The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, September 4, 1895, Page 1

“VOLUME LXXVIIL_NO. 96. SAN FRANCISCO, WEDNESDAY MORNING, SEPTEMBER 4, 1895. PRICE FIVE CENTS. THE DURRANT JURY AT EMMANUEL CHURCH. District Attorney Barnes Makes the Opening Statement. STORY OF THE CRIME. The Case of the People Clearly Stated—Mr. Deuprey’s Objections. DURRANT IN THE BELFRY. Attoraney Dickinson Insists Upon Having the Press Excluded From the Church. THE DURRANT CASE IN A MINUTE—THE JURY VISITS EMMANUEL CHURCH. es have been finished Henry Theodore Dur- anche Lamont will be worning by the introduc- g to prove the main fact ommitted. A remarkable ay was an official visit to t Church, participated in by 1f, the trial Judge, the jury, nd officers ir the case. In court Dis- orney Barnes made the opening state- he prosecution, and in the proceed- morning Dr. Barrett, the surgeon who performed the autopsy, will be the first wit- ness. Now all and the tria rant for th Du NoTE To THE READER.—If you wish only ta | Xknow what was actually accomplished in’ th Durrant case yesterday the foregoing summary will give you ihat information. If, hewever. 1t is your desire to learn the particulars of this interesting trial you will find subjoined s clear, succinct, impartial account ot all important matters. Under no eircumstances will the offensive details be admitted. They are not essential to an intelligent understanding of the progress of the case, and will be accorded | no place in these columns. The corridors leading to Judge Murphy’s court were thronged for some time before the nour for convening, and necessarily but a small percentage of the crowd could be admitted to the courtroom. When the Judge had taken his seat and District Attorney Barnes rose to begin the opening statement of the people’s case 8| t the prisomer, the latter’s leading counsel, Mr. Deuprey, insisted that all the witnesses should be excluded from the courtroom. It was so ordered by the court. Mr. Barnes then made his statement, which occupied the remainder of the morn- ing session. In the afternoon the jury, accompanied by Judge Murphy, District Attorney | Barnes and his assistant, Mr. Peixotto, by General Dickinson, by the prisoner, Dur- rant, by Policeman Russell, who drew the plans of the building, and by a comple- ment of men from the Sheriff’s office, all went out to the Emmanuel Baptist Church and examined the premises carefully and thoroughly, from the entrance to the pas- tor’s study to the very last floor in the belfry where the remains of the murdered girl were found. This expedition consumed the afternoon session, and when the party returned court adjourned until this morning. OPENING OF THE TRIAL. Mr. Barnes’ Statement and the Jury’s Visit to the Church. The case of the People of California against William Henry Theodore Durrant is now fairly on trial. When Judge Mur- phy’s court opens this morning Dr. Bar- rett, the surgeon that made the autopsy on the body of the murdered girl, will take the stand. His testimony will be followed by that of those who found the body of Blanche Lamont high in the belfry of Emmanuel Church. Yesterday the crowd that tried to get into Judge Murphy’s court was larger than ever, and only the fortunate few who came early and waited long succeeded in passing the bailiffs at the door. Among the lutky few and the unlucky many were about as many women as men. The women were more eager, if anything, and one of them that squeezed into the crowded courtroom yesterday held a babe 1n her arms. Department 3 is scarcely large enough to accommodate all the principals in the great case and the small army of news- paper writers and artists and shorthand reporters that must needs be accommo- dated. Realizing this Judge Murphy has made arrangements for moving his court temporarily into the room at present occu- pied by Judge Sanderson’s court. The change will' take place after the noon ad- journment to-day—if the programme is carried out. There more of the public can be accommodaiad, and all of those who must be present perhaps comfortably seated. There was no change noticeable in Dur- rant yesterday. Hecame into court as neatly dressed as ever, as calm and as un- conscious in his movements and deport- ment as on any previous day of the trial. He nodded and smiled pleasantly to acquaintances, then sat quietly and uncon- cernedly through the proceedings. He was a disappointment to those who saw him for the first time and expected to read some traces of the awful crime in his coun- tenance. Things moved smoothly and expedi- tiously. Court opened at afew moments past 10 o’clock, and after the rollcall of the jury and the