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BURLINGTON TU REDUCE WAGE OF UNSKILLED VETS ee? CHICAGO, March 11.—(By Associeted’ Press.)—-The Chi- cago, Burlington & Quincy railroad yesterdy held a con- ference with representatives of its 10,000 unskilled em- loyes with a view of bringing about wage reductions. Hale Holden, presi- dent ‘announced today. “The ‘confer- ence adjourned until March 22 to al- low the road's proposition to be placed directly before the employes them- selves. The road proposed reductions oth epproximately 8% cents an hour, varying in certain districts, Mr. Hol-/ e% den said. This would make the pay of unskilled men approximately 40 cents an hour, the present rate being on an average of 4814 cents an hour, he said. WESTERN: ROADS SWING INTO: LINE. CHICAGO, March 11.—Virtually all of the larger western railroads had swung into jine ih - the — policy started a few days ago..by several eastern railroads of taking steps to bring about reductions in the war-time wage scale of ‘unskilled employes. ‘The reductions willbe urged, rail- road officials said,’ to keep the roads out of bankruptcy and enable them eventually to do away with rates which now were said to be “higher than the public can bear.” Warious railroad presidents declared the roads were existing entirely on credit. At the same time came statements 4 from Officials of the Assvciation of Botweon Railway Executives that lower rates of pay. for skilled workers) probably |, wo ungkill and. te ‘Chieago roads. to barked! foday, that . would seek teductions for ‘unskilled?! employes. The former proposed a re- duction of 8% cents in pay of -un- skilled Workers at’a meeting with rep- resentatives of employes’ yesterday. The Santa Fe, the. Chicago, °Mi- waukee & St. Paul, the Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific, and the Chicago & Northwestern announced proposed re- ductions last night. The Northern Pacific and the Great Northern pre- viously had announced conferences ‘with their employes. i‘ The Iuinols Central had no official statement to, make, but it was under- stood that this road and seyeral oth- ers expected to take the same action as the other lines.” men had been settled. CHICAGO, March 11.—The Chicago Great Western railroad, which yester- day announced that it would seek con- ferences ‘concerning wage reducticns| for-its unskilled employes. today an- nounced that it would proposo a 20 per cent reduction for «ll employes: of} the road, from the president down. The Great Western is the frst of the western roads to announce a pro- posed wage reduction for all em- Ployes. RAIL EXECUTIVES TO TAKE ACTION, 4 CHICAGO, March 11.—Steps to bring about reductions in the wages of skilled employes probably ‘will be taken by many railroads throughout the country as soon as adjustments can be made. in the pay of unskilled workers, according to officials of the (Continued on Page 4.) pbtaousht after the wages for Zs hicago,:’ Htuslington -é Quincy eaten : & Alton were two | Weather Forecast | Forecast night and Saturday, cold wave 1 north portion with. temperature nua: zero, winds becoming fresh to stron, northerly. Probably snow and much colder to- in © The Casper Darilry =| Crthune | oi. | CASPER, WYO., FRIDAY, MARCH 11, 1921 CITY EDITION NUMBER 129 “Trouble Over Woman” Lead to Killing| of Edward Shuster by Leonard B. Nicholson, Official Reports Claim; Sandbar Scene of Midnight Tragedy Edward Shuster, about 30 years of age, a taxi driver, was shot and killed last night by L. B. Nicholson, former police officer, as the outgrowth of trouble “over a woman,” " it was indicated today at the sheriff’s office, which refused to com- ment further on this angle of the tragedy until an investiga- tion now under way is conelsier The prosecuting attorney’s it GMAN APPEALS TO CHRISTIAN Slayer 'Sranigles to Six Feet Fails Rénounces Bu Death When Drop of | to Break Neck; ddha in Prison (Special to The Tribune.) RAWLINS, Wyo., March 11.—‘‘My Jesus, mercy!’’—an appeal for clemency to the Christian Diety whose teachings he had ignored—vwere the last words of Yee Geow, 22, Chin- se tongman, before he was hanged at the state penitentiary here at 12:24 this morning for the murder of Thomas Hol- land at Cheyenne September U.S. MAY TURN BACK MILLIONS PAID-IN TAXES WASHINGTON, March 11.