davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Roanoke times. [volume] (Roanoke, Va.) 1890-1895, 1895-04-21
THE CASE OF Ex.ooNsuL WALLER

Ih II OASE Ot EA.CONSUL WALLER.
The French authorities in Madagas-
car have put ex~United States Consul
Waller, recently sentenced to twenty
years Imprisonment by courtmartial,
aboard a steamer and SAINT him under
guard to France. This will greatly
facilitate the investigation OF the case,
which Mr.. Eustis, the American minis
ter, has been instructed to carry out
thoroughly and fully, and as the United
States has hitherto been able to settle
all disputes but one with France with
out a resort to arms, there Is no danger
OF any serious difficulty arising in the
present instance. Waller is colored
man, and was appointed consul in MAIDS
agascsr by President Harrison.
He is accused of being spy in the
interest of the Hovas OF that island,
against whom the French have been
waging war, and WAS tried and con-
dem by courtmartisl at Tamatave.
Mr. Eustis will make special exami~
nation into the legality under treaty
stipulations Of the trial OF q citizen Of
friendly nation by courtmartial, in
stead of by the regular 'civil tribunal,
as Ia customary and perhaps absolutely
essential. Moreover, 1t is said, the
case may involve the right of France to
exercise Jurisdiction over the internal
affairs of Madag ascar, from which she
appears to have been expressly excluded
The Roanoke times. [volume] (Roanoke, Va.) 1890-1895, 1895-04-21

WITH ali due respect, but other mil
linery houses can't touch us, either in
prices or goods. PALAIs ROYAL, 10l
Salem avenue.
The Roanoke times. [volume] (Roanoke, Va.) 1890-1895, 1895-04-21

To-day showing Eighteen New Nobby Patterns
ranging in prices from $500 to $780, which are far
ahead Of anything we have seenmore style, SER
vice. We arc making this department our hobby and
are going to continue improving till it will be the ONE
place to buy Childfens apparel. IT'S about the case
to-day
The Roanoke times. [volume] (Roanoke, Va.) 1890-1895, 1895-04-21

by the treaty of 1895, which gave her
jurisdiction only over the foreign rela-
tions of that isladd.
The Roanoke times. [volume] (Roanoke, Va.) 1890-1895, 1895-04-21

IF VOL want to buy or cell housc, horse,
"A w COW, or anything, try THE TINES
one. ccnt.a.word column. 1t viii do,thc work.
The Roanoke times. [volume] (Roanoke, Va.) 1890-1895, 1895-04-21

NEAT advertisement catches the eve of
II A'A11A the people. Try THE TIMES.
The Roanoke times. [volume] (Roanoke, Va.) 1890-1895, 1895-04-21

STRAWBERRY leo Cream, first of the
season, for Sunday at Eagle Dairy.
The Roanoke times. [volume] (Roanoke, Va.) 1890-1895, 1895-04-21

M VOII want TO sell anything? TRY the one.
~ wv cent-a.word column OF THE TINES.
The Roanoke times. [volume] (Roanoke, Va.) 1890-1895, 1895-04-21

DINNERS at the Eagle Dairy, rs cents
The Roanoke times. [volume] (Roanoke, Va.) 1890-1895, 1895-04-21
after Scarlet Fever
Abscess in One Ea.

which affected his herring. The abscesS
grew worse, it discharged freely and the matter
was quite offensive We were obliged to use
syringe twice n day. After more than n year
physicians decided that 1t might take years TO
neal the abscesS, and it was likely he would
The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1895-08-05
THE BUILDING WRECKED.
From the Cellar the Bolt
Emerged and Wrought
Great Havoc.
SEVERAL FATALLY INJURED.
Amid the Tumult of Screaming
Women and Children the Horses
We're Stampeded Outside.

