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PRESIDENT DEFENDS His Position as to Secret Ser vice Irregularities HIVES HIS ANSWER TO CONGRESS He is Misunderstood and Misquoted Has Great Respect for Congress Good Work of Secret Service-It is a Necessity-Urges Present Re strictions Removed. Washington. Special.-Unusual at tention wab paid in the House of Repr?sentatives Monday to the read ing of a message from the President .'replying to a resolution of that body calling upon him for BD explanation of the intimation in his annual mes sage that members of Congress were afraid to be investigated by the sec ret service. The galleries were pack ed to the doors. The President's specific references to certain speeches by Messrs. Taw ney .of Minnesota; Smith, of Iowa; Sherley, of Kentucky, and Fitzgerald, of New York, when the provision for the restriction of the operations of the secret service was up for IIJCUS sion, and also to Mr. Busby, the Speaker's private secretary, created a storm'of laughter. The Speaker rap ped several times vigorously for or ?er. The President says: "I am wholly at a loss to under stand the concluding portion of the resolution. I have made no charges of corruption against Congress nor against any member of the present House. If I had proof of such cor ' ruption affecting any member of the House in any^ matter as to which the Federal government has jurisdiction, action would at once be brought, as was done in the cases oi Senators Mitchell and Burton, and Represen tatives Williamson, Hermann, and Driggs, at different times since I have been President. This would simply be doing my duty in the exe cution and enforcement of the laws without respect to persons. But I do not regard it as within the province or the duties of the President to report to the House "alleged delin quencies1' of members, or the sup posed "corrupt action" of a mem ber "in his official capacity." The . membership of the House is by the constitution placed'within the pow er of the House alone. In the prose cution of criminals and the enforce ment of the laws the President must resort to the courts of the United States." The President quotes from his mes sage: "Last year an amendment was incorporated in the measure provid ing for the secret service, which pro vided that there should be no detail from the secret service and no trans fer therefrom." That act he claims crippled the efficiency of the service and therefore was of interest chiefly to wrong doers. He says it forbade the practices that had been followed to a greater orjess entent by. the executive heada_ of various departments for twenty years. To these practices we owe the securing of the evidence which en abled us to drive great lotteries out of business and secare a quarter of a million dollars in fines from their promoters. These practices have en abled us to discover some o* the most outrageous frauds in connec tion with the theft of government land and government timber by great corporations and by individuals. These practices have en?hled us to get some of the evidence indispens able in order to secure the conviction of the wealthiest and most formidable cirminals with whom the government has to deal, both those operating in violation of the anti-trust law and .then. He refers to the fact that through the secret service both a senator and a congressman were convicted of land frauds in Oregon. He believes that the government should be al lowed to investigate all branches, but pleads that Congressmen might be, iaade un exception if so desised, with out'cutting off so much of the power of the secret service as to cripple its .usefulness in other spheres. He denies'.vigorously , that he said that a. majority of congress did not want ito be investigated; and says on the contrary I have alw^/s not only depreciated but. vigorously resented the practice of indiscriminate attack upon Congress, and indiscriminate condemnation of all Congressmen, wise and unwise, fit sod.unfit, good and bad alike. No one realizes more than I the importance of co-operation between the Executive and Congress, and no one holds the authority and dignity of the Congress of-the United States in higher respect than I do. I have not the slightest.sympathy with, the practice of judging men, for good or for ill, not on their several merits, but in a mass, as members of one par ticular body or one caste. In defense of his terras in thermes saee that argument in favor of the proyision -was ithat- thc Congressmen did not tk^nselves wish to be in vestigated by secret service men, he chalis attention to tho-fact that when the-measure wat? being discussed the chief ^argument TO this, as can be seen by reference