The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, March 14, 1896, Page 11

THE SAN FRANCISCO CALL SATURDAY, MARCH 14, 189 — 11 made by this commission was in the f | case of the Southern Pacific, to the exclu- i | District Attorney Foote Says Congress Alone Can Fix Freight Rates. ARGUES FOR THE GOVERNMENT Probability That Counsel for the Rail- road Commission ‘Will Open on Monday. Chief Counsel Herrin concluded his ar- | gument in the Southern Pacific case in the | precede his chie sion of the other linesin California. The act of a party or people in pledeing a Rail- road Commissioner to reduce rates, or | to perform any other function whatever, | is unexampled in the history of any State, | | save California. I maintain that if the | acts of a body pledged before election to | do certain things were to he sustained by | the court if would virtually mean a con- | fiscation of railroad property in Cali- | fornia,”” | within the Circuit Court room for some time. He said that while no court hadfpower to arbitrarily set aside a legislative enact- ment still courts might use their authority in applying the provisions of an enact- ment to particular cases. He could not see how California should be treated by any other rule than the other States of the Union. If the Government_has a right to tax one business enterprise it may tax all. If -the power exists in the Railway Com- mission to override all other powers, then the right to control the operation of the road, placing: it under the jurisdiction of Congress. 4 % “The Government,”’ he said, “‘aided the establishment of the railway as a National thoroughfare, a transcontinental highway between the Atlantic and Pacific coasts of this Republic. The project hung fire for some years, until the civil war opened the | eyes of the people to the need of such a Na- tional highway, and the scheme was forth- with carried into effect.” 4 | " In conclusion Mr. Foote said the ques- Importer of Chinese ‘Women. DEALER N SLAVE GIRLS, Wong Sam Is Exposed as an | the Federal Government cannot be called At the close of Mr. Herrin's argument | ¢upreme nor the Federal constitution the tion to be decided was whether the action of the Railway Commission in the present. Mr. Pillshury, who was to have been the | next to addri he court, waived his right | to speak at this juncture, provided he | might be allowed to do so later. Judge McKehna said hecould see no rea- son for not acceding to Mr. Pillsbury’s re- quest, if the other counsel had no objection { to its being granted. For himself, he said, the order in which the arguments might be made was of no moment. | After a brief sotto voce discussion among | the barristerial luminaries on both sides | it was decided to allow Mr. Pillsbury to follow Attorney-General Fitzgerald. ~ As- | sistant Attorney-General Anderson will | in reciting the history of ‘\\ 9GS p/s.—,fliy | % Grows Lloovenra | Court yesterday ng his three days’ speec with a scathing denunciation of the prac- ogue on the part of politi cting pledges from candidates, v they engaged to perform certain lic acts after their election. “One of the Railway Commissioners, a ant in this action,” continued Mr. Herrin, “was pledged by his party to secure a reduction of fr kable fact that the only reduction | al par- Itisa | the mortgage which the Government holds | against the Ci 1 Pacific Company. Ex-| a rnes will follow Mr. Piflsbury, | arber will close for the railroad. e was finally agreed | upon United States District Attorney Foote | addressed the court on behalf of the inter- vention of the United States Government. | Mr. Foote 1 ed rather feeble, and several | times during his spirited address his voice | trembled and became husky. Still his| argument was well worthy of the man, being pernaps as florid and ornate a mas- highest Jaw of the land. It is pretended now,” he continued, ‘‘to reduce the rates of the whole Southern Pa- cific system and its leased lines. This seems to strike a blow at the rudimental principles of justice. Surely taxation should be as far as possible uniform. Why, then, should one institution be singled out for attack?"” The matter of reducing transportation rates of interstate railways pertained, he Dennes /j’z‘;\&w Stuores THE Sirevaron) o contended, to the Federal Government and not to the States in particular, nor to any State-constituted commission. He cited the law to the effect that Congress | was the proper authority to pass upon The Government, in con- | such watters. stituting the railway company a legal cor- | poration, supposed that its roads would be run in a manner conducive to the general | good of the people of the entire Republic. The corporation was to hold itself in readi. | ness to transport troops, munitions and mail matter as well as freight and pas- sengers, To do this the roads would have to | be kept in perfect order, whatever the cost, and their owners were responsible under | this head to the Federal Government. He | cited dicta of Justices Field and Waite of the United States Supreme Court in sup- port of this view. The railway, he went on to argue, should be subject to the public control in so far as its business might affect the pub- lic interest. A diminution in its revenues might work an injury to the republic, either by forcing the