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The Lee County Journal VOL. IX. Freight Rate Fight at Atlanta Suddenly Halted. AGREEMENT IS REACHED State Railroad Commission With draws Circulars 301 and 302, and Whole Matter is Left to a New Tribunal. Litigation over freight rates which has been in progress for some weeks in the United States court, at Atlan ta, ended abruptly last Wednesday, “nd the question has been removed a very different sort of tribunal he executive officers themselves of the southern railroads, who have full power to act. By an agreement between counsel for the railroad commission and the Atlanta Freight Bureau, fm the one harnd, and the attorneys for the rail roads on the other, circulars 301 and 302, in which the railroad commis sion promulgated the objectionable reduced rates, were revoked by the commission; thereupon the suits brought by the rallroads for injunc tion were dismissed and the whole litigation was thus terminated. As a basis for this agreement, this dropping of the whole legal phase of the question there was only the prom ise of Colonel Ed Baxter, of Nashville, that he would advise his clients, the executive officers of the southern roads, to use every effort to so re vise the rate situation as to satisfy the Georgia railroad commission. Col onel Baxter did not promise he would accomplish anything, but only that he would advise. However, such is the confidence in Colonel Baxter’s ability to handle the situation, that the at. torneys for the state are pleased and gratified that the matter has taken this direction. It was Colonel Baxter’s own sugges tion which opened the way for this agreement. The executive officers of the raillroads of the south will hold an important meeting in New York on Monday next, December 5, for the purpose of considering the whole of the prevailing rate a.djus;ment from the Potomac river to the Mississip pi. It is at this same meeting that the railroad officials will consider the complaint made by Atlanta through the committee of seven appointed by Mayor Howell. Atlanta’s complaint and the atti tude of the railroad commission have a very intimate connection. Here there was opportunity to consider at least, perhaps to definitely settle, the whole vexed question. “1f you will withdraw circulars 301 and 802,” said Colonel Baxter to coun sel for the railroad commission, “I will advise my clients to make every effort to revise the present rate ad justment. ‘Then lif such revision ghould not be satisfactory to you, your commission is left free to take such sctlon as it deems proper.” = LEESBURG. GA., FRIDAY, DECEMBER 9, 1904. THis seemed satisfactory to Attor ney General Hart and the other attor neys for the commission; conferencesl followed with the result that the liti gation was terminated. { - MONEY FOR METHODISTS. Bequests in the Wil of Late Million.- aire Scruggs. The late millionaire, philanthropist and dry goods merchant of St. Louis, Richard M. Scruggs, in his will, just filed, makes specific bequests of $481,- 000, Large amounts are left to the Methodist church, south, for foreign missions. To W. R. Lambuth, secre tary of the board of missions of Nash ville, is left $5,000 for a girls’ school in Hiroshima, Japan; Bishop N B Hendrix gets $5,000 and Bishop E. E. Hoss $6,000 for missions. Bishop Candler, of Atlanta, gets $5,000 for Cuba. Bishops Galloway and Wilson also gets $5,000 each for missions. SECOND JAP WAR DIET. Convened in Tokio to Provide Further Funds for the Conflict. The Emperor of Japan formally opened the second war diet at Tokio Wednesday. He rode througfi the crowded streets in state dress, escort ed by a score of kncers and accom panied by the orown prince of his staff and some members of the imper ial household, to the house of parlia ment, where both houses were assem bled in the chamber of representa tives. TAFT'S REPORT RECEIVED. His Negotiations With Panama Fully Approved By Presldent. The report of Secretary Taft, spe cial envoy of the United States to Panama, of his negotiations with that government, was received in Washing ton Saturday. After careful consider ation the president gave his entire ap proval of the same and has advised Secretary Taft by cable to this effect. RAILROAD GRANTED CHARTER. Bavannah, Statesboro and Northern to Build a Line. The Savannah, Statesboro and Noth ern Railroad Company has been grant ed a charter by Secretary of State Phillip Cook, of Georgia. This company proposes to build a line from Statesboro, in Bulloch coun ty, to Athens, in Clarke county, a dis tance of 160 miles. The company's rapital stock will be $3,000,000. GREAT BICYCLE RACE ON. Elghteen Teams Start in Bix-Day Con test at Madison Square Garcen. Amid a roar of applause from nearly 20,000 spectators in Madison Square Garden, New York, the contestants in the twelfth international six-day bicyele race responded to the crack of the starter’s pistol, fired by Con gressman Timothy D. Sullivan, at ex actly five minutes after midnight Mon day morning. ke . 