The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, January 16, 1896, Page 10

10 THE SAN FRANCISCO CALL, THURSDAY, JANUARY 16, 189€. WITTLAND WAS A BETTING MAN The Grangers' Bank Teller | “Plunged” at the Races. i | HIS DARING OPERATIONS Took Gold Coin From Trays aud‘ Made No Entry of Many | Deposits. [ [ ANOTHER SKELETON UNVEILED Frank McMullin, Ex-Teller, Got | $22,000 From the Bank Worthless Securities. | | on | rooms of tbe Young Women's Christian | in lus nge uk, | v Tre Can | e surprise to i | i than aston- out California and In every nt of the short- re bank to ‘ land, re- bank, had absconded | to the institution, where the d m t enc passbooks with the bank had th the ledgers, as through skillful manipulation hat Wittland stole at least and friend ends. sinee another skeleton in angers’ Bank, which, represents in connection with ency about $29,000 lost to This of courseisup todate, vy interior customers y paying te il three years on for many to the ma e time as a respi in the eyes of the directors. nal in his t r1on at amount of $22.000. z County 1d held 100 rd Com- pany at Woodland; he owned a tract of productive cactus land in the Mo- jave desert that never had any real value. | besides Upon these he borrowed the mon Three years ago ne leit the®ank and ever since efforts have been made to collect on his securitie S different d Com- ilable, av worth about $6000, the Hin. a the second now in tle hope is left for hank stated yes- land upon loss from $15,000 to $17,000 i 1 teller. | ent La in which he | tement absconding teller had got | rly $12,000, possibly more. “worked the scheme in ways, but chiefly the passboo <. In one in- nce, we found where he had taken a $20 | ece frc the top of each pile in a $10,000 tray. After the bank closed we counted | the cash, all except that tray. Then, when | I went home I began turning the matter over in my mind until 1 determined to | have that t counted and the others | examined carefully. 1 reasoned there | might have been dummies in these trays, | and started back at once to the bank. On going over the trays I saw the piles of $20 pieces were all right, but this particular | one that had not been counted short | $20 on esch of the twenty-iive piles, or $500 | in all. There was $100 zlso taken from the cash. Tk was_stolen manipulating the passhooks. Wittland took mon ter entering it in customers’ passbooks. nstead of putting the comn on the table | he dropped it into his pocket. When a | depositor passed in money the amount | was entered in his passbook, and the re- | ceiving-teller was supposed to put a tag | with the name and amount on the file, | Then the bookkeeper took the tags from the file and credited them in the ledger. In many cases there were no tags. so the:| pee lations conld not have been detected. f the customers had given in their books to be written up there would have been a | discovery, but Wittlana was too careful to | let the passbooks get into other hands. | He wrote them up himself. To do this I remained on duty all the time for si months, during which period th was going on daily. day, knowing t! ‘ Over the comntes | x caling He never took a holi- t if be did take one his crooked work would have been discovered at once. “In one case we found where he had | taken $4000 at one time; and later on, when the depositor came baek, this mone: was refunded but about $1200. Proba- bly Wittland made a winning on the races and tried to cover up his tracks in this in- stance. But be frequently changed money from one account to another to elude de- tection. We believe that he cleaned up | most of the money taken within six weeks before the bank closed.” | “How did he spend the money ?” “He played the races, and operated | through a pooiroom downtown at the rate | of something 1 $10( We don't know if he had any accomplice in this work, but he certainly found some means of getting rid of large sums of mone through outsiders, because he was always at his post during the duy. We placed all | confidence in hin:; he was a plain, home man, who never seemed to spend money, | ana did not dress above his means. His | alary was $150 a month, and, besides, his | wife boarded students of the university in | his home at Berkeley. Knowing all this, | we mgk him to be a shrewd, saving young | man. | Wittland used to visit the racecourse | tu and was known 1n the betting | ingas a plunger, usually goiug as high | 00 or 800 on a horse. In this way he | d company with an odd thousand or | at the end of each week. Manager | Pardee of the insurauce company that | will pay $10,000 to the bank on Wittland's | bonds declared he knew nothing of the | matter, and claimed that the felony might | have been compromised had 1c¢ not been made public apd the farmers been in- S0 | | | of the bank for years, withdrew yesterday | ticers were_elected for the ensuin President, Mrs. vie | contained | them from the defendant. formed of the true state of affairsin the bank. e A NEW MANAGER. 