Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1905-08-15


thrown open to the public this morning.
Tonight will be the presidents reception
given under the auspices of the local
forists club. A barbecue and lawn fete
will be held on LOeffler's lawn near the
outskirts of the city. The lawn has been
decorated with all the graces of hori-
culture.
An important step in the pending in
vestigatiOn of refrigerator lines and their
practice was taken by the Interstate
Commerce Commission today when it
ordered tie defendant railroad and re-
frigerator lines in six complaints to make
answer to same on or before September
; and to submit in connection schedules
showing The charges for the refrigeration
of fruits and vegetables en- route. The
investigation purposes TO develop
whether or not the charges are reasona-
bic and Just (which the railroads failed to
make public the rates for refrigeraiors;
whether these charges are really dis
examinations and preferences, one shipper
being held to higher rates than other
shippers. All these points are made in
the pending charges. The charges IN
yolve refrigeration from California 10
Missouri river points, from the South
TO the East, and through a number of
southern states.
General Oswald H. Ernst, member of
the Panama canal commission, who &C
companied Chairman Shonts on his re-
cent trip to the isthmus, said this morn
ing that probably a year will elapse be-
fore the "di,t will begin to fly" to use
the expression employed by Mr.. Shontz.
'If any criticism is to be made of the
policy so far used in the canal work,
he said, 'fit is a premature effort to be-
gin the digging. There is almost
years work ahead in preparing habita-
lions and Accommodations of all kinds for
20, 900 men. A city is to be built,
stretched over AZ miles of tropical cOun-
try There must be houses, hospitals,
traffic Accommodations, docks, cold storage
plants, sewerage systems and other in
situations established before the proper
force of men can be put to work actually
excavating the canal" The resignation
of w. E. Dauchy, engineer in charge nf
the Culebra division, came as no surprise
to Mr.. Shonts and the other members of
the commission. Mr.. Shonts will re-
main in New York for a day or two at
tending to Panama railroad affairs.
The board of consulting engineers, conf
posed of foreign and American experts,
will meet in this city about September /.
Chairman ShOnts aud the members OF
the commission now in the United States
will make another trip TO Panama abont
the first of October. The consulting
engineers will be invited to accompany
them.
The local grand jury which is investi-
eating the cotton leak scandal OF the De-
partment of Agriculture this morning
resumed its hearings of the testimony
after a two weeks vacation, which was
taken on advice of District Attorney
Beach in the hope that former Statisti-
clan John Hyde, who is now in Europe,
would return in time to appear before
that body. The District Attorney, how
ever, has now given up hope that Mr..
HYDE will return in time to be of service
in the investigation. G. Z. Clarke,
chief clerk OF the Bureau of Statistics,
gave testimony from numerous records
of the bureau. Mr. Lewis Mercer, form
erly associated with Frederick A. Peck
ham and Mrs. Peckham in the New
York cotton manipulations, was aslo
witness.
It was admitted at the War Depart
meut today that charges against Capt.
Taggart, who is suing his wife for d.
vorce at Wooster, Ohio, have been pend
ing since April, and that charges pre-
ierred year ago against Gen. Miles
have been dismissed by the chief OF staff.
Miner is the complainant against Tag
CART. Taggart was the complainant
against Miner. at is against the rule
of the War Department to give out the
nature of these charges" said Military
Secretary Ainsworth today. Nothing
will be said about them, unless they
come out in the trial. The charge
against General Miner was considered
and no further action was deemed neces-
sary."
The authorities on the isthmus have report
ed no additional eases Of yellow fever IN four
days. During that period there have been
three recOveries.