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MPTTtOLLER OF THE CURRENCY
REVIEWS BANKING ACT.
GGESTS CHANGES ....... IN THE LAW.
mount of Money Held lty Nntonnl Banks
at Date of Report—Per Capita of the
Various Countries Given.
The annual report of James H.
Ickels, comptroller of the currency,
)r the year ended October 31, 1897,
pens with a brief review of the his-
iry of the legislation which consti-
lies the present national bank act,
Bid invites the attention of congress
b the amendments to the law recom-
I bended it in - e former reports , without L
pecifically On the subject repeating of bank them. note circula-
Bon, the comptroller says in part:
Ihanges “It is noticeable that in all the
which have been wrought in
Ihe leption national currency act from its in-
[abject to the present time the feature
intended to criticism, but which was
should constitute the princi-
pal benefit to be conferred, has re-
pained comparatively unchanged,
namely, the note issuing function. in
Whatever justification there was
[he [ssuiug first of instance against for restricting the bonds the of
notes
[he [reasurer government, of the United deposited States, with to the 90
per cent of the par value thereof long
peased. “In the report of comptroller
every
pf the currency during the past twenty
years the wisdom of changing the ex¬
isting law so that the banks, and
phrough them the communities iu
which located, might have the addi¬
tional benefit of an added loanable
capital has been urged. Despite all
this, tbe law still remains without
amendment. Not only should the
bank act be amended in this particu¬
lar, but congress should seriously
consider sueb a change in the method
of bank note issues as will enable the
banks of the country to more ade¬
quately meet the demands of trade
and commerce in all sections of the
“It is impossible to believe that with
system of band note issues, based in
upon seciirities and in part upon
assets, the country cannot be
with a sound, safe and elas¬
bank note issue, always commen¬
with and responsive to the de-
of trade. The Bank of Eng-
the Bank of Scotland and the
of Ireland have been found to
ample in their resources to provide
note issues for use in the trade of
United Kingdom. The same is
of the Bank of France. The
Imperial bank has for more
twenty-two years issued bank
paper against assets, which has
maintained its value and has been so
controlled as to successfully meet tbe
commercial needs of the empire. ”
On Oct. 31st, last there wpre in ac-
tive operation 3,617, having an author-
ized capital of §630,230,295. The
total outstanding circulation of the
banks then in operation was §229,199,
880, of which 202,994,555 was secured
Jiy bonds of the United States and the
balance by lawful money deposited
with the treasurer of the United
States.
During the year forty-four banks
were organized, with an aggregate
capital stock of §4,420,000. During
the year seventy-one banks went into
voluntary liquidation. insol¬
There was paid to creditors of
vent banks during the year $13,169,-
781 in dividends. The magnitude of
this unequaled record, the report says,
will be more forcibly illustrated if con-
sidered in the light of what has been
accomplished heretofore in the way of
dividend payments to the creditors of
insolvent institutions.
The report contains the latest com-
piled statistics relative to the world’s
monetary systems and the stock of
gold, silver and paper currency. A
very interesting feature of this state-
ment is the per capita amount of each
kind of money in the countries named.
The per capita averages in the princi-
pal countries of the world are as fol-
lows: United States, §23.70; United
Kingdom, §20.65; France, §34.68;
Germany, $18.95; Austria-Hungary,
§9.33, and Russia, §8.95.
A GIGANTIC POOL THIS.
wire, Wire Nail and Steel Rod Men Have
Formed a Combination.
It is reported that the proposed im-
mense combination of wire, wire nail
and steel rod manufacturers in Cleve-
land, O., overshadowing anything of
th n k ed to e the PS' whetTthe concerns
all that remains to be done is to reach
an agreement on the value of the dif-
f 6 rc ut mills
The statement is made by Cleveland
iron men who are interested that the
pontrnl of the bi" coinpanv will rest
in the hands of J. Pierpont Morgan
and his associates, they having arrang-
ed to obtain that control by purchase,
■_____-j
THORN IN SING SING.
