State of Dade news. (Trenton, Ga.) 1891-1901, September 21, 1900, Image 1

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tiii: mate of dade news. voi.. x. GALVESTON AFTER THE STORM. Harrowing Scenes of Death and Suffering on Every Hand. PROMPT MFASURES OF RELIEF. The Whole Civilized World Responds Quickly to the Cry for Help From The Stricken City, The great tropical storm which ewept away the fair city of Galveston in its fury, and left the corpses of its dead victims piled and strewn upon the beach, has now passed into history as the most destructive disaster in the annals of the country. The total loss in lives and property will never be fully known. But the civilized world has responded quickly to the cry for help, and the swift agencies of steam and electricity have been employed in carrying aid to the suffering. Immense quantities of food, clothing, medicine and needed supplies, as well as faba lous sums of money, have been dis patched to the scene. Train-toads ot trained nurses and skilled physicians have been rushed to the scene of dis aster, apd these, together with the energy and pluck of the survivors of the storm have been resolutely at work, bringing order out of chaos, un til the worst features of the disaster are being rapidly removed. The starv ing are being fed, the wounded looked after and the dead buried or burned. The city will recovef in time, and ao-ain be the most beautiful of the Southland. Busily at Work. Galveston, Texas, Special.—The first real attempt to clear away the great mass of debris piled along the beach front for a distanle of several miles was begun Friday. Advertisements were printed in the News, which ap peared in the morning, asking for hun dreds of men and boys to do this work. A multitude responded. They were formed t into' Squads and promptly put to work, with police asd deputy sher lffSjin charge. It is hopejl vigor ous prosecution of thh \ prif will lead to the early recovery of bdies still in the debris. That there are many f them there is no shadow of doubt. A Late Summary. Chicago, Special—The following statement was received at 11 o’clock Wednesday night: “Galveston, Tex., Sept. 12. “To Charier S. Diehl, General Man ager Associated Press, Chicago: “A summary of the conditions now prevailing at Galveston is more than human intellect can master. Briefly stated, the damages to property is any where between $15,000,000 and $20,000,- 000. The loss of life cannot be com puted. No lists could be kept and all is simple work. Those thrown out to sea and buried on the ground, wherever found, will reach the hor rible total of at least 3,000 souls. “My estimate of the loss on the Island of the city of Galveston and the immediate surrounding district is between 4,000 and 5,000 deaths. I do not make this statement in fright or excitement. The whole story will never be told, because it cannot be told. The necessities of those living are to total. Not a single individual escaped property loss. The property on the island is wrecked; fully one half Is totally swept out of existence altogether. “What our needs are can be com puted by the world at large by the statement herewith submitted much better than I could possibly summarize them. The help must be immediate. “R. G. LOWE, “Manager of Galveston News.” Galveston, Tex., by Texas City and Houston.—At a meeting of the relief committee, held Wednesday morning, Reports were received from the various wards. The chairman called for armed men to assist in getting labor to bury the dead a-.d clear the wreck age, and arrangements were made to /supply this demand. The situation in the city is that there are plenty of volunteers for this service, but an in sufficiency of arms. There have been two or three small riots, but the of ficers have managed to quell them. The committee rejected the proposal of trying to pay for work, letting the la borers secure their own rations. It was decided to go ahead impressing men into service, if necessary, issuing orders for rations only to,those w r ho worked, or were unable to work. All of the ward chairman reported the im perative need of disinfectants. A com mittee was appointed to secure all the disinfectants in the city, including the lime which escaped wetting' and to ob tain more. Houston was called upon for a barge-load of lime. Captain Sinclair Taliaferro, of Houston, who did such efficient work during the Brazos flood, arrived here Wednesday morning. He was asked to assist Chairman McVittie in his work. Dan Henderson announced that Mr. VanVieck, the general manager ot the Southern Pacific, authorized the committee to draw on that company for $5,000. Mr. VanVieck returned to Houston on the tug Juno to send a barge load of supplies. Robbing the Dead. Houston, Texas, Special.