1 ! | August Muenter of Stockton In- stalled—A First Dividend of 30 Per Cent Declared. Mr. Montpellier, who had been manager noon and his place was taken by August Muenter of Stockton, who will have charge of the liquidation pro- lings. | The directors held a meeting yesterday | and resolved to pay 50 per cent of the en- tire indebtedness immediately, beginning -day. The ba will be képt open for two hours daily for the payment of debts. Other payments will be ‘made as fast as money can be collected from the varied se- curities. Meanwhile expenses have been cut to the lowest possible figure. “On the assets marked ‘doubtful’ we are collecting very nicely,” said Mr. La Rue, | “and as for all other assets we expect to be able to collect easily without pressing | borrowers or injuring stockhoiders in any | way. | ““We have a lease on the bank premises | for a year at$500 a month, and are trying to- lease'the offices to an insurance company, | onr desire being to move into a small oflice with low rent until the business shall | have been wound up.” | OCCIDENTAL KINDERGARTEN. | Election of Officers. The annual meeting of the managers of | the Occidental Kindergarten Assoctation s held Monday, January 13, at the | | Association. A review of the year's work HALE & NORCROSS DEBATE | Supreme Court Arguments on the Appeal From Entry of Judgment. 1HEABIN(} BEGUN YESTERDAY. Attorney Wood Presents the Case for Alvinza Hayward — Mr. Baggett's Reply. The seven Supreme Court Justices tilted and rocked in their high-backed chairs, and the lawyers in the Hale & Norcross case talked on. It was yesterday afternoon that the ap- | peal from the entry of judgment was taken up, and Attorney W. S. Wood made the | opening argument for Alvinza Hayward ‘and other defendants against whom the Supreme Court had ordered a judgment | 2 | for a little more than $210,000. | Annual Meeting of the Association and | Judge Heb- bard of the Superior Court had entered judgment according to the instructions handed down by the higher body, but the defendant’s attorneys found technical grounds for an appeal from that Judge’s action, alleging that the judgment was premature, raising questions of jurisdic- of the appeal which, in its opinion, is appro- priate 1o the ends of justice. Tnis power to modify judgments so ‘that the ends of litiga- tion might be reached and exact justice done has been often exercised by this court and can no longer be questioned. Z | Butappellants say that they are making no are questioning the validity of the judgment of the lower court, and, while pretending to admit the right of this court to make any judg- | ment it may see fit, they challenge the power of the lower court'to enter a judgment upon one of the issues in & cause before disposing of the remainder. _This, we say with such respect as we shonld show, is absurd, for they certainly know that the judgment from which they have taken this appeal is nothing more nor less than the judg- meat of this court if it has been entered as di- | rected by this court. It is not the judgment of a trial court in the sense and within the mean- ingrof the several cases cited by counsel for re- enter separate judgments upon issues made by the pleadings in a cause. When this court has heard an appeal and has determined for itseli what judgment the trial | court should have rendered, the judgment | that it orders to bo entered is the judgment of | this court, whether it be & _judgment ot affirm- ance, reversal or modification. - A judgment of the Superior Court when modified by the order or airection of the Supreme Court is not a judgment of the Superior Court 3t modified as directed; it is to all intents and purposes the | Judgment of the Supreme Court, and an ap- peal from the entry of a modified judgment would not be allowed, but_for the possivility | that the judgment en'tered is not in accord- ance with'the directions of the appellate court. | _Ifit be conceded, as counsel pretend to con- | cede, that this court could order the entry of a judgment ubon one issuc and a further trial of other issues, and the judgment was entered as directed, their ppeai is but an unwarranted | attack upon the judgment of this court; it is | au appeal to this court from its own judgment. |~ Clearly the appeal in this case is frivolous and vexatious and was taken for delay; it is a | flagrant abuse of the privilege granted by the law in such cases and is & contempt of this | court. Itis, furthermore, apparently, an arro- gant defiance of the law and of the judgment | of this court. similar cuscs mssess heavy damage: | purpose of punishing such contempt: for the discour- ATTORNEY WARD