--
Slayer of Guldensuppe Placed X„ a Cell In
A New York v "l dispatch r* toll says Martin Martin
'Thorn, the conu,
William Guldensuppe, arrived at the
.penitentiary Saturday in charge of the
sheriff of Queens county. cell
[in He was immediately placed in a
the death house, and there to re-
dnain in solitary confinement until the
dime set for his execution the week of
January 10th
—
COOD ROADS NOTES.
Weight of Hollers.
In many seotions of the country the
rollers used in laying down new mac¬
adam, light. audjin repairing, are succeed entirely
too smoothing the They surface only through the aid in
of clay or other “binding material. ”
The weight of the roller on the bear-
ing surface, in order to get the best
1,esu!ts > should be, per square inch, at
least equal to the expocted weight, per
square inch, under the wheels of the
heaviest loads.
Clean Hoads.
On the principle that the greater al¬
ways includes the less, good roads
naturally imply a clean as well as n
smooth and durable surface. But
sometimes the only step that can be
taken toward better roads is to first
keep the poor ones clean, and a bad
road that is clean is not quite so bad
as one that is not, and more or less
covered with refuse. In New York,
for “ J^r or two, the streets, poor as
they ^ are for the most part, have been
remarkabIy oleaD) and since thi8
happened it is said that the demand
for rubber overshoes has materially
decreased there. In towns and in the
country, if live stock were kept off the
highways and properly confined, the
roads would be much cleaner, the
farmer could do away with nearly all
his expensive fencing, and traveling
would be far more agreeable,
Highway Drainage.
There is one fault frequently com¬
mitted in the use of ihe road machine
there is an insufficient escape allowed
for water. Those who operate the
machines object to being bothered by
bars, or the so-called “thank you,
inarms.” So these are not being put
in their places as they should be.
If there is a short sag to be filled,
it cau probably be done from material
at the sides by using drag sorapers,
then dress up with a road machine, or
if the soil is a stiff clay or muck, haul
on gravel, rock, shale or sand, if they
are available. If not, the embank¬
ment should be raised to an extra
height to give a quick drainage.
The worst feature in the working of
the roads is that they are made the
gutters of the county.
The ditch on the upper side of the
road gathers all the water from the
fields above the road and carry it to
the foot of the hill; the ditch on the
lower side gathers all the water com¬
ing from the road, and between the
two our road systems are being washed
out.
Drainage can and should be provi¬
ded to get the water outside of the
road limits at short intervals. Water
is a poor road material. Keep it from
getting on the roads where possible.
—Kenyon (Micln) Leader.
Profit In Good Road Taxes.
The hill tax is produced by running
roads in straight lines over hills and
mountains with grades of ten to fif¬
teen feet in one hundred, instead of
foflowing valleys, skirting hills and
making gradual winding ascents, keep¬
ing as close as possible to a four per
cent, The grade.
square corner tax is common
on the prairies and in level districts.
It consists in traveling, for instance,
seven miles north, and then seven
miles east to reach a point that is,but
ten miles northeast in a straight line.
In such a case forty per cent, ef the
actual distance is added, The aver-
age distance added in this way be¬
tween any two points throughout the
country is twenty per cent.
The mud tax is due to having soft
roads insufficiently drained, and gen¬
erally “repaired” by having the sod,
stones and earth from the gutters
thrown on them once a year when road
taxes are being worked out. time,
The fence tax arises from the
material and expense of erecting and
maintaining unnecessary fences.
The snowdrift tax follows on the
heels of the fence tax, fences serving
as obstructions to cause the formation
of drifts.
The waste land tax comes from the
loss of good, unused land left on the
roadside outside the fences.
The wagon wheel tax is caused by
the use of vehicles having narrow
tires, with rear wheels following in
the track of the front pair, and thereby
always tending to cut up the road sur¬
face.
The good roads tax is the profit ac¬
cruing to the farmers and all other
persons using the roads from the re¬
moval of the above self-imposed taxes.