—A reporter has telegraphed from Laporte the story of the robbery and mutilation of the dead in Galveston, and the death of offenders. The ghouls were holding an orgie over the dead. The majority of these men were negroes, but there were whites who took part in the dese cration. Some of them were natives and some had been allowed to go over from the mainland under the guise of “relief workers.” Not only did they rob the dead but they mutilated bodies in order to secure their ghoulish booty. A party of ten negroesw ere returning from a looting expedition. They had stripp;d corpses of all valuables and the pockets of some of the looters were fairly bulging out with fingers of the dead which had been cut off because they were so swollen the rings could not be removed. Incensed at this dese cration and mutilation of the dead the people shot down the looters and has been determined that all found in the act of robbing the dead shall be sum marily shot. During the robbing of the dead, not only were fingers cut off, but ears were stripped from heads iu order to secure jewels of value, a few governmenf troops who have survived are assisting in patrolling the city. Private citi zens have also endeavored to prevent the robbing of the dead and on several occasions have killed the offenders. Singly and two and tlr-Aae the offenders were thus shot down until the total of those thus executed exceeds fully fifty. Summary Punishment. Dallas. Tex., Special.—W. H. Mc- Grath, manager of the Dallas Electric Company, reached Dallas, direct from Galveston,. He said: “Vandalism at Galveston has beene horrible. The most rigid enforcement of martial law has not been able to suppress it entirely. Adjutant General Scurry’s men have arrested 100 or more negroes, 43 of whom were found with effects taken from dead bodies. These wf?re ordered, tried by court-martial They were convicted and ordered shot. One negro had 23 fingers with rings on them ih bis pocket.” Pockets Full of human Fingers. Houston, Tex., Special. It is true that negroes were by order of a court-martial. Their pockets were found to De full of human fingers and jewelry of which the dead were strip ped. Communication Established. Galveston, via Virginia Point, by boat. —Regular communication i3 now established between this city and the mainland and several lines of boats are running. Up to this time the com munication has been confined to scows manned by Italians, who charged all the way from $lO 'to SSO per passenger for a one way trip. The lines are be ing operated in connection with the railroads which have been repaired and are running all the way to the coast.. An effort is being made which prom ises to be successful to get all of the destitute people out of the city at the earliest possible moment. There are probably 15,000 of these and the work of transporting them acrose the bay and to Houston and other towns is a •task which requires all the energies of the volunteers engaged in it. There is no cessation in the work of recovering the dead bodies of the vic tims. The death list continues to grow and a conservative estimate places the number of known dad at 7,000, missing at 1,000 and bodies already recovered their death in the disaster. The city at 4,100. It will probably never be def initely known as to how many met had a poulation of nearly forty thous and people and in addition to this num ber there were hundreds of strangers in the town from all parts of the coun try. The sanitary condition of the city could not be worse. State Health Offi cer W. J. Blount arrived here and is making an investigation of 'the situa tion. He will probably order most, of the wreckage, from which the terrible stench is arising, burned. He says he does not believe there is any danger of an epidemic resulting from the unsan itary condition of things, for the rea son that the salt vater which lovered the city and saturated everything is more of a preventive than a breeder of disease. The odor from the decaying human and animal bodies is so great that some efforts will be taken to rem ely the matter. Over one thousand bar rels of lime have arrived, and it is be ing spread throughout the city as a disinfectant. Liberal Contributions. Austin, Tex.. Special.