NEWS BY MAIL

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LII, Issue 175, 28 August 1909, Page 3

NEWS BY MAIL

FAULTS OF WOMAN, New -York, July 8. Professor Willett is the uucsi member of the faculty ol the Lniversity of Chicago to indulge 111 diatnucs against women—both niouern and ancient. His aiwc'ii is causing widespread indignation. ilu says : "IVomen are responsible Jo.- oppression ot tiic poor, n/iMCs* apecUiiiLion, and religious unueliei. "Women of the Old Testament days did not duier lrom weir twentieth century sisters. Read the books o»f Amos and liosca. I'i i» likc perusing a pre-sent-day document. If 10 women of those times encouruged ilicir husbands to obtain money dishonestly ; they envied their wealthier ncighuours, and urged I their husbands to obtain money regard I less of the means. I "Female extravagances and social desires iwve driven men to commit almost every known crime." FIGHT WITH CON VICTS. . St. Petersburg, July 1. The attempt at canape juai made by a number of convicts 111 ihe Government prison at Vilma was a most desperate alLiiir. A warder entered a cell at 7..J0 a.m., when four prisoners ni&Jied at liini, ami one of them cut his iln\.at with a Knife. They took his keys and revolver and proceeded to release four other convicts' irom a neighbouring cell. The eight prisoners then dashed along the main corridor and attacked and killed two warders who attempted to stop 1 them cutting their tnroats and taking their revolvers. On reaching the courtyard they shot down a warder who was stationed there, and started climbing the prison wall. The sentinel at the gate opened fire on them with his carbiue, killing one of them 011 the spot and severely wounding another. The survivors got clear 01 ode prison and ran out into the streets. Two of them attacked with daggers' the first policeman they met, and inflicted mortal wounds upon him in the 7ieck and throat. A short distance further on a second policeman drew his sword and ordered tlieni to stop. A furious light ensued, as the result of which the policeman cut down two of the convicts, one with a sliis'h across the head and the other with a blow which almost severed the ' arm at the elbow. Both convicts were killed, the first falling at the policeman's feet, and the second expiring ill the courtyard of a neighbouring house to which he just managed to stagger. The remaining four refugees, pursued by a strong force of warders, police and ' soldiers, sped along a river bank. One 1 of them soon became exhausted and nought to conceal himself in a private ' house near by, but was discovered by' 1 the pursuers and shot. The three others 1 espied a number of workmen bathing in i ' the river, and they hastily threw oil* their prison garb and attired themselves in the clothes they found on the bank. I By the time the change was effected ! tlieir pursuers were almost on them. The convicts continued their ilight, making a brief halt in some brus'hwood, and endeavouring to hold their pursuers at bay with their revolver lire. They wounded a warder, but one of their own number was killed by the hot fire which poured into the bushes. The last two convicts fled further into the woods, which were accordingly surrounded by a cordon of -troops, firing was renewed, ana one of tae convicts was badly wounded. .Utilising that he had no chance of escape he cut his throat and died. His companion succeeded in eluding ' the vigilance of the cordon, and has not yet been recaptured. BATTLE BEHIND BAGS OF GOLD. 1 Madrid, July 4. A nightwatehman who entrenched * himself in the underground strong room * of the national pawnshop kept the cn- * tire police force of Madrid at bay last J night. He ended the siege at five ? o'clock this morning by committing suieide.

The watchman, whose name was Jose Navarro, quarrelled with another watchman named Thomas (Jomez last night, and mortally wounded him. Navarro ttien took refuge in the strong room of the pawnshop, where ten rifles and 2000 cartridges arc kept for the us'e of £he nightwatehmen who guard the building. The floor of the strong room was opened, Navarro piled bags of gold and packages of valuable articles in front, and fired at his pursuers from behind this barricade, When the other watchman hurried into the basement, accompanied by the governor of the institution and a score of police Navarro greeted them with a succession of shots. I

I .The police and watchmen returned the , fire, and .the continuous fusiladc s'oon i attracted 'a large crowd. Additional ' police were summoned, until the streets around the pawnshop, which is in the ; heart of Madrid, were filled with them. Navarro ignored all commands to surrender. At last the police sent for his sister and his sweetheart, but they too, failed to move him or elicit any reply) save more shots. At one o'clock in the morning the governor ordered the electric light wires' to be cut, and the strong room ,was in darkness. Navarro continued to fire blindly. At four o'clock he realised that prolonged resistance was useless. The police, who were entrenched in other parts of the basement, heard Vavarro stumbling over his barricade. Then he threw a handful of gold and silver coins in the direction of the besieging force, shouting as he did so, 'This is for my requiem mass. Let us nave done with the furec."

Then two reports were heard. The, police waited for an hour in silence, and then Navarro's brother made his way to thp open door of the strong room. He found the dead body of the watchman lying at the foot of the barricade.

£60,000 A YEAR. Paris, July fi. Sisrnor Caruso, who is staying in Paris until he crosses to England for lvis concert tour, is very angry about the publicity which has been given to the recent condition of his throat.