to the Congress ional Record! He says he would not name authors of these artic le?, but for the fact that it is de manded. The President quotes the following from the Cicago Inter-Ocean, written from Washington by L. W. Busby, private secretary to the Speaker of tho House: "He (thc; chief qf_the divisionn and his men arc desirous of doing the secret deteetjve work for the whole government, and are not par ticular about drawing the line be tween thc lawmakers and the law breakers. They are ready to shad ow the former as well as the latter." Then.' ofter saying that Congress will insist that the men shall only be used to stop counterfeiting, the ar ricio goes on: "Congress ?oes uot intend to have a douche or any other kind of n ister of- police to be used by, the ecu ti ve departments against the le] lative branch of the government, bas been so used, and it is suspec that it has been so used recently. The legislative branch of government will not tolerate the m diing of detectives, whether tl j?epresent the President,- Cabinet ficers, or only themselves * . Congressmen resented the secret terference of the secret srvice ra who for weeks shadowed some of most respected members of the Hoi and Senate. . . . When it \ discovered that seeret service n mere shadowing Congressmen th was a storm of. indignation at i c?pitol ?nd the bureau came n< being abolished and the appropri?t] cut off. * * * At another ti the chief of the 'secret service had i men shadow Congressmen with a vi to involving them in scandals tl would enable the bureau to dictate them as to the price of silence' * v me secret, service mon ni shown an inclination again to sh; ow members of Congress, kn o wi them to be law-makers, and this no joke. Several of the departmei have asked Congress for secret fur for investigation, and the Treasi Department wants the limitation moved from the appropriation for si pressing counterfeiting. This sho a tendency toward Foucheism a a secret watch on other officials th themselves." This the President considers index to what seems an enimus Congress to the secret service. He then says: "In connection wi the Nebraska prosecution the go ernment has by decree secured t return to the government of over million acres cf grazing land; in C< orado of more than 2,000 acres mineral land, and suits are now pe ding involving 150,000 acres more. The President follows with a loi list of crimes against the govammej brought out in his administrate through the secret service detectivi in which even wealthy men have bee punished with fine and imprisonmen He then specifies a number of coi victions by the secret service such J the selling of fraudulent naturaliz: tion papers, (which congress hi since remidied except that the appn priations are fi ti ll too low for fu effectiveness. Green and Gayn( i have been brought to justice and ai in prison. In the State of NebrasL alone sixty defendants were indictee and of the thirty-two cases thus fe brought to trial twenty-eight ha\ resulted in conviction. The secret service was used to ai sist in the investigation of crime under the peonage laws, and .owin partly thereto numerous conviction were secured and the objectionabl practice was practically stamped oui at least in many districts. The mos extensive smuggling of silk an opium in the history of the Trcasur Department was investigated b agents of the secret service in Nev York and Seattle and a succensfn prosecution of the offenders ufder taken. Assistance of the utmost val ue was rendered to the Department o: Justice in the beef trust investiga tion at Chicago, prosecutions wer followed up and fines inflicted. Th cotton-leak scandal in the Agricul tural Department was investigate) and the responsible parties located. The destruction of the Houdura Lottery Company, the successor t< the Louisiana Lottery . was afftctei and-$300,000 fines collected. The in) fraud contract in the Bureau of Print ing was discovered and $100.000 i year was saved, while the total ex penses for the official and field fore? of the secret service last year was $135,000. The President says: "Such a bodj as the secret-service, such a body oj trained investigating agents, occupy rag a permanent position in the gov? ernment service, and separate fron local investigating forces in different Department, is an absolute necessity 4f "the''test work is to be done againsl .criminals. It is by far the most effi cient instrument . possible to use against crime." He avers that Con gress should hold itself,-in?readiness tc investigate the executive "department at any time, and adds that any abuse of the service employes themselves "snould be vigorously "prosecuted, He says: "To use the secret service