The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, June 8, 1896, Page 1

@Call This Paper not to be taken from I the Library.++++ " VOLUME LXXX.-NO. 8. PRICE FIVE CEN LURED FROM SLEEP TO DEATH The Shahamarian Family Arose From Couches to Be Slain. HASTENED TO AID A DROWNING MAN. Enticed to a Vineyard Ditch | Where the Assassin Awaited Their Coming. RUSSIAN VENGEANCE FOR INSULTED HONOR. Fresno Officers Confident That Out- raged Colonists Committed the Murders. FRESNO, CAr., June 7.—The excitement er the triple murder of the Shahamarian ily has not abated. The mystery has ly deepened, and interest in the case been increased. The authorities are nable to find any tangible clew to the search for the assassin. They only more convinced as they continue to investigate that the murder was a cold- blooded and deliberate affair. Suspicion is no longer directed toward young Daniel Schermerian, the nephew of the murdered father and cousin of the murdered son and daughter. The Sheriff is convinced that Schermerian wasin no way connected with the deed. The only plausibly theory now is that the family was assassinated by one or two Russians. It has been learned definitely that the Russians held & number of meet- | ings to decide upon the punishment to be meted to Benjamin Shahamarian, the mur- dered youth, for his insults to women and indignities upon *three and four year old children. sian children tell some revolting | ons and the women substantiate their . Pastor Legler of the Russian church was the one who went to a jus- tice court in this city to have the voung man arrested. The name of the husband of the woman whom Benjamin Shahama- rian insulted the day before he was killed was William Branderberg. Conceding that the Russian theory is the correct one, the officers have no clew asto who com- mitted the murder. It is now known that the Russian cofon- | home was effected to-day. ists had often agreed among themselves that young Shahamarian ought to be killed. Threats have been made against his life. Haviug become convinced in their ignorance that there was no redress in the courts the. Russians might have become convinced that for the protection of their wives and danghters they must themselves mete out the penalty to the young man. There are large number of Russians in Fresno and they all live in the south- eastern past of the city. Their district is called Russian Town and they rarely mingle with people of other nationalities, living in a little district of their own. District Attorney Snow to-day visited the Chinese camp located in a pear orchard, across a canal, which sep- arates the trees from the vineyard on the Meux place, where the tragedy occurred. Several of the Chinamen stated that ata late hour on the night of the murder they were awakened by pistol shots. None of the Mongols had counted the number, however. They stated that the shots were followed by screaming, which suddenly ceased. They were afraid | to get up and investigate. They could not tell what the hour was, except that it was late. It has been established that the family was called from bed before being lured to death. Upon careful investigation of the attire on the three bodies, especially that of the daughter, it was ascertained that they had dressed hastily. The woman's shoes were unbuttoned and she had evi- dently hastily slipped her feet into them. An entrance into the murdered family's Yesterday only the front door was tried and it was found locked. There was no key in the door, nor could one be found on the bodies. The rear door was to-day found un- fastened. An investization of the house revealed that the beds were not re- arranged after occupancy. This proved to the officers that the victims had been aroused from their slumbers and hastily donned their clothes. The question which is being asked on every hand is, How were the victims lured from home to a lonely place nearly two miles distant at such a late hour of the night? One—and only one—theory has any one thus far ventured to make. It is that the murderer called the Shahamari- ans from the house by telling them that a man was drowning in the vineyard ditch. + It is pointed out that the young man’s body was found nearest the bank of the ditch, he being the most fleet of foot. The ditch at this point forms an angle and the tracks show that the victims left their home directly for the point of the