railway into the hands of a receiver, or by rendering it un- | able to make any contributions to the sinking fund. With the- railway thus crippled, be said, many evils might with reason be apprehended. Who could tell when war might cast its blighting shade over this country? In such an event the utility of the railway to the country at large would be luminously apparent. Houw, save by means of the railway, could troops, ammunition and supplies be con- | veyed across the continent to places where they might be most urgently needed. ongress,” Mr. Foote went on to state, “has given evidence of its intent to retain the right of superyising the business of the transcontinental railway and of regulating its rates in case they might require adjust- | ment. This right stiil remains with Con- red to | | sel, A. L. Stetson, general manager, and gress, and has never been trans the jurisdiction of any other tribunal.” Mr. Foote gave an outline of the rail- way'’s history, dwelling particularly upon the events in connection with its incorpor- instance could be considered constitu- tional. He claimed he had proved to his own entire satisfaction, if 1o no one else’s, | that the Railway Commission had no con- | stitutional right to take such action. Con- | gress rcservefi to itself the power to limit ailway transportation rates, and had not delegated that power. Regard must also | be had to the principles.of natural justice | and equity underlying the case at’ issue. The railway, the country’s protection in the day of war and its comfortin time of peace, had done much to render California great and famous. He thought Califor- nia’s hand should be the last 10 be raised | against an_institution which had so sig- | Brought to California to Fellow a Life of Shame. SAD STORY OF DONG SUN YET. She Was Sold as a Slave in China and Dong Sun Yet is a pretty Chinese girl, 20 years of age, and now a central figure in | tor Wise, on the other hand, took an ac- had bought her. Though a native of Ch: she was told to say that she was born in California, that she went to China with her mother when only 3 years of age, and that her father was.a2 merchant in China- town. Dong Sun Yet admitted that her life in Canton had not been the fairest. She had been a slave for five years and was sold as such for $350. Mexicar coin. This was when she was about to embark for Califor- nia. She wastold on leaving thatafter serving as a slave for four years and a half in San Francisco she would have earned ber freedom. Fortunately the missiona- ries had heard her story and took her un- der their sheltering wing. Another Chinese woman testified that Wong Sam had asked her to negotiate for the sale of Dong Sun Yet. On being ques- tioned as to how she knew it was the same woman that she was asked to sell she pro- duced a picture of Dong Sun Yet taken in China. Speeial Agent Moore was not present at the examination of Wong S8am yesterday. He has been vanquished all along the line by Collector Wise, and is now regarded as aperson of a retiring disposition, Collec- | nally benefited the State._ Court adjourned until next Monday, when the counsel for the Railroad Com- missioners will open. e WHITE SUES ONCE MORE, He Wants the Lot Mrs. Galla- gher Left to the Arch- bishop. THE DEALER AND HIS The Deed Was Executed Too Near Her Death, He Says, and Was Never Delivered. 1 P. J. White, administrator of the estate of Ellen Gallagher, has added another suit to the litigation over the disposition of Mrs. Gallagher’s property. The suit is against Archbishop Riordan, and it is to set aside a deed conveying to the Archbishop a lot on Fourth street valued at $25,000. The deed was executed April 5, 1805, and three days later Mrs. Gallagher died. She had not given the | deed to the Archbishop, but had placed it | in the care of Father Nugent, the defend- ant in the recent_suit. It was not deliv- ered by Father Nugent until after Mrs. | Gallagher's death. / | The plaintiff claims that the deed was | testamentary in character, and so was| void because executed within thirty davs | of Mrs. Gallagher's death. It is also | the Custom-house scandal. claimed that the deed is void because it | PoSe Of engaging in an immoral calling in was not delivered to the Archbishop until | 5% Francisco. after the maker's death. | A ¥ 2 i - The property is situated near St. Rose’s | Pusiness of importing Chinese slave girls Church. and sold to Wong Bam and a woman named Ah Ling. ORGANIZED FOR BUSINESS. The Yosemite and Merced Railway Elects Officers and Officials. in the examination of Wong Sam before United States Commissioner Heacock yes- | day in the Mills building and elected | | vice-president; American Bank and Trust | inspector now under a cloud. | Company, treasurer; Theodore Reichert, | secretary. terday. She figured in the Custom-house and Treasury Agent scandals, inasmuch as she exposed the character of Wong Sam, 3 2 who is the one man on whose evidence officers for the ensuing vear as follows: | Major Moore expected to get a conviction O. D. Baldwin, president; James Uross, | in the case against “Dick” Williams, the According to her story Sam is e fit person for San Quentin. His businass is said to be that of a dealer in Chinese slave girls. e The witness stated that Ah Ling and G. A. Wulkop, traffic