in the investigation of purely private or political matters would be a gross abuse. But there has been no single instance of such abuse during my term as President. In conclusion, he says, "I most ear nestly ask, in the name of good gov ernment and decent administration, in the name of honesty and for the pur pose of bringing to justice violators of the Federal laws wherever they may be found, whether in public or private life, that the action taken by the House last year be reversed. When this action was taken, the Senate com mittee, under the lead of the late Sen ator Allister, having before it a strong ly worded protest (Appendix D) from Secretary Cortelyou like that he had sent to Mr. Tawney, accepted the Sec retary's views; and the .Senate passed ihe bill in the shape pn-sented by'Sen ator Allison. In the conference, how ever, the House conferees insisted on the retention of the provision they had inserted, and the Senate yielded. The ehief of the secret service is paid a salary utterly inadequate to thc importance of his functions and to the admirable way in which he has performed them. I earnestly urge that it be increased to $6.000 per an num. I also urge that the secret ser vice be placed where it properly be longs, and made a bureau in the De partment of Justice, as the chief of the secret service has repeatedly re quested; but whether this is done OT not, it should be explicitly provided that the secret service can be used tc detect and punish crime wherever it is found. THEODORE ROOSEVELT. .Thc Whi:e House, January 4th. icon. Court VYHJ Sentence Six to Death. OTHER TWO GOOD FOR 20 YEARS Motion For New Trial Overruled Two of the Eight to Have 20 Years in Prison-Brief Summary of Crim inals and Their Capture. Union City, Tenn., Special.-With a verdict of guilty in varying degree the jury in the night-rider trials re ported at 8:45 p. m. Thursday. The twelve men found Garret John son, Tid Burton, Roy Ransom, Fred Pin con, Arthur Cloor and Sam Apple white guilty of murder in the first de gree with mitigating circumstances, and Bud Morris and Bob Huffman, the other defendants, guilty of mur der in the second degree and fixed their punishment at twenty years in the penitentiary. The punishment of thc six first named defendants was left to the court and may be death or life imprisonment. The defense filed a motion for a new trial which was set for hearing Saturday and which will be overruled, as indicated by the court when sentence will be pronounc ed. The court will sentnece the six first caned defendants to death. Thus ?B ended, in the lower court, one of th? most vigorously contested' and notable criminal trials ever heard in this State, the outcome of a reign of lawlessness, the culminating act of which being that of which men were found guilty, calling forth the muster ing of the militia of the State, under the personal direction of Governor Patterson, to the aid of the civil authorities in the ferreting out and the taking into custody of those who were charged with the commission of the crime, the so-called ''night-rider .clan" of Reel Foot lake. The operations of the night-rider band began with the burning of fish docks extending to the inflicting of corporal unishment on those whom the leaders in their courtois demed guilty of actions in opposition to the wishes of the elan, finding a climax in tho lynching of Captain Kanken. MRS. EES A IEEE WOMAN. With Her Sister She is Acquitted of the Murder of Capt J. Clayton Erb by a Jnry in Meicla Court. Media, Pa., Special-Mrs. Florence M. Erb, wife of Capt. J. Clayton Erb, and her sister, Mrs. Catherine Beizell, who were charged with the sensation al murder of Captain I rb on the night of October 4th, 1903. Thursday walk ed from the Delewere county court house free women. After the jury had been out nearly eighteen hours it brought in a verdict of not guilty in the case of each woman, both of whom had been charged separately and jointly with the shooting of the captain. During the morning the jury filed into court and asked for further in structions on the question oi self defense, soon word carno from the juhy room that the men had agreed. The defendants were sent for at once, but there wa? a few minutes' delay before they arrived. When the foreman announced the verdict of acquittal there was a sec ond's pause, a dead silence and then with half a scream, the sisters fell in eaoh other's arms. Women wept as they looked at the pathetic scene. In an instant the women were sur rounded by their friends and attor neys and overwhelmed with congratu lations. Fund Distributed. Durham, N. C., Special.