angle. The canal was full of water, and they must have known that they coula not cross it. This is the only theory which accounts for | their presence at this point. It is believed that at least two men were | implicated in the tragedy—one to lure the i Armenians to an advantageous place, The Humble Cottage From Which the Shahamirian Family Was Decoyed to Death. SCENE OF | them. AT where the assassin was waiting to kill The theorists believe that the blind wrath of the Russians against young Sha- hamarian was directed also against his father and sister, because they had placed no restraint upon the young man, and it was therefore deemed best to exterminate all. Another 1dea is that 1t was the inten- tion to call only the boy from the house, but the father and daughter were also awakened and accompanied Benjamin, The funera! of the three Armenians was held this afternoon. The entire Armenian colony attendea in large numbers, and Rev. D. H. Gillan of the North Methodist Church conducted the services. Daniel Schermerian, who was arrested on suspi- cion, and his father attended as the only mourners. pikn i e JUDGE HARRIS ENGAGED. Will Defend Corlew When He s Tried for Shooting Blasingame. THE TRIPLE TRAGEDY IN A FRESNO FRESNO, Can., June 7.—Ex-Superior | Judge M. K. Harris s to be one of the at- | | torneys who will defend W. C. Corlew, who | shot and wounded Lee Blasingame in Big Sandy Valley a few daysago. Blasincame | was a brother-in-law'of Louis B. Me- | Whirter, who was assassmated in this-city | over three years ago, and was prominent | in the prosecution of Richard “PuBLIC OFFICE 15 BWIZARDS Bay” ars D VICINIT Y, He Never’ll Know What Hit Him When the Bomb Goes Off. MARCHTS HURLA BOWE Several Persons Killed by an Explosion on a Barcelona Street. Reign of Terror Inadgurated by Fol- lowers of the Red Flag in Speain. BARCELONA, Sparv, June 7.—The an- archists have resumed their activity in this city, and much fear is entertained that they will inaugurate another reign of terror similar to that which prevailed in Teath, ac- | | cused of the crime. Judge Harris’ name | | was unpleasantly connected with that trial, and Blasingame was very energetic in the prosecution of the case on lines | which pointed to McWhirter's death as the result of his opposition to a ring of politicians. Arthur Padelford Dead. LONDON, Exa., June 7.—Arthur Padel- spinal menineitis. of Bettina Girard. | dust beap near the cathedral. 11892 and 1893, when there were many ex- | plosions here, in Madrid and other Spanish cities. At 9 o'clock to-nignt & bomb was exploded while a religions procession was | taking place and several persons were kiiled. The outrage has caused the great- est excitement. The authorities held a meeting subse- quent to the explosion, and resolved to take energetic meacures to discover the authors of the crime and to prevent fur- ther outrages. This isthe second outrage, or attempted outrage, within a few days. During a religious procession on the feast of Corpus Christi a bomb was found in a It was evi- dently the intenticn of those who placed the bomb where it was found to kill or ford of Baltimore died in Paris to-day of Mma‘m some of those taking part in the He was the husband | P Tocession. A number of anarchists have been ar- VINEYARD, The Bodies of Stephen Shahamarian and His Daughter, Queen, Were Found Side by Side, While Twenty Corpse of the Son, Benjamin. [Photographed for ¢ The Call.”’} Paces Distant Was the rested, but as yet there is no positive proof that any of them caused the explosion. Bix persons we-e killed by the explosion to~day and twenty-four wounded. It is not known what explosive the bomb con- tained, but judging from its effects it must have been very powerful. The Captain- General of the province of Barcelona acted as standard-bearer in the procession, while the Civil Governor and City Alealde held the streamers of the banner. It is believed that the designers of the outrage contem plated killing these officials, % At alate hour to-night the police had not discovered any clew to the actual authors of the crime, but the number of suspects who have been lodged in jail is quite large. The police believe that they perhaps will be able to catch those re- sponsible for the crime through the con- fession of some of the anarchists who have been arrested. This, however, appears to be a very slight hope. The procession