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The Herald, 1907-03-22, Page 6[R[NC .aw SHIP LO N TO PIECES Over Fifty Sailors Killed in the Ex- plosion. Blackened dories Were Purled Through the Air. Compressed Air Torpedo Exploded and Magazine Blew Up. A Toulon, France, cable: The ex- plosion of the powder magazine of the battleship Iona in the harbor here to- day completely wrecked the ship and brought death or injury to hundreds of men. The number of casualties is not known, but it is probable that over fifty were killed and possibly three hun- dred or more injured. The Iena was undergoing an inspec- tion of her machinery in the iirst basin ' of the hlissiessy dock when the ex- plosion occurred. The concussion caused by the explosion of a compressed air torpedo set fire to the after powder magazine, blowing the whole after part of the vessel up. There were about 030 officers and men on board at the time of the disaster, but many of them jump- ed into the water. Further explosions on the Iena continued to occur every moment, and debris was sent flying over the dockyard for a distance of 500 yards. The windows of the workshops around the scene of the explosion were all broken. A shell weighing twenty pounds was hurled a quarter of a mile before striking and sinking into the ground. A coinplete panic prevailed among the ' employees of the arsenal who were re- turning to work from hutch when the powder magazine of the Iena, blew up, and •many of them made a rush towards ' the Missiessy dock, whence clouds of thick smoke were rising. No one seem- ed to know what had happened until someone shouted: "The Jena has blown up." An officer then called out "Save your- ; selves,' and all the workmen and others ' made a rush for the nearest exit from the arsenal. Later squads of workmen and sailors approached the scene at the peril of their lives, and as they neared the Iena's dock they could dimly observe through dense smoke human remains flying constantly in the air, following further explosions on the doomed vessel, which prevented a terrifying spectacle and caused the arsenal employees to ' wring their hands with horror. Suddenly blackened forms, with bag - J and eyes, rushed madly through the lines, spectators not knowing where they , were going. The officials declare that the mag- azines of the Iena were completely fill- ' ed with explosives, and that the re- current detonations indicate that they are all on fire: • The number of injured is now known ' to be about three hundred, including many officers, who were seriously burn- ed. It is impossible as yet to estimate 1 -the number of dead. Admiral Manceron ewes among the injured. Many of the screw saved Jremselveebyclimbing down leaden. ':d reaching the quays, whence , they flh to places of safety or to the telegre. ,a offices in Toulon in order to notify their relatives of their aafety. The injured men and officers are being ' transported to the hospitals. A signal ' man of the Iena named Giudicelii, who escaped, says that many members of the crew were gathered in the forepart of the ship listening to a lecture by an officer when the first explosion occur- red. Most of these escaped. Fifty Killed. A Toluon cable: Semi-official fig- ures stated that over 50 of the Tena s crew were killed, 100 seriously injured and 200 slightly wounded. The officials say that these returns are probably under the real numbers. The captain and the first lieutenant are believed to be among the victims. The afterpart of the vessel ie completely destroyed, but no further explosi•one are occur- ring, The Iena is a turret ship of 11,801 tons tlisplaienlent and 16,500 horsepower. The vessel has an armored belt of from 0 to 13 3-4 inches of steel, mounts few: 12 -inch,. eight 6.4- ineb, tight 3-9 inch, sixteen 1.8 inch and about 20 smaller rapid-fire gnus. Tier crew consists of. 631 officers and men. The Iena was the flaglyhip of Rear - .Admiral Memel -en, commanding one of the divisions of the French Mediterran- ean squadron, (Captain F. B. C. Ver - tier was the ehief of staff, and her com- mander was Captain P. .Adigard. 