WOOD ADDRESSING IS REPRESENTED IN THE THE SUPREME COURT ON THE HALE & EXTREME RIGHT FOREGROUND, Sketched by a “Call” staff artist.] HIs NORCROSS APPE ALVINZA HAY- ARM RESTING ON THE TABLE. stows an enroliment f 102 children and an 5 nditure of §1650. The managers are grateful to their many friends and the public for the substantial kindnesses shown them and hope that the coming vear will see no diminution in the interest 1 this noble The following of- ear: Albert S. I on; first Bremer; second lum; correspond- nanuel; record- art; treas- THE FLEMING LIBEL SUIT, oh c _presiden _presiden secretar secretur; il Preliminary Examination Com- menced Before Judge Conlan. Defendant Framed the Charges, but Denied Giving Permission to Publish Them. | without usurping the pri | that the ore w tion and asserting that the Supreme Court’s instructions were not properly car- ried out. Mr. Hayward was in the courtroom yes- terday, and he leaned forward at his cor- ner of the attorneys’ table, listening at- tentively to every word that was said. About thirty of “the leading members of the San Francisco bar were present. ver Wood argued for an hour that the judgment already given was not final. ‘It is claimed,” he said, *‘that this court, asa court of equity, works out relief ac- cording to the circumstances of a case. No distinction can be shown in California between a case at equity and a caseat law, and this court cannot take such a position lege of the Legislature. “We claim that this is not a case of equity, but strictly a case of law. There are just two points in_the litigation: that too much was chargzed for the milling, and as not properly milled, “Itis purely, sim];[y and éntirely a mat- | ter of judgment; there are no equitable | considerations. The judgment was entered at a time wken the case was not determined, when | it bad been untried, and_the judgment is not a final adjudication.”” Attorney W. T. Baggett, opposing the | appeal, said: The preliminary examination of James | B. Fleming, ex-superintendent of the | Public Pound, was commenced in Judge | Conlan’s court yesterday morning. The | complaining witness is F. A. Osborn, | roundmaster, and the alleged libel was in an article published in TrE CaLz on December 15 Jast. When the case called Attorney | Cabaniss, for the defendant, moved for a dismissal on the constitutional ground that the Police Court had no jurisdiction to try cases of criminal libel where the | punishment provided by law was more | than a fine of $1000 or imprisonment for a veriod of mere than one year. He con- tended, therefore, that such cases were plainly without the jurisdiction of the Police Courts, The prosecution in cases | of indictable misdemeanors, such as crimi- nal libel, must be founded either upon indictment by the Grand Jury or by direct proceeding in the Superior Court, which, he contended, had originel jurisdiction. The Judge was of the opinion that he had sufficient jurisdiction and ordered the | examination to proceed. The reporter who wrote the article for | was | THE CALL testified that he simply pub- | lished the alleged facts as he received | He was in- | formed at the time by the defendant that | he had prepared specific charges to be pre- | sented to the Grand Ju The defendant | permitted him to copy the charges and he | was allowed to publish them after consult- | ing Judge Partridge. | The article furnished by the defendant | to the reporter was introduced and the | prosecution rested, Tie detendant in his testimony admitted framing the charges, but denied that he had given permission for their publication. He said that the reporter had promised not to publish the story without first hay- ing secured his permission, or until after the Grand Jury bad concluded its in- vestigation. He admitted giving the re- porter permission to copy tne charges. The case by consent was then continued to Saturday. —. .. See Yups Attack a Sam Yup. Along Clay street, between Dupont and Stockton, yesterday afternoon there was almost & general Chinatown riot. The trouble was started by a See Yup who objected to another Chinese purchasing groceries of a Sam Yup. The Sam Yup's patron beeame & victim of the aggressive See Yup's pugilistic tendencies and a100b of See Yup sympathizers soon appeared, vacating that associetion's headquariers on the northwest corner of Clay and Dupont streets to indulge their factionalism. Police- man Amos Williams promptly took the See Yup assailant into his custody, who gave the namne at the California-street Police station of Ah Wau, and his cailiug as that of & cook. The sam Yup cscaped up Clay street, quaking with te{lrol’ As soon as he could get loose from his as- sailant. | been ordered to be entered for The questions presented by this appeal are: First—Did the court order and direct the of the