—L. A. W.
Items.
Prosperity travels on good roads.
Good roads are highway morality.
Bad roads mean dreary isolation foi
months every year.
California has passed a law requir-
ing the use of wide tires after January
1, 1900.
The cit i ze ns of Orleans, Iud., have
W T°. ted ?. 46 >°° 0for construction
Q s * tul “ p a ’
throughly stl ,, ' ucted at , 01106 drained 111 Fe!tou are to Minn. , be con-
>
Bond repairing is all right, but it
should be preceded by road building.
“Repairing” a mud hole will never
a road oi it.
Rural postal delivery is popular and
is likely to come, but it will depend
for its efficiency and extension on bet-
ter roads than now exist in most parts
of the country.
^ Merchants . Exchange of Oak-
land, ^ Cal., ^ has decided to take hold
aud help the street Com-
mission in its labor of getting good
f that oitv J .
Ttoree years ago the death rate in .
New York City was twenty-six per
housaud. Since the streets have been
kept clean it has fallen, and for the
first six months of the present year it
was uuder twenty per thousand.
REPORT THAT NEW JERSEY GOV¬
ERNOR SUCCEEDS M’KENNA.
POSITION TENDERED AND ACCEPTED
Selection of Jersey Man Said to Have Been
Urged lirfron McKinley l>y Vice
President Hobart.
A Washington special says: From
sources, the authority of which should
' not be doubted, it is learned that the
position of attorney general, to suc¬
ceed Mi. McKenna, who will be nomi¬
nated 7o the supreme bench to suc¬
ceed Justice Field, has been offered
to Governor Griggs, of New Jersey,
and that he has consented to accept.
It is understood his appointment
was urged by Vice President Hobart.
Owing to the absence of the presi¬
dent, who was in Canton Friday, it
was impossible to confirm this state¬
ment absolutely.
A special from Patterson,N.J., says:
Governor John W. Griggs arrived
home Friday night from Washington.
He was seen soon after he reached his
residence, but refused to talk about
tbe report that he was to be the next
attorney general.
He would not say that the office has
been offered to him, neither would he
deny it.
Close friends of the governor and of
Hobart, who were seen later, expressed
the belief that the cabinet position has
been tendered the governor, and added
that he would probably accept it.
THORN RECEIVES SENTENCE,
Will Be Electrocuted In the Week Begin¬
ning; January lOth Next.
A New York dispatch says: Martin
Thorn, or Torcezwisky, convicted of
the murder of William Guldensuppe,
was sententeneed Friday to be electro¬
cuted in the week beginning January
10, 1898.
When Thorn was brought into court
in Long Island City he preserved the
same calm, imperturbable expression of
countenance that he has worn at every
crisis in the working out of his fate
during the trial, and when, as a pre¬
liminary to the passing of sentence of
death, Justice Maddox put the cus¬
tomary questions to him he responded
promptly, collectively and with no out¬
ward evidence of emotion.
“My name,” said the murderer, “is
Torcezwisky. I was born in Germany
and am 35 years old. I am a barber;
have never been in prison before. I
was brought up in the religions belief
of the Roman Catholic church. I can
read and write. My father is living.
I am not married.”
In passing sentence, Judge Maddox
said:
“The judgment of the court is that
you shall be taken bence to the state
prison at Sing-Sing within a reasona¬
ble time, and that you shall bp exe¬
cuted in the form prescribed by law in
the week beginning January 10, 1898.”
Thorn listened without moving tf
muscle, and when the judge had fin¬
ished he inclined his head slightly
forward, as if bowing to the court.
The prisoner’s lawyers then handed up
an affidavit applying for an appeal.
Justice Maddox took the affidavit and
will pass on it later. Thorn was then
led to the jail below.
LEFT HIS DUMMY.
A Condemned Murderer Plays a Sharp
Triclc on Jailer.