announcement by Judge Mur- phy that a larger courtroom had been se- cured and would be occupied on the fol- lowing day, District Attorney Barnes arose to make his opening statement of the case. But the leading counsel for Durrant had tri_ct Am)_rney intends to touch upon the evider:ce in his opening address.” Thus persuaded Judge Murphy made the order. Itexcluded from the room all wit- nesses excepting the arresting officers. Those affected by the mandate left the room with evident reluctance. They were Suken in charge by the bailiff and housed in Judge Murphy's chambers. Then the District Attorney began. He spoke distinctly, in a clear voice and not a word of what he said was lost by his aud- itors. His statement was the story of the crime, and it was prefaced by these intro- ductory remarks: At this point in the trial, and before proceed- ing with the evidence. it becomes my duty as a representative of the people to make whet is called the opening statement of the case. This is a survivel, partly, of the old common law idea that the accused must be made familiar with the evidence against him, of which the opening statement is his official notification, and is further made for the purpose of inform- ing the jury of the circumstances of the case so that they may listen to all the evidence intel- ligently, and be able as the testimony falls from the lipsof the witnesses to fit it in its proper place in the chain that is woven link by link, and may beable to give it its just welght and its proper consideration. The opening statement should not be regarded by you in the light of testimony, neither should it be regarded as an argument upon the facts. It should not have any weight with you, nor should you consider it as militating agamst the prisoner; it is merely a statement of what the people expect to prove—a statement of the evidence which they intend to present for your cousideration, and upon which they will con- fidently rely for a verdictat your hands, which shall sweep away the sophistries and the tech- nicalities that have enveloped criminal pro- ceedings in this State as with a garment, and shall declare that the land we live in is blessed | not only with the manifold gifts of nature and | of God to men, butit is further blessed with he hard, clear common sense that can rise above the tortuousenvironments that surround | the eriminal, and punish the crime committea | in the manuner required and demanded byall laws, both human and divine. Of course there were objections taken to Mr. Barnes’ speech. When he reached that part of it describing how the school- girls had seen Durrant and Blanche La- mont leave the High School Mr. Deuprey Jimerrupled to say that it was not fair for | Mr. Barnes to tell what the schoolgirls said | to one another. The court sustained the objection and | ordered the jury to regard the words ob- jected to as not having been uttered. Mr. Deuprey again objected to the state- ment concerning Mrs. Leak’s anxiety over the non-appearance of her daughter while standing at the window. But Judge Mur- | phy thought this was competent and over. ruled the objection. When Mr. Barnes reached the point where reference was made to the finding of Minnie Williams’ body Mr. Deuprey made objection to any reference to the other case. Judge Murphy decided that the ref- erence might be made as an incident to the discovery of the body of Blanche Lamont. Upon the point raised by Mr. Deuprey, however—that of merging the two cases— the court declined to rule until the issue should be fairly presented in the course of the hearing. : At the conclusion of Mr. Barnes’ ad- dress Judge Murphy requested the counsel on both sides to confer with him at the bench. At the end of the conference At- torney Dickinson made the motion for the jury to visit Emmanuel Church. He spoke at some length of the necessity for such a procedure and was anxious to have the jury conducted by a specified route, but the court held that a general examina- tion of the church should be made. ““This is a very risky piece of business,” said his Honor. “On such trip remarks of an improper kind are apt to be made.” The question of who should accompany the jury to the church was considered. Judge Murphy remarked that the law com- pelled him to be present. “The defendant must go,” said Attorney Dickinson. The court looked displeased, but the reading of a Supreme Court decision on the point decided the matter and his Honor ruled that the prisoner must accom- pany the expedition. ‘‘Gentlemen of the jury, what is your opinion of the matter? Would you like to visit the church?” asked his Honor. Juror Hooper spoke for all. He stated that he