judgment for the time and for the amount for which it stands entered? Second—If so, had this court the power or | jurisdiction to make such order and direction? Discussing the first question, the counsel for appellant admits that this court aid order and | direct the entry of the judgment for the specific amonnt for which this judgment is entered, but did “not direct the entry, immediately or otherwise, of any separate judgment on the | issue as o the milling charges aud a subse- quent trisl of the other 1ssues.” They claim that the ction of this court on the former ap- | peal “‘simply fixes the amount of the recovery |§ on tnat issie) to be incorporated in the final udgment in ihe cause to_be entered after the trinl and determination of the other issues.” So the question is narrowed to a considers- tion of whether, by the order and directions of | this court, the judgment should have been | entered at'the time it was entered or, as appel- lants claim, -“incorporated in the final judg- ment in the cause after the trial and determi- | on of the other issues.” The language is plain, unambiguous and in- telligible, The Superior Court “s directed to enter a judgment as of the date of its former | Does not this indicate the date of | judgment.” the judgment? If the judgment for this 210,197 50 is to bear date of the former judg- ment, June 11,1892, it must be construed as entered on that date. Ifitisby the order of his court 4 be held as entered as of the date of June 11,1892, is it not then a direction that itshould be actually entered upon the filing o(qlhu remittitur as of the date of June 11, 18922 How could the court enter judgment for | $210.197 50 asof the date of June 11,1892, and “incorporate the same in the final judg. ment 10 the cause to be entered after the trial and determination of the other issues,” which | has not vet been done? To incorporate such a judgment in the judg- ment to be rendered aiter the trial ana de- termination of the other issues would be entering the judgment as of & date long subse- quent to the time directed by the court, and if the amount was “incorporated” in the judg- ment entered after the trial of the other is it would be entering a judgment for a di sum from that directed by the court in the event additional damnges are found. There can be no question in our minds as to what this court intended. And after all the power of this court to make such an order and direction ns it made on the former appeal is the object of appeliants’ attack, disguise it as they mey. They were displeased, of course, with the “judgmént of this court. They must have understood then, as they claim to understand now, that a judgment had 210,197 50 as of the dute of June 11, 1892, with iuterest from that date, and they had thirty days In which to file their objections to the judgment of the | court. They did file their application for a re- | hearing, but nowhere suggested the matters of which they complain. The jurisdiction of this court is gone forever As to the judgment entered on that hearing. No objection to any error or want of jnrisdic- tion can ever be interposed in any form or manner to the full and complete execution of that judgment according 1o its plain meaning. But this court does Xossess ample power to make such order and direction as was made in this case. It is broad enough to encompass &any judgment which in its Ol)lniun the facts as found b{ the trial court indicate would meet the ends of justice. By the canstitution and by the statute this court has been given ample power to direct the entry of any judgment upon the hearing | aging such appeals and indemnifying the re- sponden The court, after long and mature delibera- tion, unanimously decided that defendants entered into a fraudulent conspirscy to de- raud the stockholders of the Haie & Norero | Mining Company, aud thet the facts found & the trial court justified its judgment that the company end its stockholders had been dam- aged through said fraudulent conspiracy, on one item alone, $210,197 50, and ordered that amount to be entered in a judgment as of the Cate of the judgment of the trial court, June ! 