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ggp^; } , - 1 % PALI oHteSff - > Settles Over Chicago in Wake: of.Great Holocaust. i_ ALL IS WOE AND MISERY V _Y Weeping and Wailing Mourners Crowd Dead Houses in Seacch. of Tty&r , . > Loved Ones-?TotaJ pf "Dead Not? ^ Known, as Many are Missing and Death Hovers "Oyer Scores of Injured.. For the first time since Chicago has possessed bells to peal, whistles to shriek and horns to blow, the eld year was allowed silently to take its place * in history and thfe new permitted to ?L?H- J J! ? ~ nA if O come vita no eviuem;? ui juj &?, birth. In an official proclamation issued Thursday afternoon by Mayor Carter Harrison, he made the suggestion that * thef usual New Year's celebration be for. tills time omitted. The idea found a ready response in the hearts of the people, and the mayor's words in fact only gave utterance to the suppressed .thoughts that had filled them all. ; Ordinarily, on New Yearns eve ^the av fha nitv fwf> ft lied-with mer ry-m,akers, but. o^ly^tbrQ^^ tp^ up.. foqpd were those around the morgues; ordjiarily, ntfmbers of f?shiqnable res tauiants in the heart' of the city are j filled with light-hearted, revdlergi who , toafc the year that is passing and hail t thegyear that comes, tThursday night, these places were .comparatively de>. eertcd and somg. of them,.closed .j tiretfy with doors locked apd curtains down. From early Thursday, moriyng until_ lator:at night crowds besiefied the undertaking rooms and hospitals^ looking >flor the deact and fnjhrecl.' Polfc&n^h were detailed at all places where the dead and injured had been carried, to ffestrain the anxious men and women who pressed in at the doorways and inquired for their lost friends and j relatives. In all the undertaking rooms the . bodies were placed, as. far as possible. . upon cots, and when these were ex- j hansted stretched in, long..lines, upgnj. the floors, and a. constant succession j of pale-faced men and tearful women i proceeded slowly between the lines lifting the covers from the charred'; and bruised faces and searching In the clothing of the 4ead for something by which their lost ones could be rec-1 - ogniaed. In 'many instances women fainted when lifting the sheet from i some face in which they -reoegnized. j < the features of. a dead child or-a beau-1 tiful young girl. Scenes that were en acted around the bodies or tne nttie children were patnetic in the extrenie. While the ?rowds-of ai^aous seekera .for "news besieged the morgues, the , telegraph and long distance telephone . offices were almost swamped with the ? flood of inquiring messages. Messenger boys from the telegraph office of the Postal and Western Union carried I bundles of messages, and the terrific : ^ . rush of business was still on. Private wires of stock exchanges and board of trade houses were likewise loaded down with inquiries and answers. Woe is on Every Side. It is no extravagance of language to say that the city is stunned by the overwhelming tragedy enacted when the theatre which housed "Mr. Bluebeard" became a chamber of horrors inffeed. There is the deepest woe in hundreds of homes, deep sorrow in a thousand others, and a pity beyond the potency of words to convey in all. The first streak of daylight on the snow-covered streets Thursday mornins found the morgues s>till the sorrowhaunted centers of many a searcher. There were husbands searching for wives, frenzied parents seeking their children, so many of whom lost their lives ,and in some instances, wildeyed children, still dazed from the horror of their experience, groped distressingly about in search of father or mother. Tho fntai number of victims involved in the tragedy are estimated at 1,088.the dead are estimated at 564; the missing are 314. This includes the vast number of people who are either dead, injured or unidentified which have not as yet been accounted for. One hundred and fifty-seven are in the city hospitals. It is estimated that 4 53 erf the injured will die. These figures are furnished from a careful summary made of the tragedy returns from all sections of the city, including the hospitals, temporary morgues and doctors' offices and private residences and homes of the injured. The report is based upon information returned by the police, firemen, doctors and newspapers. ........ .? NEW LINE FOR SOUTHERN. The KnoxviWe and Bristol, Short Road in Tennessee, is Absorbed. With the beginning of the new year, the Southern railroad absorbed the Knoxville and Bristol, a road forty miles long, running from Corryton, Tenn., to Morristown, Tenn. The road was originally projected to run from Knoxville to Bristol and there connect ^ with the Norfolk and Western. The I transfer was made at Washington. i N Ittl|i?,EaiXABfi?SJEQT TweTvtf Employees ^ofllhe IrQquafs Or-; dered Held Pending Investigation. Summary of Developments. i Following is the summary of events as developed in Chicago during Friday: Estimated dead1 fist, 5S2; 'Identified j deadr.450; ^identified dead, 132; miss-j ing, about 300; injured, 104; Chief] Electrician Bernard is formally charg*-vrl rrtonolono-^tD)*' nitAJL UlUUOlUU^UVVi 9 Uivvwu V*? I ployes of the Iroquois theatre are un- J dqr arrest; Klaw & Erlanger guarantee the presence of all members of the Bluebeard Company at the trial! oh' thd change of manslaughter; fiaajority of members of Bluebeard.company are without clothing, money or lodging j and are absolutely destitute; all strik- j ing drivers at ,work burying the vie- j tims; Mayor Harrison requested that all "business in the city be suspended for the day; every flag in Chicago is at half mast and black and white cloth is hanging on many doors. -A. Chicago special says: Archibald Bernard, chief electrician of the Iro j quois theatre, was taken into custody J by the police Friday and will be held' pending an inquiry into the causes ol \ .the-disaster. After being closely ques-j tioned'for two hours by the police. Bernard was formally charged with; "manslaughter." Detectives were sent to summon Manager Will J. Davis, of the Iroquois theatre to police headquarters. Detectives were ordered -also to j mate headquarter's' at the', hotels andiwatch the-^members of the company, tc see that none of them left r Twelve employes cf the. Iroquois' .theatre were arrested Thursday night "on orders issued by Chief of Police O'Neill. The charge against them is j at present that of being accessory tc '< manslaughter. They will be held pending the verdict of the coroner's jury, j After being taken in custody by the poiice, four of the men toid Chiel O'Neill that they had been requested; By people connected with the theatre j to leavis" the city. When asked who < advised them to do this, they first re fused to say, but later admitted that ? - i a ?? the aavice was given oj A?5is?.aui Stage Manager Plunkitt. ?- They said they were about to follow Plunkitt's advice, and all of them had j their trunks packed and would have1 been cut of the city had not the police; arrested them. ^ PitUess-^nvestf&Ttlon jof.the ftrte horror during thp day divided attention f wit$ the burial of the dea<J.. W j The removal of bodie^ "from'the pub jlie rilorgues to^prlvate undertaking *es j tablishmerits developed a fresh ele ment of uncertainty in computing to-'" tals of deaid and missing. j More arrests of persons who may j be held responsible are not improbable j Th|i City Press Association discon j tinu4d all attempts to keep track oi U dead, bodies at the morgues. Instead of i^cords at the morgues,1" the issue of burial tperurfts at jhe corQn^r's ov. i ?(W. oiiKe + ifri'ifo/V 09 a' Toca- UnnAttS-. I MW M v.? factpry method of holding the deathcount. .*? -i . V' - . * TILLMAN ON RACE QUESTION. * ' South Carolina Senator Makes Characf teristic Speech in Atlanta, "When southern women ask us to shield them1 from this black menace we'll do it, so help us God," exclaimed Senator Benjamin'R. Tillman, as his. concluding remark in a lecture at At Ianti, Ga., Friday, night. " . :. . Tlie subject handled by the senator was "The Race Question," and he discussed it with his usual vigor. He made several references to the fifteenth amendment, declaring that South Carolina nullified it years ago and ,-that Georgia did it spasmodically whenever it suited her to do so. "We are not going to have any free ballot and fair count so long as that: amendment is on the- statute books," he declared .emphatically. He described in detail conditions as they exist ttt the south, and declared.. that the remedy lay in the repeal, orthe constitutional amendment which"gave* the negro the ballot. Georgia, ha said, was not much in danger of losing representation in congress, as thi3 state has not enacted any legislation along the line that his state and others In this section had followed. I RAILROAD SHOPS BURNED. Tremendous Blaze at Nashville, Term., Entails Loss of $320,000. The Tennessee Central railroad shops in south Nashville burned Thursday night, entailing an estimated total loss of $320,000. The boiler shops, planing mill, blacksmith shop, round house, machine shops, store room and office were almost entirely consumed, and four locomotives, one combination and four box cars destroy* ed. The loss in rolling stock is esti* mated at $70,000, fully Insured. It \3 said that there was an insurance of but $35,000 on tne pianu i ' GAME OF GRAFT SUSPECTED. j Accounts of Interstate Commerce Commission Being Probed. Treasury department experts have instituted an investigation of the accounts of the interstate commerce commission. | The