John Morgan,who was to be hanged
December 16th, played a sharp trick
on the jailer at Ripley, W. Ya., Friday
night by walking out of jail and taking
to the woods. A short time ago he
sold a confession for §25. With the
money he bought a new suit of clothes
to wear on the gallows. Thursday
night he made a dummy of his old
suit and put it to bed in his cell.
Donning his new suit he climbed on
top of the cell and lay there till it was
locked for the night. Then he escaped
and was not missed till morning. A
reward of §500 is offered for his ar¬
rest.
His crime, the murder of Mrs. Green,
her son and daughter, was committed
November 3d, just a month ago, near
Grass Lick county.
ASSASSIN CAPTURED.
Negro Wlio Killed the Singley Family
In Alabama Is In Jail.
\ AIa ’’ *P eciaI
BiIKjCO , e negro c iaige< \
the murder oi John C. Singley, wife
fp'VTwts SiTthen^robbiM thl
of was arrested in Perry
jailed at Marion.
when news of the arrest reached
Hale county excitement became m-
tense and a mob organized to goto
Marion to lynch Scott. The sheriff at
Marion telegraphed Governor Johnson
for aid and the latter instructed the
sheriff to use the Marion Rifles if nec-
essary to protect the prisoner.
BRUCE GETS HIS OLD PLACE.
Mississippi Negro Is Again Made Regis¬
ter By President McKinley.
The president, Thursday, appointed
Blanche K. Bruce, of Mississippi, to
be register of the treasury.
Bruce represented Mississippi in
the United States senate in reconstruc¬
tion days, and is one of the best
known negro republicans in the coun¬
try. The position to which he is ap-
' pointed is he held some years ago.
one
€< ONTESTS GALORE.
Twenty Seats To Bo Fought For In
This Congress.
A Washington dispatch says: The
clerk of the house has received notices
of twenty contests to be made in the
next house.
The list so far as it affects the south¬
ern states is as follows:
Second Alabama District—T. H.
Clark, national democrat, vs. J. P.
Stallings, democrat.
Third Alabama—G. L. Comer, na-
tional democrat, vs. Henry D. Clayton,
democrat.
Fourth Alabama—W. F. Aldrich,
populist, vs. Thomas Plowman, dem¬
ocrat.
Fifth Alabama—L. Goodwin, popu¬
list, vs. William Bremer, democrat.
Delaware (at large)— G. S. Willis,
union republican, vs. L. Irving Handy,
democrat,
Third Kentucky District—W. God¬
frey Hunter, republican, vs. J. L.
Rhea, democrat.
First Louisiana District—Armaud
Roniain, republican, and Joseph Gaz¬
in, labor, vs. Adolph Myer.
Third Mississippi District—C. J.
Jones, republican, vs. T. C. Catchings,
democrat.
First South Carolina District—G.
W. Murray, republican, vs. W. A.
Elliott, democrat.
Second South Carolina District-—D.
G. Chatfield, republican, vs. W. Jas¬
per Talbert, democrat.
Seventh South Carolina District—
Thomas B. Johnstone, republican, vs.
J. Williams Stokes, democrat..
Eleventh Tennessee District—Josiah
Patterson, gold democrat, vs. E. W.
McCarmack, democrat.
Second Virginia district—R. A.
Wise, republican, vs. William A.
Young, democrat.
Fourth Virginia District—R. T.
Thorp, republican vs. Sidney P. Epes,
democrat.
Fifth Virginia District—J.R. Broom,
republican,, vs. C. A. Swanson, demo¬
crat.
POSTMASTER STANDS PAT.
Ropier Refuses to Step Out Without
Proper Notice.
For days past the newly appointed
postmaster at Mobile, Ala., P. D.
Barker, republican, has iu vain en¬
deavored to obtain possession of the
office from Postmaster Rapier, demo-
crat. The latter’s attorneys have
raised an entirely new point of law,
which Inspector Tate says has never
been raised in his experience, nor has
he ever had to transfer an office situa¬
ted precisely as this one i3.