11, 1892, with interest from that date. The stockhoders had a right to expect the immediate payment of this sum of money. Thelr stock became worth in the market upon the announcement by the court of last resort &bout $2 per share. But when perfected the stock fell from $2 to 85 cents, and the company levied an assessment to meet , thus entailing burdens and loss, holders, and no doubt forcix many fo part with their holdings at the de: preciated prices inflictien of heavy damages o mey ments. The damages should be 2 | the judgment. | E. S. Pillsbury, who is associated with | Mr. Baggett, followed in a brief discourse. He presented some of the pointsof law bearing on the case, and pointed out the difference between “a final judgment” and ‘‘the final judgment,” arguing that its require- 5 per cent of the Supreme Court's judgment in this | case was “the final” one. i This forenoon the debate will be resumed by representatives of Hayward and Levy. | — TO OUST STATELER. The Strong Fight Being Made by Special Trustee John Chet- wood Jr. The ht Special Trustee John Chet- wood Jr. of the California National Bank 18 making in the Federal courts to oust Thomas K. Stateler from the position of | agent took a lively turn in the chambers | yesterday before Acting Circuit Judge | Morrow. Attorney A. W. Thompson for Chet- wood gave riotice of an intended deposi- tion from D. F. Parker, secretary and manager of the Standard Soap Company, to throw some light upon the disposition |of the 1020 shares of the bank’s stock which Soap King Thomas voted for Stateler at the July 6, 1894, meeting. At- torney R. B. Mitchell for the other side Wwas up in arms in an instant. . The purpose of having Parker’s deposi- | tion introduced is to show that the 1020 shares of stock which at the Alameda County insolvency proceedings were said | to have been transferred to D. E. Dowling, | and which subsequently were alleged to | have been sold to Parker, had never been | purchased by Parker. In'the light of such | Dowling made a false statement when he swore he had sold the stock to Parker. | Mr. Chetwood isinclined to think that the | stock is now in Attorney Mitchell’s pos- session, For a while there was considerable locking of horns by the combative law- yers, but finally the court ventured the opinion that it thought the evidence of Parker should be admitted. It did not make any such decision just then, how- | ever, but postponed action in deference to the attorney for Mr. Stateler. The peculiar phase of the proceedings just now before Judge Morrow is on the question of rederal jurisdiction. Mr. Stateler’s side contends that the court does not have the power to enjoin him from acting as the bank’s agent.” On the other hand he hasa counter suit in the same equity court to have himself judici- ally declared its agent and the bank’s affairs wound up. e ————— Fighting for Time. The vool-sellers ere all fighting for time in the Police Courts with the object of not having their cases heard till after the decision is given in the Superior Court on the Givens appeal cuse. Yesterday Attorney Lennon, for Gilbert Blodes, asked and was granted a further con- tinuance till Saturday in.Judge Joachimsen’s court and Wiiliam Jackman got & contin- uance till Monday after waiving a jury. In Judge kow's court Thomas McQuade and M. k“{ were granted continuauces till Tuesday nex:. > atiack upon the judgment of this court, but | spondents declaring that a trial court cannot | the several | This court should in this and all | appeal wes | his is an aggravated case and demends an | eviderce it would be made to appear that | GAME-DEALERS CHECKED, Fish Commissioners Will Arrest | Those Who Transgress the Law. | S | |STOCK IN COLD STORAGE. A Large Consignment of Brown Trout Eggs En Route From the | East. Although the general game law gives | sportsmen the privilege of shooting small game, such as wild ducks and quail, frem | October 15 to February 15, it hampers the | dealers in game by shortening the season for the sale of certain kirds of wild fowls. | Section 626 of the game law read: Every cold-storage company, and every per- | | son keeping a_ cold-storage warchouse, tavern, | hotel, restaurant or eating-house, and every | marketman or other persun who shall buy sell, expose or offer for sale in this State any | quail, bobwhite, partridge, grouse, dove or | wild duck, whether taken or killed in the State | of California or xhipped into the State from | | any other State, Territory or foreign country, except between the 15th day of November and | the 15th day of January of the following year, | shall be guilty of a misdemeanor. | | This law practically cuts off a large slice | of the revenue which in previous years | | swelled the coffers of the game-dealers and | | the men who shoot game for the markets. | The sportsmen, representing nearly | every county in this State, who met 1n | convention in this City previous to the | meeting of the last Legislature and who | framed laws with a view to checking the | | rapid extermination of game, concluded that unless the market hunters were restricted to a certain time in which to follow a rather lazy and indoient occupa- tion, which is_that of siaughtering dul:ks‘ and quails, this country would soon repre- sent a condition of affairs equal to some of the Eastern States, which are now al- | most barren of any kind of game because of a wholesale and unrestricted decimation of birds and animals by market hunters. | It was not with