DOMESTIC by Editor

Pacific Press Publishing Company · Oakland, California · Apr 29, 1897

FromSigns of the Times, Vol. 23, No. 17.

DOMESTIC

By Editor

News and Notes, Continued.

DOMESTIC.

—New Orleans sustained a $400,000 fire on April 15. The block destroyed was one of the most picturesque structures in the city.

—The total number of business failures in the United States last week was 195, as compared with 244 during the corresponding week of last year.

—In accordance with a recent decision of the Attorney-General, a large portion of the Chinese who are on their way to the Nashville Exposition will be refused admission to the United States.

—The paymaster of the Pleasant Valley Coal Company, at Salt Lake City, Utah, was held up by bandits on April 21, and robbed of $7,800. The act was performed in the presence of a group of spectators.

—One of the latest and most wonderful inventions in electricity is the synchronograph, by means of which 3,000 words a minute can be transmitted over a telegraph line and be accurately received and recorded.

—Col. John Hay, U. S. Ambassador to England, arrived at Southampton on April 21, and was enthusiastically received by a delegation of prominent Englishmen, and by the officials of the American embassy.

—The revenue cutter Rush is now cruising along the Pacific Coast in search of the coal ship Samaria, which is believed to have been either sunk or disabled in the recent storms. Her owners consider that the vessel has gone down with all on board.

—Four railroad companies, including the Southern Pacific, have formed a special company to build a bridge across the Mississippi at New Orleans. It is estimated that the structure will cost $5,000,000, and it will lack but 400 feet of being three miles long.

—On April 20, while Joseph Ciscado, or Pincado, of Hollister, Cal., a suspected murderer, was under examination, he emphasized his denial of complicity in the crime by calling upon God to strike him dead if he was guilty of the deed. He died with the oath upon his lips.

—It has been decided to establish a government station at Circle City, Alaska, on the Yukon River, and also a military post, the commander of which will be vested with considerable discretionary power. There will also be a customs station between Canada and Circle City.

—There has been little if any general improvement in the condition of the flooded districts of the Mississippi Valley during the past week. In Nebraska heavy winds are churning the vast wastes of muddy water over what were once gardens and fertile fields. In the inundated districts of Louisiana 22,000 persons are eating the bread of charity. The crevasse at Biggs is a seething torrent, and people in the vicinity of the break are fleeing to Natchez, which is also in danger. Thirty-four townships in lower Mississippi are under water, and 19,000 persons in that section are receiving provisions from the government. Considerable loss of life is reported as a result of the overflow on Davis Island. The situation in Mississippi is growing worse, and the levees are said to be black with people waiting for relief. At Bayou Videl, Mississippi, the waters caught the people unawares and many were drowned. The relief committees are taxed to their utmost.