07 Feb 1884
Page 1
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Newspaper
Philadelphia Times
Location
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States of America
Date
Feb 07, 1884
Page
1
Severe flooding grips Pittsburgh and Allegheny with miles of waterlogged streets, submerging neighborhoods from Duquesne to Sharpsburg. Authorities fear losses exceed 1 million dollars as 5,000 families become homeless. transport and industry grind to a halt.
Special dispatches from multiple Pennsylvania towns report alarming ice gorge floods on the Juniata and Susquehanna rivers. Gorges above Alexandria and near Williamsport created high water, with bridges, streets, and factories threatened. Dynamite failed to clear a rotten ice dam. lower gorge broke, easing danger. Floodwaters widespread across Washington Meadville Harrisburg and Erie regions, with rail lines and mills disrupted and casualties reported.
February 6 dispatch reports Cincinnati confronting record flood with water at fifty-nine feet at noon and rising two inches per hour. Commerce halted, warehouse and distillery damage noted. Relief committee formed with fifteen men and donations of one hundred dollars each. relief fund authorized with initial five hundred dollars from chamber. Water nears sixty feet eight, rail service rerouted and streetcars suspended to Cincinnati.
Residents prepare for rising floodwaters as Covington and Newport ferries carry passengers to the suspension bridge before morning. The lower city is submerged with hundreds of homes affected. Water climbs in the canal and falls while rain continues. memories of the 1883 disaster linger as a drowning and fire losses loom.
Flood waters across Ohio and nearby states disrupt rail travel. Cleveland and Wheeling routes show washed tracks and submerged depots with engines stalled. Cities including Bridgeport Bellaire and Martin's Ferry report extensive inundation and rising rivers. In Avansville Indiana the river climbs rapidly as corn sits waiting for shipment. Rising levels threaten high water damage in nearby towns with ongoing rain and concerns of inundation.
Wheeling faces major flood as the river climbs to forty four feet with eight inch hourly increases. Wheeling Island’s Seventh ward is largely underwater forcing residents to flee to upper floors. other wards see water in low areas. Bridges and rail lines are submerged, mail service halted, and freight rejected. No serious damage reported yet.
A night fire destroyed the Underground Electric Cable Company works on Willow Street near Twelfth. Four firemen were injured as roof and wall collapsed amid burning stock including four miles of cable wire valued at one dollar per foot. Losses: stock $25,000 and building $2,500.
Funeral services for Lieutenant Commander De Long and his Jeannette companions were held in Hamburg with flags and wreaths. Hamburg officials and European geographers attended as wreaths were laid and thanks exchanged. The Frisia will sail to America with the remains under Harber and Schultz escort.
Magistrate Clark issued a writ of traver and conversion against District Attorney Graham returnable Saturday. Attorney Francis Tracy Tobin seeks the affidavit in an assault and battery case involving Councilman W Ellwood Rowan and a police officer. The grand jury ignored the bill. Tobin sought two Common Pleas Judges' ruling, denied. Hearing set for Saturday at five.
Special Dispatch reports on February 6 describe the Springer committee allowing public access to proceedings and room for an Associated Press agent. Mr Stewart objected to advance disclosures citing prior examiner reports in the Philadelphia Times. Chairman Springer directed questions to the Justice Department, which in turn referred to Springer’s clerk before the committee decided that daily public proceedings would be possible.
In Turner Hall Trenton on February 6 six hundred people watched Frank Cobine and John Leeds compete to crack 500 oysters each for the state championship. Seeds won in 23 minutes 30 seconds with Cobine holding 109 oysters. A Philadelphia challenger emerged offering a 100 to 1,000 oyster contest for up to $1,000 a side as the crowd grew excited.
The signal report from Barnegat N J states the German brig Albertine Meyer of Rostock, Captain Zelck, with eight crew, struck Barnegat Shoals at 9 30 A M while 45 days out from Bahia Brazil with a cargo of sugar for New York. She is taking water, with three or four feet in the hold and eight to ten feet of water in the hull. Two men went ashore. The captain refuses to abandon ship. Immediate assistance is needed due to high southwest wind and dense fog.
Intense Arab attack defeats Baker Pasha’s force near Sinkat and Tokar. Troops flee, many officers missing, and the British garrison at Suakim braces as rebels seize guns and ammunition. Survivors from the battle occupy strong positions, among them 180 sailors with Gatling guns.
In the House of Commons Mr. Gladstone said the government need not adopt fresh measures after General Baker's disaster. Lord Randolph Churchill proposed an amendment to remove current ministers. Conservatives supported it. Debate was marked by disorder with strong exchanges between Conservatives and Liberals.
About seven hundred delegates and many members gathered in Lancaster for the state encampment of the Grand Army of the Republic. Nominees included George B. Chalmers and F. H. Dyer amid disputes over Dyer’s military record. A ballot elected Dyer, with aftermaths including a veterans rights rally and public camp-fire speeches outlining war memories and urging federal preference in appointments.
The two youths named Christopher Johnson and John Low head were arrested Tuesday night for garroting Lewis Nsorsel, a Russian peddler. Nsorsel said he was attacked in an alley at Third and Gaskill streets. one assailant choked him while the other rifled his pockets. Officers heard his cries, leading to the arrest. They deny guilt but were committed for trial.