the intention of giving | sportsmen (which name is applicable to | the poor as well as the rich) a more ex- | tended latitude for the enjoyment of a | pleasure dear to all lovers of the chase that a law restricting the sale of game to | a certain period was deemed necessary by the lawmakers to prevent in some measure | the rapid extermination of the game sup- | ply of this coast. * Insome of the Eastern States the sale of game is prohibited at all seasons, and | it 18 a known fact that many 6f the mar- ket hunters who were forced by the strine gent game laws to seek other fields more favorable to their calling journeyved to | this coast and joined the local market- | hunters in their occupation of killing game | birds for the San Francisco and Sacra- | mento markets, | ‘ J. H. Babcock, chief of the fish and | game patrol of the State, said yesterday in answer to a question as to what action the | Commissioners would take in reference to | the sale of game, thut he would cause the arrest of all persons he detected in the act of transgressing the law as it now reads. “I understand,” said Mr. Babcock, “that the game-dealers have instructed the inters to continue shipping game ana to no attention to the law. Tneir attor- | neys contend that the law, which deprives the market hunters of a rizht to seil game and which gives sportsmen a right to kill game until the 15th of February, is class feeisiation and will not stand fir¢ in court. | I can’t say, of course, what view the courts will take of the question at issue, | but I can assure you that I intend io. be | | guided by the law and will cause the arrest | | of any person I find selling or exposing | gamne for sale during the closed season. | ”“The deputies of the Fish and Game Commission will watch the markets and commission-houses closely. Iam inclined to the belief that a large quantity of the game that will be shipped from the inte- rior to this City will be placed in cold storage. “Tiir CALL has frequently suggested the introduction of the German brown trout in the streams of this coast. I understand that it is a very yame fish and is highly | prized for its edible qualities by anglers and epicures. | “Well, the Commissioners have BCtedi upon TiE CALL'S suggestion, and you will | note by this dispateh just received from J. | Annin of the Caledonia hatchery of New | York State that our anglers will have an opportunity in a few years hence of com- paring the game and edible qualities of the brown trout with the rainbow and | | other varieties of trout indigenous to this | | coust.” | The dispatch is as follows: | One hundred and twenty-five thousand brown trout eggs for Sisson hatehery will start t0-day by Wells, FATEoL& Co.'s exprese. | The eggs will be received on their ar- rival by the superintendent of the Sisson hatchery, and according 1o Mr. Babcock, the fry, when of suflicient size to look out for themselves, will be placed in the head- waters of the Sacramento, Truckee and American rivers, where they will not be taken by anglers who basket small ana | large fishes alike during the months of the open season for trout-fishing. IR & FREE NARKET An Innovation Among the Com- mercial Institutions of the City. the Merchants’ Association Speaks of the Mar- kets in the East. | M. S. Kohlberg of The projected establishment of a free market in the City seems to be causing no little interest in commercial circles. As might be expected, some of the commis- sion firms, if not the majority of them, regard the idea with little favor, since its realization will be tantamount to a dimin- ution in their volume of business. Among | | the more influential mercantile houses, however, may be found a number of stanch advocates of the movement, some of whom wax enthusiastic when they can be started talking on the matter. In the Merchants’ Association the scheme has found a number of warm sup- vorters and the organization has taken an official cognizance of the project by re- mitting it to the consideration of the com- | mittee on trade and fiinance, which con- sists of M. 8. Kohlberg, first vice-president of the association, and Directors J. W. Car- | many, A.J. Fusenot, R. F. Osborne and Josepn Simonson, and which will hold a speciai meeting at the rooms of the asso- ciation for the purpose of devising some practical means of making the proposed iree market one of the established com- mercial institutions of the City. Among those who will address the meset- ing is mentioned W. H. Milis, who is said to be thoroughly versed in the matter under consideration, having seen numbers of free markets in successful operation in various large cities of the Union. i Tarbor Commissioner Chadbourne is | also expected to speak. He has plready on more than one occasion signified his | willingness to do all in his power to secure a