-The larg est per capita distribution of school funds in the history of the Stute was made We?nesday by the county Board of Education. It was $4 for every child attending school. Forty thousand dollars was apportioned to the public schools of the county. Dur ham leads the State in this respect Saved By a Parrot. Naples, By Cable.-Queen Helena is taking particular interest in a six year-old girl who was rescued from the ruins under remarkable circum stances. While some Italian sailors at Messina were climbing over wreck age they heard weak cries of "Maria! Maria!" After much work they reached a room where they found a parrot continuing to utter cries of "Maria." The seamen turned to leave, but as the parrot persisted in its cries, they broke into an adjoin ing room and found a girl lying sense less. She and the parrot were taken on board the battleship Regina Elena. Hil! Pays Carnegie's Gift. Berlin, By Cable.-David Jayne Hill, the American Ambassador, paid into the Seehandlung Bank, Wednes day Andrew Carnegie's gift of $125, 000 to the Koch Institute for Tuber culosis Research. Mr. Hill also com municated to the president of the in stitute Mr. Carnegie's cordial ac knowledgement of the gratification he felt upon having been elected an hon orary member and his good wishes for the ?uceess of so b?n?ficient a work. Shaft at Fort Mahone. Petersburg,\x'~Ta., Special.-Pennsyl vania is having erected on tho site of Fort Mahone, in Prince George coun ty, a granite shaft in honor of the members of the Third Division, Ninth Army Corps, who were killed in bat tle in front of Petersburg during Hie Civil Wor. The shaft is 60 feet high and is of Barre granite It will: he unveiled in May next, at whicht time an-address will be made by the President of the United States. ALL ARNND?CTED Pittsburg's Councilmen Accused ol Accepting Bribes. , Pittsburg, Pa., Special.-The sever councilment accused of accepting bribes and conspiring to secure bribes and the two former bankers accused of giving bribes, all of whom were ar arrested two weeks ago upon com plaint of the Voters' League were in dicted late Monday by a grand jury impaneled Monday morning. Tru? bills were found as follows : T. 0. Atkinson, select councilman, bribery and accepting ^bribes. "William Brand, president of common council, bribery and accepting bribes and conspiracy. John P. Klein, common councilman., bribery end accepting bribes and con ?piracy. Jospeh C. Wasson, common councilman, bribery and accepting bribes and conspiracy: Jacob Soffel, iommon councilman, bribery and ac cepting bribes. Hugh Ferguson, com mon councilman, bribery and accept ing bribes. W. W. Ramsey, former president of German National Bank, offering and giving bribes. A. A. Vii sack, former cashier of same bank, of fering and giving bribes. All of ac cased gave bond after their arrest, and these bonds will stand until the court hearing. There is every indica tion that these hearings will be held almost immediately. Mr. Taft Will Eat 'Possum and 'Taters in Atlanta. Atlanta, Ga., Special-One hundred o'possums with the usual accompany tnent of sweet potatoes, will grace the banquet table of the Atlanta chamber of commerce on January 15th. when President-eleot Taft will be the guest of honor. When a dele gation of prominent Atlantians called upon Mr. Taft a few days ago in Au gusta to arrange the details of hil visit to,this city the spokesman court eously asked the next occupant of the White House if he had any sugges tions to offer relative to the prepara tion of the banquet. "Just one," he smilingly replied, "I have had a life time longing to taste 'possum and' ta ters. My visit to the South would be incomplete unless this wish is realiz ed." Relief For Earthquake Sufferers. New York, Special.-Laden with twenty-five tons of clothing and more than thirteen tons of provisions with which to clothe and feed the starving and half-naked survivors of the Cala bria and Sicily earthquake^and carry ing homeward over 300 Italians of all clases, most of whom are hurrying to the(scene where their loved ones have been killed, maimed or rendered des titute, the steamship Hamburg, of the Hamburg-American. line sailed Tues day for Genoa and Naples. Most of the provisions destined for the Italian sufferers were donated by Nathan Straus from the stock of a local firm of which be is a member. v. No Trouble With Honduras is Antic ipated. Mobile, Ala., Special. - -Ernesto Fotes, Honduras consul ?PSMI?obiie, referring to the publication o?a prob able Central American conflict said Mcnday that all these reports are not able for their want of varacity. He suid that peace in these countries is an assured fact, and that the neutral ity of Honduras is maintained by the treaties of Washington, and in conse quence, Honduras today has only a normal number of regular soldiers. Alligators Raised Like Pigs. Sinee the alligators are getting scarce on our Southern coasts and their value is being better known there are at least three alligatoi farms in this country and there may be moro, S?DCB each one of the three has made a success pf the industry. They are situated in Arkansas, Flori da and California. They are raised and butchered like pigs. Meteor Falls in Alabama. Marion, Ala., Special.