Woodruff County news., 1902-02-20

casualties for the week ending February 10 of 69 Boers killed, IF wounded, 57 surrendered and 574 taken prisoners. The British cap- tured 480 rifles, one pom pom, and the usual grist of munitions and live stock.
 The Panay scouts, under com mand/ of Capt. Walker, in an en- gagement in the island of Samar, P. l., recently captured seven rifles and numerous bolos, killed a num- Der of Filipinos, and also killed the officer in command, who was a mo- torious renegade, named Winfrey, a deserter from the Forty-third regi- ment, whom the American troops had for months been endeavoring to capture. A man named Long, who deserted with Winfrey, is still with the Filipinos.
 A decision of considerable import ance to cattle commission dealers has been made by the Kansas City court of appeals. The court decides that commission dealers can not be compelled to pay for stolen cattle which they may have sold. It is claimed hundreds of head of cattle are stolen and shipped to commis- sion men in the large cities, who sell the stock and turn the pro- ceeds over to the thieves. The court held that as the commission men have no way of finding out when they are being imposed upon, they should not be held liable to the owner.
 As a result of a battle between moonshiners and officers near Mid dlesboro, Ky, five men are dead and three seriously wounded. The fight took place at what is known as a Quarter house" where illicit liquors is sold. Fifteen officers went to arrest the proprietor, who re- ceived warning and summoned a number of his friends, who, forti- fled in the house, fired on the posse when they came in range. The bat tie ragged for several hours, when a torch was applied to the house. Several of the mountaineers, under heavy fire, made break, and the three leaders escaped. The dead are: Charley Cecil, deputy sheriff, Mike Welch, Frank Johnson, Perry Watson and Jeff Prader, mountain eers.
 Secretary Root has rendered a decision on an interesting question raised by Gen. Chaffee, commanding the military forces in the Philip pines. It appears that in many in- stances in the establishment of civil government in the provinces army officers who have been administering semi-civil functions have been elect ed to office by the natives. In relat- ing these facts to the secretary of war Gen. Chaffee inquired if the statutes of the United States prohib- iting army officers from holding civil positions in the United States, ex- cept in certain specified cases, will be applicable to civil officers in the Philippines under existing condi- tions. Secretary Root cabled Gen. Chaffee that the war department does not consider the statutes in question as applying to such cases in the Philippines.
 Fire at St. Louis on the 9th which destroyed the Empire hotel, occupied by men exclusively, caused the death of ten men and one woman and dan gerously injuring eight people. The fire started at 3:30 a. m., and the building was almost enveloped be- fore the lodgers were awakened. Fol lowing is a list of the dead: Morris Yall, of Chicago, burned to crisp; Tobe Davis, man about town, suff- cated; John c. Lueders, skull frac- tured in jumping from third-story window; George Thompson, switch man, burned to death; Sarah Har- ris, colored, chambermaid, burned;