-Governor^ Bay ers Wednesday made the folloVing statement to the Associated Press on the flood situation: “The conditions at Galveston are fully as bad as reported. Communica tion, however, has been re-established between the island and the mainland and hereafter transportation of sup plies will be less difficult. The work of clearing the city is progressing fairly well and adjutant General Scurry, un der direction of the mayor, is patroll ing the city l-~ the purpose of prevent- TRENTON, GA.. SEPTEMBER 21,1900. ing depredations. The most conserva tive estimate as to the number of deaths places thenuat 2,000. Contribu tions from citizens of this State and also from other States are coming in rapidly and liberally, and is cotifidently expected that within the next ten daps the work of restoration by the people of Galveston will have begun In good earnest and with energy and success. Of course, the destruction of property has been very great—no les3 than $lO,- 000,000 —but it is hoped believed that even this great loss vnll be over come through the energy and self-reli ance of the people.” During the day the contributions have fairly deluged the Governor, up wards of SIOO,oOO having been received Among the large c jntributors are to be noted the Standard Oil Company, with $10,000; St. Ixruis Commercial Club for a like amount, and the Huntington in terests for $5,000. Help From All Quarters. Houston, Tex., Special.—From all parts of the United tSates and some parts of England many thousands of dollars are pouring this city for the relief of Texas’ d' v storm suf ferers. Train load visions and clothing are alst jog toward Houston and Galvt , and those of the refugees who have arrived here are being made as combortable as possible. Estimates of the uurr* *of the dead still vary. Mayor Jone> oA Galveston, maintaining his opinion that the num ber will be no less than 5,000. Prop erty losses are mounting higher as de tails arrive, and some estimates for the city of Galveston reach as high as $20,000,000. There are 25,000 homeless people in that city to be taken care of, and it is a question whether Galveston can or will be rebuilt. There seems to be a disposition on the part of the leading citizens, however, to start res olutely where the storm left off and raise anew city from the ruins of the old. The Chinese Will Help. New York, Special.—The Chinese col ony of this city is collecting supplies to send to Galveston. The principal item to be sent will be tea. It is said that this is the first time that any set of Chinamen in this country have join ed together for the relief of sufferers from a great catastrophe. New York Aid Funds. New York Special.—The subscription to date for the relief of the Galveston sufferers are: Merchants’ Association, $52,099: Mayor’s fund, $7,000; New York Merrantile Exchange Fund. $2. 900; New York Cotton F-\ hange Fund, ?’ 300: New Vf.A’ '* * Exchange Fund. Jfl.lkw: T.’ew ‘TOrtr ve&SBF ii.v change*Fund, $6,000; Chamber of Com merce Fund, $25,000; Miscellaneous subscriptions, $30,000. Total, $124,394. A $1,000,000 Relief Fund. Austin, Texa3, Special.—The fund for the relief of the Galveston sufferers now aggregate nearly $1,000,000, and it will probably reach $1,500,000 soon. Most of the amount is in the hands of Governor Sayers, who will direct the work of expending it for food, supplies and other relief work. The governor will not give out for publication an itemized list of the contributions for several days. How the Storm Came. Galveston. Tex., Special.— (By Wt s tern Union despatch boat to Houston.) —The terrific storm that produced such an appalling disaster here was predicted by the United States Weath er Bureau to strike Galveston on Fri day night and created much apprehen sion, but the night passed without the prediction being verified. Conditions, however, were ominous. The danger signal was displayed on the flagstaff of the Wether Bureau, and shipping was warned. The southwestern sky ’ was sombre. The Gulf surf beat high upon the beach. From the north just after midnight, the wind began to come in spiteful puffs, increasing in volume as the day dawned. By 10 o’clock on Sat urday morning it almost a gale. At noon it had increased in velocity and w r as driving the rain, whipping 'the pools and rattling things up in a lively manner, yet no serious apprehension was felt by residents remote from the Gulf. Those near the beach, however, were soon aroused to the danger that threatened their homes. As stupen dous waves began to send their waters far inland, they began a hasty exit to more secure places in the city. , Two gigantic forces were at work. The Gulf waves drove high upon the beach and the gale from the northeast pitched the waters against the sewers and flooding the city from that quarter. Streets rapidly began to fill with water, communication became difficult and the people were caught oetween the two powerful elements of wind and sea. Business suddenly came to a stand still. Car