was in connection with the Corpus Christi festival. The bomb was | thrown when the processionists were en- tering the church of Santa Maria, and the people were panic-stricken by the explo- sion and its effects. Those already in the (church made a wild rush to get outside, while many of those on the outside scat- tered and fled in every direction. While some of the priests present did everything in their power to allay the excitement, others administered the last rites of the ! churen to those of the injured who seemed | likely to die. Quite a large crowd was wit- | nessing the procession, and the man who threw the deadly missile effected his es- capé in the excitement. Ti is reported that some people who were standing close to him have furnished the poiice with a description of him, and hopes are enter- tained that he will soon be in custody. MADRID, Spary, June 7.—Two dyna- mite cartridges exploded to-night outside of ahouse occupied by a priest at Oren- dain, near St. Sebastian, province of Gui- puzcoa. The house and other buildings in the vicinity were badly damaged, but no- body was hurt. CUBN'S FIERCE AMATONS, Four Companies Under Maceo Wield the Machete With Deadly Effect. Prefer Death on the Batilefield to the Horrors of Capture by the Spanish. KEY WEST, F1a., June 7.—It has been learned here on indisputable authority that Maceo has an army of 20,000 men and they are strongly fortified in the mountains of Pinar del Rio, the Spaniards having utterly failed to drive them from their strongholds. Maceo has eight can- non, two of which were captured from the trocha on his recent attack, when it was reported that he was repulisea. The report that Maceo has four com- panies of women soldiers has been con- firmed. The Cuban women have such a dread of Spanish brutality that many of them prefer fighting on the battlefield be- side their husbands and brothers to being thrown into the forts at the Spaniards’ mercy. In Maceo’s recent attack on the trocha these Amazons took part and fought fiercely, using machetes on the Spaniards. The attack was made north of San Marcos, and General Bermudez crossed into Havana province with 1500 men. ————— IN FILTHY QUARTERS. How Consul-Ganeral Lee Found the Competitor Prisoners. HAVANA, Cusa, June 7.—Consul-Gen- eral Fitzhugh Lee to-day visited the men who were captured on the filibustering American schooner Competitor, and who are now confined in the Cabanas fortress under sentence of death. General Lee found the prisoners lodged in unhealthy quarters and will request Captain-General Weyler to order that they be given better accommodations. The Consul-General also saw Julio Sanguilly, an American cit- izen, who is under sentence of life im- prisonment for conspiring against the pleace of Spain aud whose case on appeal is now before the court of Cassation in Madrid. It is said that General Lee, as a special favor, requested Captain-General Weyler to release Mr. Dawley, the correspondent of Harper's Weekly, who was arrested a few days ago. The request was granted and it is expected that Dawley will be re- leased from Moro Castle to-morrow. et v DOCUMENTS AKRIVE. The Competitor Case to Be Reviewed in Madrid, MADRID, Sparx, June 7.—The docu- me nts relative to the seizure of the Ameri- can schooner Competitor and the senten- cing to death of Alfredo Laborde, Owen Milton, William Kinlea, Elias Bedia and Teodore Maza, who were on board her, have arrived here. They will be immedi- ately submitted to the military and naval council which will review all the proceed- ings in the case. S gl REVIEWED BY THE CZAR. Fifty Thousand Troops Parade on the Plain Where the Recent Calamity Occurred. MOSCOW, Russia, June 7.—The Czar to-\ day reviewed 50,000 troops on the Hodynsky Plain, the scene of the great calamity re- sulting in the enormous loss of life which attended the free distribution of ford, etec., in connection with the coronation cere- monies. His Majesty wore the uniform of the Preobajensky Regiment, in which he was attired when he crowned himself. In go- ing to the plain he rode a brown horse slongside of an open carriage in which were the Czarina and Grand Duchess Maria Paulowna. The carriage wasdrawn by four cream colored ponies. A great crowd assembled to witness the review and their Majesties were enthusiastically greeted when they appeared. The Czar first rode slowly around the troops, who were