The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1903-06-17

FRIGHTENED
Government to Determine the
Value of the SEMINOLE Land.
.CRANEY ISLAND USELESS
Turned Over to the City Of Norfolk for
Sanitary Purposes, but the City
Does Not Provide Necessary
Means to Keep It Up.
lsneclnl to rhe Times .plsrn1ch. ]

Especial to The Times. Disparch.)
NORFOLK, VA, June 16.-Burglars
were frightened away last night by thei,
own noise. This morning the office and
safe of the Acme overall factory, III
Portsmouth, showed that burglars had
attempted robbery last night. Holes had
been drilled in the safe and explosion OF
dynamite had twisted the lock. The
tools were lying about but the safe was
not opened.
The robbers had doubtless been fright
ened ut the explosion and fled. The
money and valuables In the safe were
not touched.
HARD no DISAPPEAR.
Tho ship carpenter Aaron Kendall,
for whom his daughter injured through,
the newspapers, was heard from this
morning. He Is at work for Captain
Hewitt, at North Landing, back of Berk-
ley. The publication in the newspapers
rarely fails to find a man who has dis
appeared The recent finding OF tho
preacher who came hero from New York
Is demonstration that q man can't well
disappear, even when he wishes to do so.
LAND CONDEMNATION.
Witnesses are being summoned to tes.
tify in the Schomle land condemnation
case. Deputy Marshal West is In Ports
mouth and vicinity to-day with papers
calling for tho appearance of twenty.
five or more witnesses who are called
by the government to testify. The award
for the land by the commissioners seve-
raj months ago was s57,. 900 for 272 acres.
Tho government considers that too high
and has instituted proceedings to have
the value Of the land determined and de-
creased by jury. The Jury is called
and Judge Waddill has set the trial Of
tho case for Thursday.
The land Is valuable because OF the
long water front along the deep water
OF the southern branch OF the Elizabeth
River. But the land has been idle for
a long time and the government was adj
vised by letters from here that the award
was too high, and acting on that infor-
nation the Attorney General asked that
tho award be set aside and a jury trial
be allowed for the determination OF the
value
The land adjoins the navy yard and Is
been determined on for the yard and for
the new anchorage and dry-docks con-
templatcd there.
CRANEY ISLAND USELESS.
Craney Island is useless at present for
sanitary purposes. Permission was OBJ.
tanned from the government to use the
island for hospital purposes after great
deal Of effort by former Mayor Johnson,
but 1t has been used but little, because
OF tne COSL VI IIIdiuldllllIlS lHe lioSpitai
there Meantime the recent act of the
forbids the maintenance of
the pest-house in the district where the.
residents are. and consequently the city
will be compelled to abandon the present
site on CRANKY Street. and to raze the
buildings there, which were used for
patients, mostly negroes. having con-
taglous diseases. The cases of smallpox
have always been imported. There are
none here now. but the sanitary officers
say that negro is likely to walk into
the city at any time with well-defined
symptoms Of the loathsome disease. In
such an event the sanitary officers arc
in a quandry. Craney Island Is an
admirable place for a hospital for conta-
gious diseases, because 1t Is isolated and
healthful but the city councils have not
provided a boat and an appropriation
sufficient for the uso OF the island for
that purpose. The result is that the city
has no place for isolating patients who
have infectious diseases. But there are
no such patients.
TO CRIPPLE TERRYBOAT.
John J. Townsend, an engineer in the
employ of the lessees of the Norfolk
and Portsmouth ferries makes the charge
that c. a. Buck attempted to induce the
frcmcn OF the ferry steamer 1Ilizabeth
to tamper with the machinery In such
manner that the boat might be wrecked
at her dock while attempting to make a
landing. had the plan been put into effect
It was stated at the office Of tho in
spcctors this morning that the plan was
to have portion OF the machinery
known az the "tell-tale," an attachment
which shows the position of the crank
and which Is of great Importance, so
fixed that 1t would fall to perform Its
functions. At the Same time the plan. It
is charged, was to have the electric
lighting apparatus of the vessel fail. This
would have rendered 1t most hazardous
to the people aboard tile ferryboat. which
very probably would have been crowded
at the time. The vessel. which would
have been practically beyond control.
might then have crashed into her dock
and sunk. with perhaps great loss of life.
Preparations for the investigation have
been completed.