—Solici¥ tor-General Frierson, in closing the @s argument today in the bond tax case” before the < conceded formally that ag profit the difference market value of an in- vestry : h 1, 1913, and that nt date of sale. Biers Justice Pitney indl- uid, thousands, of in-| NO TRUTH IN REPORTS OF ‘BIG MERGER SAN _ FRANCISCO, Marcir 11.— President William Sproule of the Southern Pacific company said today that there was no truth in reports from Los Angeles that a consolidation of the Southern Pacific, Rock Island and El Paso and Southwestern rail- road systems is being considered.. TEMPERATURE TO FALL HERE IN 24 HOURS Temperature. in Casper and vi- cinity will fall 40 degrees and pos- sibly more within the next 24 to 36 hours, says a special dispatch to The Tribune today from the weath- er fgg Pe ete at Cheyenne. The en- tire state will be enveloped by the cold wave, it is predicted. STATE WITHOUT: AUTHORITY tt PICKFORD DIVORCE CASE, CLAIM MINDEN, Nev., consideration today a brief that the attorney-general action to have set aside Moore, ‘accepts Mr. Frierson’s)_ 10 last. The drop of feet fal the trap of the famous “‘Tom Horn" gallows failed to break the murderer’s neck and thirteen minutes elapsed before physicians pronounced him dead from strangulation. The body was cut down fifteen minutes after the trap was sprung. Geow went to death fearlessly. Ac- companied by the Rev. Father Schel- lenger, he walked to the death cham- ber with a firm tread and did not hallt until his toes were at the edge of the trap. He then stood looking curiously at the trap’s two leaves until Warden Frank Hadsell commanded his atten- tion by placing his hands on his shoulder and asking, “Have you any- thing to say, my boy?” “No,” was the simple response, spoken without a Rt PR in the clear Voice. A-moment later ‘the n) us adjusted and the slender 1 of condemned—he. weighed thie than 100 lifted to the trap. A bibitant-sound, that.of water escaping Jas the silight settling of the trap under Geow’s weight; “Feleased- ‘the plug in thegallows’ tank, followed) for a few seconds.. Then there was a _sharp click as the lightened taiik’s: weight was overcome by that” ofa’ counter balance ‘and the trigger of the» trap was pulled by the settling counter- weight. A bare second earlier tho appeal for clemency beyond the grave was voiced —"My Jesus, Mercy!” ‘Thursday night Geow, responding to the urging of Father Schellenger, re- {nounced the Buddhist religion and was baptized in the Catholic faith. ‘He expressed regret for the slaying of Holland and John’ Federhen and the attempted slaying of W. R. Mansfield. His request that Warden Hadsell come to his cell was granted. He | thanked the official for the bountiful supper which had been served him and which he had eaten with relish, jand for the kindness of the warden | and penitentiary employes during his |imprisonment. His mood apparently |was more cheerful than he had: been jt any time since his conviction. | KILLED. TWO, WAS TRIED FOR ONE. CHEYENNE, Wyo., March 11.—Yeo Geow, 22, Chinese tongman, who was executed at the state penitentiary at Rawlins this morning, murdered Thomas Holland, special officer, and | John S. Federhen, city fireman, here late in the afternoon of September 10, 1920. Wederhen was instantly killed, but Holland lingered a week before succumbing to his wounds; dying Sep- ember . The ‘hinese was con- vittede ot and hanged tor the murder engineer; Howard Grunden, fireman, head breakman, were released from‘ three men were in the locomotive cab when it passed through the Hermosa tunnel Tuesday. All were over- come by gas. ENGINE CREW LIES UNCONSCIOUS IN CAB. WHILE TRAIN SPEEDS ON, TRIO OVERCOME BY GAS IN U. P. TUNNEL CHEYENNE, Wyo., March 11.—How a Union Pacific freight train ran for several miles with its locomotive crew lying unconscious in the cab from gas fumes was told here today when Ed Gillman, and E. M. Crone, Steam and apply a hospital. The alive. The men recovering. EITY AS DEATH TRAP IS SPRUNG After the engine emerged ffom the tunnel Howard Grunden recovered sufficiently- throttle of the driverless locomolive and shut off the jo drag himself to the the brakes. dames H. Souttar, conductor of the train, investi- gated and found the three men in the cab barely were rushed to a hospital and all are PETROGRAD TO BE RAZED BY SHELL FIRE IF REDS OPPOSE REVOLUTIONISTS DIVISION OF Eee, Wyo. March 11.