21 Dec 1899
Page 1
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Newspaper
Monticello Express
Location
Monticello, Iowa, United States of America
Date
Dec 21, 1899
Page
1
Adelaide D. Reynolds urges in Union Signal that kindness and encouragement are as essential as gifts. The poem notes love should extend to all humanity, moving beyond feasting to charity and a genuine heart given to others.
Sidney Payson, a cynical bachelor, wanders State street during a Christmas shopping spree. He schemes to ruin the season by buying utterly useless gifts for relatives, starting with two volumes of Flavius Josephus for his nephew Fred, mocking conventional holiday generosity.
A Chicago scene follows Mr. Payson shopping for a romance novel for his sister and a noisy scarf for a wife. He then buys skates for a brother and cravats for a six year old, triggering a cascade of Christmas letters from Sidney’s relatives praising his thoughtfulness and lampooning his taste. The letters reveal affectionate family dynamics and Ade’s witty portrait of gifts and gratitude.
Mrs Goodman compliments Aunt Laura on a lovely expensive present while noting a house jacket. Mr Goodman regrets his gift of toilet soap, feeling it cheap in response. The exchange reveals affection and a touch of social awkwardness in a family moment.
A black sergeant rebukes a breezy western volunteer who asks what they will do in the Philippines. He replies they will take up the white man's burden, and the exchange shifts to other topics.
A Sunday school scene ends with a teacher asking what B C stands for and a boy quips Before Christmas, provoking a judge to respond. The brief sketch captures a light moment from a church setting.
A Chinook era diary snippet notes that a child named Dickie claimed to have received a present besides skates while the response suggests he got the croup. The fragment reflects period humor in a Chicago Record dialect piece.
dispatches detail Gen Buller’s failed Tugela crossing with 11 guns left behind. Metcalfe’s 600 riflemen captured a Boer howitzer on a hill but retreat blocked. Methuen’s brigade failing kopje attack and high casualties. Wauchope killed. Methuen’s check at Magersfontein noted. Times cites need for 20,000 more troops.
Gov. Poynter of Nebraska appoints ex-Senator Allen to fill the unexpired term caused by Senator Hayward's death. Allen plans to proceed to Washington at once to assume duties and deliver his commission soon.
The Republican National Committee selected Philadelphia to host the convention on Tuesday June 19 after a vote among Chicago St Louis and New York. The decision was made at the Arlington hotel with Senator Hanna presiding and most states represented. The turnout included prominent Republican leaders. Separately in Des Moines Iowa Webster county coal mines are idle with about 500 workers striking over wage increases amid rising coal prices. The strike may widen into Boone county area.
A unidentified Black man accused of assaulting a white woman was lynched by a mob near Jones, Louisiana, across the Arkansas line. The victim’s body hung from a telegraph pole and could be seen by passing trains Tuesday night.
R G Dun reports a rare split between booming production and falling stock prices. Production and employment rise while railway and factory stocks drop due to inflated capital and speculative gains. Wheat movement disappoints, exports dip, yet manufactured goods shipments high, offsetting imports by nearly 49 million dollars for the month. Failures total 218 in US and 26 in Canada versus last year.
A Chippewa Falls dispatch reports heavy losses for farmers as the Wisconsin blizzard killed at least 25 cattle and sheep. Streetcars and interurban service are suspended, tracks blocked, and trains are delayed. South of the city roads remain impassable while some farmers manage drifts. A separate Black River Falls report notes a heavy snowstorm with sixteen inches, leaving highways in terrible condition though rail traffic is not seriously affected.
In Washington on December 15 two joint resolutions were introduced by Rep Williams of Mississippi. They propose recognizing Filipino independence with U S withdrawal of land and sea forces if Manila refunds 20 million dollars paid to Spain and grants free port access and a naval coaling station. A ten year pledge to resist foreign interference accompanies American control of Philippine affairs. A second resolution seeks treaty information with the sultan of Sulu and an inquiry into applicability of anti-slavery and anti polygamy laws to Sulu.
William Taylor was inaugurated as Kentucky governor in a simple ceremony as bad weather reduced attendance. Retiring Gov. Bradley urged repeal of the Goebel election law, while Taylor framed the public mandate as support for civil liberty against partisan machines.
The 72nd Congress announced chairmen of key panels including Ways and Means Payne New York Appropriations Cannon Illinois Judiciary Ray New York Banking Brosius Pennsylvania Inter State and Foreign Commerce Hepburn Iowa Naval Affairs Boutelle Maine Public Lands Lacey Iowa Indian Affairs Sherman New York Insular Affairs Cooper Wisconsin Railways and Canals Chickering New York Foreign Affairs Hitt Illinois Military Affairs Hull Iowa and others. The list also names top members for each committee and long rosters of lawmakers across parties.
A Paris panorama notes charity reliance and dense services including one wine shop per three houses and 10 million pounds of tame rabbits consumed yearly. It cites 1 475 000 laborers, 100 more periodicals, Notre Dame height puzzle linked to a suffragan bishop, and Paris cleanliness with 2000 male and 600 female scavengers daily work patterns.
Gen Otis dispatches from Manila claim insurgents are melting away as American forces advance. Reports include Mabini captured by MacArthur, Aguinaldo a figurehead, and Mabini identified as insurrection’s brain and financial backbone.
Washington Mount Vernon hosted a tribute marking the 100th anniversary of Washington's death with a high degree Masonic ceremony. President McKinley and Congress leaders attended, followed by Red Men rites and a patriotic program at Convention Hall with Marine Band music and speeches by Chauncey M. Depew and others.
A Friday dawn blaze at 300 South First Street Williamsburg Brooklyn killed Mrs Goscher and Mrs Smyth on the top floor and left Luke Freen badly burned on the second floor. Mrs Freen, Luke Treen's wife, leaped from a second story window and broke her legs while other injuries were reported. A separate Chicago report notes Mrs Alice Palmer perishing in a boarding house fire at 1 Hubbard Court near Michigan Avenue.
A Mining Journal report from Houghton cites Capt. James Burr of the American Steel Barge Co. saying barges 115 and Colgate Hoyt, part of the tow with barge McDougal, have likely sunk in open lake. Each barge carried 20 crew plus an extra crew, about 50 men total.
The Bulletin reports the Ceram disaster on November 2 caused immense loss of life and property. The steamship America Maru, arriving from the Orient, cites 5,000 people killed on Ceram alone due to the November earthquakes near the Japanese coast and surrounding islands.
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