The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, January 5, 1898, Page 3

THE SAN FRANCISCO CALL, WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 35, 1898. 3 PRISONERS TAKEN FROM AN OFFICER! Masked Men Relieve Blaine’s Marshal of Captives. Hustle Two Thieves Over the British Columbia Boundary. Resolved Not to Await the Usual Slow Process of Extradition. FEARED A JAILBREAK. The Culprits Hurried to a Canadian Jall, Where They Will Be Held for Trial. Epecial Dispatch te The Call. TACOMA, Jan. 4.—Blaine, on the‘ boundary line between Washington and British Columbia, has a sensation. Masked men on Sunday night held up the City Marshal and compelled him to surrender two important prisoners. Btrange to say, the prisoners were not | liberated, but were hustled across the line to British Columbia, where they are now in custody. The whole affair is shrouded in deep mystery, but the explanation seems to be that the masked men were citizens of Blaine, who are determined that thieving in that section t be stopped and who | were unwilling to await the slow process of extradition, for fear the | prisoners would escape or would be lib- | erated on habeas corpus proceedings. The two prisoners are supposed to be implicated in the burglary of Trap's hardware store at New Westminster | last week, when several hundred dol- | lars’ worth of property was taken. They were being held at Blaine, where | they were arrested on Friday evening, | raiting the arrival of British Colum- | officers. The latter were either | low to act in requesting extradition papers or were depending entirely on the ruse that succeeded so well. At about 7 o'clock Sunday evening ity Marshal Ratcliff, as was his cus- tom, took the prisoners from the jail | to a near-by restaurant for supper. On returning, before reaching the jail, a dozen masked men suddenly sprang from behind a vacant building, cover- ing the Marshal and his deputy with revolvers, commanding them to hold up their hands. The officers recos- nized at a glance that resistancee would be folly and quickly complied | with the request. One of the masked men blew a whistle. A conveyance irove up, into which the prisoners were loaded, and were then driven across the international boundary line, where British officers were con- veniently waiting to make the arrest. The officers feel sore over the man- ner in which they were relieved of their charges, and, while they have no proof, they are satisfied that the hold- up was the act of the citizens’ com- mittee, which in the past has made Blaine too warm for men with no visi- k means of support. The officers recall the fact that not long ago the city jail was broken into d two petty thieves taken out, stripped of their clothing and whipped with blacksnakes until their bodies looked like raw beef. In this instance there is very little doubt as to the guilt of the prisoners. A person who perchased some of the stolen property identified them. The occurrence has created great in- terest on Puget Sound and reminds old-timers of the method formerly em- ployed in arresting smugglers who had crossed the straits to Victoria. Smug- gling not being an extraditable offense the only remedy possible was to get an intended prisoner intoxicated at Vic- toria_and bundle them aboard a boat for Port Townsend, where he was locked up. In this instance the British Columbia officers had willing allies in the citizens of Blain SUFFOCATED I\ A BURNING MINE Two Men in the Anaconda Meet Their Death While Retreating. The Fire Said to Have Been Smol- dering for a Great Years. Many Spectal Dispatch to The Call. BUTTE, Mont., Jan. 4.—Fire on the 700 level of the Never Sweat mine of the Anaconda Company to-day resulte in the death by suffocation of Micha¢ C. Flaherty and John F. Sullivan, pire- men in the Anaconda proper, and the narrow escape of three others em- ployed in the Never Sweat. The stor ies told of the occurrence are somewhat conflicting, due in part to the fact that two of the men who were fortunate enough to escape were overcome by the smoke and have no distinct recollectio: of what took pla while the othe: man whose life was ~d was not ne.: a enough to the scene when the viciims were overcome to know much about it According to reports of the origin of the fire, it was the outcome of some fire that raged in the St. Lawrence mine many years ago, and it is said to hav« been smoldering ever since. This, how- ever, the officers of the company stren- uously deny. They claim that the firc was started by some one carelessly leaving a candle sticking in the tim- bers where the fire broke out. Flaherty and Sullivan are supposed to have smelt the smoke and gas while in