— bie Sa amnotinced an opinion that the act of the recent Jegisla- ture making 40: per cent of the in- come from the state school lands available for the current‘expenses of the public schools is;unconstitution- and, therefora, cannot be en- Jol The ‘decision holds that royalties, rentals and other income from. the school lands should go into permanent funds, only the interest on which is applicable to the cur- rent needs of the schools. A friend- ly suit to obtain gn opinion from the supreme court will be instituted in all probability. BUILDING ON INCRASE. IN U.S., REPORT NEW YORK, March 11.—Tho first definite sign of improvement in the building trade-‘throughout tne coun- try is found in the February building returns to Bradstreets, announced to- day, These show’ a total expenditure in 146 cities for the second month of the year of $77,840,102. While this is a decrease of 25 per cent from Feb- ruary 1920, it is a gain of 32 per cent over January of this year a of Holland.- He was not tried for slay- ing. Federhen. Geow, who had entered the United States from Canada in violation of the Chinese! exclusion) act “the ‘preceding wry, came to Cheyenne last Sep- Iterbec unm obtespeq eebioy mentindla arch 11.—District Judge Frank P. Langan ’has under| cook. On the afternoon of September sy Mach sled by Mary Pickford’s pices which contends | 10th he was found by W. R. Mansfield, of Nevada was without authority when he filed an United States immigration agent, and the divorce granted to cag Pickford. from Owen] Holland, Mansfield’s volunteer assist- (Continued on Page 4.) SUCCESSOR TO FALL IS NAMED ALBUQUERQUE, N. M., March 11. —Governor “Mechem announced this morning that he would appoint this afternoon H. ©. Bursum United States senator to succeed A. B. Fall, now secretary ‘of the interior. RANCHER’S WIFE KILLS HER CHILDREN, TAKES OWN LIFE Three Shot to Death in Bed, Three Others Wqunded, Two Fatally, as Result of Murderous Passion of Mother LOVELL, Wyo., March 11. — (By Associated Press.) — Mrs. James Watters, wife of a prominent rancher in the Big Horn Basin, last night shot and killed three of her chilaven: wounded three others and, reloading the revolver, killed her- self. Two of the children were reported to be dying, while one may live. Mrs. Watters is believed to have been insane. Mrs. Wattors’ husband was visiting, from 5 to 12-yYears. a nbighbor when the tragedy occurred. When the husband returned home The children were in bed when the| shortly before midnight he found all @hooting occurred. Their ages ranged] doors to the house locked and all win- w shades drawn. Mrs. Watters fired ino bullets, according to officers who went to the scene of the tragedy. Her husband told the authorities Mrs. Wat- ters had been acting strangely of late, One of the wounded children died this morning. The two other children shot by their mother will live, accord- ing to physicians. The dead children are—Ruth, & years old, Paul, 5; John, 3; and Jun- for, 6. WAS SECOND WIFE OF WATTERS, The woman was Watters’ second wife. She was confined for a time in a Nebraska sanitarium but was re- leased last yoar as cured, according to Watters. -f; When Watters entered his home he found his wife dead upon the floor, a large calibre revolver in her hand. A bullet through her head had ended her iife... The four children who died from. bullet wounds were Mrs. Watters’ own youngsters,” while the two who are suffering from wounds were children by Watters’ first wife. The latter, ac- cording “to police, were wounded by stray bullets and it is believed the| woman did not try to end their lives. Watters, who was visiting at the home of a married daughter near his| own home, heard the shots which par-| Ually wiped out bis family. He ran to his own home. The rancher had to break down a door to get inside, his wife having bolted it. According to Watters, his wife had made threats to kill the children and herself. Revolutionists’ Ultimatum Calls on City). to Surrender or Big Guns Will Raze Red Stronghold sale. arrests and executions of work- men are said to have occurred at Or- anienbaum, Systerbak and Petrograd. Kronstadt last night sent out a wire- less dispatch denying bolshevik state- ments that the fortress.was without