action is taken at the Instance of Acting Chairman Clements, of the ; commission, as a result of persistent ; rumors of irregularities in the draw- ; ing of vouchers, ?tc. LONCSTREET DEAD ' *? V i s Noted (^federate Genera! Passes to'Great feeyond. DEATH CAME" SUDDENLY Had Only Recently Returned to His Home in Gainesville, Ga., from Chicago, Where He Had Been Under Treatment. General James Longstreet died at the home of his daughter, Mrs. J. Estin Whelehel, at Gainesville, Ga., Saturday afternoon at about 5 o'clock, rather suddenly from pneumonia. A few days ago ne contracted a coxa which went into pneumonia and hemorrhages came on, overtaxing hia strength and causing his sudden death. His sudden end was a great surprise to his family, as only a short time before he was discussing improvements to be made on his farm near the city, and talked as though he had every : hope of life for some time yet. At the time of his death his .wife, who was Miss Ellen Dortch, formerly' of Carnesville; hi3 only daughter, ty-s. J. Estin Whelchel, and his sons, John G. and 7. Randolph Longstreet, were with him. The general raised up on hisbed and a great, gush of blood came from his mouth and through the old wound which he received at the hands of his own men through mistake at the battle oj .the Wilderness, and he. fell back lapsing into unconsciousness. General Longstreet .-returned to hia 'home in Gainesville two weeks agp from Chicago, where he went for treatment for cancer of the eye. The af- ; fected member was X-rayed out, .and his general condition -seemed to be* better than in yeare before. General Longstreet was first married to a daughter'of General John Garland, United States army, and she died fifteen years ago. Five children survive the union, namely, John G., R. Lee, James and Randolph Longstreet, and an only | daughter, Mrs. J. Estin Whelchel. R. Lee, who is a resident of Washington, D. C., and James, who is a captain i.i the Thirteenth cavalry, United States army, now doing service in the Philippines, were the only children not with the general at the time of his death. In 1907 General Longstreet was married to Miss Ellen tlortch, former assistant state librarian. No issue resulted from his second marriage. , Since his appointment by President McKinley as United States railroad commissioner in 1S98, General' and Mrs. Longstreet, for the most part re-. Bided in Washington, D. C. They spent part of their time during the summ.er seasons at the general's summer home it Longstreet Heights, near Gainesville. * Sketch of His Life. * - General James Longstreet was bom _ WJ 1-1J Cl n Tanns-v 'I XU j&ageueiu uismuif o v>?, uu uauum j I 8, 1821. His family. removed to Ala- j bama in 1831 and he was appointed . from that state to the West Point mil- j jtary* academy, where he was graduat- ' ed in 1842, and was assigned to the 1 fourth infantry. He was at Jefferson j ^arracks, Mo., in 1842-44: on frontier j duty at Natchitoches. La., in 1844 45; to Texas in 1845-46, and in Mexico at the battles of Palo Alto, Resaca de la Palma, Monterey, .Vera (jruz. Cerro Gordo, San Antonio. Chumbosco and Moline del Rev. For gallant conduct | in the two latter engagements he was hrevetted captain and .major, having already be?n made first lieutenant February 23, 1847. At the storming of Chapultepec, September 8. 1847. ho ire? severely wounded. He wa9 chief commissary of the department of Texas. 1849-51. was commissioned captain in December, 1852. and major and paymaster in Julv, 1858. >: In 1861 he resigned to join the Confederate army, or which he was immediately appointed brigadier general, and won distinction in the first battle of Bull Run. His brilliant and brave record throughout the war is a matter of history. INSURRECTION IS FEARED. Army May be Sent to Isthmus Before j Scheduled Time, * The possibility of an insurrection j against the new government of Pan- ! ama is so seriously considered by the j responsible officials at Washington ! that it may be the army will be sent to j the isthmus before the ratification of j the Panama treaty. * The first plan was to keep the marines on the isthmus until the treaty, carrying with it our guarantee of independence of the new repuDi", is ratified by the senate, then to put the ar my in charge. I GOLD BASIS FOR MEXICO. Plan for Reforming the Cuurrency Formulated by Commission. A plan for reforming the currency of Mexico has been prepared by the fifth subcommittee of the national monetary commission. The committee advises that in order to obtain stability the government should be advised to adopt a monetary system based on the gold standard. - .