The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, August 6, 1898, Page 5

Y FRANCISCO CALL, SATURDAY, AUGUST 6, 1898 Miss Van Ness Tells Why She Tried to End Her Ex- istence. Bishop Potter’s Nephew Brought Into Noto= riety Through the Rash Act of a Foolish Woman. WWith her white face peeping out of £ brown hair and the reflec- ASHTON POTTER WAS A FICKLE SOLDIER LOVER | ! souvenirs of her travels, he pink pillow that she rested a faint color to her cheeks, t Van the beautiful han whose love for a soldler | led her to try to end her existence in ‘g moment of pique by shooting herself was told exclu- niled sadly told of the reasons that led her to her rash act. ble to get the University Club,” she ed her brow, “I dc idity of it. I was angry telephone girl the v made this admis- her move, while he bright | punishment to be cooped apartments, unable to everyone was about enjoying t sunshine. The young lady did not appear to have such a hard lot to bear, as she was surrounded with every sign of Iu About her boudoir were downy and _expensive while in an adjoining apartment her wallswere cov- ered with tapestries, paintings, knives and tasty knick knacks gathered dur- | ing her stay in India, China and Japan. | Miss,/Van Ness is slowly recuperating from her self-inflicted wound, and will | probably be able to sit up in a few ury. couches and beautiful | days. Corporal Potter of Company A, First New York Volunteers, comes from one of the most prominent families of the | metropolis. He is the son of the late ter family that he was not reduced to the ranks. Shortly after the special train which carried the First New York to these shores left Jersey City, Potter re- ceived word that he could receive the nomination of a second lieutenantey in the regular army if he so desired. If he accepted the nomination it would be necessary for him to pass an examina- tion before his appointment would be permanent. Upon reaching this city he sent word home that he preferred re- maining with the First New York as a non-commissioned officer to trying for the straps in the regular army. CHINESE ON STRIKE. Refused to Ship on the Arizona for the Wages Offered. The Coast Seamen’s Union has been ex- erting every influence to prevent the troopship Arizona being equipped with a crew of Chinese, but so far has met with very little success. The Chinese, how- ever, seem to be about to solve the prob- lem for t. Shipping Agent Callender started out with a light heart and heavy purse to engage a full quota of coolies to act as and fill other positions aboard the waiter: | big troopship, and after a few hours’ | work marched thirty pigtailed coolies down to the vessel. After he had got them aboard they desired to come to term \rding the wages reeived. They were offered $30, and there was a hasty huddling together and jabbering of words unintelligible to a civilized white man, with enough gestures to saw the fog into particle Fhe consultation ended with the spoke: an giving the verdict, “No go; want $3 and there they stuck. | When informed that $35 was too high | a figure they took up their bundles and went back to Chinatown. It is stated by persons familiar with the conditions along the water front that if the shipping agent chose he could fiud enough white stem to stern and deck to kels would be only too willing to ship —_——————————— His Story a Fabrication. on, who | for $30. Jesse Naville, the young man who came | rom Pincle a few days ago and who re- | ported to the police yvesterday morning that he had been held up by two foot- pads at the corner of Powell and Wash- ington streets and relieved of $34 and va- | A VICT T, ’V(/ 1] fidit i i Fair Miss Viol et ness Confesse Act and Her Regard for Corporal Potter. IM OF MAD LOVE. Her 1 \ | Regret For Her Wild| sion a ¢ ning look and then remarked | IS 2lthough she was able to speak five different languages the “good old Ameérican word” express her feel- then picked .up my pistol, which £ near by, and without a mo- : hesitation shot myself. I did pot feel .the pain and was perfectly ci o much so that when I edrd the people rushing toward my sooin 1-walked to the door and un- Jitched: it, fea would break it 03¢ 1 ‘in my nightgown the flash set it on ¥ nd tinguished the flame. want the idea to go forth | ter deserted me when I )t, because he did not. He University Club, and as . heard I was hurt he came . We are still the best even though we did have rrel the day before. Potter and think him a 1, 1 1 am sorry that got as the story will out, i this her eyes wandered r to her bureau where two large hes of and lavender sweet ! ng that they were hero she was asked sent them, but she her colored r away from her 1ds with alcohol, brow and in f ed the wounded woman as if s 1 child. Her ministra- tions d 1 bright little butterfly on her snowy arm, and a executed stalk between her x finger. Miss Van Ness : placed there during her . Potter in the Bast during around the world, and when s regiment he called e the best of friends sabout enjoying the bright d. I suppose I was brood- and the least thing made I 'went out the next days and was hanpy because I thought everything was made up. On my re- turn to’ my apartments I threw aside pry wraps and put on my robe de nuit, d then tried to ring him up at his club. . Being of an ungovernable tem- per, I said, ‘d—n. and then shot my- self. I am now sorry I did it,” and with _a siile, “T'll never do it again.” Miss Van Nels thought it sufficient pit, e angry. looked at her interviewer With | p Brownson Potter, who was a promi- owing to the large number of his pe sonal friends in the separate S | companies of which the First | as a member of the Albany Battalion, nent New York banker and a nephew of Bishop Potter. Owing to his procliv- itles for playing star