food, says a telegram from Stockholm To the contrary there is plenty of fogd and ammunition there, the mes: sage stated. “Artillery fire from Kronstadt has been extremely well-directed,” the wireless dispatch is quoted as say- ing. “The fortress of Todleben and all other soviet batteries on the Kare- lian panincula have been completely demolished. Two of the four 12 inch guns at Krasnoy Gorka have been silenced by shells from the battle- ship Petropaviovsk. Krasnoy Gorka has been isolated, thé raflroad to it has been destroyed and a “thaw has placed the surrounding marshes in such condition that the been cut off from the rest of the bolshevik forces.’” A great anti-bolshevik movement in the vicinity of Minsk, White Russia, is reported in a Reuter's dispatch from Helsingfors. Soviet troops are said to have mutined and murdered bolshevik commissars there. Another dispatch mentions _ street fighting between the bolshevik and anti-soviet units in Kiev. yer LONDON, March 11.—Reports from | Reval today state that Russian emi grants are forming a government }there, to include representatives of alt | |the ‘anti-bolshevik parties, which soon will enter Russia. i The flood of Russian refugees over }the frontier has suddenly ceased. tlie} reports say, and it is presumed the, soviet authorities are preventing any- one from leaving Petrograd. cS sash ae tants Lats TAXES ROLL IN CHEYENNE, Wyo., March 11. — “Night sessions” are being held at tne headquarters of the collector of in- ternal révenue for Wyoming, to re- ceive belated income tax returns. Casper Merchants Are | Prepared for Easter Shoppers This Season Casper merchants this spring are showing the most wonderful array of seasonable apparel ever ut- tempted before in. Casper's history, ‘They have outdone all previous ef- forts to-give the people of this city the very latest styles as, do- creed this season by DameFashion, With such showings as. can be seen in’ Casper stores it is a puz- zling matter as to why the foreign mail order house should attract any appeal. Casper meychants chal- lenge any mail order House to quote any better prices for the same quality of merchandise. Buy- ing “sight unseen” too, is very u satisfactory and seldom are patrons of these concerns fully satisfied with their purchase. Study tonight's Tribune—read the ads and sce for yourself the wonderful array of merchandise that is offered to you—then call on the merchants and inspect the goods. ‘ LONDON, Mrach 11.—Revolutionary authorities at the fortress of Kronstadt have sent an ultimatum to the soviet authorities in Petrograd demanding the surrender of the city {before March 25, _. Hf the city is not given up, declares, there will be a general bombardment, jit is asserted in an Abo, Finland, dispatch ‘to the London Times. fortress has! Seywhes the ultimatum Whole- C. F. & I. to Reopen Mills PUEBLO, Colo., March 11.—The Colorado Fuel and Iron company an- nounced that owing to improved con- ditions in the gfeel industry, 1,000 additional men wil be employed com- mencing next Monday morning. Four idle mills will reopen, rurning two eight-hour shifts. Friends in Casper have received word of the death of Mrs, F. R. Cal- jkins of Laramie, formerly of Casper, |who died there following ‘an illness |with diphtheria, Interment was made there. The Calkins lived in Casper until about a year ago and r. Calkins now resides at 814 South Fourth street, Laramie. lay about like I am now.” he, made the statement to Erret Dun>! lap of Ardmore, Attorney-General Freeling, in charge of the prosecution, said. The state began the introduction of witnesses at the morning session and four witnesses had been heard before the luncheon recess. The defendant was simply gowned today and she and the widow, Mrs. Jake L. Hamon, gave no sign of rec- ognition. ‘The evidence would show, Mr. Freeling said, that Jake L, Hamon came to Ardmore in June 1913, from | |to build a railroad and then branch- led into the ofl business. He was fol- }lowed soon afterward, tne prosecutor | , by Clara Smith, then a “mature woman of 2 | “She is now 32,” time she he added, “For a acted as” stenographer and |they’ immediately ‘began living to- |getber, Mrs. Jake Hamon and Jake \Jr., remaining at Lawton. Their life then became ong of open and notor- |ious adultery.” The attorney general roferred