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# THE WORLD'S FAIR
THE World's Fair committee on ceremonies have decided to invite Grover Cleveland to open the fair with a speech on May 1, 1893. At the close of the speech, if he accepts, Mr. Cleveland will touch an electric button, starting the 14,000 horse power plant in machinery hall that is to run all the whirring wheels of the fair.
# THE INMAN COAL MINE
THE Inman coal mine at the foot of Cumberland mountain, near Jasper, Tenn., caved in on the 13th. The entire side of the hill fell over the only entrance to the mine, shutting off all egress. Two convict guards are believed to be entombed in the mine.
# JOHN D. ROCKEFELLER
JOHN D. ROCKEFELLER, the Standard Oil millionaire, has donated $25,000 toward making a fund of $65,000 for additional endowment of the Des Moines (Ia.) college. This makes a total of over $40,000 that Mr. Rockefeller has given to the college.
THE president on the 14th appointed Jed Lake, of Independence, Ia.; Arthur Smith, of Colerain, Mass, and Arthur P. Swineham, of Princeton, Ind., a committee to appraise certain lands and improvements within the Round Valley Indian reservation in California.
# THE DEIS FURUITURE COMPANY
THE Deis Furuiture Company's factory at New Alexandria, Va., was burned on the night of the 15th. Loss, $110,000; insurance, $35,000.
THE senate on the 15th confirmed the nomination of James W. McDill, of Iowa, to be an inter-siate commerce commissioner and a large number of army and navy and marine corps promotions.
# THE CONTRACT
THE contract for an equestrian statue of Gen. W. S. Hancock, to be erected on the battlefield of Gettysburg, has been awarded to F. E. Elwell, of Sandwich, Mass., for which he will receive $22,000.
AT Newton, Kan., the Newton National bank closed its doors on the 15th, posting upon the door the notice: "Bank closed-in the hands of the government."
AT the meeting of the directors of the Manhattan Elevated Railway Company in New York on the 15th, George Gould was elected president. The position of vice president and director was left vacant. A quarterly dividend of 1¼ per cent. was declared payable January 3.
AT Phœnixville, Pa., a 10 per cent. reduction has been ordered by the Phoenix Iron Company in all the mills and shops of the plant except the puddling mill, where wages have been reduced from $3.25 to $3 per ton. The reduction is to take effect December 26. Common laborers will hereafter receive 95 cents instead of $1.02 per day. The reason given is depression in business.
AT Alpena, Mich., on the 16th August Grossman was found guilty of murder in the first degree in having caused the death of Albert Molitor. The jury was out seven hours. Molitor was murdered eighteen years ago, but the case was dropped until recently, when William Repke, the leader of the conspiracy, confessed and implicated about a dozen others.
AT Wellington, O., on the 16th Rev. John Arnold was arrested on the charge of having murdered his wife, by stabbing her in the throat with a pen knife.
BUSINESS failures during the seven days ended December 16, number for the United States 279, Canada 25; total 304 as compared with 297 the previous week and 235 for the corresponding week of last year.
AT Chicago, on the 16th, state warrants were sworn out for the arrest of the officers, judges, starter and maker of books at the Hawthorne race track. The complaint was made by prominent citizens of Oak Park, a suburb of Chicago.
NELSON F. EVANS, who was convicted of misapplying the funds of the Spring Garden National bank, of which he was a director, was sentenced at Philadelphia on the 16th by Judge Butler to pay a fine of $300 and serve five years in the penitentiary.
AT New Haven, Conn., on the 16th, the fine of $100, the extreme penalty of the law, was inflicted by Judge Pickett upon James A. McCrea, of Pittsburgh, and M. Wyrehause, of St. Paul, Minn., Yale students who were charged with breach of the peace on December 1. They raised a row in the opera house which caused the suit.
AT Buffalo, N. Y., on the 16th the electric station of the General Electric Company was gutted by fire and much of the valuable machinery was ruined. The fire was cause by electricity. Loss about $50,000; fully covered by insurance.
THE annual dinner of the New England Tariff Reform League was held at the American House, Boston, on the 16th. President Henry L. Pierce was presiding officer. The speakers were Hon. Charles S. Fairchild, secretary of the treasury under Cleveland, Harvey M. Shepard, Josiah Quincy and William B. Rice.
A FURTHER advance of five cents a gallon on the price of spirits was ordered by the whisky trust to take effect December 15. It is anticipated the price will be sent up to $1.50 a gallon.
# THE MICHIGAN GRANGERS
THE Michigan grangers, who have been holding a convention at Lansing, adopted resolutions protesting against the free coinage of either gold or silver.
WALTER GURNEA, a Chicago post office clerk, was arrested on the 16th for stealing letters from unbroken packages. When arrested he had in his possession drafts, checks, railroad tickets, jewelry, money orders, postal notes, etc. One draft was for $11,000. He was caught in the act of rifling letters.