^r - ' % V . . WHITE "HOUSE NEW TEAft ! Unusual Precautions Taken for Protection of President at Reception. . No Concealed Hands Allowed. President and Mrs. Roosevelt inaugurated Friday the official season in the national capital with a brilliant New Year's reception at the white house. For more than a hundred years it has been an unbroken custom of presi- 1 dents of the United States to receive on New Year's day all officials of the government located in Washington and such citizens as might care to pay their respects to the nation's chief magistrate. All persons, rich or poor, with or rrrt f Vi /mi f citron O OTOolrkllO w luiuui i aun., ncio givcu a gi greeting by the president and Mrs. ( Roosevelt. First to be received were the mem- ( bers of the diplomatic corps. All of the ambassadors and ministers were accompanied by their entire suites. As dean of the corps, Count Cassini, the Russian ambassador and master of the imperial court, occupied the position of honor at the head oft he lipe. , Following the representative of the. ' czar in order were Senor Don Manuel ! De Aspiros, the Mexican ambassador, and 'staff; Baron Hengelmuller, - the . ambassador of Austria-Hungary, Baron:, ess Ktengelmuller and the ambassador's staff; M. J. J. Jusserand, French ambassador, Mme. Jusserand and 9 ( suite; Baron Speck. Von Sternberg, the, ^ German ambassador, Baroness Von Sternberg and the embeasssy staff, and Sir Henry Durand, the British, ambassador, Lady Durand and the emba?--.;, sy staff. In the absence oft he italisiT. ambassador, Couht. De Celleri,; the charge d'affaires of the embassy, a$-1: companied by his. taff, represented the,- ^ Italian government. , . : Among, the representatives of the na-tions of the world it was noticed that there was one absentee. Colombia, one of the country's sister represen- I tatirea of'the south, was not represented at the reception. Among the ministers who attended a New Year's reception at the white house for the first time were Sir Chen . Liang-Cheng, of China. ' In gorgeous oriental suits, silks and satins, were.. General Hernandez, of Venezuela, and M. Du Marthuray, of Switzerland. in all thirty five coun-, tries of the world were represented at the reception. .... - Following the diplomatic corps, the members of the-United States supreme court, headed by Chief Justice Fuller, were received. The reception of members of con- , gress began at 11:30 o'clock. Comparatively few were in attendance, as j many of the senators and representatives have not yet returned from their . holiday visits to their homes. j< For the first time at a reception j, the army was led..by officers of the : general staff. Folowing the army were . officers of the navy, headed by Admiral Dewey. The officers of the marine , corp9 followed the navy. :1 Following the military was the. civil ian contingent of the government ser- j yice, the civil service commission, the ' insterstate commerce commission and ] assistant heads of departments. At 12:30 o'clock members of the So- , cty of Cincinnati war veterans were received with the Mexican war veter- < ans, the military order of the Loyal Legion, the Grand Army of the Repub- , lie, the United Veteran Legion, the , Union Veterans' Union and the Span- 1 ish war veterans. . ^ : Then began the reception of citizens, hundreds of whom had been waiting in i iine for. several bourse 11 Special precautions were taken to insure the per^ial safety of the pre3i-.! dent No person was permitted to approach the president with his hands ] in his pocket9 or otherwise concealed. : __?, i CONVICT KILLS GUARD. Stancey Had New Pistol and Two Hun- < dred Cartridges. ] Tom Stancey, a convict in the Louis- ' iana penitentiary at Baton Rouge, 1 made a desperate attempt to escape 1 Friday afternoon, killing Charles Ari- j ant captain of the watch, by ?hooting him with a pistol. Stancey's pistol was a new one, and he had 200 cartridges. No one knows how he got ] them. NINETEEN THEATRES CLOSED. Mayor Harrison, of Chicago. Charges ! Violation of Safety Laws. At Chicago, Friday, Mayor Carter H. Harrison took steps to provide, as iar j as possible, against a repetition of j the Iroquois theatre horror. As a re- | suit of an investigation made at his or- : ders, nineteen theatres and museums were ordered closed. The act of the mayor was based on a single violation | of the ordinances which are intended to protect the patrons of theatres. ; This was that every one of these places had omitted to supply an as- ; bestos curtain. SYMPATHY FROM RUSSIAN RULER Extended Through Count Cassir.i, Minister at Washington. Count Cassini, the Russia ambassador at Washington, went to the i state department Thursday, although he has been suffering several days from a cold, and expressed tne personal sympathy of the Russian emperor for the people of the United States in their hour of affliction. THE D?AO; jMA$ , For Two -Days Undertakers at Chicago^ ,a|| are Taxed Beyond Their Capaolty. : - >.