'When the first explosion occurred the Maritime Pr c feet called for six men to open the valves of the dock behind the .Iena. The mon volunteered for the work, Ensign Rousse first tried, and a shell deeapitatcd him. Another .and immedi- ately took his place amid a hail of pro- jectiles. All who took part in the work were injured, but not seriously. The day M. Casimir-Perier was elected President a powder magazine at Toulon blew up, killing 460 persons. His death to -day coincides with Toulon's latest catastrophe. A sailor who escaped. said that when the fiat explosion occurred it was thought by some that the ,Tena had slipped off the blocks and fallen against the dock wall, but the men on deck raised the cry for everybody to save themselves. At the sante moment the second explosion came. There arose. a cry of anguish, and men threw them- selves in every direction. Some jumped overboard and dashed themselves to pieces on the bottom of the dock. Some were hurled against the walls of build - rags. 1 By 6 o'e]ock the fire was almost mas- tered, but it was Borne hours before any :Parch of the wreck was possible. The theory of spontaneous combustion is generally held, as the black powder with which the shells were charged is liable to alterations. The shells were often examined for this reason. The first attempt to let the water irate the dock was unsuccessful. It is reported that the necessary keys could not be round. Toulon has become a city of mourn- ing. The shops are closed, and to -night the theatres gave no performances. Ile Mayor has proclaimed a period of gen- eral mourning. This evening he visited the parents of the baby who was killed. The infant was 800 yards from the ,Jena when it was bit. Commandant Adigard was in the cabin when the explosion occurred. He had ordered aboat to go ashore in, but his cabin was reduced to fragments. Rear -Admiral Maneeron, though wound ed, had to be forcibly tlrevented from re- turning aboard his ship. An officer says that several minutes before the explosion a dynamo worked very irregularly. The basin in which the Iena was lying to be careened was dry, and when; the explosion occuered is became: imperative to flood the dock''tmeo titienelr the fire aboard and prevent further explosions. According to one version of the affair, seven gallant dockyard men, taking their lives in their hands, worked their way, aurid a hail of projectiles, to where the mechanism of the look gates is controlled, and succeeded in opening them and letting in the water. Another report stated' that the keys opening the dock could not be found. and after a vain, frantic search, the warship La Petrie was ordered to open the sluices by bombard- ment. She fired two shots. One was effective. The other flew over the ar- senal, nearly killing a number of distant onlookers. One story describes dishevelled men and women rushing about Toulon calling down imprecations upon the head of the Minister of Marine and the Government, and demanding vengeance. Others be- wailing lost friends, clamored for news at the gates. • While fragments were being burled by. the explosion an official ashore was felled and seriously injured by a human leg, which was driven into his shoulder. Regarding the damage done, the ac- counts are very conflicting. Some de- scribe the dockyard and part of the arsenal as almost wrecked. One says that the dockyard did not suffer seri- ously, and adds that no damage whatever was done to the shipping in the harbor. It is stated that six officers were killed and three wounded. Admiral ll:anceron's injuries are not serious, but he was painfully, :1 gitd t wtt the face and hands. gunrlop ie+ : •. rsaant was wounded. He says that) the iia: c1y of the victims were suffocated l y"thl poisonous furies aris- ing from the eSplosrons. It seems that several evere ca, need by jumpingor by being thxowvrt iron the dryclocic. • They would •he's e btsi't-:tiahlurt had they fallen irate the' wva es FRU (R6NGv A • SERIES ( IMPORTANT MEET- '-INGS llkd:' SZEN ARANGED. . The Organizatt*;;aa of Co-operative Fruit - growers' Associations is to be En- eouraged—The Object of the Work, . Toronto, March-M.—The Ontario De- pertinent of Agriculture, the Ontario li'ruit Groaners' Association, various local and distriet associations, and the Farm- ers' Institutes are at the 'present time co-operating in a very vigorous cam - pan for the furtherance of the fruit - growing, industry, One phase is an ar- rangement for a series of meetings to Promote the organization of co-operative fruit -growers' associations. This work began at Leamingtnn four years ago, and has been followed up with much sue - cess. Already ' there are twenty-eight each associations. The work of these organizations is in part as follows: Pur- chasing of power spraying plants and op- eration of the same in the fight against orchard pests, erection or leasing of packing and storage houses, wholesale purchase of packages, modern packing fruits and the shipping of the combined products of the members of the associ- ation. Messrs. A. E. Sherrington, of Walker vine, Harold Jones. of Maitland, W. D. A. Ross, of Chatham, D. Johnston, of Forest, and Robert Thompson, of St. Catharines, have been appointed by the Ontario Fruit Growers' Association to address the meetings. IS MEIN CANADA? SCHOOL TEACHER IN NOTTINGHAM, ENGLAND, DISAPPEARS. Miss Margaret Neal Leaves Her Lodgings 'a Few Hours After Former Lover Sailed From Liverpool for This Country—No Trace of Her Since. London, March 18.