Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1906-01-12
Straps aud faets.

sufficient troops to protect American
interests in all parts Of the empire
and too, at the same time, leave a
strong enough force in the islands to
keep charge of the station there.
The annoyance caused by Ad-
miral Rojestvensky's declaration
that a British squadron was in read
iness at Wei-hai-wei to blow his
fleet off the sea If Admiral Togo
failed to destroy it," has been turned
to laughter in London. The Times
reveals the fact that while Admiral
Togo was sinking the Russian fleet
the British squadron at Wei-hai-wei
consisted of one second class cruiser
and one despatch boat. There was
another second class cruiser at Shang-
hal but no other warship nearer than
Hongkong. Perhaps the British
navy" writes one commentator,
never had a greater compliment
paid to 1t than the suggestion that
one second class cruiser and a des-
patch boat could even have contem-
plated annihilating Russia's naval
might"
We read of call money going to
100 per cent or even more on the
New York stock exchange and in an
hour dropping back to per cent
and even to a lower rate. An expla-
nation Of this condition, which Is CAL
culated to puzzle the uninitiated, Is
found in the Birmingham Age-Her-
aid. The money is as a rule held
only a day or two at that high rate
of interest AS soon as the rate rails
to normal the trader borrows money
and liouidates the loan made under
nressure. If he holds a borrowed
million two days he pays but SS'-
554 interest, and this he prefers 10
do rather than sell the stock he is
carrying. II he borrows but $780,
600. at 100 per cent 1t costs him but
s277 a day. He prefers to pay two
days interest at 100 per cent on a
demand loan, than to take money Tor
90 days at per cent. The former
the latter must run its full course.
Thus it appears that the rate is not
So exorbitant as 1t seems from the
figures. 1t Is, however, out or rea-
son. lust the same, when it goes to-
100 per cent.
When the convention Of divorce
reformers meets in Washington on
February 18th, for the purpose OF
petitioning congress to enact a uni
form divorce law, says a correspond
ent, South Carolina will be conspic-
uous by its absence. More than
thirty states have already signified
their intention of sending delegates
to the convention, and there is con-
siderable discussion going on as TO
the wisdom Of Governor Hayward In
declining to appoint representatives.
1t Is said by those interested in the
meeting that the question Of whether
South Carolina has a divorce law or
not should not have kept her gov
ernor from sending delegates to a
convention which Is to meet for pub
lie good. The commission which was
appointed by Governor Pennypacker'
of PENNSYLVANIA, to codify the di-
yorce laws Of that state and to ar
range for the Washington meeting
says that practically every state in
the Union, with the exception or
South Carolina will have delegates
present at the convention. Governor
Hayward has recently written the
commission that inasmuch as South
Carolina has no divorce laws, 1t Will
be unnecessary for his state to be
represented in the convention.
Among the delegates to attend the
meeting are bishops and other men
high in church life.
Washington, January 9: Strip
ped to the skin and without keys
tools or mechanism Of any sort, so
far as his watchers could discover,
Harry Houdini, who calls himself
the professional prison breaker and
handcuff king, yesterday freed him.
self from the cell at the district jail
in which Charles ]. Guiteau, the as
sassin of President Garfield, was con-
fined, in two minutes after he had
been locked in it. Fastening along
the corridor of the Jail, he tempo
rarily released from their places Of
confinement two condemned MUIR
derers, four other prisoners under
Indictment for murder and two no
torious criminals, and then as quick
ly unlocked other cells and reincar-
cerated the prisoners. So successful
was Houdinrs operations that War
den Harris gave him a written GER
tificate setting forth the fact that
stripped stark naked, he had been
locked in a cell and escaped, liber-
ated eight prisoners and relocked
them in other cells; had entered a
locked cell in which was his clothing,
dressed himself and reappeared be-
fore the bewildered guards in just
twenty-one minutes. Houdini sought
to make his escape from Guiteau's
cell for the reason that IT is supposed
to be the strongest of any in the Jail.
Houdini also made a test Of the cells
at the police stations, picking TWO
locks and dressing himself in twenty
six minutes. His performance has
started the local officials to thinking
and planning to provide secure locks.
New railway legislation, differing
from the rate-making project. says a
Washington dispatch, has been dis
cussed in private by congressman
during the past week or so. Two
laws are under consideration. One of
them relates to the railway charges
for transporting passengers and the
other has to do with the heavy eX-
pense to which the government is put
for carrying the mails. 1t is prOba-
BILE that when the railroad rate regu-
lation bill is reported to the house it
may contain a provision that the
maximum fare to be charged for pas
sengers on all railroads east of the
Mississippi river shall be two cents
MI hnc