Counsel debated propriety of an elevated railroad with public hearings ending the session. Judge Porter attacked the charters as worthless and denied authority to build on streets, while Biddle argued general railroad acts justify the Keystone and Philadelphia outlets. Questions on cattle traffic and damages were posed, and a remonstrance from 803 Market and Front Street property owners was read.
Boston mourns Wendell Phillips with a public procession to Hollis Street Chapel and Faneuil Hall. Notables including Governor Robinson, Mayor Martin, Julia Ward Howe and Susan B. Anthony attend private services. The simple rites end with burial at Old Granary Burying Ground in the Phillips family tomb.
Witnesses before the Standard Oil Investigating Committee in Harrispura critique the 1879 office license tax, with Ex-Gov Hart attacking section 16 for failing to boost revenue and causing firms like Texas and Pacific to relocate offices. Ex-attorney general Lear questions taxing foreign firms while exempting local ones.
The British ship Earl Granville arrived from Mbilo after 183 days at sea. In the voyage the crew fell ill and on January 31 seaman William Conley of Philadelphia died and was buried at sea. Only about six seamen were fit for duty afterward.
Reports from the Upper Elkhorn country in Nebraska say Kid Wade, leader of the Niobrara outlaws and horse-thieves, has been hanged by vigilantes near Sioux City Iowa on February 6. The action follows raids and suspected horse thefts attributed to Wade's group. Local authorities have not confirmed details.
A Columbus style of rapid notices covers ice moving from Buffalo harbor, a Cleveland stove makers’ session, a tunnel collapse near Jonesboro Illinois, a New York Assembly bill fixing twelve hours as a day for conductors, smallpox in Louisville and among western Alaska Indians, a Stamford villa fire with $30000 loss, a Lancashire cotton strike end, Baltimore grain exchange protests steam shovel patent, Edmund S. Tappan linked murder case, Mississippi River Convention president meeting, Teemer and Conley sculling race in Pullman May 30 1884 for 2000 purse, Evansville Journal owner Edward Tabor’s death, 125 Dexter Lambert weavers return to work, a Linden New Jersey man killed by eastbound express, Billy McGlory sentenced to six months, and a writ of See See PERS Sa...
An enthusiastic gathering at Liberty Council Mall on Germantown Avenue opposed the false reformer and would be mayor. James Laters presided as speakers Davis Page EK Dunbar Lockwood and William Arrott argued reform versus Smith. Lockwood attacked Smiths past alliances and alleged betrayals while praising reform measures and police integrity under Mayor King.
Republican campaign scenes unfold as William B. Smith greets supporters at the West End Club over a Girard avenue saloon, with a large transparency of GOP candidates. In North Fourth street German Club, Smith and Warwick address pledges of pure administration and impartial justice amid praise from local figures. A Kensington Park rally follows with speeches by Smith, Warwick and other GOP organizers.
A circulated letter signed by Republican lawyers urges support for Charles F. Warwick for City Solicitor, noting his integrity and qualifications while listing several lawyers among Warwick’s supporters and others who favor opponent Sheppard. The effort seeks to sway lawyers with influence to vote for Warwick.
The Independents and Democrats seek a joint bid to defeat Republican John Bardsley for Common Council. Democrats and Reform Republicans plan to nominate a single candidate, James Dobson, who may accept the Independents and Democrats ticket. The ward convention meets at Sherman Hall this morning.
The Union Republicans of the Twenty-seventh ward met at Commissioners Hall in a lively gathering. J Warner Gohen led the session, P F Rothermel Jr urged Republicans to vote with duty in mind, Pettit mocked the committee of one hundred, and crowd reactions followed. Other speakers included William M Smith and William Henry Smith.
A mob connected to the West End Club or Twenty-ninth ward assaulted three reform-aligned men as they left a large Independent meeting at a hall near Thirty-second and Thompson streets on Tuesday night. The assailants used tomato cans ice and other missiles.
In Trenton on February 6 the Senate approved Vall constitutional amendments requiring railroads to surrender tax exemptions before future benefits. House bills set game season dates from November 1 to December 15 and cut game law limits. Budd proposed a State Board of Agriculture with members from geology, agricultural colleges, and various farming bodies. Pratt's resolution asked for tax and ownership details of railroads tied to Pennsylvania and United Companies. Both houses adjourned until tomorrow. a corruption inquiry into railroads adjourned to next Tuesday.
A burglar was shot and killed by Salunga resident Tobias Stauffer during a guard after a wave of thefts at Kreider and Kendig cigar factory. The dead man, 55 or 60, carried a chisel and keys. coroner ruled the shooting accidental. Stauffer, over 60, refused to flee justice.
In Coneno Texas on February 6 a stage to Abilene was robbed of cash with $25 taken from a passenger. Sheriff Gerald of Don Juan county New Mexico and State Ranger Sergeant Turbow were aboard along with Edgar Stetson Samuel P Cochran and a U S soldier. Two masked men halted the coach and shots exchanged wounded Gerald and Cochran but they continued toward Concho. Gerald is reported as dying. This marks the third robbery of the same stage in a month and a $1000 reward has been offered for the robbers who fled with the wounded bandit carried off by companions.