—No trace has yet been discovered of Mies Margaret Bea- trice Neal, the Nottingham school teach- er, who vanished mysteriously from her home a month ago. Her relatives, however, now express the fear- that a late affair may have preyed upon 'he girl's mind, `rand that this was the, eeuse' of leer disappear- ance. t Several yews ago Miss Neal became engaged to a young man in Nottingham, who a few months later left..;for Can- ada. For some tune a regular corres- pondence was carried on between them, but eventually, it is said, the young man ceased writing, stating as an ex- cuse that his prospects precluded the idea of marriage. Last Christmas he returned to Nottingham on a visit to his relatives, but it rs said that he took no steps to renew the fernier friendship with Miss Neal, and thatshe was a good deal troubled in consequenee. On February 8 he left Liverpool for Canada, and several hours. after the ves- sel in which he sailed left port Miss Neal disappcared from her apartments. It seems that for some days previously she had been unusually: quiet and reti- eent at home. On the day of her disappearance she came down from her bedroom about 6 o'clock attired in the coat, dress and hat she bad worn at school, and remark- ed casually to the landlady, "Olt, Mrs. Case. I have got an appointment," Tak ing the latch -key,. she went out, leaving. however, her valuables behind, Since then all trace of her is lost. In an interview, a relative of the rniss ing girl said that her friends did not think she hada gone to Canada. In their opinion, had she intended:. following her former lover by the next liner there would have been. no necessity for secrecy nor far such' st hurried departure. Your 4. Grandsons Will 1>13e ld Men Before This "Oshawa" Roof Wears u t ovieliisteala anstetelate Roof your buildings with " Oshawa " Galvanized Steel Shingles this year: and that will be a GOOD roof in 2007. We will give you a written guarantee'backed by ;250,000, „.that such a roof properly put on, will reed. no repairs and no painting for at leas, twenty-five years. 4 sxs 9t-Eliv nixed ,STEEL. make roofs water -tight, wind -proof, weather-proof, rust -proof, fire -proof for a century, --oder plain guarantee keeps it so for 25 years without a cent of cost to the main who buys it.; Made In ONE QUALITY ' ONLY, ---of 28 i e,e. send -hardened STEEL doubie-dalvanized The " r,"" They lock on all ]FUR sides -the ONLY METAL shingle that need NO CLEATS. Easy to put on—a ham - a al7 • before aver and a snips (timers' shears) are tools enough. Coat . ,. yott roof LESS and last longer than any other roof. Tell `us the ^ a thin surface area of any roof on our place and we will piewill, tell you exactly what it Wil cost to roof it right. 1. Got the -facts Seeetis el Toronto Ottawa LondonWinneseyeo Vence:seer 140.5 rawest. Vl. AA, Colborne St. 425 Sussex 0t rids Dandso Fat. i6 Lmntiutcl Se: Ponder 99, 192 %A,.7J•',.1a.4nd.klN+�1:',:d�a. 1 lbJ, p��j kaki Vn STOLE JEWELS ME MTGE. ALLEGED CLEVER TRICK 0i' LORD W. B. NEVILL. Exchanged Box Containing Jewelry With Box Containing Pieces of .Coal --A Lord With a History Was Re- manded on Bail, London, March 18,— Lord William Beauchamp Neville, fourth son of the Marquis of Abergavenny, is again in the hands of the authorities and to -day was rernanded at a. pollee court charged with stealing jewelry by means of •a triek. Lord Neville was sentenced to five years penal servitude at the Old Bailey on Feb. 15, 1898, for fraud in connection with a promissory note. the prosecutor being Capt, Spencer Clay, who in 1904, married Pauline, daughter of William Waldorf Astor. In the present case Lord Nevill is charged with stealing a box containing $2,000 worth of pearls and diamonds jewelry by exchanging it for a similar box apparently containing the jewels but which when opened was found to contain two pieces of coal wrapped in tissue paper. According to the testimony