Postmaster Rapier’s commission ex¬
pires in December, 1898. Mr. Barker
was appointed by President McKinley,
in October last.
Mr. Rapier had no notice of his re¬
moval, although Inspector Tate served
upon him telegraphic instructions from
Postmaster General Gary saying Ra¬
pier should acknowledge Barker’s
commission as notice of removal, no
other notice being customary with the
department.
Mr. Rapier’s attorneys hold that the
language of . the statute relating to
postmasters of the first-class is special;
that it provides that the president
shall appoint and may remove such
officers by and with the advice of the
senate. Consequently, as Mr. Rapier’s
commission has not expired, and Mr.
Barker’s appointment has not been
confirmed by the senate, nor Mr. Ra¬
pier’s removal confirmed by the same
body, Rapier is still postmaster.
He is in the postoffice, and is await¬
ing there the next move of Mr. Barker
and the inspector.
PRESIDENT REACHES CANTON.
He Found His Mother Alive But Uncon¬
scious.
President McKinley arrived at Can¬
ton Friday morning. His mother was
alive, but in a very critical condition.
She was sinking rapidly.
Before she relapsed into unconsci¬
ousness she was given to understand
that her son had started for Canton
from the capitol.
The train bearing the president
reached Pittsburg at 7:15. At each
stop during the night word had been
flashed to Canton of his progress and
at each stop a yellow missive told him
that he was still in the lead in his
thrilling midnight race with the grim
reaper.
At 8:55 the president reached the
home. Upon his arrival President
McKinley entered the sick room and
knelt by the bedside. His mother was
unconscious. He believes, however,
that she recognized him as he knelt at
her bedside.
TOBACCO EXPORTERS ANXIOUS.
A Large Delegation Calls on Special Com¬
missioner Senor Canalejas.
A delegation from the city of Pinar
del Rio. consisting of the mayor of
that place and 200 merchants, planters
and agriculturists of all parties, called
upon Senor Jose Canalejas, the special
commissioner of Spain, Thursday and
represented to him the necessity for
the exportation of leaf tobacco, of
which, they added, there were 60,000
bales in warehouse.
The delegation requested the com-
-nissioner to use his influence with
Captain General Blancc.
»enor Canalejas promised he would
make proper representations.
COLLEGE IN ASHES.
School of Medicine Near Knoxville, Tenn.,
Burned to the Ground.
Shortly after noon Friday the Ten¬
nessee Medical college near Knoxville,
was discovered on fire, and on acconnt
of poor protection it burned slowly to
the ground.
The college was one of the best insti¬
tutions in the south, and is well at¬
tended. The building cost §25,000,
aud was comparatively new.
THE WEST POINT RAILWAY WINS
VICTORY IN COURT.
A CONSENT VERDICT IS REACHED •
Charter Declared Valid and the Froperty
Belli}- Well Manneed—Nelson
to l’ay Costs.
The Atlanta and West Point rail¬
road has won in the fight that was
made upon its charter by Mr. Levi
Nelson.
In a consent verdict which was
reached Wednesday morning the re¬
ceiver was denied, the application for
injunction was refused and Mr. Nel¬
son, the plaintiff, as appears from the
court papers, was ordered to pay the
costs in the case.
The verdict was signed by Foreman
Lyle, bearing the consent of the Geor¬
gia Railroad and Banking company, the
King & Anderson, attorneys for
plaintiff, and Dorsey, Brewster &
Howell, attorneys for the defendant.
It will be remembered that the liti¬
gation began several months ago,when
Mr. Nelson, in his petition attacked
the charter of the Atlanta and West
Point, claiming that the amendment
to the charter extending it fifty years
was unconstitutional. The petition
asked for the appointment of a re¬
ceiver and asked that a restraining
order be allowed. The petition went
even further, charging that by opera¬
tion of the law the corporation had
been dissolved and that its fund. property
and assets were then a trust
Every allegation iu this bill is de¬
nied in the verdict reached and the
decision is a sweeping victory for the
road. There will be no appeal, as the
verdict is one reached by consent of
all parties and the decision is final.