Special Dispatch to The Times. Scranton February 6 Charles Owens a miner at the Central Colliery of the Delaware Lackawanna and Western Company was instantly killed by a roof fall this afternoon. He was barring down loose rock when a several ton mass collapsed onto him. After body was recovered Central shaft workers suspended for the day Owens a prominent local politician leaves a wife and eight children unprovided for.
City commissioners had scheduled the bid of J. R. Senior to furnish department supplies but discarded it out of respect for what they believed the Court wished. All bids are now scheduled and will proceed once the finance committee approves the awards, after which supply work will begin.
Special Dispatch from Porrsville February 6 says the Schuylkill County Mining Law Commission asks the Governor to designate a meeting place and time for organization. The commission was created under a law with no provision for a meeting, and members are scattered across six coal counties, hindering progress.
Special dispatch reports Governor Patton telegraphing a reprieve for Dillman, condemned in Northampton County for wife killing. The stay until April 8 is to allow a lunacy commission to assess his mental condition after an earlier scheduled execution set for February 18.
Pottsville February 6 surveyors for the Pottsville and Mahano y Road are mapping a new route. The plan would not affect the Philadelphia and Reading Railroad. Officials believe the alternative path is cheaper and equally workable, potentially ending the railroad war.
New York dispatch reports Charles Rugg, under arrest for the Sprague assault in Long Island, admits involvement in the Maybee murder and Townsend assault. He claims others are implicated and the statements will be released once arrests are made. Also notes quinine price drop from 1.80 to 1.00, then 1.40 per ounce amid German imports.
Special Dispatch to Tuk Timxa reports Dale Bros. drilled a well in Cranberry township this morning capable of about 600 barrels in the first twenty four hours. The new site lies near two large wells brought in last month.
Duke of Albany, leaving a public hall in Dorking, was struck by a cart of beer thrown from the crowd. Only a portion hit him. the assailant escaped into the night as police search for clues.
Health Officer Selfridge stated yesterday that the city had not more than twenty five smallpox cases and only one new case in the past week, adding there is no cause for alarm.
The Pocasset and Brown mills joined the walkout today, bringing to thirteen the number of Fall River mills idled since the strike began. Workers reportedly seek higher wages and better conditions amid ongoing labor action.
A penniless 26 year old Scot, William Andersen, aboard the British Prince, travels back from Philadelphia to Inverness as heir to his late father’s estate worth about 30000 pounds. After years of hardship in New York Chicago and Colorado, a misdelivered letter revealed the death of his sister and his father, making him the sole heir to roughly 6000 pounds.
Francis Brockie, alias Frank Brock, alias Bucky Taylor, alias Big Buck, released from the Eastern Penitentiary after three years for burglary. A U S Marshal took him into custody and sent him to Washington to face charges for robberies including the Government Printing Office and the Metropolitan Bank. Also linked to Horace Hogan and George Carson, with a prior Capitol burglary and a later pardon for Hogan.
St Tuomas February 6 A proclamation reopens Miragoane port to foreign trade and lists twenty one shot at Miragoane including one Spaniard and fifteen others whose names are known. Weekly executions at Jacmel continue with forty seven shot by January 10 despite consul appeals. Insurgents clash from Miragoane to Petit Grove where fifty two are killed. Some revolutionists remain in woods.
The Americas Club, active in many past national political campaigns, decided at its meeting last night to attend the next Democratic National Convention regardless of its location. Other routine club matters were also addressed.
Ocean steamships arrival list shows ships at New York from London and Liverpool, with Gal lia from Liverpool, Zeeland from Antwerp, Devonshire from Bremen, Arizona from New York at Queenstown, Scandi navian from Portland at Moville, and Waesland from New York passing the Lizard.
Indications for today show colder generally cloudy weather across the Middle Atlantic States with light rains in the southern half and rain and snow in the northern half. Northwesterly winds bring a higher barometer. Yesterday's temperatures at the Signal Office ranged from a high of 65 to a low of 50 with a mean of 59.
Dr Andrew L Wittkamp nominated for Common Council by the Republican executive committee of the eleventh ward amid town chatter. W H H Davis denies plans to run as a Democratic trick mute against Peter Monroe for Select Council. James Donohue shot in his saloon on Phillip and Norris streets last night recovering with no further hemorrhage. College physicians meet as Dr Wood Dr Allen papers discussed including J C Wilson on typhoid treatment. A King Hunter Sheppard rally set for Liberty Mall with Rob Purvis William Still Hampton L Carson and others. John Wardle of 454 Canton street faced Magistrate Lennon on embezzlement charge and returned to prison on $300 bail. Third winter entertainment at Blockley Almshouse featured solos by Tillie Somers Ivans bass quartet and a speech by Poor Guardian Troggard. Mary Johnson arrested in Middletown Del for robbing her mistress appears for hearing. evidence by Mrs Crooks 12 South Twentieth Street. She is committed for trial.
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