the Anaconda workings, which con- nect with those of the Never Sweat, and gone to investigate the cause. They were evidently driven back and werc overcome while trying to escape. Fla herty fell 250 feet from the scene of th I fire and Sullivan 400 feet from it. Tw: other men who were working in : crosscut on the same level were over come, but were rescued in time afte: the alarm was given by Shift Bos: John D. Sullivan, SWINDLER BULL CAUCHT AT SPOKANE Partner of Evans and Fagen-Bush in Custody. Assisted in Defrauding Many People in Bogus Mining Deals. Worthless Stock Sold to Gulli- ble Investors in Cities of the East. TRIO NOW IN PRISON. Charged by the Federal Government With Use of the Mails for Un- lawful Purposes. Spectal Dispatch to The Call. SPOKANE, Jan. 4.—At the instance of Postofficer Inspector C. L.Weyland | Johnny Bull was arrested here to-day, charged with being implicated in what has been pronounced the greatest pos- tal swindle of the last ten years. He is accused of being the partner df B. C. W. Evans and “Baron” C. Fagen- | Bush, now in custody at Butte and Denver, respectively, in their opera- tions, the story of which created such a sensation when they were arrested | on September 18. The story told by the authorities is | that the three, with the connivance of a woman sometimes calling herself Ella L. Fagen-Bush and at other times Mrs. Adams, worked the people of Illinois and other Middle Western States for thousands of dollars, tak- ing $108,000 out of Chicago alone. Ev- ans was stationed at Butte and the others traveled. For a time Fagen- Bush maintained extensive offices in the Masonic Temple building in Chi- cago, where he was arrested for other big swindles, in which it is thought Bull was also implicated. The crime for which the three men are now held is using the malils to transact bogus mining deals. Letters would be sent by Evans from Butte to names furnished him by Fagan- Bush in towns in the Middle West, asking the addressee to invest in the stock of a mining company. The latter would say that the stock was selling for 76 cents a share, and the company stood ready to pay that much for all offered. The day after the letter was received Bull would ap- pear in the town as a traveling man, get acquainted with the man to whom the letter was sent and eventually confide in him thousand shares of the stock named in the letter. Bull would profess to be ignorant of the real value, and, as he represented himself to be short, would offer to sell several thousand shares for 25 cents. The cupidity of the vic- tim would be aroused and he would buy at once. The scheme worked successfully for several weeks, with large returns. Finally Bull took from John Wood of Joliet, Tll., $750 for 3000 shares. Wood wired to the First National Bank of Butte to collect the $2250 he expected to get, the bank having been, with Bradstreet’s and Dun, among the ref- erences given by Evans in his letter. The bank went to Evans and he de- nied all knowledge of any promise made to Wood in the letter. He said the letter must have been sent with- out authority. The Postoffice Department took hold of the case. Butte, and after a long pursuit Fagen- Bush was caught in Denver on Sep- tember 18. Bull had disappeared. Many other swindles then came to light. One night last November Bull, who had been in Spoknae for some weeks, had a row in the Coeur d’Alene Theater with the manager, Fisky Barnett, with whom he had quarreled ten years ago in Montana. Bull was thrown out. At 4 o'clock that morning, as Barnett was leaving the theater with his wife, Bull fired upon him. Mrs. Barnett threw herself in the way, and the bullet grazed her neck. Barnett thrust her aside and drew his revolver. Bull shot again, wounding Barnett in the hand. Barnett shot twice, wounding Bull in the shoulder and in the arm. Bull was removed to the hospital and his right hand amputated. He is 64 years old, but he quickly recovered. He was re- leased on bonds and efforts are now being made to dismiss the criminal charge of assault with intent to commit murder. It is said he killed a man in Butte several years ago. The publicity given the Barnett af- fair disclosed Bull's whereabouts to the Postal Department. The arrest followed. The hearing was continued to-day by the Federal Commissioner before whom Bull was examined. As the man is technically in the hands of the State authorities the Federal Gov- rnment cannot take him. He will be kept under surveillance. OF INTEREST TO THE COAST. Officers Assigned to the Mohican for the Cruise Around the World. WASHINGTON, Jan. 4—The Mohi- an, in her cruise around the world, is be commanded by G. M. Brock, who to-day detached