would very much like to make the trip. **Very well, then, we will go,” remarked Judge Murphy, “but we will not start until 2 o’clock.” el THE STORY OF THE CRIME. District Attorney Barnes Makes a Clear Statement of the Case. District Attorney Barnes’ opening ad- dr_ess to the court and jury was as brief as might be under the circumstances. It was couched in plain words and simple phrase, it was clear and succinct, and was delivered with as little employment of his forensic powers as a feeling man could well dis- pense with in the recital of but the bare facts of this most dramatic, most terrible of modern crimes. He spoke as follows: This opening statement should not have any weight with you, nor should you consider it as militating against the prisoner; it is merely a statement of what the people expect to prove— astatementof the evidence upon which they will confidently rely for a verdict at your hands, which shall sweep away the sophistries ana the technicalities that have enveloped criminal proceedings in this State as witha garment, and shall declare that the land we live in is blessed not only with the manifold gifts of nature and of God to man, but is further blessed with the hard, clear common sense that can rise above the tortuous environments that surround the criminal, and punish the crime committed in the manner required and demanded by all laws, both human and divine. We will show you that in the month of Sep- tember, 1894, Blanche Lamont, a young girl of about 20 years of age, came from her home where she was born and brought up, in Dillon, in the State of Montana, to San Francisco. She was a tall, slender and delicate girl. She, with her sister Maud, resided with her | something to say first. Mr. Deuprey was on his feet almost as promptly as Mr. Barnes. The former's first request was that the official reporter be ordered to transcribe his notes at the conclusion of every day’s session. Mr. Barnes joined in this request, and the order was given by the court. Then Mr. Deuprey had another motion. It was that’all the witnesses should be excluded from the courtroom be- fore the District Attorney began his state- ment, Judge Murphy thought the request was a little premature, and said as much. “I think not, your Honor,” said Attor- mey Deuprey, “for I understand the Dis- uncle and sunt, Mr. and Mrs. C. G. Noble at 209 Twenty-first street. We will show that Durzant was in the habit of accompanying her home from church and prayer meeting; that he was a caller upon her at her aunt’s house; that upon the only occasion upon which she went enywhere with eny young man, as far as we are informed, she visited the park on one after- noon in company with Durrant. ‘We will show you her connection with the deferident and we will show you why the State says that he who was responsible for the: slaughter of this young life is William Henry Theodore Durrant. We shall demonstrate by irrefragable and unanswerable evidence that he, and he alone, committed this murder. On the 3d of April, 1895, Blanche Lamont left her home at 209 Twenty-first street about ! z A= —— Mt . m— ————— PUBLIC OPINION IS CUTRAGED BY THE WAY IN WHICH THE HAG IN THE PICTURE IS MANIPULATING THE SCALES, HUNTINGTON (soliloquizing )—My men are loading down the record with weighty evidence in the shape of freight tariffs and wheat schedules, so that when we resort to the courts we shall be able to hoodwink the Judges and defeat the will of the people, who have demanded a reduction in fares and freights. 8:15 A. . and went to the Boys’ High School on Sutter street, between Franklin and Gough. On this morning trip on the ears she was accompanied by the prisoner, Durrant, as far as the Boys’ High School. He then continued on his way to the Cooper Medical College, where he was a student in medicine. After she completed her morning's work at the High School she went to the Normal School on Powell street, between Clay and Sacramento, where she was attending lessons in cookery. About 2 o’clock in the afternoon, and while Blanche Lamont was engaged in her cooking schoel,Durrant came to the neighborhood of the school, on the block on Powell street, between Clay and Sacramento, and there for nearly an side of the way, walking slowly and talking together. As they passed along toward the church they were also seen by Mrs. Leek from her win- dow at 124 Bartlett street, diagonally opposite the church. She couldn’t see the girl’s face, and therefore, could not 1dentify her, but she will tell you that this young lady was dressed in a dark suit and with & large light hat, which will corre- spond with the clothing worn by Blanche Lamont at the time of her