He declares that it has done him a great deal of harm, and that he is vow worried and unhappy. "People envy uie without realising ;pv troubles." he told an interviewer to day. "I make a lot of money, but I : lore a irreat deal every time 1 cannot sing. The public never thinkn of that." -But you pre not a poor man?" asked ihe interviewer. i

Caruso shrugged his shoulders. a T don't do badly. I make about CftO.floo n year, but that won't last for ever. H| may last five more years. Yes; I have! signed a fresh engagement for three' yeans, making five year> altogether, villi the management of the Manhattan, Opera iu New York. I am to get CoOO :< night, which, after all, is a very re.i-' sonablu sum. ; "i:i the autumn, before I go to thei ['niied States, 1 am going to sing *n (Jermany, and I have also signed for Monte Carlo in IJII2. But in these places 1 am, of course, going to be paid."

1 "JACK THE CLIPPER." London, July n. A uew terror who makes a specially uf ruining women's clothes has r peared, in the West End. In the past there have been:— Jack the Inkman, «no spoiled dresses with the aid of ink and a syringe. The Green Paint Fiend, who substituted green paint for ink. Jack the Slasher, who cut holes in costumes with a razor. Th ( > Demon llaircnttcr; who made :t collection of plaits of hair. To this gallerv haw now been added

Jnek the Clipper, who cuts oil' the 1 ails of women's coats 011 the tops of omnibuses.

It was alleged at the Marlborough Street Police Court yesterday th.it Jack the Clipper is Secondo Ravera, an Italian kitchen porter living in Shaftesbury Avenue.

Mrs. Marguerite Coles, of High Btreet, Camden Town, said she was on un omnibus in Regent Street at eleven o'clock on Sunday ni{?ht, and Ravera was fitting behind her.

"Another man called my attention j to Ravera by asking. 'Do von know, wliat this man is doing to yonrj roatV'" she stated. 1, 1 then found] that one of the tails of my coat had, heen almost cut off.'' (

Luigi Camnuia. a waiter, said hoi saw Itovera attempting to t"'t the coat, and warned "Mrs. Coles. " Vour pieces of material which had j t-videntlv been cut from oilier women's] coats, were found in Ra vent's pockets. I A remand was ordered.

PANIC CAUSED BY FIVEPENCE. New York, July 4. Sixty women and children were in-1 jured and a seven-year-old girl was j killed in a panic which occurred at Messrs. Kresges' new shop during a rush 1 for a "bargain" dinner service costing I fivepence. | The shop, which occupies a six-story : building, wag packed with women, six hundred of whom were crowded together on the second floor, fighting madly to I get near the counter where the dinner j service was displayed. i Many of the women were carrying j babies or leading children by the hand. Some of them became hysterical and tried to get out. lit the confusion one; woman shrieked "A fight!" and the other women mistook the word for, ''lire." | There was a wild rush for the sta.fs, ,ii which many women were knocked down and trampled on. Then the women began jumping over the balustrade, un* j til there was a struggling heap of in-! jured victims on the floor below., A seven-year-old girl was dead when taken from the crowd, ller skull had been fractured. Twelve women and (hildren were taken to St. Mary's Hospital, and forty-eight other injured were removed to their homes in carriages and ambulances. INDEPENDENCE-DAY. .New York, July 4. A quarter of a million New Yorkers have left the city in order to avoid the noisy Fourth of July celebrations, which will be held to-morrow. Reports from various parts of the

country indicate that ten million Americans living in the various large cities will go to the country or the seaside to escape the urban, dangers of Indepen-dence-day. All attempt has been made this year to limit the danger* that characterise Independence-day celebrations through the indiscriminate discharge of giant fire crackers, squibs, aud fireworks in the principal streets. In many cities the police have been instructed to arrest everybody using the thoroughfares as saluting grounds, and to compel the celebrants to confine their festivities to vacant pieces of ground. in Chicago permits to sell fire-crackers have been granted ill only a' few instances. Many States, led by New York, are distributing free an anti-toxin fur lockjaw, the disease that becomes rampant on the Fourth of July. It is hoped that by this means the fearful casualty lists due to injuries caused by premature explosions of fire-cracker* and squibs may be prevented.

Patriotic exercises will be held throughout the country to-morrow, an I in all the towns and villages local orators will follow the time-honored custom of reading the Declaration of Independence and of delivering eulogies on the heroes of the revolution.

The practice of attacking Great Britain, which wu* a feature of Inde-pendence-day celebrations in former years, has now died out, and in many places to-morrow American orators will praise Great Britain.

DIAMOND WAR, Berlin, July 4. A conference took place yesterday between llerr Dernlnirg, Imperial Secretary for the Colonies, and several members of the lleichstag regarding the "diamonds which have been found in German £outh-West Africa.

According to official estimates, the value of diamonds existing in German South-West Africa is approximately fifty million pounds, and Ilerr Den-berg has formed a ring of all companies, firms, and individuals, numbering between four and five hundred, interested in the diamond industry.

The importance of a coalition so great caused' flic Do Beers company to approach Ilerr DeVnburg with a proposal for mutual agreement regarding the prices of diamonds. Ilerr Dernburg rejected the advances made by the company on the ground that it would he possible for Germans not only to fix their own diamond prices to De Beers, but even to indicate their own prices to tltc De Beers Company. The deputies who were present at the conference expressed unanimous approval of Herr Dernburg's diamond policy.