3 Season’s Yield is Placed at GOVRNMENT'S ESTIHMATE Figures Cause Tremendous Surprise Even Among Veteran Dealers. Growers Wiill be Greatly Disappointed. A Washington special says: Pre liminary returns to the chief of the bu reau of statistics of the department of agriculture show a total production of cottdn in the Unied States in the years 1904-05 of 12,161,000 Dbales. Round bales are included in this esti mate and reduced to their equivalent in square bales. The estimate does not include lin ters. : In the preparation and issuance of the cotton report, Secretary Wilson gave-demonstration of the precautions taken to avoid advance information leaking out. Representatives Byrgess, of Texas, and Ransdal, of Louisiana, ‘were invited by the secretary to wit ness the preparation of the estimate. The party was locked in the private office of the statistician, and reports from all the cotton districts were taken into the room. The doors were locked from the outside, and the secretary then gave orders for the opening of the report. The estimate of the crop for the year 1904-1905 was then prepared and sent out before any person in the room was permit ted to leave or communicate with any person from the outside. " “In this manner the cotton estimates are invariably made,” said Secretary Wilson, “and all human ingenuity is used to prevent leaking of informa tion.” A Tremendous Surprise. A New York special says: The government estimate for the cotton crop placing the yield at 12,162,000 balesg, issued Saturday, was & surprise to more people than any govern ment report of recent years. While a few of the more extreme bears had ‘been talking 12,000,000 bales or over, the average opinlon even in bearish circleg locally was that the govern ment estimate would be under that fig ure. The announcement was followed by another sensational break in prices. The decline that has been in progress now for over a month and carried the market down from 11 cents to 8 1-2 cents proved insufficient in the esti mation of the trade to fully reflect the new condition of affairs, and a crop of the size reported. There was un doubtedly a big short interest in the market, but in spite of covering, prices declined nearly half a cent In less than half an hour of trading. January, which sold around 8.56 dur ing the forenoon, was depressed (o about 8.10 and other months suffering in like measure. The market was very excited with trading exceedingly active. Disappointment to Planters. .. There is no doubt about the fact that the government coton crop re- port estimating the present season’s crop at 12,162,000 bales will prove a serious disappointment to the plant. ers all over the south. ; The recent decline has given an in. dication of the tremnd of things, but, despite all that, and despite the 11, 800,000-bale estimate the planters have been nursing the hope of some thing better when the government es timate came out. " Everywhere cotton is being held for 10, and in some cases, for 12 cents; the government estimate smashes these hopes for some months to come, at least, and, perhaps permanently, so far as the present geason’s crop in co cerned. But far from making the planters rush into the market, the effect of the government report will undoubtedly, be to make them even hold on to their cotton tighter than ever, hoping against hope, it may be, but hoping, nevertheless, for something better in ‘the future. : | ———————— L FIRE SWEEPS THE PIKE. Pleasure Palaces and Costly Contenta Prey of Incendiaries, : A St. Louis dispatch says: Further investigation by the police and Jeffer gon Guards strengthens their bellef that the fire on the Pike which total ly destroyed the “Streets of Rome” and “Quo Vadis” and partly destroy ed “Fair Japan” on the ‘“Bowery” and “old St. Louis” was of incendlary ori gin. One suspect hag been arrested, Ar thur V. Dunn, 26 years old, who glves hig occupation as a waiter. e 1 i 4 FATHER SLAYS FAMILY. 3 Bloody Tragedy is Reported to Have Occurred in Kentucky County. The murder of a whole family by the drunken husband and father is reported from near Shelby, Pike coun ty, Kentucky. Enoch Sloan, a farm er, went home from Shelby in a drunk. en condition and shot and killed his wife and four small children and then gshot himself dead. HUNDRED ALGERIANS DROWN. French Steamer Goes Down After Hav ing -Been in Coliision. Advices from Bona, Algeria, stata that a hundred persong were drowned Thursday night by the sinking of the Franch steamer Gironde, after having been in collision with the French steamer A. Schiaffino near Herbillon, %3 miles from Bona, The Gironde left Bona with 110 pos sengers, of whom 100 were Algerian 2ativea. CRAZY MAN RUNS AMUCK, Armenian Creates Temporary Pande monium in a Candy Shop. After driving his employer and oth ers from a candy shop in Brooklyn, 'N. Y., Friday, Carabad Krikorian, an Armenian, barricaded himself in the place and resisted arrest until he had ‘heen shot to death by a detail of po }xicemen who had been summoned to jt,he scene, Krikorian fired several shots, but none of the policemen were ‘wounded, . 4 i NO. 1)