FLEMINGTON, N. J., Aug. 4.-The
words of fervent benediction had scarcely
left the lips of Rev. Mr. Bowman, in the
Methodist church at Quakertown, seven
miles above here, to-day when there came
binding flash of lightning and terrific
burst of thunder that all but wrecked the
little building. The bolt entered the
church and injured score of people, sew
eral of them probably fatally. The list of
those most seriously injured follows:
James Hof, Minnie Grace, Miss K. Hoff-
man, Asa Bannon, the sexton; Mrs. Bow
man, wife of the pastor.
The bolt seemed to enter the edifice by
the basement, shooting up through the
floor and bursting with the force of huge
cannon. Members of the congregation
who had started to leave or were Standing
in groups conyersing with each other,
were thrown into wild panic, while at
least twenty of them received injuries more
or less severe.
Amid the tumult of screaming women
and crying children and the groans of the
injured, there was stampede of frightened
horses under the shed outside. a number
of them broke their tethers and ran away,
wrecking the carriages to which they were
attached and dashing down sections of
fencing.
Pastor Bowman and scores of willing
hands were soon at work among the
stricken ones. A number were uncon-
scious, and it was thought at first that they
had been killed outright. They were laid
upon the pew cushions. The parsonage
which adioins the church was converted
into a hospital. Drs. Snyder of Quaker
town and Grace of Clinton quickly re-
sponded to calls upon them to attend the
sufferers.
All the clothing was torn from Sexton
Bannon, while his shoes looked as though
they had been run through the corn-sheller,
being literally cut to pieces. He is suffer-
ing from the shock, and can hardly re-
cover. The bolt struck through the floor
right at the feet of Minnie Grace, and she
was thrown down with great violence. Her
watchguard was melted, and the timepiece
looks as though it had gone through a
furnace. 1t stopped at 12:10-a grim
record of the time of the cruel visitant
Miss Grace's life is despaired Of Mrs.
Bowman, who stood near Miss Grace, was
also thrown down by the awful explosion.
Her hat was torn from her head and
steel ripped clean out of her corset. She
is still unconscious from the shock.
James Hoff got the full force of the
giant electric shock and he lies in semi
conscious condition.
An examination of the building after
the excitement had subsidized somewhat,
showed that the bolt had struck an outer
wall, ran down to the basement sixty feet
along the joists, and shot up through the
floor like huge bullet The large bell
tower was loosened from its hangings and
only slender strip of scantling Kept it
from crashing upon the heads of the
scores of people at the doorway.
The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1895-08-05

the net income of the several railroads into
account in fixing their valuation.
For the purpose of this calculation we
are within reach of source of information
and set of statistics which no member of
take to call in question. We refer to the
report of the president of the Southern Pa
cific Company to lis stockholders for the
year 1894. 1t is, in fact, one of the few au-
thentic sources for finding out what the
leased lines of this great corporation do
annually earn for it in net income from
the travel and traffic of the people of Cali
fornia. Let US turn to this report and see
what each of the four railroads embraced
in our table netted in income for the year
1894. On page 70 of said report the whole
subject is tabulated with the following re-
suit:
SOUTHERN PACIFIC OF CALIFORNIA.
Net income for 1894. SO, ,343 1898 "a
Net income per mile...... 1882 40
SOUTH PACIFIC COAST RAILWAY.
Net income for 1894 $255,7O1 IS
Net income per mile. e.......... 1850 90
NORTHERN RAILWAY.
Net income for 1se4........S7s0,5 $50 FL
Net income per mile. 1000 90
CALIFORNIA PACIFIC RAILWAY.
Net income for 1894. .$5S8,OS3 10
Net income per mile. 5,1S4 90
What do these respective incomes teach
us as to the value of the railroad proper
ties from which they flow? Upon what
principle do they show an earning of in
terest at ordinary rates? Let US compute it
in order TO see whether or not the State
Board of Equalization has ever done so.
Take the Southern Pacific Railroad of
California. It's net income is So ,343, ,S93 "a.
That is 10 per cent interest on $33, 1885,
939 40. 1t is per cent interest on twice
that amount, or S66,S77, 1873 so. Bearing in
mind that the year 1894, by reason of the
occurrence of the great strike and also of
the general depression in business, was
not good year for incomes, is it not fair
to conclude that these figures show fair
valuation of the Southern Pacific Railroad
of California?
Did the State Board of Equalization
adopt this method of making its estimate
of its value for purposes of
Assessed for taxation? Evidently not, for
Less Than it assessed the said railroad
One. fourth for that year at $15, 800 900, or
the A C. less than one-fourth of the
k,iowledgcd valuation upon which it paws
Valuation. net income of per cent. A
computation of the value of
The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1895-08-05
WITH HIS OWN PETARD,
Terrible Death of an Anarchist
Who Shot a Mining
Superintendent.
After Firing a Revolver He Pro-
duced a Bomb, Which Ex-
ploded Prematurely.