The decision is one of interest in
railroad circles, as every road in the
south has been watching the case.
TO AID MRS. NOBLES.
Bill In Georgia Legislature to Change
Criminal Law.
The Georgia legislature has come to
the aid of Mrs. Nobles, and it is prob¬
able that a bill will be passed which
will save the Twiggs county muredress
from the gallows.
Mr. Berry, of Whitfield, introduced
a bill in the lower house Wednesday
night which makes it impossible for
the death sentence to be inflicted up¬
on a woman who has been found
guilty of murder unless the jury ex¬
pressly recommends that she be
hanged. tbe
The bill does not mention name
of Mrs. Nobles, and there are some
who think it cannot affect her case,
but it is known that the bill was in¬
troduced at the request of one who
had the Nobles case in view. Mr.
Berry says that the bill will save Mrs.
Nobles if it passes in time:
As the jury which tried Mrs. Nobles
did not recommend that she be hang¬
ed, the bill will save her life. If it is
found that the bill as it now stands
will not effect its purpose, it will be so
amended as to fit her case.
It was stated in the house that the
bill was introduced at the suggestion
of Governor Atkinson, who was anx¬
ious to learn the sentiment of the
general assembly on the subject. The
governor will soon be called upon to
commute Mrs. Nobles’ sentence, and
he doubtless would feel relieved if
there was a law on the statutes that
named life imprisonment as a penalty
for murder committed by a woman.
CRACKER COMPANIES COMBINE.
Trouble of Bakeries In St. Louis Satis¬
factorily Adjusted.
A St. Louis special says: After
months of disastrous cut rate war be¬
tween the three big cracker trusts, a
treaty of peace has been signed and a
general consolidation agreed upon. Biscuit
The stock of the American
Company, the New York Biscuit Com¬
pany and the United States Biscuit
Company will be pooled and a new
company with a capital stock of
§55,000,000 formed.
“St. Louis people are particularly
interested in the development of the
trouble between the great rival corpor¬
ations, as two of the largest cracker
bakeries in the United States are
located in the city.”
ALASKA BOUNDARY DISPUTED.
Canadian Minister of Interior Says the
question is Grave.
Advices from Ottawa, Ont., state
that Hon. Clifford Sifton, minister
of the interior, has returned from an
extended trip to Klondike. Speaking
of the Alaska boundary question he
said:
“There are certain phases of the
question which have to be looked into
carefully, and Mr. King, our chief as¬
tronomer, went out with me for that
purpose. As to whether there will be
a commission on the question appoint¬
ed by ourselves, I don’t know. The
subject is a grave one.”
ROBBERS IMPERSONATE SLEUTHS.
Three Thieves Enter Residence and Make
Way With Diamonds.
Three men who represented them¬
selves as detectives, entered the home
of Mrs. Mary Eppenstein in Chicago
Monday afternoon.
After beating Mrs. Eppenstein with
revolvers and after locking her in a
room, they made way with her dia¬
monds, valued in all at §4,000.
M’KINLEY’S MOTHER DYING.
Stricken With Paralysis—President Has¬
tens to Canton.
A special from Canton, O., says:
Mrs. Nancy Allison McKinley, mother
of the president, was stricken with
paralysis Thursday morning and it is
feared that her death is only a ques¬
tion of a short time.
The paralysis at present is a mild
form, but owing to her extreme age,
nearly 89 years, Dr. Phillips, the at¬
tending physician, can give but little
hopes to the family. Mr. Abner Mc¬
Kinley, of New York, has been visit¬
ing Canton for a few days and when
his mother was stricken immediately
communicated with the president by
telephone. the belief
Dr. Phillips expresses
that death will be inevitable from the
present illness, and that the only un¬
certainty is the time when it would
occur. The disease, he says, is not
primarily paralysis, but senility, the
result of old age, which has produced
the partial paralysis. of the of
Mrs. McKinley came the founda¬ race
hardy pioneers who laid
tion of the American republic. She
was Miss Naucy Campbell Allison,
and was born at New Lisbon, O., in
1809. Her family originally came
from England to Virginia, thence to
Pennsylvania, and finally settled per¬
manently in Ohio. She was married
to William McKinley, Sr., January 6,
1829, and was living in a two-story
frame house, still standing near Niles,
O., when her distinguished son was
born, January 29, 1843.