drawn up in lines, and then went around them in a canter. The Czar and Czarina, accompanied by a bril- liant suite and the visiting foreign Princes, then went to the imperial pavilion, where the Czarina touk a position in the top bal- cony. The Czar, still on horseback, stood a little in ‘advance of his suite, and wit- nessed the march past of the troops. The interest of his Majesty did not flag throughout the ceremony, which ended at 1:15 p. M. The weather was extremely warm. The Czar and Czarina this afternoon bade farewell to the foreign Princes and the Ministers thatcame to Moscow to at- tend the coronation, and started to-night for the imperial estate of Ilinsky, which is situated a short distance from this city. Here their Majesties will remain for a week to recover from the fatigue occa- sioned by the long round of ceremonies and fetes, after which they will return to St. Petersburg, into whicli city they will make a state entry. . DERVISHES PUT TO RoUT Decisive Victory Won by the Anglo-Egyptian Army in the Soudan. Emir Hammuda and One Thousand of His Warriors Fall in Battle. LONDON, Exs., June 7.—The Marquis of Lansdown, Secretary of State for War, has received a ielegram dated Akasheh, June 7, evening, from Sir Henry Kitch- ener, sirdar of the Egyptian army, saying: “We surprised the enemy at dawn at Firket. They resisted gallantly, holding the hills and village; but were completely defeated and their retreat cut off. We cap- tured their camp and all their camels, horses and provisions. Our casualties were slight. The troops behaved excellently.’’ CAIRO, Eeyer, June 7.—A dispatch from Akesheh, the advance post occupied by the Kgyptian troops in the Soudan, states that 1000 Dervishes were killed in the fighting at and around Firket, includ- ing their commander, Emir Hammuda. The Egyptian loss was 70 killed and 82 ‘wounded. Lo A BUDA-PESTH'S FESTIVITIES. The Crown_Regalia Displayed in the Pres- ence of Multitudes—Progamme for To-Day. BUDA-PESTH, HunGAry, June 7.—The crown regalia was displayed to-day in cornection with the celebrations in honor of the one thousandth anniversary of the founding of the Hungarian kingdom. The reralia was viewed by 600,000 per- sons, while 500,000 others were unable to gain admission to the buliding in which the emblems of royalty were displayed. The crowds in the city to-day were enor- mous. The streets were impassable to vehicles, and pedestrians found the greatest difficulty in getting from one part of the city to another. The hotels and boardine-houses were filled to their utmost capacity. It was impossible to hire a cab for the reason that they have all been engazed by visitors who oceupy them day and night as lodg- ings. The railways are unceasingly bring- ing in hundreds of visitors irom all the country districts, Among those who have recently arrived are many distinguishea foreigners, who came from Moscow, where they attended the ceremonies attendant upon the cor- onation of the Czar. 4 To-morrow there will be inangurated on the plain of Puzztaszer a monument to Prince Arpad. The site of the monument is where the first constitutional compact was made by Prince Arpad and the chiefs of the nation. MASSACRED BY KURDS. Rumored Slaughter of French, British and German Engineers Working on a New Railway. ATHENS, Grexce, June 7.—It is report- ed here that Kurds haye massacred several French, British and German engineers who were employed on the railway be- tween Smyrna and Kassaba. ALLEYS HDVE TO THE DELEGTES Not Good Politics to Nomi- nate McKinley on the First Ballot, NO FORCING IS NEEDED. He Wants a Free and Fair Fight With No Bad Blood Left. « LEADERS CALLED TO CANTON. A Gavel With a liistory—Qnarteu for Colored Delegates Causing Some Anxiety. 8T. LOUIS, Mo., June 7.