The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, May 18, 1896, Page 1

Call ' to b the Ljp S —— This 4 aper not f 8 taken from i rary.++++ PRICE FIVE CENTS. CONCLUSIVE EVIDENCE AGAINST BLANTHER, Captain Lees Thought to Have Secured the Rings. GEORGE DODGE'S STORY IS OBTAINED. Was With the Murderer on the Morning After the Crime. THEY PARTED AT BROADWAY, IN OAKLAND. Blocdy Garment Found in Blanther’s Room—He Threatened to Kill Some One. In police headquarters it is denied, but | notwithstanding there is very good reason to believe that the rings stripped from the ingers of Mrs. Pnilippina Langfeldt by her murderer are now locked up in the safe in the office of Chief of Detectives Lees. They were secured from & pawn- | shop. The description of the man who pawned them, as given by the pawn- broker, tallies exactly with that of J. E. planther, the book agent, who spent the evening of Friday with the murdered woman. Together with other evidences brought to light yesterday the suspicion that was | directed against Blanther has turned to | conviction that he is the murderer. The police are upon his trail and his may be expected at any moment. The search for the murderer was direct- ed yesterday upon well - defined lines. Blanther is known to have slept in his «wn room at 822 Geary street on the night of the murder, after the murder. The police yesterday found his trunk | still there aud a satchel already packed. In the satchel was found a nightshirt spotted with blood. Since leaving his lodgings early Satur- day morning he has not been seen there. On that morning about 9 o’clock he called upor. George Dodge, a young architect who has offices in the Merchants’ build- ing. Dodge was about to start for Oakiand and Blanther, apparently in high spirits, walked with him, saying that he, too, was going to Oakland to remain a couple of d They crossed the bay together, talking theosophy ana kindred things, and parted at Fourteenth street. That is the last that is known of Blan- ther’'s movements after the murder. The police leerned this and of Dodge’s inti- macy with Blanther on Friday and there- | fore began & search for him. It was to Dodge, as they learned, more | than to any other of the friends of his prosperous days that Blanther turned in | his financial distress. Dodge loaned him small sums of money and invited him to his mother’s house when he wes hungry. Dodge encouraged him to write and helped | him to try to sel! the product of his pen to newspapers of the City. While others of former friends passed him by Dodge continued his acquaintance, visited and even slept with him at his Geary-street lodgings. For two or three nights immediately preceding Friday Dodge had stayed witd | the desperate man at his Geary-street room at night. Friday night he slevt at home, as he had an engagement to go vachting on Saturday with the Encinal Ciub. He did not get home from his outing until early Sunday morning, and when he arrest | | sat down to breakfast had not heard of the | frightful occurrences of Friday night in ‘wmub bis friena, whom he nad left the | morning before, had been the bloody actor. | In amazement he heard of it from his | mother’s lips. | Dodge, as stated, had himseli become | the object of the search of the police that | they might learn from him of Blanther's | habits and haunts. | Al the early hours of the night before | and up to 3 oclock in the morning the | house had been besieged by detectives and | new spaper men seeking an interview with |bim. It had even been rumored that Blanther was out in the yacht with Dodge. Mrs. Dodge sent a telephone message to police headquarters, as she had promised to do, and Captain Lees and Detective | Byron rang the bell at the Dodge residence a few minutes later. | They hurried him away to police head- quarters before he had rinished his meal. They wanted his assistanc: immediately. Helentit. In company with the detect- ives he led the way to Blanther’slate lodg- ings in Geary street, and there they found important evidence. A satchel already packed contained a blood-stained night shirt. The mrurderer of Mrs. Langfeldt had cut himself and had left his track of blood in the upper hall of the Kleineberg | house and in the lower vestibule at the steps. Here, then, was the other end of the trail in Blanther’s own rocms. A little black trunk was in the room also. ‘This was broken open and some clothing and a quantity of papers, manuscripts, etc., were