disappearance. Mrs. Leek cannot be mistaken about Durrant. When they arrived at the side gate of the church on the Twenty-third street side, which opened upon the path leading to the side door hour he waited for his girl victim to come from | of Emmanuel Baptist Church, Durrantopened school. Up and down he paced, eager, anxious, | the gate, the young lady stepped'through first, watching, waiting, until a few minutes before | Durrant followed her and closed the gate upon 3o’clock, when the cooking school being ended Blanche Lamont and a schoolgirl friend, | her. The closing of thisgate was between a quarter and twenty minutes past 4 in the named Minnie Belle Edwards, came out from | aiternoon, He could not discover it there, but 1it a match and tried itonthe gas-fixture toseeif there Was an escape. Not finding any, he passed out of the library- room, locking the door behind him, to play the piano. The Sunday-school room proper is separated from the infants’ classroom that opens -off it.and behind 4t by sliding doors. These doors were closed, with the exception of one that was open for a space of two or three fect. While King sat at the piano, through this space in the folding-door, ap- peared Theodore Durrant. He was pale, dis- heveled and without his coat and hat. King jumped up from the piano. “What is the matter with you?’ he said. Durraut told him that he had been up in the top of the church fixing the electric Jight wires, and that while up there he had been overcome by escaping gas; that he felt ill and faint, and asked King to run out to the drug- store and get him some bromo-seltzer, at the LHE JURY AND OFFICERS OF THE LAW ENTERING EMMANUEL BAPTIST CHURCH. [Sketched by a “ Call” artist.] the school together and walked down to the corner of Clay and Powell streets to take the Powell-street car going toward Market street. As they came to the corner of Clay and Pow- ell the defendant, Durrant, approached them and raised his hat to Blanche Lamont. She stopped to speak with him and was separated from Miss Edwards, who got inside the car, Blanche Lamont and Durrant getting on the outside of the car. Two other young ladies who attended the Normal School, Miss May Lannigan and Miss Alice Pleasant walked toward Market street from the school, along Powell street, on the east side of the street. When they reached the southeast corner of California and Powell they saw Durrant and Blanche together on the car. At Powell -and Market Blanche and Durrant evidently transferred to the Valencia-street car, for the next seen of them was by Martin Quinlan, an attorney-at-law, on the corner. of Bartlett and Twenty-second streets about ten minutes past 4 in the afternoon. They passed by within a few feet of him, on the same side of the street, coming from the direction of Twenty-first street, going in the direction of the Emmanuel Baptist Church, upon the same About 5 o'clock, or a little after 5, George R. King, then the organist of the Emmanuel Bap- tist Church, entered the church through the main door on Bartlett street by means of his key to practice some music on the piano in the Sunday-school room of the church, a large room situated upon the ground floor of the church. As he entered the church he noticed what seemed to him to be the smell of gas. He looked to see where the leak was, and as he looked about he noticed that the door that opened into the library-room of the Sun- day school was open. This was & little room that opened off the vestibule of the church upon the left-hand side as you enter. Durrant at this time was . the assistant Iibrarian of the Sunday-school. Heand George King had charge of the books, and he and George King, between them, a little while before April 3, had removed the old lock of the library-room door, and had substituted a new patent lock, to which only Durrant and George King had keys. King then noticing that this library door was open, and remembering that he himself had put & new tip on the gas- burner in there, entered the library room to see if the smell of the gas came from there. same time giving King a half dollar to pay for the medicine. King took the half dollar and ran to the drugstore on Valencia street, be- tween Twenty-second and Twenty-third. pro- cured the bromo-seltzer and returned. When he got back he found Durrant still there, and Durrant went into the kitchen of the church, which is close to and opens off the infants’ schoolroom, and there, drawing some water, took a dose of the bromo-seltzer. Then King asked Durrant to help him carry down from the choir in the church proper a small organ into the Sunday-school room. They went up and carried it down, Durrant be- ing forced