site for the market in some easily acces- sible portion of the water front, and is considered one of the strongest supporters upon whom the project must count for its success. Mr. thlberg, chairman of the commit. | The inhabitants of the ( {3t will. " carts commence to arrive. | In Baltimore particularl | ness streets are clos: | and as = tee, when spoken to on the subject yester- | day said: | i I am thoroughly in favor of this free market | | idea. It would prove a blessing to the poor, in | particular, should it be reauced to practice. y, when the free market is in operation, will be able to buy veg- | etables and other farm produce at farlower | rates than those prevailing at present, since | they can purchase directly from the producer. As the market business is at present conaucted | 8 large proportion of the profits goes into the pockets of the middleman or jobbers. These | men, to be sure, carry on a legitimate business, but in order to make it pay well they have to buy as cheably as possible and sell for the | highest figure obtainable. | Under the irce market system the small | farmers will have a chance to dispose of their | goods without sacrificing a half or three- quarters of the profit to others. This will stimulate people living in the country to raise what crops their places may produce, secure in the knowledge that they can get rid of them | at some sort of a figure, anid even in case the price be low by reason of an_ overstocked market, still, wrat little profitsthere may be | will accrue to the producer and not to the | commission broker. | This scheme is going to succeed. I know | The free markets in the Eastern cities are old-established institutions, and in some instances practically the only great markets in the localities where they are. It was in New York thatIsaw the free market idea most fully exemplified. | In the Greenwich Market of that city may be | witnessed a busy scene, morning after morn- ing, the like of which I have never seen in ax other place. From long before dawn the farn The producers, that is, those who actually cultivate the wares the wish tosell, are allowed space in which to di play their stock in trade free of charge. Jol bers, that is to say, agents of other parti doing business on commission, have to pay a small ground rental. In Washington and Baltimore also, free mar- ketsdiave been in operation for many years. I saw a_number of such markets, one of which is so extensive that on market days portions of two large bus d to traflic for a consider ble portion of the day in order that the buy and sellers may be able to carry on their nego- tiations without hindrance or dauger. i In Baltimore I think it was that I saw the so-called *‘market-cars,” which are run on ail lines passing near the free markets. These | cars have in the rear a large semi-circular at- | tachment with shelves for market-baskets, and | are sometimes so filled with farm produce as to be barely distinguishable from the carts of the | couniry people. But I could talk about this market business | all night and all I conld say would be, in sub- | stance, that San Francisco needs a free mar- | ket. She will get one and it will be a grand | success. The commission merchants, who, of course, would be greatly affected by the | establishment of a public market, are any- | thing but pleased with the Merchants’ Association taking up the maiter in a favorable manner. It was not long before nearly all of them knew that there would | be a meeting to-day, and that the commit- tee who have been investigating the project of a public market was likely to present a favorable report. Yesterday a representative of the San Francisco Fruit Exchange called upon Secretary J. R. Freud at the association | headquarters and requested permission to | have a representation of the exchange at the meeting this evening. He said that at least twenty. e members of the exchange would like to be present and give their views upon the projected public market. In the course of his remarks the exchange Tepresentative intimated that the fruit commission men are very much opposed to the establishment of a public market upon the water front. Upon being questioned the gentleman admitted that they are opposed to putting a free market in any part.of the City, and the argument he advanced w. that it would injure the small fruit-dealers who have stands and stores all over the City, Mr. Freud telephoned to Mr. Kohlberg d if the committee could receive a delegation from the Fruit Exchange. The answer was that it would interfere with the business that the committee had planned to transact at this meeting. He suggested that at a later date the fruit commission men could be met and the committee would listen to any protests they have to make agamst the public mar- ket project. — o TO SCALE