found. Among other things | were a number of medals which Blanther had declared were given to him by the Austrian Government for meritorious actions. There was also a photograph of Blanther, full length, standing, his breast covered with the medals. The police took possession of what of | these effects they deemed of any assist- ance to them ir identifying the man. On a center-table lay a note, unopened, written by George Dodge himself, saying | that he could not keep & certain engage- | ment with him made previous to Friday night. But Blanther had not been there since he leit, dressed in Lis best on Saturday morning. The police, accompanied by Dodge, vis- | ited all the haunts frequented by Blanther, ncluding his former lodging-house on | Haizht street. A tour of the Austro-Hun- garian district of the City was also made. Detective Ray Silvey was posted at the Geary-street lodging-house by consent of the landlady. She, Mrs. Henley, took to | her bed, prostrated by the horror and ex- | citement of the affair. The storv of Blanther’s life in this City | developed, chapter by chapter, as the police exploited it. It was learned that ne came here orig- inally well supplied with money. He had had a position somewhere in the East asa civil engineer, and after he ran through with his money it was his principal desire, as expressed to his triends, to make his way East. He made a trip to Portland a couple of months ago, but met worse luck | there, and was glad to be able to get back | here. His money he squandered in com- | pany with & well-known Geary-street woman and at the races. He claimed to be expecting passes to the East, and upon their arrival he said he would be able to return to the position he formerly occupied there. —_—— |SAW HIM ON SATURDAY. G. A. Dodge Tells of How He Met and Parted With Blanther After the Murder. There is, perhaps, no other man in the city who has been so near the suspected | man as G. A. Dodge. He has been a par- ticnlar friend of Blanther since the latter’s advent in this City, one who knows all the man’s idiosyncrasies and propensities. | He saw him, talked with him, laughed with him and bade him good-by at the | Seventh-street station, on the broad gauge, in Ozkland, on Saturday morning. His | last words to Dodge on that occasion Wardrobe Fire-prace e Roarl L% Cuba, The Pearl of the Antilles. Seldom, and fare of their neighi to the history of the 1sland. GnZstlew - - SPECIMEN OF BLANTHER’S PENMANSHIP. J. E. Blanther, the last man believed to have been in the murdered woman's company, recently submitted for publication in Tue CALL an article, of which this is a fac-simile page. On its being rejected on the score that it was not news he remarked that he would go and kill some one and that an account of the crime would possibly be accepted : Deksins /M,--&K; cenven, b e ,,7.(27«.2;“ Lre o pert SR, Hipellt Jlladie Zohim ~ prentn orivinl ns P relfianns o P o nilin Koty sespomssin. D Ve suaittly vcnrs shlocs's- collcenso AL iy Yo g KT aandint Gy propese of o g i s ol ripualins B acoorinid: syprcosncsy T b ornSirmine o buun syl asecl 2~ fri aboit Ok, Tk sreasde e o T prncos ol ililidin £ semernt sl a7 secit e, Feanocnas oot 0w, or smctrrrlicinmnt am Koy oot St J, g2 ,;,.7;.m, prdl e ’{“‘-77" Dol Brspne Z o /Ma‘/;‘w % reus pumctocs z"‘/zf Fermen: Mfl/«rfl a/u!'«%.nom«,}f—vm 2 oty senliatld st Ko prnccls sk T covmsy i Moa - e fipuscdd seceds w Ll LF o . /;z.’/“?,. e okrnc Z itl acd %o S Losdsng of Forlecucl o~ From the weekly were: ““Well, I will see you again, yes? Good-by.” Mr. Dodge said last night to a CaLL re- porter: My relations with Mr. Blanther were as the papers have stated. He is a man with whom I have been thrown in close contact, mainly on account of his misfortunes. “Friday evening at about 7 o’clock we went to dinner with a couple of friends—at the Maison St. Germain, on O’'Farrell street. Blanther was in a cheerful and complacent mood. After chatting pleas- antly through the dinner we separated at about 8 o'clock outside of the restaurant on O’'Farrell street. He left saying: ‘I must leave you, jas I am invitea o visit at a friend’s house on Geary street.” I did not see Blanther again until Saturday morn- ing, when I found him awaiting me at my office in the Merchants’ Exchange build- ing. *He had been accustomed to visiting me at the office daily since his latest return to | the City three weeks ago. He was dressed with his customary neatness and looked, if anything, more