to stop several times on the way to rest on account of his excessive weakness. Mr. King will tell you that the smell of the gas in the suditorium of the church on the floor above the Sunday-school room was.not as strong as it was in the Sunday-school room itself. When they had got downstairs with the organ, King and Durrant opened the door of the library-room again, and there on & box lay Durrant’s coat and hat, which Durrant ut on. = PY(m ‘will notice that Durrant’s coat and hat were found in the library-room after King’s FIGURES FOR THE RAILROAD COMMISSION, absence from the church to get the bromo-selt- zer, but that King did not perceive them when he was in the library-room first looking up to see if there wasa leak of gas there. We will show you that the statement of Durrant that he was overcome by gas in the upper portion of the church, and that he was there arrang- ing electric wires, is utterly imvrobable, if not absolutely impossible; we will produce the plumbers who had repaired and made per- fect the gas connections a few days before. We will show you by the janitor of the church and others that the electric wires were in per- fect condition; that the only places in which gas could escape from the sun-burners, or the great cluster gaslights in the top of the church, of which there were three, were connected by large tin ventilators and pipes with the roof, 50 that any gas escaping from them would rise through the ventilators to the roof, and so escape outside the building; and that the only electrical apparatus in the church were three wires which- transmitted an electric spark to these sun-burners, and which ware operated by press-buttons in the gallery of the church itself. ‘When George King leit the church, about & quarter to 6, Durrant accompanied him a greater portion of the way home, although King's home lay in exactly the opposite direc- tion to Durrant’s. That evening—Wednesday, April 3,1895—was the time for the regular Wednesday evening prayer-meeting at the Emmanuel Church, which began at hali-past 7 in the evening. Blanche had not come home. Her aunt was very much alarmed about her, although she did not want, as yet, to notify the police or her friends or neighbors of Blanche’s non-appearance. Therefore Mrs. Noble went | 10 the prayer-meeting in the hope that per- | haps Blanche might have stopped to supper with some of her friends and gone to the prayer-meeting. Mrs. Noble did not see Blanche at the prayer- meeting, but she saw Durrant, and Durrant asked her on the evening of the day on which we claim he had murdered this girl if Blanche | had come to the prayer-meeting. Mrs. Noble | told him that she had not. He then told Mrs. Noble that he had a book for Blanche, “The Newcomes,” which he had promised to give her, and intended to give her, and would come and leave it at the house for Blanche on alater occasion. A few days passed and the disappearance of Blanche Lamont was reported to the police and made known to the world. Durrant,in company with George King, called at the Nobles’ house. He offered his services to assist in finding Blanche Lamont, and suggested to this sorrowing family, by intimation—as we shall show you that he stated directly toa fellow-student of his at the medical college— that Blanche Lamont had gone astray, and was in all probability in some house of ill repute in this City. He offered his services to search the housesto find this girl, who at that time lay strangled to death in the belfry of the church. So the days passed by until some day between the 4th and 10th of April (we cannot fix the day more definitely), when a ring was of- fered for sale by Durrant to a pawnbroker | named Oppenheimer at 405 Dupont street. | This ring, & plain gold band, containing a chip diamond, belonged once to Maude La- mont, who had exchanged it with her sister for & garnet ring. _ On Saturday. April 13,1895, 8 package Was Teceived by Mrs. Noble. It Was & newspaper, the Examiner, with & newspaper wrapper around it. Inside this newspaper were the three rings that Blanche wore when she left home—the little diamond ring offered for .sale to Oppenheimer and two others. On that Sat- urday morning, April 13, the Saturday preced- ing Easter Sunday,some ladies went to the Emmanuel Baptist Church to decorate the altar and the church with Easter lilies and flowers. ‘When they arrived a tthe church their atten- tion was attracted to the Sunday-school library- room and in this library-room was found the murdered body of Minnie Williams. The find- ing of this body led to the calling in of the police and the search of the church. When the officers detailed to search the church reached