Lord Nevill powned articles of jewelry at different tunes and subsequently re- quested the pawnbroker to bring the jew- els to his house with a new contract cov- ering all the transactions. After the con- tract had been signed Lord Nevill pro- duced a green leather box in which the pawnbroker placed the jewels tied up and sealed the box. Lord Nevill then di- verted the pawnbroker's attention to a bureau in another part of the room. The man turned away for a moment to ex- amine the bureau and Lord Nevill crhort- ly afterwards joined his visitor and land- ed hien a box which the pawnbroker sup- posed contained the jewelry. On examin- ing a couple of months later, however, he found that it had been changed :while his back was turned. Lord Nee -ill wasre- manded in $25.000 bail. FIFTY -TON ICICLE. KILLED CONDUCTOR AND WRECKED A GORGE CAR. Six Passengers Also Injured—Huge Blocks of Ice Crashed Down While Crew Was Clearing Obstruction From the Track. A Niagara Falls despatch:. With a roar like thunder fifty tons of ice broke loose, from the cliff of the Niagara Gorge to -day and plunged down on the tracks of the Gorge Railway, wrecking a passenger car, killing Conductor Men - ser, and injuring Motorman Hyatt on the head, and six passengers. The acci- dent occurred near the Cantilever bridge. The car nae dome up the Gorge line from Lewiston, and was about to ascend the grade to the city, when a switch was found to be obstructed with ice, and both conductor and motorman got off to clear it away. Just then the great mass of ice hanging far above them broke loose, having been weakened by the warm weather and rain. Motorman Hyatt heard it corning and shouted and ran. Chunks of ice crashed al] around him, and he was struck and knocked down three times. Conductor Menzer was caught under the avalanche and in- stantly killed; his skull being crushed and his body buried in .the pile of ice. The ice went through roof and win- dows into both passenger compartments of the car, and injured six passengers, though none of the injuries - were ser- ious. The crew are Canadians. Menzer leaves a widow, formerly Miss Drew, of Chippewa, and three small children. MAKING A PEERESS. LORD ABERDARE DETERMINED TO ENNOBLE CAMILLE CLIFFORD. Costly Search for Photographs in Which His Daughter-in-law Appears Among Maid -servants and in Maid -servant's Rress—Outlay of Over $r25,000. New York, March 18.—The last mail leaving New Forks for England carried a registered package, for which Lord. Aberdafe of Duffryn is anxiously wait- ing in London. It contains a photo- graph of fourteen young women in the neat house liveries of upstairs servants in fashionable homes. The picture was taken in a picturesque spot in the Maine woods, Also, in a chamois jewel bag, are the broken bits of • the negative from which the photograph was printed. Possessing no intrinsic value, the con- tents of this package represent an out- lay of between $125,000 and $150,000 by Lord Aberdare in one of the most thor- ough and remarkable searches ever un- dertaken by the Pinkerton Detective Agency, which was concluded only a few days ago by the recovery of the plate and the photograph, the ]est of four- teen prints made from the negative. One of the young women in servant's livery in the group is Camille Clifford, the actress and co-star with Edna May in the London production of "The Belle of. Mayfair," whose romantic mar- riage to Henry Lyndhurst Bruce, only soof Lord Aberdare, created a' great stir in society in England only a short while ago. Lorcl Aberdare had at firstabsolutely 'refused to recognize his son's bride, but after his first burst of auger he began to take an, interest In hie daughter-in- law, and as Ibe Gould not disinherit Tats son, he not only forgave the couple, but • entered upon a. determined campaign to establish a social status for the future Lady of Duffryn. Lord Aberdare an- nounced that he had, found that she was the daughter of a Noble soldier of for- tune who had been banished from his own country, and had taken his child with hire in his fligot. Then the young woanan confessed to her father-in-law that she had: been a servant in a fashionable household in Boston, and. that while in the Maine woods she had formed one of a group of maid servants whose photograph had been taken by an itinerant photograph- er. She gave into the possession of Lord Aberdare the copy of the photograph that she had preserved. There were thir- teen ethers in existence, she said, as each one of the group had bought a copy at. $1 each. Lord Aberdare forwarded a copy of the photograph to the Pinkerton Detec- tive Agency with the sweeping commis- sion to find the thirteen other prints of tie? plate and the plate itself, and to de- stroy the plite immediately it came in- to possessiee of the detectives and send hien the bits. '.l'he work has been faith- fully done, but at the very last the se- cret leaked out. a+m TSE THAW TRIAL. JAMES C. SMITH AND ABE HUMMEL TESTIFY. The Case Nearing an End—Miss May Mackenzie and Miss Mazie Follette May be Witnesses—Trial Adjourned. Till To -morrow. New York, March 18.