traffic was impossible and all these that had homes and could reach them hastily left their places of business and offered fabulous prices for any kind of a vehicle that would carry them. Railroad communication was cut off shortly after noon, Lacks being washed Wire facilities completely failed at 3 o’clock and Galveston wa3 isolated from the world. The water, which had reached a depth of eight feet on Strand street at 10 o’clock, began to ebb and ran out rapidly. By 5 o’clock on Sun day morning the crown of the street I'JEMOCHATIC. was free from water. Thus passed one one of the most destructive storms that ever devastated the coast of Texas. In the few hours it raged it was more de structive of life and property than the great storm of 1875. The city was yesterday filled with the bereft, destitute and homeless, while at the temporary morgue the glare of lanterns and candles shows bodies by *the hundred, of all ages, na tionalities and conditions of life. Whole families, in some cases, lie side by side, while elsewhere men on the verge of madness are searching for their loved ones amid the slime and waters in the streets and alleys or un der the dabris of their homes. The heaviest losses by the storm will be the Galveston Wharf Company, the Southern Pacific Railway, the Gulf, Colorado and Santa Fe Railway Com pany and the Texas Ix>ne Star Flour ing Mill Company. It will be days be fore anything like an approximate es timate of the loss of life and damage caused by the storm can be obtained. Of the new Southern Pacific works little remains but the piling. Half a million feet of lumber was carried away, and Engineer Boschke says, as far as the company is concerned, it might as well start all over again. GALVESTON DESCRIBED. Interesting Facts about the Wrecked City. Galveston is the third city of Texas in point of poulation and the first com mercially. In 1890 it had a population of 29,084. The 1900 census returns for the city have not been published, blit the present estimated population is p least 40,000. In the past ten years ft has made great strides as an exporting point, especially for cotton and grain. It is the largest: cotton exporting point in the country, New Orleans being its only competitor. Among the 127 for eign exporting points in the United States Galveston held the fifth place. During the year 1898 itexported 6.39 per cent, of the merchandise that left the country its exports increasing $lO,- 500,000 during the year. Lumber and live stock are also large exports. A leading cause of Galveston’s recent progress is the harbor improvements which have been made on a/mot ex -n*i. In 189a'the the I channel over the bar was only 21 feet. By the expenditure on the part of the government of more than $8,000,000 in the construction of jetties and other improvements, which were finished in January, 1898, the depth has been in cvreased to 28 feet and is still increas ing at the rate of six inches a year, ow ing to the action of the wind and the tides. After deep water had been secur ed, anew line of steamers from New York was established and a rate war resulted, which proved disastrous to .he steamship companies but beneficial to Galveston. The city has a grain elevator capaci ty of 2,750,000 bushels and the port can handle 70,000,000 bushels during a sea-j son. It has fifteen direct lines of Eujj ropean steamers and two lines to MexHH ico. The city is situated on the northeast extremity of Galveston Island, at 1* mouth of Galveston Bay, the entra , to which is through the tween the city and the southwest paint, of the peninsula of Bolivar. The isl-j and is about thirty miles long and from one and a half to three and a halt miles wide, intersected with manj| small bayous, and bordered throuh its whole length on the ocean side by a smooth alird beach,, forming a splen did drive and unsurpassed bathing. Ou this beach is the magnil5® a Hotel. The streets, which ■ arVubut a few feet above the level of the bay, are wide and straight, and the residence quarters are beautiful, abounding in luxuriant gardens, shaded with magno lias and oleanders. Among the prinei-. pal buildings are or were the new Cus tom House and Post Office, the Cotton Exchangse, the Court House, the Ball Free School, the Free Public Library and the Roman Catholic University of St. Mary. The bay is an irregular indentation, branching out into various arms. It has a total area of 450 square miles. Its entrance is guarded by a long bar through which the present deep water channel was constructed. The stone jetties flanking it are five miles long. The city proper being cn the ef the island is naturally "protected from the sweep of the