from the Mare Island Navy Yard for that purpose. The following named officers are also 1ssigned to the Mohican: Lieutenant J. D. McDonald, Lieutenants H. M. Dom- baugh, M. L. Wood and T. Porter, and igns H. Laning, G. E. Gelm and C. Lang, now on the Independence. v direction of the Acting Secretary Lieutenant 3abbitt, Ordnance Department, nake four visits to Fort Winfield Scott nd Fort Baker, Cal., on official busi- ness pertaining to the repair of dis- ippearing gun carriages. Pensions have been granted as fol- ows: California—Original — Michael yan, Veterans' Home, Napa, $6; John White, Veterans' Home, Napa, $10; spe- ial, December 24, Alfred J. Hughes, 3an Miguel, $6; original widows, etc., Agnes Haas, Stockton, $8. ‘Washington—Restoration and addi- tional — Russell Cotton (deceased), Dwamish, $6 to $5; original widows, :tc., Esther A. Cotton, Dwamish, $8. These transfers have been made in the Fourth cavalry: Captain Joseph . Dorst, from Troop M to Troop D; ‘aptain Wilber E. Wilder, from Troop ) to Troop M. AR INES o James C. Ayer’s Widow Dead. NEW YORK, Jan. 4.—Josephine Mellin Southwick Ayer, widow of James C. Ayer, died suddenly at her 1wome near the Hotel des Invalides in Paris Monday last, aged 71, By f War, First that he had several | Evans was arrested in | Edwin B. | will | SAN LUIS OBISPO, Jan. from this city. August Neilson, found in the sand dunes divested shockingly, burned. as they told it. Neilson could not escape and may recover. ‘Warrants have been issued for of whom have disappeared. M. Price, one of the most highly accused of being the ringleader. -E-u SHOTTO DEATH BY AN OFFICER Unknowm Man Killed While Resisting Ar- rest at Martinez. | Was One of a Party of Tramps | Suspected of a Street | Hold-Up. Comrades of the Dead Man Claim That the Killing Was Not Justifiea. Special Dispatch to The Call. ; MARTINEZ, Jan. 4—The body of an | | unknown man is lying in the morgue here awaiting identification. He was shot and killed at Port Costa on Sun- day evening at about 10 o'clock by Offi- | cer James Scott, while resisting arrest. | William Thomas, chief officer of the coal ship Pengren,and Richard Hughes, steward of the vessel, which is lying at Port Costa, came from San Francisco and arrived at Port Costa at 9:30 o'clock Sunday night. Soon after alighting from the train they were as- saulted by tramps and Thomas was se- verely injured about the head. | | Constable Scott and Deputy Sheriff | Moiles were notified and started to look up the assaulters. Scott went to a box car and found six men. He ordered them to come out. One of them, so Scott says, drew a pistol and pointed it at him. Scott then fired three shots into the car. Moiles, who | was near by, came to Scott's assist- | ance and five of the six men were taken into custody. The sixth was | found lying in the car with a bullet | wound in his head, ané under him was an unloaded pistol: He was taken charge of and died during the night. One of the men arrested began to weep and asked that the handcuffs be taken off him so that he could help his dying brother. His request was | compiied with, and, an opportunity offering, he made his escape. The other four are in jail. They claim that | the act of Officer Scott was cold- | blooded murder. This was the second man Scott has killed within two years. Officers Fitzpatrick and Donlanecame over from Suisun yesterday and iden- tified the dead man and those in jail as tramps discharged from the county jail at Fairtield on Saturday. Coroner Curry is anxious to learn who the dead man was, and has given out the follow- ing description: He 1is known as James Pitts, alias “Pittsburg Jimmy”'; height about 5 feet 10 inches; weight about 160 pounds: very dark complex- jon, black hair, heavy eyebrows, high cheek bones and large ears. In India | ink on his right forearm is a picture of a woman and two children, the woman holding a bouquet of flowers. On the left forearm are three flags and an American shield. Below the flags and shield, enclosed in a chain, are the letters “J. F.” or “J. E.” Below the letters there is a star. The fellow was apparently about 25 or 30 years of age. INTERESTS ALL WHO RIDE ON STREETCARS. Leszynsky Fails to Get Damages Because of an Arrest for Refusing to Pay a Second Fare. NEW YORK, Jan. 4—A suit, in which the question whether or not the Broadway cable road has a right to demand a sceond fare from a passen- ger who simply changed from a “stalled” car to a car further ahead is involved, was on trial to-day be- fore Judge Lacombe and a jury in the United States Circuit Court. It was the resuilt of the arrest of Eugene L. Leszynsky, a well-known commercial man of San Franciscoo. He boarded