DOMESTIC by Editor

Pacific Press Publishing Company · Oakland, California · Oct 8, 1896

FromSigns of the Times, Vol. 22, No. 40.

DOMESTIC.

By Editor

—The arrest of boys by the police of Chicago for the year just passed numbered 17,460.

—The Presbyterian Synod of California will be convened in Calvary Church, San Francisco, on the 15th inst.

—An explosion of ammonia in a large brewery at Indianapolis, on the 30th ult., seriously injured sixteen men, besides doing great damage to the property.

—At Cairo, Ill., on the 1st inst., Mrs. Frazier, a bride of four days, shot herself through the heart, dying instantly. No cause is assigned. The young couple were prominent in church and society circles.

—In a collision of freight trains at Philson, Pa., on the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, September 30, an engineer, a fireman, a conductor, a flagman, two brakemen, and six tramps were killed, and six other tramps were badly injured.

—Seven masked men attempted to loot an express train at Rio Puerco, N. M., on the 2d inst., but by the coolness of the express messenger and U. S. Marshal Loomis, who happened to be on board, one of the robbers was killed and the others put to flight.

—John Wanamaker, ex-postmaster general, and noted as the leading Philadelphia dry goods merchant, has purchased the famous A. T. Stewart dry goods establishment of New York, which has been conducted by the Hiltons since the death of Mr. Stewart.

—At the Miami County Fair, held at Paola, Kansas, an aeronaut met a frightful death on the 1st inst., falling a distance of 5,000 feet, and being crushed beyond recognition. The accident was caused by the breaking of a rope which fastened him to his parachute.

—The steamship Umatilla, from San Francisco, was foundered on the rocks at Point Wilson, near Port Townsend, entrance to Puget Sound, September 29. The accident was caused by a dense fog. The passengers were all safely landed, but the vessel and freight are said to be seriously damaged.

—New York advices state that the Exploration Company, of London (which is really the Rothschilds and associates), have completed the purchase of the great Anaconda Copper Mining property in Montana. The purchasers previously owned a half interest. The property is valued at $34,500,000.

—A sheep-herder named Andrew Nelson met a strange death on the 29th ult., in the Cascade Range, Washington. He was urging his flock of 3,000 head up the mountain side in quest of pasture, when they stampeded and rushed back upon him. In trying to check them he fell, and the sheep crowded upon him and upon one another in the narrow depression through which they were passing, until more than a third of the flock were smothered in a heap, the herder being underneath the mass. An oriental shepherd would have been leading his flock instead of driving them, and thus would have avoided such a catastrophe. It is worthy of note that the True Shepherd always leads his flock; he never drives them.

—The president and the cashier of the Bank of Commerce, of New Orleans, have been indicted for the embezzlement of $84,000.

—Frances E. Willard and Lady Somerset have been appealing to have destitute Armenians imported to the United States, but Immigrant Commissioner Stump has decided adversely. The law on the subject strictly forbids the landing in this country of persons likely to become a public charge, and also of any person whose ticket or passage was paid for with the money of others, or who is assisted by others to come in.

—The fiftieth anniversary of the admission of the state of Iowa into the Union was celebrated at Burlington on the 1st inst. During the parade a review stand, on which were a number of distinguished persons, collapsed, throwing the occupants to the ground. Several persons were more or less injured, but none fatally. Among the slightly injured were Vice President Stevenson, Governor Drake, and ex-Governors Sherman and Newbold.

—Schrader, of Wisconsin, the self-styled "divine healer," has arrived in San Francisco. Altho his coming was not announced, a large number of people visited him at his hotel the first day of his arrival. He does not claim to be Christ, but endeavors to mimic him in outward appearance as portrayed in the popular pictures. Schrader wears a full beard, long hair parted in the middle, and a long, loose robe reaching to his heels. He claims that he observes a forty days' fast once a year. He is now twenty-six years old, and claims to have exercised the "divine healing" power since he was thirteen. There is nothing that will attract more attention than promises to heal the many maladies now prevalent, and therefore there is no more prolific means of deception—a prophetic characteristic of the last days. The best proof of the work of these "healers" is to look for the results a few weeks after they have left any given locality. It is claimed that Schrader is playing upon the reputation of Schlatter, who made such a sensation in Colorado some time ago. But that is nothing with people who seek delusion.

—The middle and south Atlantic states were visited by a terrific storm on the 29th ult. It came from the West Indies apparently, and struck with terrible force the town of Cedar Keys, Fla., and the place is reported to be almost entirely destroyed. At Williston, about twenty miles distant, eleven houses were destroyed, one person killed, and fifteen wounded. At Boulogne, a schoolhouse was overthrown and five children killed. At Hilliards, the schoolhouse was wrecked and four children killed. A like result occurred at Folkston, Ga., near the Florida line. The property loss in Florida is estimated at $2,000,000, and the number of lives lost is said to be not less than 100; furthermore, 10,000 people are left homeless. At Savannah, Ga., eleven persons were killed, and the property loss is placed at $1,000,000. A hundred tons of tin roofing were torn from the houses. Upwards of twenty sailing vessels were blown ashore. In both Georgia and South Carolina the rice plantations in the track of the storm were heavily damaged. At Staunton, Va., much property was destroyed by flood, and five persons are known to have been drowned. The storm also struck Washington City, damaging some of the public buildings. It ripped off some of the coping of the White House, and destroyed most of the historic trees in the grounds, including the elm tree planted by Abraham Lincoln. Some of the diplomatic residences and several churches and theaters were considerably damaged. The damage in Washington and suburbs is estimated at $600,000. Serious damage to property is also reported at Lebanon, Pa. The Pennsylvania railroad bridge across the Susquehanna River, at Columbia, which cost $1,000,000, was swept away. Baltimore also suffered; houses were unroofed, windows smashed, and the wind forced the water from the harbor into the streets. At the same time a fierce storm raged in the region of Lake Michigan, doing much damage, especially to shipping at Chicago, Milwaukee, and Grand Haven. Four men are known to have been drowned.