cheerful and more free from care than I had seen him for some time. He was dressed in a black diagonal suit, dress shirt and white evening tie. “The papers stated he had evidently cut bis hands with the razor. Saturday he wore & glove on his left hand. This struck me as being unusual, as he always before had had the custom of carrying his gloves. “We talked on various subjects, princi: pally on his prospects for the future. returning to an old position which he had filled for many years in the office of the New York Central Railroad as civil en- gineer and draughtsman. “He was expecting a pass from the man- agement which would enable him to go there. He was expecting 1o leave here be- fore the 26th inst. He had endeavored before to Induce me to accompany him. “We walked down California street toward the ferry depot to take the 10:30 boat to Oskland. He had told me that he had an engagement in Oakland and would return Monday. I also having an engaze- ment in Alameda agreed to accompany him. “On the way over he was constantly cheerful and reverted in his conversation to the pleasant dinner we had enjoyed the evening before. “At Seventh-street station he left the train, saying, ‘Well, good-by; I'll see you again. Yes? Good-by.' That is the last I saw of Mr. Blanther. “I met Mr. Blanther during his pros- perity at the Hogan residence about three months ago,”’ continued Mr. Dodge. “I was attracted to him. We became very good friends and discussed literary mat- ters together. “It was then he told me of what a writer he was, saying his productions had been accepted in Harper's Magazine, Scribner's He | spoke hopefully regarding the outlook of | MOSCOW A VAST - MILITARY CAMP, {The Flower of the Russian | Army Awaiting the Coronation. VLADIMIR IN COMMAND. His Legions Sleep on the Field ’ ‘Where Napoleon Massed [ His Troops. | | PREPARATIONS FOR THE FETE | All Who Attend May Eat and Drink Without Money and Without Price. MOSCOW, Russia, May 17.—The day | bas been a beautiful one and an endless procession has been passing through the streets since early morning. The city is a mass of color. Yesteraay there arrived the Khivan embassy with the Khan and his two sons at their hean. The Khan's suite was a numerous one. The Emir of Bokhara, with a large following, arrived on Wednes- day last. Prince Henry of Prussia, who represents Emperor William; the Grand Duke of Hesse and Prince Ferdinand of Roumania, accompanied by their suites, arrived to-day. Infantry guards the lines of railway right into Moscow. The city is filled with strange guests, and the whole world has come, apparently, to grace the great occasion—the coronation of the Czar. Immense preparations are being made for the popular fete, which is to be held on the Hodynsky Plain on May 30. ‘This large plain is opposite the Petroffsky Pal- ace and has beew the scene of the fates for the people that have always marked coro- nations. Flanked on two sides by the ex- hibition buildings and the racecourse it stretches away indefinitely into the coun- try. It was here that Napoleon massed his | troops before marching into the city of and others, and were bringing him a large income. He said be wrote over the pseu- | donym ‘X. Y. Z." He has written articles for newspapers, and was a prolific writer, | working day and night. One time in the | full tide of his prospenty, about two | months ago, he suddenly disappeared. I | saw him again three weeks ago. He said | he had been to Portland. He returned in straitened circumstances. | ‘| gave him what little assistance I could toward making him comfortable. He was of an extremely proud and sensi- tive disposition and would go sometimes ! window Scene of the Terrible Murder of Mrs. Langfeldt at 1225 Geary Street, Showing the Blood-Stained Track of the Aged Victm. The Only Two Doors of the Suite Were Found Locked on the Inside, and the Problem Is How the Brutal Murderer Escaped. He Is Supposed to Have Left the Room by the Window Marked A, Entered the Hallway at B, and Tiptoed Down the Stairs. two days with nothing to eat and say | nothing to his friends about it. “He was disappointed many times here by baving his productions refused by tue newspapers. One circumstance I remem- ber especially. ] had gone with him to Tre CavLr | to get an article published in that paper which bhe had written about Cuba. Wa were sent away Wwith the advice to get some news if we desired acceptance. On the street he turned to me and said: ‘I'll tell you what we should do. I will kiil somebody and then we will write the story and it will be accepted.’ “His mind seemed to run on morbid subjects, and in kis conversation he would irequently recur to the subject of death. His literary style was somewhat peculiar, similar o a degree to the writings of Ed- | gar Allan Poe. “I consider him by no means an adven- e . s Continued on Third Page. Moscow. Russian troops, drafted here from the various garrisons for the festiv- ities, now occupy a large part of the plain, which resembles a vast camp, and the life incident to an encampment of 150,000 sol- diersis exhibited in all its phases. Stretch- ing away for more than a mile are the snow- white tents of the army corps of grena- diers, the guards from St. Petersburg and detachments from vari ous quarters of the empire. | Not all have yet arrived, but it is learned that before the Emperor’s arrival there will be in this encampment, includ- ing the soldiers on duty at the various pal- | aces and fortresses in and about Moscow, | eighty-three battalions of infantry, thirty | squadrons of cavalry, seven sotnias of Cossacks and fourteen batteries. Of these vast forces the Grand Duke Vladimir holds the command. It is on this plain where they are now encamped that this mighty force will parade before the Emperor on the last day of the festivities—June 7. On the part directly facing the palace, | the large, grassy plain has been inclosed | by Venetian mast, upon which are hung the usual bunting and shields, bearing the arms of various cities and provinces of | Russia. Within this inclosure booths, ta- bles, open-air theaters, merry-go-rounds, circuses and swings are being erected. Hundreds of wooden booths, hastily erected, dot the entire circumference of the inclosure, and will be loaded on Satur- day week with bread, cakes, sausages, meat vies and other delectable dainties dear to the Moujik heart. At every booth there will be a large hogshead of ale orbeer, and, in some cases, mead, and every one who joins the festival may eat and driftk to his heart’s content without money and with- out price. No strong drinks, however, will be supplied, as Russian Moujiks filled with vodka are not likely to be conducive to the peace of the capital. At present hundreds of workmen are eetting ready for the great popular enter- tainment which will represent the hospi- tality of the city. On the side nearest to the palace the imperial pavilion has been built, from which the Emperor and his guests will witness the merrymeking of his subjects. This pavilion is in Russian style of the fifteenth century, and has two stories and is surmounted by an enormous cupola. The facade is most elaborately decorated. It is flanked by two other pavilions for distinguished visitors and st a greater distance tribunes capable of seat- ing between 4000 and 5000 persons Lave been erected. e START FOR MOSCOW. Enthusiastic Crowds Wish the Czar and Czarina Godapeed. ST. PETERSBURG, Russia, May 17.— The Car and Czarina started this evening for Moscow. They took witbg them their infant daughter, Grand Duchess Olga. ‘The departure was made the occasion of a most elaborate display. The streets from the palace to the railway station were lined by enthusiastic crowds, who wished godspeed to their Majesties. Rear-Admiral Thomas O. Selfridge, com- manding the American warships in the Furopean station, has left Cronstadt to attend the coronation ceremonies at Mos- cow. RO At Will Abolish Corporal Punishment. LONDON, Ex~a., May 17.—The Telegraph will to-morrow say that the Czar on the occasion of his coronation will abolish eve-v form of corporal punishment in the mp re, It is expected that he will pardon tuousands of the convicts in Siberia. CUBAN EXPORTERS OBJECT Weyler's Order Forbidding the Shipments of Tobacco Denounced. Foreign Merchants Lodge Protests With Their Consuls—Cuban Defeats Reported. HAVANA, Cusa, May 17.—The foreign merchants here engaged in the export of tobacco have lodged a protest with their respective Consuls declaring that the decree of Captain-General Weyler forbid- ding the export of tobacco from the island is prejudical to legitimate business. The Consuls have informed their Governments of this action and have asked for instruc- tions. A Government column has had six en- gagements with several bands of rebels near Trinidad. The .nsurgents’ loss was twenty-six killed. The Spaniards lost four killed and wounded. In the province of Santiago de Cuba Ma- jor Cadina has routed 800 rebels, killing twenty-eight of them. The troops lost one killed and eight wounded. The command of Colonel Landa met 800 rebels near Punta Brava, province of Ha- vana, and attacked ithem. Thirteen of the insurgents were killed with machetes. No mention 1s made of any Spanish loss. —_———— ® CARRIES A CARGO OF ARMS, The Steamship Three Friends Sails From Jacksonville. JACKSONVILLE, Fri, May 17.