a cable car at Spring street, and, after paying his fare, discovered that there was a blockade. He told the conduc- tor that he was going to walk up to | Houston street and take a car uptown from that point. | a second fare. The passenger refused and the conductor caused his arrest, charging disorderly conduct. The police magistrate decided that Leszynsky had violated no law and or- | dered his release. Leszynsky there- upon brought suit for $20,000 damages. Judge Lacombe directed the jury to render a verdict in favor of the de- fendant corporation. “If this were an action,” said Judge Lacombe, “‘for negligence of the company in so ar- ranging the details of its business that its contract with plaintiff was broken undoubtedly the jury would be entitled to take the case and assess damages, but this is not the case and cannot be helped out by presumption.” —_——— Accuses a Police Officer. LOS ANGELES, Jan. 4—Mrs. Chris- tine Thomson, proprietress of the Casa del Mar lodging house, has accused of attempting to extort money from her. She says the officer sent a man to her lodging house to buy beer, which was supplied. Webb then ap- peared and threatened to arrest her for selling liquor without a license un- | less she agreed to pay him $40. 'TORTURE AN OLD MAN WITH FIRE ‘Horrible Act of Barbarism Com- mitted by a Party of Drunken Youths Near San Luis Obispo. 4.—This community is horrified over an act of barbarism which occurred at Pismo, a seaside town eight miles Neilson was made the “butt” of a so-called joke by a party of young bloods, who stripped him of all his clothing and then scorched his body with burning paper, “just to see him jump,” under the influence of liquor, did not realize just what they were doing until the victim sank down unconscious, in found and brought to the county hospital. Michael Price, a son of ex-Supervisor J. -850 -0-E-0-0-u-uu- He did so, but the | conductor on the second car demanded | Police Officer Webb of Santa Monica | an old clam and fish peddler, was of all clothing and with his body the young men, being considerably which condition he was With careful treatment he the arrest of the guilty persons, all respected citizens of the county, is OPPOSITION T0 MISS GILLETTE | Women Object to Her| Admission to the Bar. And They Will Hold a Mass- Meeting and Vigorously Protest. Educated by a Judge at Whose Home She Has Lived Since He Was Divorced. Special Dispatch to The Call. BOSTON, Jan. 4—The refusal to ad- | mit Addie Gillette, the pretty young | typewriter of Judge Hayden, topractice | law before the Worcester County bar is but the beginning of a sensation | which will excite the interest of the | | whole State. Not only have personal | | appeals been made and petitions circu- | lated against Miss Gillette's admission | to the bar, but there are at present | | completed arrangements for a mass- | | meeting of all the women of Fitch- | burg to take action in opposition to | Miss Gillette’s legal aspirations. Judge Hayden has stated that in the | event of such a meeting legal action "\'lll be taken against every person | participating in it. Without a home, | ‘\Miss Gillette turned, eight vears ago, to Judge Hayden, who had been a friend of her parents, for protection and assistance. She entered into a five- year contract with her employer. By | the terms of this contract Miss Gil- lette was provided a home at Judge Hayden’s and some compensation be- sides in return for her services at his office. There was plenty to do, but enough leisure for her to pursue the study of law. She was examined for the bar on November 26, but for more than a month she did not officially know that she had passed. Then she was de- nied admission to the bar because the county examiners had listened to ru- mors that have been circulated in re- gard to her by some of the women of Fitchburg. The criticism arises because Miss Gil- lette has lived at Judge Hayden’s home since the latter was divorced from his wife three years ago. Mrs. Hayden secured an uncontested divorce from Judge Hayden on the grounds of cruel- ty and abusive treatment. Miss Gil- lette continued to live at her employ- er's home after the separation, and from this fact the criticism of her con- duct has arisen. She is engaged to be married to a young man who is now in London. Miss Gillette is a relative of the actor, Willlam Gillette. They are cousins. — FUTILE SEARCH FOR ELOPERS A Runaway Pair Succeeds in Eluding Monterey County Officers. Pacific Grove Society Man Accused of Having Abducted a Young Girl. Spectal Dispatch to The Call. SALINAS, Jan. 4—Sheriff Matthews has been searching in this city for a runaway couple, Benjamin Norton, a