the door that led into the belfry they were un- able to proceed further, the door being closed and locked and the knob of the door being broken off. They were compelled to break open the door. The belfry of the Emmanuel Baptist Church is ascended by meansof a wind- ing stairway and at the top of this stairway there is & platform. % On this platform was discovered the dead body of Blanche Lamont. She lay un- clothed upon her back, her feet together, her hands crossed over her bosom and her head supported by two blocke of wood in the man- ner in which medical students are accustomed to lay out dead bodies. In various portions of the belfry and of the unfinished portion of the church, in parts that could only be reached by aperson entirely conversant with the church and with its ramifications, were found the clothes and the schoolbooks of the dead girl. Anexamination of the body showed that the girl had Leen strangled to death; her lungs were congested; her brain was congested; the thorax and the trachea were compressed ; upon one side of the neck were five finger-nail inci- sions, and upon the other seven finger-nail in- cisions. We will show you that the door that led into the belfry had been closed from the inside, and that the knobs had been broken off from the inside and thrown from the inside underneath the flooring of the gallery upon which this door opened. Having accomplished this, the only way in which the murderer of this girl could descena into the main body of the church was over the false roof of the auditorium from the belfry, coming down behind the pulpitto the bap- tistry, down the stairs thatled into the Sun- day-school room, through the doors from the infant classroom into the main Sunday-school room—the position in which Durrant met the startled eyes of King, the organist. During the time of the disappearance of Blanche Lamont, and before her body was dis- covered, Durrant was seen by Frank Sademan, the janitor of the Emmanuel Baptist Church, down at the ferry at the foot of Market street. Durrant informed him that he had a clew that led him to the belief that Blanche Lamont was going to Oakland to visit some friends, and that he was waiting at the ferry to intercept her. On April 3, 1895, when Durrant met this girl and accompanied her to church, his name appeared upon the rollcall of students who were present at Dr. Cheney’s lecture at the Cooper Medical College, but this rollcall was taken at the end of the lecture, when there is great confusion. We will show that on occa- sions before this Durrant secured fellow-stu- dents to answer his name as being present at these rollcalls when in fact he was not pres- ent, and that there was no student in the en- | rant discriminations. tire class who saw Durrant present at the lec- ture. A few days after this he met a fellow-student and induced him to go into a room at the col- lege and there to read over to him the notes that he took at Dr. Cheney’s lecture upon this day in order that he (Durrant) might sustain the doctor’s questions upon the lecture. If we show you these facts, and, as we confi- dently expect, that no ore but the prisoner could have committed this outrageous and hor- rible erime, we shall look to you as citizens of the great State whose reputation for justice and for enforcement of the laws we, as its officers, are trying to uphold, to render your verdict that the prisoner at the bar is guilty of murder in the first degree. . DURRANT AT THE CHURCH. Expedition of the Court to the Scene of the Awful Murders. The prison van in front of Emannuel Church, an accuséd murderer hauled back to the scene of two crimes that startled the Oontinued on Ninth Page, More Statements of the Southern Pacific Company. REVENUE FROM FREIGHT Comparative Incomes' From This Source for Two Years Submitted. TWO INTERESTING LETTERS, Contradlctions Made of Certain Railroad Testimony—Finan- clal Affairs. On no day since the Railroad Commis- sioners took up the consideration of Chair- man La Rue’s resolution providing for a horizontal cut of 15 per cent on grain rates throughout the State were the railroad’s representatives so hard pressed to make a favorable showing. They only succeeded in leaving a record of broken promises, evasions and direct contradictions of former statements. So marked were these developments that it led Commissioner Stanton to call atten- tion to them, saying that they justified him in having suggested another course than that of taking up the 15 per cent reduction. “What we should have done,” he re- marked, ‘“‘was to have adjusted those dis- criminations which in particular had been called to our attention, such as those in the