PARIS, FRANCE, Aug. 4.-News has been
received here of dastardly attempt to
murder M. Vuillemin, the managing direc-
tor of the coal mines at Anche, eight
miles from Douai, in the department of
Nord. A monster banquet had been pre-
pared for the celebration to-day of the
completion of the fftieth year of NJ.
Vuiilemin's connection with the mines.
After mass had been celebrated this
morning M. Vuillemin, surrounded by a
party of engineers and shipownefs,
was standing under the church porch,
when an anarchist miner named Camille
Decoux, who had been dismissed from the
service of the company after the strike OF
1898, approached and fired five shots from
revolver at him. Three of the bullets
took effect, one striking M. Vuillemin in
the cheek, another in the hand and an
other in the back, inficting serious but not
dangerous wounds.
After emptying his revolver Decoux
was preparing to throw bomb, which he
had concealed about his person, when by
some means the internal machine ex-
ploded prematurely, disemboweling the
would-be murderer and hurting his
writhing body distance of seven feet from
where he had been standing. Several by
ISLANDERS were slightly injured by the ex-
plosion. Decoux was carried to the Mayor
atty house, but died Immediately after his
arrival there. The attempt upon M.
Vuillemin's life has created intense ex-
citement throughout the district.
After the bombi exploded De Coux
father, who was among those gathered
about the entrance of the church, became
greatly excited and rushed to the spot
where his son lay and began to kick him,
all the time screaming, 'icanaille," "as-
sassin," and the combined efforts of sew
eral witnesses of the assault were necessary
to restrain him.
The force of the explosion threw down
several of the bystanders, but only four
persons were injured. All of the windows
of an inn in the vicinity were shattered.
De Coux was 26 years old and unmarried,
and had recently been working at Wac
siers, short distance from Aniche.
M Vuillemin was removed to his home
in a carriage Immediately after his wounds
had been dressed and is now making
favorable progress toward recovery.
The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1895-08-05
The Southern Pacific Company Again Seeks
to Evade Taxation.

California to give to this table of authentic
statistics their careful study in order that
they may know how faithful their public
servants are performing their official duties
IN the assessment of railroad properties.
we snail advert to this table from time to
tune during the course of this article.
In order, however, that its argument
may be developed in logical steps, let us
nrst examine the State constitution to de-
termlne what the duties of the State Board
OF equalization are in the assessment of
rallroad property. Section 10 of article
ALL OF the said constitution reads as fol-
lows:
All property, except as hereinafter in this
section provided, shall be assessed in the
county, city, city and county, town, township
OF district In which it is situated in the man.
ner prescribed by law. The franchise, road
way roadbed, rails and rolling stock of
All railroads operated in more than one
county in this State shall be assessed by
the State Board of Equalization at tn cir
actual value, and the same shall be appor-
TONED to the counties, cities and counties
cities, towns, townships and districts in which
such railroads are located in proporti ton to the
number OF miles of railway laid in such coun-
ties, cities and counties, towns, townships and
districts.
1t Is thus seen that the duty of the State
Board OF Equalization is to assess the prop
critics of the railroads at
The Plain THEIR ACTUAL VALUE
Duty ofthe The first issue to be deter
State Board mined is, therefore, What is
Of Equali- the "actual value" of the
cation. railroad properties subject to
assessment by the State
Board of Equalization? In the ordinary
course of business affairs there are three
ways of arriving at the actual value of
property. These are to be found in the
answers TO the following three inquiries ::
First, What did the property cost? Sec
ond, What will it sell for2 Third, What
will it earn? Let US attempt to apply each
The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1895-08-05