— A large quantity of arms and ammunition consigned to Cubans bere disappeared last night from the warehouse in which they were stored. The steamship Three Friends, which took the Collozo expediuion to Cuba in February, has also disappeared. It is said the munitions of war are aboard the Three Friends, and that the iatter is again bound for Cuba. s P R AROUSES SPANISH WRATH. Senator Morgaw’s Speech Styled a Shameful Slander. MADRID, Sparv, May 17.—The Govern- BARED BY THE TOUCH ment has ordered that an inquiry be held to determine the truth or falsity of the statements that the Cuban rebels are using explosive bullets. Directions have been given to exhume the bodies of sol- diers killed in battle, if it should be neces- sary to do so to ascertain the fact. The speech made by Senator Morgan on the subject of a joint resolution recogniz- ing the Cubans as belligerents has caused great indignation here. His statements referring to her Majesty are regarded as a shameful slander. SRS CHARGES AGAINST RICKS. The Judge's Impeachment Again Sought by the Washington Reform Club. CLEVELAND, Osio, May 17.—The Washington Keform Club will forward to the Department at Washington to-morrow charges against Judge Augustus J. Ricks of the United States bench in this city. This club is the same which brought the previons case against the Judge, which nearly resulited in his impeachment. The present complaint grows out of his sentencing a postoftice clerk to a fine of $200, when the statute provided $500 as the wminimum. Delehante, the man con- victed, is connected with prominent fami- lies, and influence was brought upon the Judge, who gave the prisoner six months to pay his fine in, and ordered the clerks to keep the case from the newspapers. g EARLY HOHIII;B FIRE. An Entire Block of Twenty-Six Buildings Consumed at Biue Island, a Vil- lage Near Chicago. CHICAGOQ, IrL., May 17.—At an early hour this morning an entire block of twenty-six buildings in the village of Blue ossibly never, with more right or justice have the people of the United States taken a greater interest in the wel- | Island was destroyed by fire. Among the | Em's, a nation depressed by the tyrannic yoke ofroyalty, on & land of riches hardly surpassed. news-sheets’ columns of the country town up to the greatest aaily vapers of our large cities we can follow regularly the accounts expressing the true sentiments of our people and reports about Cuba, either made there for the press and mutitated by scissors and ink to suit the bureau of revision or manufactured in Key West, Fla., guided partly by imagination, partly from heaisay. It will therefore be of great interest to our readers to get some news from a reliable source from the pen of an Austrian captain, who enlisted in the ranks of the army of liberation and frequently sends a letter to the writer, some of the passages of which he will add places destroyed were the Union Hotel, Concordia Hall, Blue Island Public Li- brary and various stores and residences, In all thirty-five people were burned out. Some of this number lived over their stores and lost eyerything they had. There was a panic in the Union Hotel, but all of the guests escaved injury. The fire started in a drugstore on one corner of the block, and all of the surrounding build- ings being of wood they easily caugut and burned like tincer. The damage 1s be- tween $150,000 and $200,000. QM PHUL 1S GERERDLS, The Transvaal Ruler Favors thc Release of Imprisoned Reformers, Final Action in the Case of Hammond and His Companioas to B: Taken To-Day. fate of the members of the Johannesburg dent Kruger said that nobody desired more than himself to expedite the de- cision as to the final sentences that would be passed on the prisoners. A majority of them had on Friday petitioned the Government to be allowed to pay increased fines instead of being imprisoned for two years and then banished for three years from the Transvaal. President Kruger added that he was in favor of this propo- sition. The delay in deciding the