-A large meteor fell in the western part of Percy county,at 10 o'clock Friday night. It came from the southwest and could be seen thoroughout the county. A short time after it fell a distinct shock was felt over a large part of the county that caused wip dows and doors to rattle. Stamp Clerk Short in His Accounts. Anniston, Ala., Special-According to a statement of postoffice inspectors here Wednesday, Ed D. Smith, stamp clerk in the Anniston postofflce, who suddenly left hero Saturday night, was short in his accounts between $1,800 and $2,000. It is said that friends of the young man will maka good the shortage. Nothing has been hoard from Smith since the recepit of a letter Monday, saying that he left because he- could not stand trouble. He was last seen in Bir mingham Sunday night. Montana on Endurance Test. Norfolk, Va., Special.-The cruiser Montana left here".Monday or. an en durance nm- of several day., which will bring her back to Hampton Roads to join the North Carolina after repairs to the latter. Both cruisera will then proceed to Charles ton from which point President-elect Taft will start for Panama. Four States Go Dry. State-wide prohibition laws went into effect Friday in three Southern States, North Carolina, Mississippi and Alabama. Georgia is the onh other State wherein statutory prohib ition exists, thc law having been in operation one year. Burton Named For Senator. Columbus. 0.. Special. - Thcodon Burton of Cleveland was named as tlx next senator from Ohio by thc Repub lican senatorial caucus Saturday. "ONE TOUCH -Cartoon by Robt 1908 Made Big ?0,852 Persons End lng New Record in Chicago.-The crime and casualty records for 1908, as collected by the Chicago Tribune lu its annual sum mary, show some interesting phases. Probably the most striking feature is the steady increase in the number of suicides and the great percentage of these that are traceable to the business depression and embarrass ments of the year. Self-destruction due to these causes grew fivefold over the record of the year before, despite the fact that the financial squeeze be gan early In the fall of 1907. As a weapon of self-destruction the revol ver gained greatly In favor. . Embezzlements involved a larger total than in 1907, and a peculiar phase of this record ls that more than two-thirds of this crime, figured on a monetary basis, is chalked up against bank officials and employes. The re form wave seems to have had a good effect on public officials. The ho ilcide record-deaths of all kinds uy personal violence-in creased ?over 1907, but fell short of that of the previous year. The death toll for holiday sports aggregated 3G8 deaths and 3820. injuries. The number of, ?suicides for 1908 was 10,852 as reported in the public press. The following list shows the steady increase of self-murder: 1899, 5340; 1900. 6735; 1901, 7245; 1902, 8291; 1903,8597; 1904. 9240; 1905, 9982; 1906, 10.125; 1907, 10, 782, and 1908, 10,852. The causes of these suicides are stated as follows, the classification, as In the case of homicides, being a general one: Despondency, 6318; un known, 1541; Insanity, 810; domes tic infelicity, 778; ill health. 718; business losses, 632; liquor, 536, and disappointed In love, 519. Three thousand one hundred and two persons shot themselves. In the remaining cases 2735 died by poison, 1936 by asphyxiation, 1041 by hang France is the V > Enormous Yearly Sa m ? nts Abroad-^ Per O Paris.-"i.uiuugii general trade conditions in France, as in other European countries, suffered in 1908, largely because , of the reduction in American demand, following the financial crisis, figures submitted by M. Leroy Beaulieu and other statis ticians at the end of the year regard ing the wealth of the French people demonstrate the imposing strength of France's financial position and her right to the title ot "the world's banker." France's fortune Is grow ing steadily, as the result of an an nual saving of $1,000,000,000, much of which must seek investment abroad. - M. Leroy Beaulieu's figures show that France now receives $360,000, 000 as an annual income from for eign holdings, " which are principally government Blocks, the amount hav ing been almost doubled in the last fifteen years. He estimates the pres ent wealth of the French people at $45,000,000,000, or more than $1100 for every man, woman and child, and as the estimate ls based on de Serpean t Draws Big Som. Through Army Deposit Plan. San Francisco, Cal.