pendent corporations, and which extended
from Alameda to Santa Cruz. distance
measured in single track of about 100
miles. The annual report of the State
Board of Railroad Commissioners for the
year 1887 shows by detailed figures that
the actual cost of construction of these
several lines aggregated e little over
100000. In 1887 James g. Fair sold
these railroad properties to the owners of
the Southern Pacific Company for S. ,5OO,-
600 in the bonds of the road, the payment
of the principal and interest of which was
guaranteed by the Southern Pacific Com
pany. These bonds.are now portion of
the Fair estate and are worth their par
value.
From these figures it appears that the
South Pacific Coast Railroad actually cost
to construct it in round numbers $4,000
600, or $4,000 a mile. 1t cost the magnates
of the Southern Pacific Company $780,
600 in per cent bonds, which are worth
their full par value to-day, and which
represent value of 900 a mile. Not
withstanding these facts the State Board
of Equalization assessed the proprietors of
the South Pacific Coast Railroad Company
lOi tLc year loo9 dt Pl,OUu,UUO, OF 9lo,OlJ
mile. and this year, only last Wednesday,
the attorney and agent of the Southern
Pacific Company had the Infinite assur-
ance to appear before the State Board of
Equalization and ask that this assessment
be reduced to $4,000 mile, which would be
about one-seventh of what this railroad
cost the Southern Pacific Company only
eight years ago.
Another Gauge Of Value.
In view of the fact that the State
Boards of Equalization Of the past have
not been much affected by
What the Rail the cost of construction of
roads Could railroad IN determining
Be Sold or It's assessable value, let us
Mortg aged try the second method of
For. arriving at such value. In
ordinary commercial affairs
a thing is usually considered worth what
it will sell for; or, if it is not for sale, then
its value may be determined by the
amount of money which can be borrowed
upon it. The business rule is that the
mortgage upon piece of property repre-
sents not to exceed so per cent of<its
value. Let us apply this rule of arriving
at values to the railroads of the State of
California, whose value the State Board
of ofEqualization determine and assess. Look
to the table again. Take the Southern Pa
The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1895-08-05
AN HONEST ASSESSMENT DEMANDED

four selected railroads for an example.
Take the largest of them, the Southern
Pacific Railroad Company of California.
In 1888 Charles 7. Crocker verified the
report of this corporation to the California
Railroad Commission, which showed that
the Southern Pacific Railroad Company of
California had 870.74 miles of road in Cali
ornia, and that its cost of construction
was $69. 439, 1858 81, or trihe less than
$4,000 per mile. In 1894 Charles F.
Crocker again verified the report of the
same railroad company to the Railroad
Commission, showing that in that year the
company had 1S24S1 miles of track, and
that the cost of the road was $123, GAS, ,055 So,
or $67, ,921 81 per mile. In 1894 c. P. Hun
tington, in his elaborate report to the
stockholders OF the various Southern Pa
cifc Railroad properties, gives the same
figures of the cost and valuation of the
road.
Are these sworn and reiterated state
ments of the cost of this railroad to be
taken seriously and as mean Assessments
ing anything? Evidently not, Made for
at least by the State Board of Far Less
Equalization-for witness the Than Val
following facts: uations.
In 1888, after the officers of the South
ern Pacific Railroad Company had sworn
that their railroad of S7O.T4 miles in
length had cost 500, 1895 ,S53 81, or $780,
900 per mile, the State Board OF Equali-
zation assessed it for S13,OOO,OOO, or
S14,92O So per mile.
In 1894, although the officials of the
corporation swore that heir road had a
length of 1S24.S1 miles and had cost
S123, 3,945 ,O55 5S, or over $4,000 per
mile, the State Board of Equalization as
sessed the Southern Pacific Railroad
Company of California for SIG, SOC, 900,
or $S659 per mile.
There is one railroad now controlled by
the Southern Pacific Company, of the
actual cost of which more accurate record
remains than even the sworn reports of
its present owners. That is the South Pa
eihc Coast Railroad Company. This rail-
road was acquired by the "Big Four" in
1887, and was made up as to its length by
the consolidation of several short roads
which had been built by other and inde-
The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1895-08-05
At the Close of Benediction in Church
Bolt Came.