A Washington dispatch states that
President McKinley left the city at
7:10 o’clock Thursday night to hasten
to the bedside of his sick mother at
Canton. The president had made hur¬
ried arrangements for his' departure,
and during the afternoon disposed of
a large volume of business awaiting
his attention.
The president’s stay in Canton will
depend upon the condition in which
he finds his mother. If she improves
he will return to Washington in time
for the opening of congress, and later
go again to Canton.
NEW CONVICT BILL
Drafted By Committee of Eleven Georgia
[Legislators.
The new convict bill, which was
adopted by the committee of eleven
from the Georgia legislature Thurs¬
day night, and which the house is
pledged to pass, will prove one of the
biggest surprises ever sprung upon
the state legislature.
It incorporates every feature that
the house ordered it to incorporate
when it answered the Brannen cate¬
chism and adopted the Brannen reso¬
lution, but it goes much further than
that and includes many of the reform
features of the Hall bill with none of
the objectionable provisions which
made that measure unpopular when it
was first introduced.
The new bill is by no means a re¬
enactment of the old lease. It pro¬
vides for the hiring out of convicts
for short terms, but so hedged the
system about with state control that
every convict camp is to be a little
penitentiary by itself, absolutely own¬
ed and managed by the state.
It provides for a central peniten¬
tiary for the women and the old men,
and a reformatory for the boys.
It makes it necessary to equip stock¬
ades with separate cells for each able-
bodied convict, and directs a separate
employment, so far as possible, of the
white and the blacks.
It gives the state the right to inspect
misdemeanor convicts and to remove
them from county authorities when¬
ever the law is being violated.
By answering the remaining ques¬
tions of the Brannen catechism Thurs¬
day the house decided that the peni¬
tentiary department under the new
system should consist of three com¬
missioners, to be elected by the people
as other state officers are now elected.
SOUTH GEORGIA CONFERENCE
Opened at Savannah With Bishop Key
Presiding;.
•The Methodist preachers took pos¬
session of Savannah Wednesday morn¬
ing. The 31st session of the South
Georgia conference was begun in that
city at 9 o’clock a. m., with Bishop
Key presiding. arranged that the
The pastors had
opening devotional Service should be
the sacrament. The service was led
by Bishop Key, assisted by the follow¬
ing venerable ministers of the confer¬
ence, Revs. J. D. Anthony, A. M.
Wynn, G. G. N. MacDonell andW.H.
Thomas, __•
ALABAMA MINERS STRIKE.
Operators Refused to Restore Cut of Ten
Per Cent In Wages.
A special from Birmingham, Ala.,
says: Walker county
“News comes from
that mines at Corona, Lockhart, Pal-
lon, Black Diamond, Coal Valley,
Mountain Valley and Gas Light, about
1,200 all told, struck Wednesday, it
is alleged, because of the failure of
the operators to restore the 10 per
cent reduction in wages made last
spring and which the miners claim the
operators promised to restore Novem¬
ber 1st.
“A mass meeting of the miners at
Day’s Gap, Sunday formulated a final
demand which the operators rejected.
POOLING LAW OPPOSED.
Most; Bitter Fight Predicted When Bill
Comes Up In Congress.
At a meeting of the board of mana-
gers of the traffic bureau held at St.
Louis Friday afternoon, it was decided
to oppose the railroad pooling law now
pending before taken congress. which promise to
Steps were of most bit¬
be but tbe forerunners a
ter fight when congress takes the mat¬
ter up.