to Jake Hamon’s visit to the rboms Hara in _and Clara occupied, and as-)a visitor found Ciara with Lawton. Hamon, a lawyer carne here} | Hamon was on a hospital cot when) and continued to live with Clara. He | trona county jail. office, it.is said, has described the crime as a “cold-blooded proposition” on the face of information obtained this morning. Nicholson fled from the scene of the shooting after fatally wounding Shus- ter and took refuge in the rear of a house on West B street, where he was located about an hour later by a po- lice squad in charge of Sergeant ‘Wadell. Later he was turned over to the sheriff and was lodged in the Na- Nothing which may have been said by Nicholson in regard to the crime has been revealed by the sheriff's office late this afternoon. The shooting occurred in front of a chop suey house on West A street] of the Sandbar district. Shuster had| taken a party of people to the Sand- bar and {t is said that Nicholson ap proached him, said a few words and fired the shot. Another version has it that Nichol son put in the call for the tax! and criticized Shuster for not driving closer to the building. On Shuster's reply that he was close enough,} Nickolson is said to have pulled his gun and fired. The bullet entered Shuster’s neck and passed out at the right side. He| was rushed to the State hospital but} died in the car before reaching the hospital. People in the vicinity of the shoot- ing, unarmed, made no effort to stop Nich8ison as he fled. Policemen later traced him to the West B street house where he made an effort to con- ceal his guns when he found resistance impossible, Two guns were seized from him, one a .38 and the other a caliber. In the barrel of one gun was an unexploded shell. Nicholson was discharged from the Casper police department three years ago by ‘Chief of Police F. J. Wolfe, who- accused him of collecting graft. Nicholson got away with a uniform belonging to the department at that time, according to Wolfe. Later he was errested on’a charge of assqult with intent to kill for fir- ing on Police Captain W, E. Kilgore. Afteribeing bout] oysk to the district court, this charge it. him. was quashed. M Nicholson is also said to have been eonvicted of murder at one time in Campbell county in connection with the “killing of a sheépherder, ‘but: se- cured his release on a supreme court decision. Shuster was a taxi-driver in the em- pley of Jack Kiser of the Cadillac Tax: company and is said to have borne a good reputation among his faesociates. Whether there was “‘bad blood” between the two is considered doubtful by some but tho sheriff's of- fice is expected to secure information that will clear up the cause of the shooting: An inquest into the shooting will be conducted tomorrow morning at 10 o'clock by Coroner Lew M. Gay. fs itn Mei a ncadt Miss Polly Wickstrum, society edi- tor of the Tribune, left last night for Denver and Colorado Springs, She will visit with her grandfather and grandmother in Denver before return- ing to Casper Monday morning. referred to many trips Clara and Ham- on took and to Hamon having sent nis protege to schools in Texas and Missouri. He spoke of frequent quar-| reJs and said that at one time Ham-| on called an officer to force Clara to give him papers, and that at that time Clara attempted to obtain a pistol nearby. It ‘was testified that a few days before Mr. Hamon was shot fatally in the hotel suite, he and the defend- ant occupied, Clara Smith Hamon had purchased an automatic pistol and YANKS TO TAKE NO) PART IN TAK COLLECTIONS IN GEAMAN REGION Allies May Do So Within Boundaries of Section Occupied by American Forces, Says Official WASHINGTON, March 11. — American forces on the Rhine will take no part in the collection of cus- tons, but no objection will be made’ to such action by the Allies within the territory occupied by them, it was learned today at the state de- partment. No change in the status of the American force or its role has been authorized, but it was officially stated that no obstacles would be Placed in the way of the Allies in carrying out their newly adopted policy. FRENCH MILITARY HEADQUARTERS, Mayence, March 11.— (By Associated Press.) —Maj.