matter arose from the difficulty in discriminating be- tween the signers of the petition and the others who had refused to sign®it. Personally he wanted all the prisoners to be released. He promised that the execu- tive would take rapid action in the matter to-morrow, and declared he was confident that the executive would indorse his view. The President is extremely distressed because of the suicide of Mr. Grey, who was one of the prisoners. Great indig- nation is felt by the English residents against the district surgeon for not watch- ing him to prevent his killing himself after it became known that he was insane. geon a week ago that Mr. Grey had de- veloped homicidal symptoms. PRETORIA, SourH Arrrca, May 17.— In an interview regarding the ultimate reform committee, now in jail here, Presi- | Five physicians warned the district sur- | OF WHIRLING CLOUDS Cyclonés Lay Waste Vast Tracts in Kansas and Kentucky. HUNDREDS OF BUILDINGS | DEMOLISHED. i Inmates Who Escape Death | Left Without Shelter From | the Storm. APPALLING LOSS OF LIFE IN MANY TOWNS. A Downpour of Rain and Hail Adds to the Misery of the Home- less. HIAWATHA, Kays, May 17.—Word was received here late to-night that a cy- | clone struck the towns of Reserve and | Falls City about 8 o’clock. The wires to { these points are all down. Six surgeons | and several helpers have gone to Reserve, | where fully ten people are known to be | hurt and dozens of buildings destroyed. Two farmers on horseback brought the word from Reserve. They say the damage is frightful. The cyclone started in the northern part of Clay County, seven or eight miles south of the littie town of Palmer, and passed in a northeasterly direction through Riley County and into Marshall and Nehma counties. It crossed the Blue River at the junction of the Missouri Pa- cific and Union Pacific railroads and passed near the town of Axtell. The little | hamlet of Bodaville, in Riley County, was | entirely swept away. To-night several are reported killed there and many injured, but nothing can be learned definitely. | At Spring Valley, some six miles from | Barnes, the storm demolished a church in | which 150 people were worshiping. Many | were injured. The pastor, Rev. Mr. Mason, suffered a broken leg. Surgical aid was | asked for from Barnes and neighboring | towns. The storm formed about 5 o’clock, almost in the track of the one that visited this section three weeks ago. SE e IWO HUNDRED HOMELESS. Nearly Fifty Duwellings Destroyed at Frankfort, Kans. FRANKFORT, Kaxs.,, May 17.—A cy- clone devastated this city at 5 o’clock this | afternoon. It came from the southwest, | and was preceded by a heavy fall of rain | and hail. - The funnel-shaped cloud came |in an opposite direction from the wind that was prevailing and traveled slowly, thus giving people ample time to go into cellars, This warning undoubtedly saved many lives. Several farmhouses were destroyed be- | fore the storm reached the city, but as far | as learned at this time no one was hurt. Nearly fifty residences, besides barns and outbuildings, were totally destroyed in | this city. At least 200 people are home- | less. Henry Kennedy’s nose was broken | by a flying board. P.Cudmore was hurt | about the head and Mrs. Moran and child | were badly injured. | The Methodist and Christian churches | are total wrecks. Many buildings are | slightly damaged. The storm passed on | the northeast. Its track is about eighty | rods wide. It is reported the storm did | great damage near Bigelow and Vleits. | The entire western vart of this city | (Frankfort) is razed. Some miraculous | escapes are reported. AN ENTIRE F. ILY KILLED. Their House Demolished and Inmate Escapes. BENTON, Ky., May 17. — A cyclone passed over the southwest corner of Mar- | shall County about 1 o’clock this morning. | It demolished one house at Eiva and | killed the five occupants, John Anderson, Not an | aged 80; his wife, aged 55; a son, sged 17, | and two daughters aged 12 and 10. The storm came out at Graves County. —_——— 7 = Z il 777%%% ,{/,/’ J. E. Blanther, the Man Believed to Langfe! t R \\\\\‘\‘\‘ 9 \ o =\ N, i 2/ == 53 .. Y- /) /4 1% Have Been the Last Person to See Mrs. 1dt Alive. The Five Rings Stolen From the Murdered Woman and Which Are Now ‘upposed to Be Under Lock and Key in Captain lees’ Private Desk. The Captain, of Course, Will Not Admit This, but It Is Said That One of His Men Located Them in a Pawnshop Yesterday Where Blanther Had Sold Them.