ocean storm?, but the level of the island is so littl : above that of the bay that inundatior? have more than once been threatentfy The bay is, of course, quite shallo^/m J mos tparts, and the raihonds reach the city on a two-mile trestle from- the mainland. The Southern Pacific rail road is heavily interested in Galveston, and in 1899 joined hands with the steamship interests centering there making large improvements and in creasing their own and the city’s busi ness. The island of Galveston was oocup ed by the pirate Lafitte in ISI7, and con tinued to be his headquarters until his settlement was broken up in 1821. The city was founded in 1537. During the war of the rebellion the Federal forces occupied the town on October 8, 1562 but it was retaken by the Confederate? on January 1, 1563. COAL MINERS STRIKE The Great Struggle of the Mine Work ers Has Begun. BOTH SIDES EXPECT TO WIN — — — President Mitchell Says That in tho Anthracite are Idle-The Strikers are Quiet. Hazleton, Pa., Special.— The great struggle between the anthracite coal miners of Pennsylvania and their em ployers was begun Monday. Each side is confident of winning and neither of the contending forces shows any dis position to yield. With the exception of a trivial incident at No. 3 colliery, of the Lehigh Coal Company, where a gang of boys compelled a mule driver to seek cover by throwing rocks a*, him, the contest thus far has been en tirely devoid of violence of any kinc The exact number of mt n who struc 1 cannot at this time be told, as only estimates of the nuber of men who did start work were made. Reports received by the United Mine Workers officials from the entire anthracite region were considered by them most satisfactory. In this territory, known as District No. 7, there are 16,000 men employed in and about the mines. Of this number it is conservatively esti mated that about 50 per cent, or 8,000 miners obeyed the order of President Mitchell to quit work. Hazleton presented an animated ap pearance. Strikers from all the sur rounding mining towns came here early in the day and gathered in groups on the street corners and dis cussed the situation. It was a most orderly crowd. Around strike head quarters at the Valley Hotel, there was more or less of a crowd of men all day. President Mitchell, who arrived from the West was kept busy all the morning and evening receiving reports from every section of the mining dis trict. Messengers bringing informa tion to him from nearby points kept eo *Eiing regularly. President Mitchell gave oat the f&L Icfjtas statement: “Information re celFcd up to this time indicates that 11000 mine workers are on strike in the inthracite region, this number 72,000 are in District No. 1; 50,000 in District No. 9, and 10,000 in District If). 7. s Official Report. Austin, Tex., , Spec itU.—Governor Sayers has. received the following of ilicial if port, from Mayor Jones, of ■Galveston, as to conditions there: jf. “Galveston, Texas, jHlon. Jos. D. Sayers, Governor: ■ /“After the fullest possible investigi f lon here we feel justified in saying to , jou and through you to the American ' Jeople that no similar disaster has overtaken any community or section in the history of our country. The loss pf life is appalling and can never be accurately determined. It is esti ! mated at 5,000 to 8,000 people. “There Is not a home in Galveston that has Fnct been injured, while thousands Mave besn destroyed. The property loss represents the accumulations of GO years and more millions than can be safely stated. Under these conditions wlfjh 10,000 people homeless and desti tute, with'the entire population under ig£s tress and strain difficult to realize, Iwe appeal dlrectiy in the hour of our great emergency to the sympathy and kid of mankind. “Walter Jones, May or. It. R. Hawley, Members of Con gro n Galveston District; McKibben, Commander Department of Texas.” The information reaching here from an efficial source, s ates that reports of promk-ieuous shooting of vandals at Galveston has been exaggerated. Drowned in the Sui ■. Jacksonville. Fla., Special. News reacVknes here of the accidental drownll\e while bathing at Sea Breeze, a resort’oVi the east coast, of Mrs Scott, wifei of Dr. Stanley Scott, cf Gotha, Flal j} r Sestt is an English man wealthy. Mrs. Scott was Qt chains KGehne. of Gotha. Stnceftheir marriage Dr. and Mrs. Ccott ltlave ppent most cf their time in Eu rope./ They had recently returned. Tuliu Destroyed. Washington, D., C., Special.