society man of Pacific Grove, is accused of having abducted Mamie Martin, al4- year-old girl, whose parents live in Castroville. The young girl was last seen in the company of Norton, and it is believed that he has hidden her | somewhere either in this city or Pa- | cific Grove. Mrs. Mary A. Martin, the mother of | the girl, came from Castroville to-day in search of her young daughter. She says Mamie left her home on Sunday and went to Monterey. She stopped at the St. Charles Hotel in that city and displayed considerable money. Addie Hampton, a woman in the em- ploy of the hotel, appeared to be quite intimate with Miss Martin, and the two visited several places in town. They went to Pacific Grove together, and there, it is alleged, met Norton. Constable Hernandez of Monterey ‘was _notified yesterday from Castro- ville to find the girl. Locating her at the St. Charles Hotel, he went to get her, but he was too late, the girl hav- ing left about an hour before. —— e Cloverdale’s Next Citrus Fair, CLOVERDALE, Jan. 4—The new Board of Directors of the Cloverdale Citrus Fair Association, consisting of J. B. Cooley, president; M. Menihan, vice-president; F. W. Brush, C. E. Humbert and L. Vasconi and A. F. Domine, secretary, held a meeting last night, setting the dates for the sixth annual citrus fair, to commence Thurs- day, February 17, and close Tu " February 22. Committees of arrange- ment will be appointed later. | and may demand it yet. RAID ON SAN JOSES TREASURY City Council Orders Payment of Ille- | gal Claims. Charles Wehner and Ma- bury & Farrel Obtain Large Sums. Showing of Cash on Hand Incites an Onslaught on the Exchequer. GRABBING FOR THE COIN. Favorites of Certain City Fathers Enriched at the Peopje’s Expense. Special Dispatch to The Call. SAN JOSE, Jan. 4.—The report of the count of the money in the city treas- ury, as submitted to the Common Council to-night, shows that there is slightly over $124,000 on hand. From ap- pearances this is too rich a plum for the members to quarrel over, so they will patch up their differences and pro- ceed to smand it | Under the investigations into city af- | fairs, as made by ‘ine Call, it has been sho that $650 was paid to Charles | ‘Wehner for alleged work on the main sewer, which was not regular. The Mayor refused to sign the warrant, and the interested parties became so alarmed that the money was returned by Wehner to the treasury. To-night this identical $650 was passed by the Council and ordered paid to Wehner. The only member opposing was Krieg, who voted no. The claim was not pre- sented in its original form. On the contrary, it was cut up into smaller sums ranging from $60 to $90 in each | bill or claim. Councilmen Noiting and Fay showed especial solicitude in Bd-i vocacy of the payment of this sum. | The claims were presented in the | amounts of less than $100 to keep | within the provision of the charter, | which require advertisement and an | opportunity for competitive bids. The payment of the claims, though cut up into smaller amounts, is clearly illegal, | it is held, because even if Wehner has | done any work it was not let as the | charter requires, and this method of | allowing the claims is but a subter- | fuge. This “‘job” was fully punctured by The Call some weeks ago. It is con- | tended by the advocates of the claim | in the Council that Wehner earned the | money in filling in the main sewer and | in work which was aside from that | called for in his contract. Many citi- zens wish further light on this matter Mayor Koch has not intimated what he will do about signing the warrants. He has gone on record as against pay- ing the money because it was an illegal claim. The cutting of the total sum of $650 into various smaller sums does not alter the original illegality. The sum and substance of the whole matter appears on its face to be just what it is—a job to favor a favorite. The Council also paid the claim of Mabury & Farrel of $320. City Attor- ney Welch within the last few days stated that the claim should not be paid and that the courts should pass upon it. This statement came as a re- sult of the controversy which arose over the entire Julian street sewer con- tract. Fraud was freely charged, and, although the city attorney had orig- inally recommended that the $3200 be paid, he said he was forced to with- draw this recommendation under the light given by the discussion. As adopted to-night, the resolution, which was dated in October last, provides that “$1600 be paid at once, $800 at the first meeting in January, and $300 in April.” This would require the imme- diate payment of $2400, whereas, as a matter of fact, there is in the sewer fund but $2100. This was explained to the members of the Council by the clerk, but the resolution was passed and then an attempt made to bridge the difficulty by directing the Mayor to draw a warrant at once for $1600 only. Interested citizens are now asking why Nolting, who had so freely charg- ed gross fraud against Contractors Ma- bury & Farrel, should so change his views. Another curious position is that of Fay. Fay and Nolting had the open ditch filled in with great eclat and then declared that no matter what was done with the claim the contractors would be forced to pay for this. To- night no provision was made to collect further thau the statement that the contractors would pay their claims for labor. When the contract was let for $12,000, there was no money in the fund and many lawyers hold that the con- tract was absolutely void. In the controversy which arose the Councilmen, especially Nolting, charg- ed that there had been collusion by the contractors and that the bid of $12,000 was about $4000 too high. Now, how- ever, he allows the proportioned part of the bid for the amount of work done. Various other matters to-night show that the fat sum in the treasury will be rapidly diminished. COLONEL TIMOTHY BROOKS LIES DANGEROUSLY ILL. Oldest Gold Miner in the State May Not Be Seen at the Golden Jubilee. \ POMONA, Jan. 4—The people in Pomona think that Colonel Timothy ‘W. Brooks, who lies alarmingly ill at his rooms at the Weston Hotel in Pomona, will never recover. He is the oldest and most generally known pioneer in Southern California. He has for several years claimed that he was the oldest gold miner in the State. He was one of the first men who joined the stampede of excited men from Santa Cruz to Coloma when Marshall’'s discovery became Kknown there in March, 1848, From that day to this Colonel Brooks has been always engaged in gold mining. He is known among miners from British Columbia to the Rio Grande. He has been very rich three times and is now poor. His heart has been set upon attending the Golden Jubilee in San Francisco, and he had prepared to go to it, when he fell sick. Dozens of old-time miners in Central California have recently written to Colonel Brooks to be sure to attend the Jubilee. S 4 DID NOT BUY THEIR POSITIONS Forty Teachers Give Testimony at Los Angeles. Each Denies That Tithes Were Demanded by School Officials. Victims of Adams and Axtell Found to Have Numbered Only Four. WEBB IS EXONERATED. Absolutely No Evidence to Connect Him With the Operations of the Boodlers. Spectal Dispatch to The Call. LOS ANGELES, Jan. 4.—About forty teachers were examined before the Board of Education to-night as wit- nesses for the defense in connection with the trial of School Director Wal- ter L. Webb, charged with taking bribes from teachers and other em- ployes of the School Department. All | of the teachers testified that they had not paid anything to secure their posi- tions and that they had not been asked by any one to do so. These were all teachers who had been newly appoint- ed and not simply re-elected. In the course of the examination of these witnesses it was shown that with very few exceptions the teachers felt that a stigma had been placed on all of them in a general way by the man- ner in which the newspapers and those interested in the prosecution had made | it appear that the teachers had been held up by the wholesale. Both the main floor and the gallery of the Coun- | eil chamber, where the investigation is being held, were filled with spectators, ladies predominating. Charles Cassat Davis, the newly elected president, pre- sided. The other members present were Poor, Webb, Bartlett and Conrey—just a quorum. After all the teachers present had been examined Mr. Webb explained that they were all the new teachers. He added that he had a resolution which he would like to have adopted, as it covered all the teachers who had been re-clected. He then read the resolution, _which requested the League for Better City Government to forward a communication to the board, acknowledging that two teach- ers and two janitors were the only ones wha paid for their positions to J. F. Adams and C. H. Axtell. The resolution was declared out of order by Chairman Davis, who said each side had been given the right to put in its case in its own way. Webb said the prosecution had completed its case. He added that the local papers | had charged that the defense intended to drag out the investigation in order to tire out the public and make it for- get about it. Fifty witnesses, all teachers, will be subpenaed for to-morrow. Lot NOT EAGER TO PROSECUTE. President Rule Willing to Overlook Braley's Violation of the Law. LOS