-Charles Her vey, a retired soldier, who has been post quartermaster sergeant at Fort Rosecrans for some time, drew from Colonel George R. Smith, chief pay master, $13,000, the amount he lins saved from hlB pay through the army deposit plan. This is the second largest sum the chief paymaster of this department has ever paid to a soldier. Besides this amount Harvey will receive for the rest of his life $67.50 a month. National Capital Events. The British Ambassador and Mrs. Bryce gave a large dinner at the em bassy in honor of the Secretary of State and Mrs. Rcot. The President transmitted a spe- ? cial message recommending a single I head or governor for the District of Columbia in place of three commis- j slopers. Felipe Pardo, the Minister to this j country from Peru, who went abroad ? the last ot November, and who. ru- ! mor said, would not remain as Minis- j rer to this country, bas been assigned , to duly here for another year. OF NATURL" ?rt Carter, in the New York American. fSuicideGains ed Their Lives, Mak Line of Endeavor ing, 1004 by drowning, 825 by cut ting throat, 85 leaping from roofs or windows, 65 by throwing themselves in front of engines, 31 by stabbing, 27 by fire, 3 by dynamite and 1 by starvation. Embezzlements, forgeries and bank wreckings, amounting to $13,555, 538, are in excess of those of last year. Ten bank presidents, twenty eight cashiers., eleven bank clerks and four brokers have made way with $10,085,472, while agents, forgers, postmasters, public officials, loan as sociation managers and ordinary clerks combined have stolen only about $3,500,C00. Some slight moral compensation was made on tho part of thirty of these fifty-two financiers, who committed suicide. A noticeable feature of this record is the steady increase of murder by highwaymen and thugs, being 101 more than in 1907. That more care has been exercised in hunting is shown by the decrease in casualties. During the hunting season proper 75 persons were killed and 91 injured, and out of season 109 killed and 33 ibjured, a total of 166 killed and 126tinjured, as com pared with 191- killed and 155 in jured in 1907. The principal epidemic was the cholera, which prevailed in Russia and Eastern Asia and the Philip pines; 7700 died in Russia, 12,000 in the Philippines and 20,000 in China. in the Innumerable baseball fields 65 were killed and 59 seriously in jured, nearly all of whom belonged outside of the league clubs. In the football field 18 were killed and 318 injured. The persons who rock the boat have drowned 8.,and the criminal!* reckless who didn't know it * ..s loaded have killed 41 and wounded 21. World's Banker M-? vings-Great Invest iVealth is $1IOO apita. dared succession taxes, it is ad mittedly far below the real figures. Ii addition, Mr. Leroy Beaulieu takes no account of the great amount of gold and securities which the French, especially the peasants, keep concealed. These probably rival tho hidden treasures of India. Durinv the last ?fteen years $521, 400,000 in gold was loaned abroad, yet the excess Importation amounted :o $785,800,000. In 1900 the gold holdings of the Bank of France in creased by $200,000,000; they now stand at $700,000,000, the largest In the history of the bank. The other banks hold $S33,800,000. The balances of trade, which in 1893 amounted to $140,000,000 against France, are now in France's favor. Increased taxation, however, keeps pace with the increased wealth, the budget of 1909, owing to the pur chas^ of the Western Railroad and extraordinary expenses in connection with Morocco, being th?, highest in ?he history of the country not ex cepting the war period. . Color Hays a Caro Tor r*i Crime. Inebriety and Crime. Philadelphia.-Cases Of drunken ness and o? juvenile depravity cured by application of varl-colored Ught3 were presented by~Dr. J. Frank Wal lis, of the Norristown State Insane Asylum before the Philadelphia Medi cal Society. "Light starvation," tho doctor de clared, "causes criminals. "With the development of the use of light energy as a curative agent drunkenness and crime will disap pear." The Field of Snorts. The pacing stallion Minor Heir was sold for $45,000. Ty Cobb says his brother Paul will make a hit in fast company. The Critchley Socker Football Club defeated the Columbia oval team. Harry Nobis won the monthly tronhy ruu of the Mohawk Athletic Club. , Detroit has a new pitcher named Corns. How will he get along with Cobb? Garry Kerman and Jean E. Bruce were