The morning call., 1895-01-08
THE CORRIDORS

"While travelling through Southwestern Kan
sas some months ago came across an interest
lug memento of the late Senator Plumb OF Kan
sas," said Joseph ID. Long, ST. Louis paper
house repres NATIVE, at the Palace Sunday.
sit was an old-fashloned handpress for print
ing office, and it had been taken out to Lake
City years ago at the time all the towns IN that
portion OF the State were on boom, and the
residents of each believed hey inhabited what
was destined to be populous city. The press
had been bought by gentleman named Lake,
after whom he town was named, who started
a paper to further his interests, and il wa.
with no little curiosity that / examined it.
Some years ago, when 1 was in Washington, 1
had conversation with the Senator In which
this press was incidentally mentioned by him,
and he stated at the time that il he knew OF ITS
Whereabouts he would buy 1t and keep it
as a reminder Of his early-day expert
epceS In the State. The press was single
page affair of the old Washington style, and on
the handle near the inside were the initials
'P. B. p worked with knife. Senator Plumb
worked this press while he was printer. and
upon it was printed accounts OF some OF the
most stirring times In the history OF Kansas
He told me that 10 those days 1t was customary
10 keep box OF tobacco and several pipes
laying on the press for the accommodation OF
subscribers and others who daily dropped In
to exchange news and gossip, and that the
primitive mechanical device was looked upon
as one OF the most wonderful of Inventions.
The press. when 1 saw 1t, had not been used
for several years. and upon its bed was still
standing the type which printed fulsome
account OF various extensive improvements
which were about to be made In the town in
which 1t was in use, but which, unfortunately,
never materializeu as was evidenced by the
Df01nlyf dNcaV u0tiCe2hl6
about the town on every hand"
Takaaki Kato, Envoy Extraordinary and
Minister Plenipolentiary from Japan to Great
Britain, who arrived by the steamer China,
left the Palace last evening and started on his
trip East Minister Kato claims that the re-
ports OF Japanese cruelty TO the Chinese at the
battle OF Port Arthur. as published In the New
York World ana other papers, were greatly
exaggerated and have tendency to impair the
good name OF Japan. 'sThe Chinese soldiers"
said he. ''are not accustomed to giving quarter
In battie ana are educated In the Dellef that
none will be extended them If they are cap
tured. They are very ignorant class and
have no means OF ascfrt aiming how their COM
rades who are captured are treated outside OF
what Is told them by their superiors. When
Port Arthur was captured hundreds OF Chinese
soldiers threw of their outer garments, or uni
tNisnSs oho tbuo iuduC tuC hoS'fN "'HhVSU
indistinguisbable from ordinary citizens. They
sought shelter in houses and fred upon our men
when they entered the town, aud OF course
met with the punishment which Is always
melted out to persons guilty Of such murderous
practices. Nearly all private ctiz MS in Port
Arthur escaped. and it Is not true that many OF
them were killed The undergarments and
boots OF the dead proved their identity. The
brutality of the Chinese was something terrible.
Japanese soldiers were crucified, burned, dis
emboweled and otherwise horribly maltreated.
and their comrades saw many evidences OF
this work on the march to Port Arthur. II
may be readily perceived that they were not In
very amlable frame of mind when that place
Tell, and possibly some of their actions were OF
reprehensible nature. but the wholesale
outchery charged against them IS absolutely
untrue. just before left saw many Chinese
prisoners on the way to Toxic, and they could
not have been better treated than they were."
George T. Hurd of Lincoln, Nebr., gentle
man who is largely interested In land aud va
rious enterprises in that State, was at The Occi-
den al yesterday. he says that the public out
side OF the State has been afforded but frag-
mentary account of the actual destitntion and
suffering experienced by the settlers in the In
terror portion. when l say that the corn crop
In eight or ten OF the border COMMITTEES was a
failure do not mean that It was partially so.
out thas II was absolute. The stalks did not