—At last the end of the Thaw case seems to be in sight. The prosecution has practically finish- ed its rebuttal with the exception of its experts and by to -night District Attor- ney Jerome will have examined all of his witnesses, except the three or more al- ienists, who wall be called to show by their answers to a hypothetical question that in their opinion harry Thaw was sane when he shot Sanford White. This morning Mr. Jerome wilt call Abraham Hummel and his clerk, in an attempt to secure the admission in evi- dence of a copy of the affidavit mak- ing charges against Thaw, which Evelyn Nesbit Thaw says she was tricked into signing. *lay MacKenzie, Evelyn Thaw's chorus girl friend, and Mazie Follette, her chorus girl enemy, are both under sub- poena by the prosecution, and both of thein were at the court building yestea-- day, but it is doubtful if either of them will be called. James Clinch Smith, Stanford White's brother-in-law, was called again as a witness in the Thaw trial this morning. Mn Smith was late in arriving and Mr. Jerome summoned Abraham Hummel to the stand. Hummel had scarcely taken his sea.t when Smith put in his appear- ance. Therefore Hummel was temporar- ily excused and Smith took his place. Hummel had answered two questfons put to him by the District Attorney. He said he knew Evelyn Nesbit Thaw and saw her in the office on October 27,1903, following her return from Europe. Mr. Smith was questioned by Mr. Del - mos for the defence, having been recall- ed to testify es to the cablegram he re- ceived from District Attorney Jerome early in February, sununoning him to return to this country. Mr. Smith said he did not have zither the original of the cablegram or a copy. Mr. Jerome offered a letter press copy but Mr. Delmas refused to accept this. Mr. Smith said he returned on Febru- ary 17 last, and met Assistant District Attorney Garvan on the 19th. Mr. Smith said he had reduced to writing his con- versation with Thaw on the Madison Square roof garden and had showed, the - memoranda to his counsel and to Mr. Garvan. They both said it was good.. Mr. Smith was excused and . brads: ce Hummel once more took the stand. "Did you, after a conversation welt Evelyn Nesbit, on October 27, dictate - something to a stenographer," asked Mr. Jerome. Mr. Delmas objected that tie was not in rebuttal of any testimony offered by the defence, but. was overruled. "Yes," answered the Witness. DM Mrs. Thaw tell you that Thaw wanted to injure White and put hum in the penitentiary and that Thaw had beg- ged her tune and Crime again to swear documents he had. prepared, involving- White and charging that he had drugged, and ruined her, and that Thaw had beat- en her because elm would, net sign the - papers?" asked Mr. Jerome. Mr. Delmas interposed to ask Hum- mel if at the time of the conversatiote with Miss Nesbit he was acting as her legal advisor and attorney. "I was acting only for Stanfordr White," rep]ied the witness. "DM you not contemplate some ac- tion in Miss Nesbit's behalf?" "No, there was no legal action contem- plated so far as she was concerned.". "There was no communication between, you and Miss Nesbit, as counsel and cli- ent?" "None." 44 LAZIEST MAN REPENTS. Twenty-nine Years in Bed, He Says He 'Will Now Hustle About. Belfast, March 18. --+he Irishman, 'Thomp- son. of Lurgan, who spent 29', ✓nears in bat., and who has earned the distinction of beim the laziest man. on earth," has repontedt and declares be will "sleep no more, 13e rose from : his couch a fortnight aqa when his mother, his sole attendant, was ro- niove,d to the workhouse infirmary. Ito re- fused to 'wane to the infirmary, and had to be taken on the ambulance. Iio walked haei hawewer, and the ,eight of the fields andtree9'anduthb busy world cern- d pietely ehahgod hfs' mind. He dY-eolarea be. will now make aitleltds.fer lilt miss5eat.life,.. and Wait ,gV ;4n k esk no Moro.