governor, a.
good kick administered, and then a
broomstick was used in the chastise¬
ment, the weapon being broken to
pieces over the prisoner’s body. So
far its known, he sustained no seri¬
ous injuries from the encounter with
the chief executive, although he was
exceedingly sore for several days, and
is now in the negro ward of the con¬
vict Jiospital at Oakley suffering from
rheumatism, having been ordered to
The Moroccan conference was open¬
at. Algeciras, Spain, by the duke
Almodovar, the Spanish foreign
minister, who delivered the speech of
Herr Von Iladowitz, chief
of the German mission, proposed the
duke of Almodovar as president of
llio conference and the other coun¬
tries represented, including tire United
States, seconded tlio proposal, with
the result that the duke was unani
rnously elected president.
During the course of Ids address,
the duko of Almodavar said:
“The powers have clearly shown
their desire that, order, peace and pros
E* v i'- 1 - ♦"-'jJJ'- - t< 5 g through Morocco.
The sultan, as'well as the foreign
governments, desires this end, which
is obtainable by introducing reforms
upon the triple principle of the sov
ereignty of the sultan, the integrity
of Ids territory and equal commercial
treatment, namely, the open door. Mu¬
tual respect, for our reciprocal inter¬
ests and a sincere desire to conciliate
them must be, according to my view,
our rule of conduct at this confer¬
ence. Our own sentiment as well as
the attitude of the entire world dic¬
tates such a conciliatory solution.”
DEATH GRIPS MILLIONAIRE HILO.
Chicago’s Merchant Prince Succumbs to
Pneumonia in New York.
Marshal Field, the millionaire Chi¬
cago merchant, died at the Holland
house in New York Tuesday after
noon, after an eight days’ illness of
pneumonia. Death came peaceruiiy
while members of the family, who
had been in almost constant attend¬
ance for several days, were gathered
around the deathbed.
They, as well as the dying mor
chant himself, were prepared for the
end.
Marshal Field was without question
the greatest and most sueceutful mer¬
chant of his generation, and he was
one of the world’s richest men, his
wealth being estimated at anywhere
from $100,000,000 to $200,000,000. He
was a native of Conway, Mass.,where
he was born in 1335. His father was
a farmer, and Mr. Field obtained his
education in the public schools of
Conway. At the ago of seventeen he
became a clerk in a general country
store in Pittsfield, where he remained
for four years. He went to Chicago
in 1866, and began his career there
as a clerk.
REFUSE TO RECOGNlEf THE INI0N.
Coal Barons Will Meet Mitchell as Repre¬
sentative of Miners Only.
The first definite announcement con¬
cerning the attitude of the big corpo¬
rations regarding the request ot Pres¬
ident Mitchell of the United Mine
Workers of America for a conference
was made at Philadelphia Tuesday by
E. R. Thomas, president of the J>e
high Valley Railroad company, who
admitted that, he had agreed to meat
Mr. Mitchell in conference as the rep¬
resentative of the miners, but not of
tbe miners’ union.
that institution several days ago by
the board of control.
The offense that provoked the chas¬
tisement of the convict was Ids ar¬
rest by Officer Pridgen of the local
police force, who found him prowling
around in the fourth ward one night,
and carried him to jail. 'The local
authorities are allowed a reward of
$lu for arrests of this character. The
governor sent his private secretary
to the city jail on the following morn¬
ing for the prisoner, and the whipping
occurred shortly after his return to
the executive mansion.
Surprise over the incident Is ren¬
dered more profound on account of
’« of employing special attorney i(«io 1." -n to
a year ago a
prosecute David Puckett, sergeant, of
the Rankin convict, farm, for the al¬
leged cruel and inhuman treatment
of a convict, Puckett being afterwards
indicted by the grand jury. The trial
resulted in a hung jury. In ids bien¬
nial message to the legislature the
governor dwelt with especial force on
the humane treatment of the state’s
convicts.
The rules of the Mississippi peni¬
tentiary prohibit corporal punishment
for convicts. Although it has been an
established precedent, for many years
the governor, in reality, lias no legal
authority to use convict labor around
the executive mansion.
'The governor hits stirred up con¬
siderable surprise in the house or
representatives by sending in a mes¬
sage recommending that trusty con¬
victs instead of hired laborers he used
as porters around the capital. The
recommendation lias already aroused
violent opposition. The governor
wants the convict porters “uniform¬
ed in gray, or some other agreeuble
i color.”
|
MONEY 111 I G4IIY APPROPRIATED.
Alabama Department ot Archives and llis
tory Knocked Out by ( ourt.
i!y Decision ot the Alabama su
l ,r ' ,,ri<: court a very important depart
* ment. of the state service Is crippled,
! »*•'»« bf, ° n ,hat Ul ° department
| « r arehlvoB and history has been using
$YtO a a year year maintenance to which.
It. is not entitled by law. The c*se was
made out by Jesse I). Beale, a tax¬
payer of Montgomery, who brought
suit to restrain further use of tho
money.
VARDAMAVS RIDICULOUS PROPOSITION.
Mississippi Governor Wants Trusty Convict
Porters “Uniformed.”
A Jackson, Miss., dispatch says:!
Governor Vardanian’s recommenda
that the negro porters at the state
house be discharged, and that trusty
convicts "uniformed in gray or some
other suitable color,” lie employed for
labor of this character, is a subject
of much comment around the state
house, and ibe chief executive is about
the only member of the capital com¬
mission who favors tho change pro¬
posed.