—By common consent the advance guards of the several Presidential booms made this a day of rest from the arduous tasks imposed by politics. At ths hotels these gentlemen were *‘out’’ to all callers. Hon. Chauncey I Filley took a party through the show part of the city and eventually brought them up at the ‘““Mosque.” as his Beau- mont-street residence is known. If there have been doubts as to the leader de facto of Missouri Repub licans, it has been dispelled by the demands for counsel and advice made upon Mr. Filley by the prominent Republicans already here. ‘When the claims were made yesterday by Major McKinley’s friends that their can- didate would be nominatea by accla- mation on the first ballot Mr. Filley promptly objected. “Itis not good politics,” sald he, *‘for McKinley to be nominated on the first ballot. There is no occasion for it. No club should be used. No forcing is needed. A free, fair fight is the thing. We don’t want any bad blood left. To rule out every other candidate would be a dis- courteous act, which no friend of McKin- ley should countenance. Perhaps an in- formal ballot should be provided for first, to be followed by a formal ballot later. But certainly the roll must be called through to the end. There will be dele~ gates here to discharge their instructions for other candidates. It would be neither courteous nor right to do anythine which would prevent every delegate hawing his vote recorded and announced by the chair- man before McKinley’s mnomination is made unanimous.” Mr. Filley also took occasion to talk about Mr. Platt, and insisted that the New York leader would only make an honorable fight in opposition to McKinley. Apropos of Mr. Filley’s leadership, it will be recalied that be defeated the aspirations of Hon. R. C. Kerens, Missouri’s National committeeman, and ex-Congressman Na- than Frank to control the State conven- tion. Last evening these two gentlemen leit this city togecher for Canton, Ohio, A telegram from McKinley yesterday was the cause of this trip—a telegram asking Mr. Kerens to come for a conference. Messrs. Kerens and Frank arrived in Can- ton at 2 o’clock this afternocon. They will remain until 9 p. M., returning to St. Louis via Chicago. The brief telegraphic message gave no hint of the object of the conference, justat this stage of the campaign, but it prompt- ed much speculation among those who un- derstand the bitterness of the local strug- gie. Among the arrivals this evening was W. B. Gaitree of Columbus, Ohio, who will decorate the McKinley heaaquarters at the Southern Hotel and superintend the distribution of badges, lithographs and literature. To-morrow there will be dis- tributed in this city 10,000 lithographs of McKinley, and a badge will be given out, being a red ribbon bearing McKinley’'s picture and the words, “Patriotism, Pro- tection and Progress, Our Nation's Choice.” The gavel which will be used in calling the convention to order was made from a piece of timber in the building in which Missouri’s ordinance of secession was passed. The gavel 18 now in the hands of Lee D. Bell of Neosho, Mo. On May 26 he wrote to Chairman Carter, tendering him the use of the gavel on opening the conyention. Mr. Carter answered prompte 1y, accepting the offer. The gavel is the handiwork of James Moore, an ex-Confed- erate soldier and a Republican. The matter of accommodating the negro delegates at the hotels has begun to as- sume troublesome importance. There are sixty-six of these, including contestants. The Business Men’s League, desiring to carry out every promise made in securing the convention, felt called upon last night to issue a general circular from which the following is taken: *We ask that all public places of enter- tainment, hotels, boarding-houses and bar- rooms, at least for convention week, accord to the reputable colored men who will come here representing their section and their people in the Republican party such treatment as any reputable and re- spectable person would receive. It isnot believed that a great many would want to accept the privilege, but it will be very humiliating if one of them, with their col- leagues and friends or alone, should pre- sent himself ir any public place and be re- fused admittance or service. It is hoped that all will endeavor to meet the situa- tion as justice and propriety require.” A number of enterprising local negroes have rented the old Calumet Club on Lo- cust and Thirteenth streets and fitted it up to entertain the colored delegates. SRR AL Ty KANSAS REPUBLICANS. The State Comvention Adopts No Resolu= tion on the Money Question. TOPEKA, Kaxs., June 7.—The Republi- can State Convention to elect delegates to 8t. Louis adopted no resolution on the money question. To show how the Kansas delegation stands on the silver question letters from nineteen of the twenty delegates were published here to-day. Seventeen of the delegates declare themselves emphatically against the free coinage of silver and in favor of the preservation of the present