—The War Departmental: as received the fol lowing cabftm General Chaf fee: I t "Taku (no date). “Adjutantyeyral. Washington: has ordered repair material from Port Arthilr.xviadivostock and the United States, *and that he feels assured that the railroad will be repaired within two igontbs. Need fifty storm flags and 5;000 more small flags, the Mjrter required for Chinese houses our protection. Goodnow telegraphs, 7th at request of Li Hung Chang, leaves Shanghai in week or so. “CHAFFEE.’’ BRYAN ON TRUSTS. He Speaks On The Evils of These gHBK Great Monopolies. OVER 14,000 PEOPLE HEAR Him* He is Enthusiastically Welcomed t€ St. Louis, Where He Makes a Speech to the Com mercial Traveler®, St. Louis, Mo., Special,—Hon. W. J. Bryan spoke here Saturday at tho Coli seum Hall, under the auspices of th* National Democratic Club of Com mercial Travelers. The hall is szid t seat 14,C00 people. Not only was .every, seat occupied, available foot of standinr aL-o covered. Mr. Bryan w vliig at th# hall, having * *by his attend a * f the at Concordia, de a brief ad arrived in the •nlng here from Easi .. carted across t Missis Inittee of the nmereia met hito _***■ the Illinoi rorghit him iqjto this <* IS awl * fouir cream ollowert by 20 other xwu t!r white horses, ana I>V * mounted guard an ■police. The meeting at the , presided over by J. W, man of the Commer Club, and the time pre Bryan’s arrival was f speakers. The first of John A. Lee, Democratic Lieutenant Governor of himself a commercial tk Hon. Webster Davis. Mi occasion to reply to the rte. that he had received money President Kruger for taking a po;u in favor of th* Democratic ti-ket t , the present campaign. He said thathfe had gone to South Africa to vUit a personal friend of his, who was consul there. He then said: “I have been accused of an infamous crime by men I do not know and who, I have no doubt, are getting big pay foe ’ what they are doing. I challenge then* to produce u single ■'letter tb it i hnve ever written or to bring forward aAy other legitimate proof to substantiate their charge.® Mr. Davis said that sinec he had tak en his position his crippled brother, who had held the place of assistant postmaster at Kansas City, had been, deprived of his office. Mr. Bryan received a great ovation when he appeared on the stage. He read his speech from manuscript and J the entire document was well received. Beginning his speech, he oald: “The lament of David over Absalom is one of the most pathetic passages of the Old Testament. The fact that the son " was in rebellion against civil as v.ci! as parential authority did not the father’s the anx query, 'ls the you: rtyLom safe?’ lingers in the y oi a 7[ whr j. study the life of the%^- e at Hebrew King. And, yet. the inherent vrhiqU David felt in his son. Absalom' ha"; it parallel in the more tWan l'twopopo. families which make up the America people. “No language can describe a mrth er’s love, or overstate the'abiding in terest which the father feels in welfare of his child. From the time* when the mother’s life haggis in tine balance at the boy’s birth*^until the death of the parents there is scarcely a waking hour when the son is not present in their though'.? and plan*. It Is to this parental devotion, so univer sally recognized, that I desire to ap- ” W ' - ' - * peal on this occasion. “I would call the attention of every father and mother to present political and industrial conditions. I woubi ask them to analyze these conditions. Investigate their causes and th-eir ten dencies. I would press upon then this question: ‘ls the young man. Absalom,. safe?’ Are you satisfied with the pos sibilities and the probabilities which now open before your son? “Is he safe when foreign or domestic financiers sre allowed to determine the monetary system under which he lives? “Is he safe when national hanks con trol the volume, of money %ith * hid* he does business? “Is he safe when the bond-holding class determines the size <jf h? na tional debts upon which h* must help to nay interest? ; “Is he safe when by mean# of taxew laid almost entirely upon eonsumption tie is compelled tc contribute according: to his wants rather than according t his possessions? “Is he safe when corporate interest# influence as they do to-day the selec tion of those who are to represent It it*, in the Senate of the United Sta’ei? “If he is a wage-earner, and you dc* not know how soon he may be, even if he is not now, he ; s safe when he i liable to he derived of trial by Jury, through the system known as govern ment by injunction? "Is he safe, if a laboring man. whenr be is denied j|e protection of arbitra tion and compelled to submit to snob hour/ 1 and terms as h corporate em ptover may propone?” Mr. Bryan then entered into an es harstive end severe arraignment of vh# trill-# and their evil results- NO. 21.