Pacific Company, can it be possible that
the present State Board of Equalization
will travel in the Shiny footsteps OF its pre-
decessors and continue to assess railroads
at figures which bear no reasonable ap-
proximation to their actual values, and
thus rob the State and every taxpayer
within of that proportion of its taxes which
the great railrond corporation ought to
pay, but which it never has paid into the
treasury of the State of California? The
State Board of Equalization is in session
to-day. What response will it make to
this array of truth with respect to railroad
valuations and the assessment for the
present fiscal year thereon?
The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1895-08-05

of these three queries to the railroad prop
critics.
What Did the Railroad Cost?
1t is well known fact that the secret of
the actual cost of construction and equip
ment of the railroads built by the big
Four" railroad magnates of California
and now controlled by the Southern Pa
cifc Company, has been kept carefully
concealed from the public eye. What it
actually cost to construct the Central
Pacific railroad to the Nevada State line
probably no one now living knows exactly,
except possibly G. P. Huntington, for the
reason that the books of account of the
old and odorous Contract and Finance
Company" were, in time of peril, oppor-
tunelv destroyed.
The truth with reference to the cost of
the Southern Pacific Railroad Company of
California and of the other lines which. are
operated entirely within California Is
hardly less accessible. The books of the
Western Development Company and of the
Pacific improvement Company are kept
about as closely sealed from public lnspec-
tion as possible. We must therefore ac-
cept the statement of the corporations
themselves as to the cost of their railroad
lines.
In the table which occupies the center
OF this page we have given statement of
the cost of the four principal
Figures ShOaC- railroads controlled and OPP
ing the Cost, Grated by the Southern Pa
Furnis he'd cific Company in California.
by the Rail We have omitted from this
road Com table the Central Pacific Rail-
panies. road, because it passes be-
yond the boundary of the State, and also
because of the difficulty of arriving at the
value, cost and earning capacity of that
portion of it which is within the State of
California. But look at the other four
roads and at their cost as set forth in the
table.
The figures there shown are not drawn
from uncertain sources nor based upon the
wild estimates of anti-railroad cranks.
they are the figures furnished by the rail-
road companies themselves. They are the
estimates of cost furnished year after year
to the State Board of Railroad Commits
sioners and to the Interstate Commerce
Commission and to the stockholders and
bondholders of the railroads by CP. Hunt
ington. 1t is true that these figures were
not furnished for purposes of taxation, but
they are all the more valuable for that rea-
SON. Choose from the table any one of the
The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1895-08-05
FOUND DEAD IN DENVER.
Termination of the Career OF an Actres
Under. Strange Circumstances.

Termination of the Career OF an Actress
Under Strange Circumstances.
DENVER, Colo, Aug. Airs. Carrie
E. Pomeroy. at one time q prominent
actress in San Francisco and other Western
cities, was found dead in bed here to-day
at her room at 1416 Thirteenth street. She
had acted strangely for the past week, and
when called to-day failed to respond. Her
room was broken into and found to have
been securely barricaded with furniture.
Her death is supposed to have resulted
from heart disease, although the Coroner
is making an investigation. Found in her
room were hundreds of dollars worth of
jewelry and fine costumes.
Mrs. Pomeroy, or Carrie Lipsis, as was
her stage name, was decidedly handsome
and about As years of age. She was mar
ried to Seldom Richards in Carson City,
New, in 1882, but was divorced in this city.
Her remains are at the morgue.
The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1895-08-05
Riot IN Rirersfde Park.

WASHINGTON, D. c., Aug. A riot
occurred at Riverside Park, near Mount
Vernon, this afternoon, and as result
Roy Beach and man named Evans are
under doctors care at Alexandria. with
little hopes for their lives. Thomas Brown,
Thomas Downey and three sons and two
brothers by the name of Evans were also
badly punished, but they managed to pro-
cure a boat and set sail for this city. No
arrests have yet been made. The trouble
was the outgrowth of a long standing quar-
rel between the Downeys and the Browns.
The fight created panic among the peo-
pie who were in the park.