manager. An ex- | Wong Sam met her at the steamer on her ecutive committee consisting of Messrs. | arrival here. After being sold by the Chi- The directors of the Yosemite Valley and Merced Railway Company met Thurs- E. T. Preston was elected general coun- | | Baldwin, Wulkop and A. L. Stetson was | naman who broucht her to this port for ation, as tending to show that the Federal | appointed to manage the business affairs | terpiece of oratory as has been heard | Government had retained in express terms | of the new corporation. the purpose of leading an immoral life Wong Sam told her that he and Ah Ling CHATTEL She was im- | ported from her native land for the pur- She was brought over last November by a Chinaman engaged in the | i 5 Dong Sun Yet was on the witness-stand BEFORE THE COURT. (Sketched by a “Cali’’ artist. | tive part in the prosecution, which was conducted by Assistant District Attorney Slessinger and Lyman I. Mowry. The case will be eontinued at 10:30 o'clock to-day. “Texas Steer” at the Columblia. The sale of seats for Hoyt’s “Texas Steer” at the Cotumbia Theater next week began Thurs- day with a rush,and the mansgement confi- dently predict big business for the entire en- | gagement. Everybody knows the fame of “Texas Steer,” and from the sale of seats so far it seems as though everybody intended to see it again for the second and perhaps third times. —————————— It is computed that there are in London some 50,000 families in such a miserable plight that each family has only | one room to live in. A GRAND JURY SESSION, An Indictment for Obtaining Property by False Pre-, tenses. Supervisors May Amend the Open Poker Ordinance as the Jury Requested. The Grand Jury yesterday afternoon indicted James H. Cummings for obtain- ing money and property by false pretenses. The indictment was found on the testi- mony of L. W. Schelle, W. H. Schooler and A. ‘Bainbridge and in due form re- ported to Judge Slack. According to the testimony and the documents in the case Cummings in Sep- tember, 1894, obtained from G. Scheele ou an assignment of a promissory note and a mortgage real property to the value of $7500. Cummings represented that a promissory note of one W. T. McCarty was secured by mortgage on land in Sonoma County valued at $5000 and land in Butte County worth $2500. It was further represented, according to the testimony, that H. M. Barstow, an attorney of Napa, had ex- amined the title to the Sonoma County land and found it perfect. The complainant went before the Grand Jury ana stated thatthe Sonoma County land was not as highly cultivated as repre- sented; that it was not near Petaluma, as Cummings stated, and that the title had not been examined by Barstow. It was further shown to the jury that the Butte County land was not adjacent to Bidwell’s orchard, as represented and that the soil was not a rich loam. The Grand Jury was satisfied that Cum- mings made false representations to Schelle and upon the false pretenses did obtain vaiuable propert.,y. The case was once 1n Judge Joachimsen’s Police Court, but was dismissed on the ground that the land was there for Schelle to examine before he parted with his goods. | ~ Last Monday the Grand Jury sent a com- | munication to the Board of Supervisors | asking that the ordinance against open | poker games be re-enacted to cure a defect | 1n the penalty clause. The Judiciary Com- mittee of the Board of Supervisors has recommended that the board correct the ordinance according to the suggestions of | the District Attorney and the Grand Jury. Early in the session of the present Grand | Jury a communication was received from | the'Board of Education inviting thorough | investigation of School Department af- | fairs, The subject was referred to the committee of the jury which consists of Frank P. McLeunnan, Alpheus Bull Jr. | and C. L. Haskell. Itis expected thatan investigation will be made in accordance with the request. ————— Says Mr. Searles Does Not Care. %o the Editor of The Call—St: In THE CALL of to-day you have given promimence to & statement that Mr. Searles desires to have me elected president of the 4rt Association. You also reccommend an opposition ticket, but add that the members would not care 10 oppose Mr. Searles’ wishes. There is no foundation for the above statements. Mr. Searles does not know that there is to be an election, and has never given a thought to the presidency. He onid ba Hon only surprised, but indignant, to know that such & rumor was afloat. Ido not want to be president, and Mr. Searles does not care who is president. Such unauthorized and false publications do not tend to encourage his generosity to this institution. I hope that you will give to this communicatioa equal promi- | nence with the article above referred to, in order that the members may have that free- dom of choice you intimate they do not care to assert. Respectiully, H. G. PraTT. March 18, 1896. PACIFIC TELEPHONE ~» TELEGRAPH COMPANY. +RESIDENCE TELEPHONES+ WITHIN REACH OF $2.50 PER MONTH AND 5¢ PER SWITCH. Double Line and Long Distance Instruments. Will Be Supplied by GROCERS and Other TRADESMEN FREE Upon Application. " IT WILL CONNECT WITH ALL TELEPHONE SUBSCRIBERS. I.. EI. TJACOEI, EVERY HOUSEHOLD IN SAN FRANCISCO. OR KITCHEN TELEPHONES Contract Agent, 218 Bush Street