ANGELES, Jan. 4—Frederick K. Rule, president of the League for Better City Government, which has been active in the prosecution of School Director Webb, is not disposed to take up the case of Banker J. H. Bealy, who is charged with having violated the law in discounting teachers’ warrants. ‘When the attention of District At- torney Donnell was called to the Braly case, he said that he would bring it be- fore the Grand Jury on Monday, as that body had taken a recess until then. “The investigation started,” said Mr. Rule, when he was seen to-day, “‘on the charges filed . against Mr. Ax- tell and Mr. Adams. Mr. Webb was not connected with it as far as we knew. Personally, I had no idea that he was. The investigation resulted in the resignations of Adams and Axtell. “During the investigation of the charges made against Adams and Ax- tell Mr. Webb’s name was brought into it by parties testifying that when Adams and Axtell asked them for money they stated the money was for Webb. That of course resulted in further investigation in reference to Mr. Webb. The attorneys of the League for Better City .Government felt that Mr. Webb was more or less involved in the matter. At any rate, the evidence was sufficient to warrant the charges being brought against Mr. Webb. “The league is organized for the pur- pose of trying to improve matters here in the city government, and we don't propose to stop with the Board of Edu- cation if there is any evidence of any- thing that needs investigation in other departments. “I think what we have done in get- ting rid of Adams and Axtell is suf- ficient to warrant us in feeling we have been well repaid -for our work. We feel that the reorganization of the board is a good thing for the city. There is a man now at the head of the Board of Education who is undoubt- edly thoroughly conscientious and honest in every respect.” ° ‘““Has it ever been brought to the no- tice of the league that Mr. Braly had committed a felony in discounting the warrants of teachers?” asked the cor- respondent of The Call. “Not that I am aware of. I never heard of any such charge. I have heard somebody say that the teachers’ warrants were discounted at his bank.” “Was any attempt made by the league to investigate that matter?” “I don’'t know that it was ever brought to the attention of the league.” “This has been a matter of common street report, the evidence of an un- mistakable characeter and is a matter of record. Why was not this case takén up by the league?” “It was, as I understand it, not Mr. Braly, but his bank, which discounted these warrants.” % After the laws bearing on the matter had been explained to Mr. Rule and his attention’ was called to the fact that Mr. Braly was president of the bank and consequently a stockholder and therefore benefited by the pur- chase of these warants he replied: “I do not think there was any in- fringement of the law.” Mr. Rule was asked why the league had not taken action to have E. E. Cooper, W. H. Morris, Miss Clara Schroeter and C. J. Rohde removed from their positions in the School De- partment and why they were not pros- ecuted for having purchased their posi- tions, the two former as janitors and the latter as teachers. He was asked why Adams and Axtell were not pros- ecuted for their repeated and self-con- fesed perjuries and why F. K. Neilson, the contractor, was not prosecuted for using bribery to procure a contract. The prosecution of all these cases, he answered, would take more money than was required to run the city govern- ment. Mr. Rule thought it was the duty of the district attorney to take up these cases, notwithstanding the keen interest the league had taken in the prosecution of Webb. ZANOLI ESCAPES THE MURDER CHARGE. But the Barber Will Be Prosecuted for For- gery and Grand Larceny for Swindling Insurance Companies. NEW YORK, Jan. 4—The case against Charles Zanoli, accused of having murdered his wife, Jennie Suhmer, whose body was exhumed, has broken down, as has been fore- shadowed. Professor Wilthaus, who has bLeen niaking an analysis of the contents of the dead woman's stom- ach in search for poison, has com- pleted his work, and will make a re- port to the District Attorney's office to-morrow. The report has not been ruade public, but it is learned that Dr. Wilthaus has found nothing of a poisonous nature in the intestines, ex- cept fluid containing arsenious acid, the product of arsenic. The poison, however, enters into the composition of the fluid used in em- balming Mrs. Suhmer’'s body, so that its presence there is no evidence of poisoning. It is also learned that the District At- torney had practically decided not to attempt to prosecute Zanoli for murder. It has also been decided that it would be useless to exhume the bodies of Za- noli’s other wives, all of whom died be- fore Mrs. Suhmer, and whose bodies are doubtless much further advanced in de- composition than hers. He will be pros- ecuted, however, for grand larceny and forgery, in defrauding the life insur- ance companies by collecting policies issued on his own life after the death of his employe, William Schmidt. THE CLEVELAND AGAIN'IN PORT Return of the Vessel Which ‘Was Stranded Off Van- couver Island. Drops Anchor at Victoria and Will Be Repaired at Quartermaster Harbor. Special Dispatch to The Call. VICTORIA, Jan. 4.