Salinas and San Joaquin valleys. These should have been acted upon with- out any long-winded investigation, and then we could have taken our time in making the most thorough investigation into the affairs of the Southern Pacific Company in connection with the 15 per cent resolution. *These delays are just what I had ex- pected to encounter. They will prevent the farmers from getting any reduction in the moving of this season’s crops, and it was this outcome that I wanted to prevent. “lam not opposed to the 15 per cent resolution, butI was opposed to taking it up before we had adjusted the most flag- I still think that my plan is the prover one. Present dis- criminations must be adjusted before a horizontal reduction can be fairly made.”” Two interesting communications were read by Assistant Secretary Kelly pre~ liminary to the further hearing of the Southern Pacific case before the Railroad Commission yesterday. The first was from the Karmers’ Co-operative Union of Biggs, Cal., and called attention to an al- leged misrepresentation of General Freight Agent Smurr in one of his comparative rate statements. It was as follows: BiGes, Cal., Aug. 31, 1895. H. M. La Rue, Railroad Commissioner, Sam Francisco—DEAR SIR: T desire to call your ate tention to the list of towns on the California and Oregon Railroad and their distances from Port Costa_presented at the meeting of your board on the 20th inst. by Mr. Smurr. Inthat List, as published in the San Francisco papers, the distance from Biggs to Port Costa is states to be 131 miles, which is the distance from Biggs to Port Costa via Roseville Junction and Sacramento. Now, Mr. Smurr ought to know that all grain hauled from Marysville and points north of that place to Port Costa is shipped via Knights Landing and Davisville, which is eighteen miles less than via Sacra- mento, so that the distance from Biggs to Port Costa is 113 miles instead of 131 miles. Eighteen miles should be deducted from the distances on Mr. Smurr’s list in order to get the number of miles from Marysville and towns north of that place on this railroad. In conclusion I desire to state that the farm. ers and business men here appreciate your efe forts to get a reduction on grain freight rates. Every signer of the petition sent from here is & grain-grower, and if times had not been so bad & delegation of farmers would have attended your meeting. Yours very truly, . BROWN, Superintendent and Secretary the Farmers® Co-operative Union. The other took exception to the states ment made by Assistant General Manager Curtis before the commission that no ma- terial reduction of wages had ever been made by the Southern Pacific Company. It is as follows: 8AN FRANCISCO, Aug. 30, 1895. Mr. H. M. La Rue—DEAR SiRk: I saw an article in this morning’s paper in regard to a question of wages in the commission yesterday. Mr. Curtis states that the wages have not been res duced. The wages were reduced on_the 1st of November, 1894, in the freightsheds from $2 25 per day to $1 80 per day, and not full time at that. Sometimes the wages are not more than $32 in a month, at the rate they work, and still they say the wages have not been reduced. We wish you would please de- mand the books to find out the truth of our statement. We are unable to make a living at the wages paid us. If you will please demand the payroll for the last ten months you will find what we say is true. Relying on your honesty in the past, we hope you_ will bring this before the commission, and also Mr, Cur« tis, for inyestigation as soon as possible. Hemember the freightsheds, corner of Fourth and Townsend streets. Hoping you will bring this to notice, we remain, Yours, very respectfully, ‘THE WORKMEN. These were filed for future reference, and then Attorney Martin made another plea for the railroad’s failure to fully comply with the request of the Commissioners in reference to furnishing a statement of ita freight business according to the schedule of the Western classification, and which on Saturday its representative had prom= ised to do. He said: So far as we have been able to will present a_statement of the %t traflic and the revenue derived from it. We shall ive the entire tonnage of freight, including the products of farming, mining, manufactur- ing and_merchandise originating within the State. This will give the comparative tonnage of these different things with the wheat ton- nage. Then we will give you the revenue from propare it wo Continued on Eighth Page. Kept Me Well All Summer Says one hard working woman, to whom vacation was only a vision, and who took the great blood purifier, nerve tonic and appetizer, Hood’s Sarsapat:illa_ 2t