18 Dec 1903
Page 1
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Newspaper
Atlanta Constitution
Location
Atlanta, Georgia, United States of America
Date
Dec 18, 1903
Page
1
Fragmented report includes garbled weather figures and scattered items from Atlanta, Birmingham, and surrounding areas. Mentions of notable figures like W. McRae of Atlanta, General Peter Co. Hains, and General Thomas H Barry appear amid partial references to crimes, fires, investigations, and political events. The text combines weather data with miscellaneous news snippets, many unclear or jumbled.
Washington dispatch reports secrecy surrounds a sudden change in U S army leadership. Brigadier General Thomas W. Barry is named to command the department of the gulf while General Peter C. Hains is set aside. The decision reportedly follows plans to send troops to the isthmus after the Panama treaty ratification, with General J Franklin Bell kept in reserve for possible action against Colombia.
General Peter C. Hains will command the initial U S forces reaching Panama after the Hay Bunau Varilla treaty ratification. The War Office shift moved him from leading the Department of the Gulf to the Isthmian command. Hains, an engineer by training, has studied the Isthmus route and topography. He was in Washington when the orders changed, possibly not yet aware he would proceed to Panama.
The Salt Department of the United States Army plans to establish Gulf Department headquarters in Atlanta, signaling a major strategic shift. About 2,506 officers and enlisted men will be stationed or pass through, with Fort McPherson and a network of southern posts forming a key supply and mobilization hub. Generals and officers familiar with General Thomas W. Barry praise his appointment, as Atlanta’s railroad access and proximity to ports promise significant contracts and quicker pay processes for soldiers. The arrangement also promises increased visits by foreign officials and military attaches during peacetime.
Special Cor respondent Clifford Smyth reports from Barranquilla on December 4 that Generals Ortiz and Novo move near the Panama line with small armies and invasion plans. Cartegena and Penzon cruisers evaded the Atlanta, camps are set, and supplies will be launched. He predicts war if Reyes is not chosen, and notes Reyes as a strong leader. He adds tracking notes about press corrections and a Reyes victory since the letter.
A Northampton county banker, 65, sues three Allentown newspapers under the state dress law after they published a report that he escaped quarantine from a hotel for smallpox and dyed his beard. The papers described him, noting his beard and recent marriage, and he says the story caused ridicule among friends.
New York December 17 Armed detectives formed part of an express train from New York to Boston with a cargo valued near a million dollars. An escort in a special car was deployed after threats to rob the train, with four New Haven detectives boarding to reinforce the guard upon arrival. The Atlantic Coast Line syndicate extension to February 28 1903 was announced, with many subscribers stopping the extension.
Washington December 17 The house passed today without division the pension appropriation bill carrying 138 160 100. Discussion covered Panama rural free delivery tariff and pensions with speeches by Scott Oilers Sims Burgess. Sims urged Democrats in the senate to vote against the treaty to foil it. Burgess defended protection as prosperity and joked about the Ohio senator as a great player in American politics. The house adjourned until tomorrow.
Berkeley December 17 A university of California finance committee meeting disclosed former secretary McKowan's defalcations will total at least forty nine thousand dollars. The seven year peculations show he has little personal wealth and the stolen funds came from private benefactions rather than the university general fund. Bre- Rowan accompanied the conference and was later placed in sheriff custody as the case moves to a full investigation.
Official information from Chattanooga Tennessee dated December 17 reports that Transcontinental rates have been restored effective January 18. The exact scale is not yet received but expected to be practically the same as before September 1 when freight charges to Pacific points from the territory south of the Ohio River and east of the Mississippi River were raised 10 to 76 cents per hundred.
Washington dispatch reports Colombia under President Reyes is forming camps near the Panama border and plotting possible invasion. Captain Turner aboard the Atlanta confirms a Colombian force established at Titumat near the Atrato mouth as U S. aims to keep Panama secured and deter aggression.
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