—The steamer Cleveland, miraculously saved from de- struction on the west coast of Van- couver Island, dropped anchor in Royal Roads, off this city, shortly after noon to-da Captain Metcalf of San Fran- cisco, who had superintended the work of floating her, and Mr. J. H. Tyson, the owner, came into town with the idea of arranging to have the steamer repaired here, but since the marine ways are occupied, and the graving dock charges rather heavy it was de- cided to adhere to the original inten- tion and have the work done at Quar- termaster Harbor on Puget Sound. The Cleveland is to-day taking in no more water than her own pumps can control. A good sized hole forward and another aft are her most serious injuries, though many plates on the starboard side as well as on the bot- tom are perforated and will have to be removed. The machinery has been damaged by its immersion, but the re- pairs will not be nearly so expensive as might have been expected. Little difficulty was experienced in freeing the Cleveland from the rocky point on which she had lodged in mov- ing toward the sandy beach. On Sat- urday the American tug Tyee gave her a line, but the water was low at the time and the ship refused to move. The next day the Czar of - Victoria, which had been on hand throughout the wrecking operations, hitched on astern, and without the slightest diffi- culty the steamer was towed to a place of safety. When beached her bottom was patched as best it could be for temporary service, and the vessel can now proceed safely to her dock. —_——— SECRETARY OF STATE BROWN PRONOUNCED QUT OF DANGER. Reports From the Sickroom Are That the Invalid’s Condition Is Much Improved. SACRAMENTO, Jan. 4.—Reports from the bedside of Secretary of State Brown show a marked improvement in his con- dition. The attending physicians now pronounce him out of danger and on the road to recover NEW TO-DAY. Cutting up pranks with baby is great fun for a young mother. But before she can cut pranks with the baby she must have a healthy baby. A puny, sickly, peev- ish baby has no use- for pranks. It lies in every young mother's power to insure the health of the ex- pected newcomer. If she will see that the organs which make motherhood possible are healthy and vigorous, and will keep them so during the period receding matern- Y ity, she may be sure that the baby will be healthy and happy. A marvelous medicine for young mothers is Dr. Pierce’s Favorite Prescription. Taken during the period preceding motherhood it makes strong, healthy and vigorous the or- gans upon which rest the burdens of ma- ternity. It allays inflammation, soothes pain, and restores steadiness to the nerves. It does away with the discomforts of the exgecnnt period. It insures the health of baby and makes its coming easy and almost painless. It is the discovery of an eminent and successful specialist, Dr. R. V. Pierce, chief consulting physician to the Invalids’ Hotel and Surgical Institute, Buffalo, N. Y. “I took Dr. Pierce's Favorite Prescri] before m; mfifirnl, ud& ‘was only in labor a short. e, ites Mrs. Minnie A. Peterson, T o g wmasaally wel. ¥ Bk the sai ong un well. mdk:n‘e“-\'ed"l it de’ll of suffering and I getall my friends who need it to try it. One of the best-known of American need- ical men said: ‘“‘If you want to reform a man, begin with his ndfather.” That . wonld be wise if it could be done. Since it cannot be done, try something else. Reform the future grandfathers and grandmothers. Do this through education. The greatest thing for a man or woman to know is him- self or herself. To know one-half the capa- bilities and disabilities of the human body is a liberal education. A good start for this education is Dr. Pierce’s Common Sense Medical Adviser. Any one can have this finely illustrated 1000-page book for the small price of twenty-one one-cent stamps. ‘This is simply to pay for mailing. If you would like the book in fine cloth binding instead of paper, send thirty-one stamps ta World's Medical Association, 663 Main Street, Buffalo, N. Y.