TAMALPAIS, The Scenic Railroad Has Filed Articles | of Incorporation. | The Mill Valley and Mount Tamalpais | Scen:c Railway has filed articles of in- corporat ion with the County Clerk. The articles state that the corporation formed to construct a mountain raily: ‘“with rails of steel or other metal,”” and to | establish restaurants and telephonic or telegraphic communication between the termini oralong the branches of the road. The road itself, it is estimated, will be about eight miles long. The directors are William C. B. de Fremery of Oakland, Cornelius Toobey, William C. Savage and | Sidney B. Cushing of Marin County, and Charles £. Green, Arthur A. Martin and David McKay of San F isco. Tk ital stock is $200,000, $45,000 ot which been subscribed. c: has | fore the men made the | the bi THE FIRST SOUTHEASTER, It Cost a Man His Life and Did Considerable Damage on the Bay. TWO STEAMERS IN COLLISION, The Schooner Virginia Badly Damaged by Being Thrown Against the Boston. The southeaster predicted by Forecast Ofticer McAdie raised quite a disturbance from the Mail dock to Folsom-street wharf yesterday. The wind blew in furi- ous gusts, snd every vessel in the vicinity got out extra mooring lines. There was quite a chapter of accidents and in one in- stance a fatality At an early hour in the morning the wind was blowing atithe rate of forty-eight miles Liour at Point Lobos, and at noon it had increased to fifty-two miles. The storm must have been local, as at 2 P. M. it was blowing twenty-five miles an hour at Point Reves The fatality was the the British ship Ancaios, lying at Beale- street wharf. Three of the men, named Denman, Fandemer and Morris, got some money from the first mate and went ashore to have a good time. At an early hour in the morning they returned to the vessel considerably under the influence of liquor. The heavy swell made it hard work to get on board, and it was some little time b attempt. Fande- mer and Morris reached the deck all right, but when they turned around Denm was gone. There was no signof him on the wharf, and when a boat was lower and a search made, all that could be fou of the missing man his hat. Thes position is that he lost his balance a lurch of the ship sent him overboard. Iu falling he probably struck his head against u pile and sank 1mmediately The steamers Costa Rica and Wellingt of the Dunsmuir line were in colli and both vessels were considera damaged. They were lying at Folso street wharf 2, and the Costa Rica want to get away. In order to do so in satety a breast line was passed over to the ship Kenilworth, lying at Harrison street, then steamer went astern under a slow when it was most wanted a 0ss of a sailor from bell. T heavy swell and a gust of wind came and t the line parted. In a second the Cost Rica had struck the Wellington bow on The latter lost one of her boats and the aavits, part of her rail and the bridge. The Wellington’s anchor caught in the Costa Rica forward, and, as the latter was driven along it tore away a considerable sortion of her rail and did other damage. i)uth steamers were badly chafed. On the other side of Folsom street the British ship City of Madras had a lively time of it. One of her steel hausers snapped under the strain, and a fe minutes later a manilla cable partec .uckily the others held, and Captain Grii fiths was able to get new lines out before any further damage was done. In the case of this vessel tr on mooring-bi began to give and the captain was com- peiled to move his lines to the mooring piles. The scow schooner Virginia is almost a total wreck, owing to the storm. She had a load of coal on board for the cruiser Bo: ton and attempted to deliver it. The cap- tain got her out to the warship all right, bnt when he attempted to get alongside a big sea picked up his vessel and threw her inst the cruiser. Nearly all her port railing was carried away, and she was so sirained that she besan to leak badly. With the aid of some of thé Boston™s crew she was got away and the captain her for North Beach. There she was put hard and fast on the beach, and at bigh water is half full of water. The greater part of the cargo of coal went overboard whiie she was in <ollision. A number of vessels.were to have been moved or taken to sea, but their captains decided to remain where they are until the storm is over. Among those who re- mained at anchor were the E. K. Wood, which was to have moved to Mission strest; the Halcyon and Rufus E. Wood, which were to have gone to sea, and the Braca- dale, which was to have doc at section 4 of the seawall. e gasoline steamer Moro started for Point R , but when the full force of the storm was felt off Fort Point the captain put about and ran into shelter behind Fort Mason. NEW TO-DAY. PLUG The largest piece of OOD tobacco ever sad foriocents