-Gen. Henry T. Allen,, commander of the {American forces of occupa- tion, will follow the same policy re- garding the collection of customs along the Rhine as on other problems, connected with the occupation, mak- ing the decisions of the Rhineland commission’ his orders to his army, according to information received here from Coblenz today. General Allen, it was stated, is awaiting notification of the commis- sion’s decisions. FRENCH DECORATE GRAVES OF VETERANS. (By Associated Press) | ALLIED MILITARY HEADQUAR: TERS, USS, March 11.—Generar Gauther, commander of French troops engaged in the occupation of the new" tariff. zone along the Rhine, yester- day placed wreaths on the graves of French and German soldiers who died during the war of 1870 and the world conflict and were buried in the mili« tary cemetery near here. As he placed his tribute over the tombs of the Germans, he said: “These died in obedience to mili« tary orders," while at the graves of the French he said: “They were our pioneers.” A French priest led the procession to the cemetery and was followed by a band playing a funeral marchy Bringing up the rear was a straggling crowd of German civilians. When prayer was finished, the up the ‘Marseillaise,”* and the Germans, who had stood bares headed during the invocation, immedi+ ately put on their hats. Referring to telegrams from Dussel- dort to London, in which labor unions protested against General Gaucher's proclamation prohibiting strikes, the general declared they were sent as a @ result of an improper translation of his announcement. In his proclama- tion he said strikes of workmen oper+ ating public necessities would not be tolerated, but the German translation (Continued on e 4.) WOMAN ACCUSED BY VOICE FROM GRAVE OF HAMON MURDER Clara Hamon Breaks Down When Death- bed Accusation of Jake L. Hamon Is Introduced by the Staté ARDMORE, Okla., March 11.—Clara Smith Hamon, on| trial for the alleged murder of Jake L. Hamon, bowed her head and sobbed today when the prosecution told the jury that Mr. Hamon, describing the shooting, said he “never had a chance, the old man never had a chance; she shot me as I ‘The attorney general told of an- other visit to Mrs. Hamon to her husband’s apartment where he said she found costly lingerie and toilet ar- ticles and also a revolver which she removed. “Mr. Freeling touched upon Ha- Teen political rise to the position of Republican national committeeman of Oklahoma and of the Republican vic- tory last November. He said the quarrels between him and Clara in- creased to estrangement, and that Mr. Hamon concluded that he should return to his family and become a@ church member. When the defend- ant learned this decision she pur chased a pistol at Oklahoma City, two weeks before the shooting he said. On the day or me shooting, Mr Freeling sald, Hamon was with friends when summoned by telephone to his rooms about 6 p. m. hours later, he said, Hamon left the hotel and walked quickly to a hos- pital and there told Dr. Walter Hardy that Clara had shot him and advised the doctor “don’t tell until you have to; spare the wife-and children,’ he morning following the shooting @ magazine of cartridges in Oklahoma City, and’ tnat on one. occasion. in 1915 the defendant had been seen standing near Hamon in his otfice here with what apparently was small pistol. On that day she ran out when he appeaicd, Michael Gorman, vice president of n Ardmore bank testified, It was also testified today that the defendant wno is the form- er wife of a nephew of the man she ig charged with having killed, for a | time worked actively as a stenograph- jer and private secretary for Hamon after his arrival in Ardmore in 1913. ‘On another occasion, Freeling said, a pistol sertead Hamon sent his wife away “pressed against Hamon'g body," Clara went to the infirmary and saw |Hamon for two or three minutes-and |immediately left, Freeling said. | The attorney general said Hamon ejat first told Frank L. Ketch, his busi- a|ness, manager that Clara did nat hoot him, but. later admitted it when |Ketch said he knew she did. Ketch was told to give Clara $5,000 and |“get her away,” Freeling continued, then describing incidents ‘connected with her flight, for which, he said, Keteh and Hamon jointly were re sponsible. vT defendant's flight from Ard more south into Texas was described by MraqFreeling. At Dallas, he sal, Clara @tompted to obtain an turpis (Continued on Page 4)