^3 More Theatres Ordered Closed. ? . Saturday and Sunday ih Chicago ||| were given over entirely to funerals and burial of the Iroquois theatre Tic- "J tims. % $&& Saturday morning church bells be- J gan tolling, business activity checked, many celebrations.postponed and long J|J lines of funerals making their way to .rjjs the outlying districts where the ceme- .>J|j teries are. situated?were, circum- r||3| stances evidencing Chicago's outward. grief for the victims of the Iroquois theatre disaster. The unidentified ;J| dead will be kept as long as possible at the morgues. If no one then cornea to lay claim to the bodies they will /ds; be buried at the city's expense. Sunday the solemn work of the tmdertakers was resumed, and tor the first time in the history of the city all the people who desired to bury their .- ; dead were unable to do so. .The unpre-. i?| cedented demand for hearses and car-. riages would have been enough Hn lfc> -r$m self to tax the very utmost resources of the undertakers, but the heavy snow" ; ||1 increased their difficulties enormously. All of the cemeteries in Chicago are '? ; - '.----p.'; SOLONS ASSEMBLE : f.' '. . - Work of Congress Resumed After the Holiday Recess. PANAMA QUESTION IS UP Special Message, in Compliance with Hoar Resolution, is Read in Senate?House Minus a Quorum No Business Transacted. A Washington special says: Congress re-assembled Monday after the holiday recess. The senate's session was devoted entirely to the Panama situation. After President Roosevelt's message on this subject was read, discussion continued throughout the day, speeches being made both in defense and against the policy which had been pursued. Rev. Edward Everett Hale, thie new chaplain for the senate, created a sensation in a black silk gown while he delivered the morning prayer. The unusual attire caused such a commotion among the-.visitors in the galleries that Sergeant-at-Arms.Ran6deil, after the prayer, made the distinguish-' ed minister take it off. *. .There had Been considerable* inter*; est manifested" in ifr Hale's election as chaplain, and*'most of the visitors1 tovthe senate cha'mbet were there for the s61ev phrjvose of seeing him. JTheJ reading ot jhe president's message wa? followed piuch more closely", by senators than Is usual. Simulta-' neously' with the beginning of the work of .the reading clerk, printed copies of "the message are placed upon the desks of members, and the usual proceeding is'fcpvthe formal reading 3 to proceed while senator? attend to their correspondence or-go to committee rooms, the printed copies/-being laid aside to be read later. In this instance, however, there was practically a full attendance, the words of the clerks, who took turns at reading the message, being closely followed. In the comment upon the message; which "'was heard afterward, the republicans generally praised it as a complete answer to th$ questions that have been asked by Senator .Hoar' and some of the democrats, declaring the message a great document. The. democratic senators, as a rule, declined. to give any expression, spying ' * * 3 A?. U nlnoolv cney prsierreu lu &luujt h, viw?vv ^ Tie outside opinion is that tfce pres-. Ident has made out a good case so far as concerns the insinuations that .the officials of the state department, and,, perhaps, the war and navy departments, were in possession of inside information-concerning what was to be expected upon the Isthmus information smacking of complicity. That the United States and the rest of the world, for that matter, had t,een put on notice, openly and above board, as to what might be expected if the treaty failed at Bogota, is clearly shown. There aro, howover, some features of the message which may be discussed at length when the treaty gets before the senate in executive session, and perhaps. >n open session. The president's - contention that that' provision of the Spconer act which provides tor the consideration of the Nicaraguan route is no. longer, operative does not meet with anything like unanimous approval; and some of the best lawyers on -the re-, publican side are understood to disagree with the president s view from a purely legal standpoint, though they will, of course, support the treaty.^ When the. house was called to order Mr. Hay (dem., Va.), ' offered a privileged resolution reciting charges made against members of' congress in the Bristow report and calling for an In-' vestigatlon. Mr. Gardner (N. J.) made the point of order that the resolution was not privileged, but was overruled by the chairman. Mr. Payne wanted to move to refer the resolution to the committee on .postoffice and post roads, but as it was out of order, expressed the hope that the previous question would be vote ddown. On a roll-call the vote was 78 to 78, no quorum, and at 1:85 the house adjourned. HYMNS ARE CLASSIFIED. Methodist Church Joint Commission ? - 1 a? -r ii 11/..1. tjompieT.es ran ui its ?