rp-ele^ced membera o' the Na tional Baseball Commission. IE NEWS IN BRIEF Items of Interest Gathered By Wire and Cable GLEANINGS FROM DAY TO DAY Live Items Covering Events cf l?ore or Less Interest at Eons and Abroad. Washington, N. C., had a $20,00(* Dlaze Friday morning. The United States leads th? worl? in the production of lead. The eleven-year-old son of Wm. Tillman, of Chatham County, commit ted suicide with a gun last week, because his father punished him. Six Tennessee night riders have been convicted of murder in the first degree and two in the second degree, with jury penalty of 20 years imprisonment, all for the murder of Capt. Rankin. Sheriff Van Pelt, of Pensacola, has had to stop street cars from running; on Sunday to conform to the law. The Virginia Portland Cement Co. has started up in full force again, with 500 hands and hopes to double its force soon. / Hampton, Va., voted on Wednes day to issue $100,000 in bonds for eity purposes. An address from the people of Spottsylvania, Va., will he issued soon, calling on the people of the na tion to unite in erecting a grand mon ument at Bloody Angle, in honor of Gens. R. E. Lee and Uj S. Grant. . Hon. John S. .Henderson, receiver, announces that affairs at Whitney*, N. C., will soon be straightened ouf and work will begin on the' great electric power plant. . The American Battle Fleet, as sooa as it came out of the Suez canal, tendered its services to Italian au .thorities to aid at Scicily but were declined because not needed. Hon. Bert M. Fernald was inaugu rated Thursday as governor of the State of Georgia. Hon. Oben S. Draper took his seat as Governor of Massachusetts on? Thursday. The inaugural assembly ?vas unprecedented. J The North Carolina Legislature has increased the salary of the Governor from $4,000 to $6,000. The annual income of the late "Sugar King" Claus Speckles is $275,000 per month. Pending the probate of the will the widow is to have $4,000 per month. Dr. Roseburgh of the Jefferson Med ical College. Philadelphia, has mada a wonderful discovery about tuber culosis germs, and hopes soon that an anti-toxine will be in use to which the dread disease will yield. The South Carolina Penitentiary shows, a net balance of $29,495.19 for 1908 -over 1907, after losing about. $15,000 by ?ood and making perma p.ent improVements to the extent of nearly $11,000. Half starved dogs in the stricken cities of Italy are dangerous to the crippled, and they eat the dead like hyenas. The next meeting Of the Cotton. Manufacturing Association will be held in Richmond, Va., on the 4tb Tuesday in May. A head-on collision occurred on the Southern at Canegie Tuesday, in ,whic* fl,To persons were hurt; one of prooably fatally. A late pitched battle between vig ilantes from Mexican ranches near the California line and a party of stock thieves resulted in the killing of the four thieves. The Virginian Railroad is now ope** from Norfolk through Roanoke, Va^. 320 miles. ? James Treanor, a printer, wa? burned to death with the loss by fire of Central Hotel, Covington, Tenn., on Tuesday. A score of others made narrow escapes. Senor CSkro Venezuela's, deposed ruler, is fast recovering from . an operation, which he has undergone in Berlin, and has promise of health. Congress has appropriated $500,? 000 to the earthquake suerers in Italy. A ^emi-annual dividend of 31-2 per cent on North Carolina Railroad stock was declared at Greensboro on Tuesday. A sanatorium for consumptives has been opened at Red Springs, a Vir ginia mountain summer resort. C. F. King, famous in finance, was convicted of larceny in Boston. He gave bail of $35,000, and came out of jail, but soon one nf the^suretiet surrendered him to custody again. He is in jail. A convention of the Virginia and Carolina Hotel Association convened at the Jefferson, Richmond, Va., on Wednesday. Congressmen will be limited this season to 10,000 packages of vege table seeds to send to their consti tuents instead of 12,5000 as before. 500 packages of flower seeds are still allowed to each. The Brownsville trouble which has beex so much agitated, has cost $15, 000. and the end is not yet. It is reported that Geo. E. Milton, of the Knoxville Sentinel, has pur chased thc Chattanooga News con sideration, $175,000. Fire which raged for five days in the steamer Texas, while on _ her maiden voyage, has been extinguished nnd the Texas is ready for repairs to try it again. There are 811 midshipmen at the United Stares Naval Academy at Ann polis. Md. Frank Diver, oort was elecrccutccP. .it Richmond, Va., on Monday for. murder. The dismembered body of Rev. J. M. Carmichael, of Columbus.. Mich., was found on Wednesday in heat ing steves of bis church. ,