*vi Hymns of the Methodist Episcopal church and of the Methodist Episcopal church, south, have been classified under the following general heads by the joint committee on titles and sub titles of the two churches now in session in Washington: Worship, the Trinity, the Father, the Son, the HolyGhost, the Holy Scriptures, the Church, the Gospel Christian Life, Time and Eternity, special subjects and occasions. charity and doxologies. CHICAGO HOTEL IN ASHES. Three Guests Killed and Others Injured in Mad Rush for Streets. Three persons were killed and four others injured in a fire Friday night that destroyed the Louvre hotel, in Chicago. Nearly one hundred guests were in the hotel at the time. With the remembrance of the Iroquois theatre horror fresh in their minds, every one in the place became panic-stricken and rushed madly for the streets. miles from the business center and^ residence districts, and with' good Feather and the streets in .passable condition, it is a matetr'of serers|;lH^ hours to reach one of them. g Cemetery officials were compelled keep men at work all through Saturday night digging graves, and in some the large cemeteries they barely maa? aged to? make them with sufficient All Theatres are Closed.,? Saturday night every theatre in .tht^-^M city of Chicago was dark and witk C^H doors locked. Not one of them will J open to the public until their managa^f^j^ have complied in the fullest manner S> with every section of the ordinancen;^j'^ regulating play houses. ' ^ The'order compelling the theatres to close were issued Saturday aftegjajB t noon by Mayor Harrison. Seventeen theatres and mpsetinttr. were closed Friday night, and y | sweeping, order of the mayor Saturday^ ~ >J shut the doors of seven more. These -last are the leading theatres in tlr*^ business section of .the city. . ' 1 The seventeen places of amusemexrf.|??J which were shut Friday.night were i closed for the one reason that thesri^Stj f were not provided with an asbestos.til curtain. The further action taken r in consequence of violations of sections of the ordinance regnlatini^g It was announced that every theatwi%-? -;-i in the city must hereafter comply wiUfr^sB/'l' the following provisions before they?'ft will be allowed to open: vg ' Steel roll curtains,; wide exits, ne^?l combustibles of any kind in the houaa^lg , furnishings, fire-proofed scenery, calcium-or "spot" Hghts to be used ^ the stage, skylights above' the st>g>:;^.% provided with automatic lids to per^S^ mit the egress of smoke, Aire and separate stairways?each exit having"^ ^ its own stairs leading to the street. PRESS URGES HOSTILITIES. || Japanese Newspapers Seem Anxious to'' ri^WipiMlkW w>wifl|j WIM4 liuoviflfl : .? War with Russia is regarded in kio, Japan, as unavoidable and . tifcjafeii press is urging the immediate openin?^||| of hostilities. . ; All the banks are withholding ftmdfc-s&ffif ? and it Is believed this is the result of ^ % Tovernment instruction. ^ The government has completed and isg perfected arrangements for the trah^M iortation of troops" and, supplies, -and^l ^ he people calmly awat developmentaJ^^B FECIAL COURT TERM ORDERED |j For Trial of Alleged Lynchers at Pin* '\(% apple, Alabama. ^ The preliminary hearing of the . ;f|| cases against the alleged lynchers Pineapple, Ala., having proved a fag^jB < ure by the refusal of a justice of fhf^M V; peace to continue the trial, a special; jllK. term of the circuit court has been qpgjaa:^ dered by Judge Moore. J The heaviest losers in the big fir*'.|i following the killing of Arthur Stuaii^j|| are beginning to rebuild their house* CONDOLENCE FROM LONDOltrT^H] Lord Mayor Ritchie Wires Sympathy to People of Chicago. " The following message was received in Chicago Thursday from tne lord L mayor of London, Sir James *1# Ritchie through Ambassador Choate: "London, Dec. 31, 1903.?-The ^ zens of London offer their deep symp* ..sjjsH; thy and sincere condolence with ;the American people in the awful loss fli-, t : life in the catastrophe at Chicago. " ' j (Signed.) *JAS. T. RITCHIE, . ''M "Lord Mayor of London." . Milwaukee Theatres Closed. M Chief Memminger, of the Milwaukee fire department, issued an order Saturday evening closing four of the MU waukee theatres immediately until VjB they had been provided with asbestos . j&g or steel curtains. <1191 Profit from Hire of Convicts. The convict bureau ofBclals of Alabama report that the state nad netted "?9 $200,000 from the hire of its convfgt> 'Jp for the year 1903. This is a most ^ fS markable showing. The state has en- ,/^M | tire control of its convicts.