parts along the tenderloin and at the seaside of Greater New York he has had innumerable rows | with his relativ As soon as the war broke out he decided = to enlist, 1 York Regiment is composed he enlisted of which Major Robert Emmet is in command. As soon as the samp was broken at Hempstead this battalion was ordered to dc garrison duty at Fort Wads- worth. While stationed at this pe Potter amused himself by getting into all sorts of difficuities with his super- jor officers and causing no end of trouble to the people running the cafes and places of amusement at the neigh- boring summer orts. In his quest for pieasure Potter was favorable to South Beach. This place is a sort of miniature Coney Island, lo- cated a few miles beyond the fort at the southern end of Staten Island. Here there is a theater, innumerable cafes and cpen-air dance halls. In short it is a midway plaisance on a limited scgle. To the heart of one of the merry soubrettes then playing at the South Beach theater Potter laid siege. He had plenty of money and an unlimited capacity for the stimulants and other beverages for sale at the cafes. He was in the habit of giving nightly dinners to the fair soubrette. At these little affairs his fellow-soldlers were always present. One of the laws of the post stipulated that all privates had to return and re- port for duty at a certain hour each evening. But Potter persisted in dis- regarding the regulations and finally was placed under arrest and ordered court-martialed. Although the pro- ceedings of the court were never offi- cially made public, it was understood that he spent two days in the guard- house for breach of discipline. At the time Bishop Potter refused to admit relationship with the corporal. On his way to this city young Potter amused himself by buying anything his fellow privates Jjonged for. Incidentally he purchased the little bear which s now the mascot of Company A. His career in this city has been a continuance of the performance which he held at South Beach. A few days ago he had to be officially reprimanded for his conduct, and it was only through the friendship of his superior officer for the the Pot-: turns out to be a boy | Detective Ed | »d robbery that the rious valuables, vivid imaginatior as put on the Hung story was and_that he was afllicted with a dream brought on by an overdo: Naville Del Monte the robbery borrowed a half dol saloon 2 half hour took pl before Tons of Apples Wanted. There is every prospect that before very long another industry will ‘be start- ed up in tate. W. G. Todd & Co. of Roch , and Chicago, recently wrote J. A. Filcher of the State Board of Trade asking for information as.to a lo- cality in California where an apple evapo- rating plant can b blishcd. They are coming to this coas 1 desire to get into an orchard district where they can get from 50.0 hels of this fruit 000 to 100,000 bus < Mr. Filcher answered that about 400,000 and the strict about 300,000 apple f which are In bearing, nd it s & ay that the Eastern com- pany can get all the fruit it wants by lo- cating down in that section of the State. NO CHANGE IN THE EXISTING REGULATIONS Tariff, Immigration and Tonnage Laws of Hawaii and This Country Stand. WASHINGTON, Aug. 5.—In accordance with a decision rendered by the Attorney General there will be no change in the law and regulations affecting the. tariff. im- migration and tonnage tax between Ha- walf and the United States until further legislation by Congress. Speaking of the Hawailan annexation resolution, the Attorney General says. that it is replete with indications that tem- porarily the relations of the two countries are to continue practically unchanged. It is plainly apparent that Congress regards the establishment of an American Govern- ment for and the extension of American laws to the island as-matters to be attend- ed to in the future. =g T PREDICTS OUR PROSPERITY London Statist Sees a Bright Future for This Country. LONDON, Aug. 5.—The Statist predicts a great wave of American prosperity after the war and active European busi- ness in American sccurities. “Cuba,” the writer says, “will give em- ployment to a vast amount of capital, and the stimulus to industry there will re- act on the United States. The invest- ments in Cuba, Porto Rico and the Philip- pines will particularly benefit rallways.” men_to fili the vessel from | n | Wicked left swing_at McConnell's | sult at any moment. | acn, T0M TRACEY 0N THE FIGHT He Downed McConnell With a Hard Blow. SEVENTEEN CLEVER ROUNDS A RIGHT SWING SETTLED THE LOCAL CHAMPION. Tye of Oakland Took the ifeasure of Jacobs, the “Midget Sandow,” After a Bloody Battle. Frank McConnell, the clever and game yvoung California pugilist, = experienced last evening for the first time the effect of a knockout blow. The man who upset all of McConnell’s fondest anticipations is Tom Tracey, a fistic artist, a native of Australia. The place where the great lo- cal event in pugilism took place was the | Olympic Club, and its members and those | who planked up the small sum of $2 wit- | essed seventeen rounds of as pretty sparring and clever punching as the most ardent lover of the sport could wish to see, In an article on the fight which ap- peared in The Call of yesterday sound ad- vice was given to the sports who were betting large sums of money on McCon- nell at the ridiculous odds of $10 to 36, | which subsequently went down as low as $10 to $5, with Tracey on the short end. The betting was so false that not a few of the knowing sports did not hesitate | to -say there was something doing among those who had influence and were in a position to resort to hipprodroming. But the fight dispeiled all thoughts of fraud, and proved beyond question thau | McConnell, the tyro professional, had met his match in Tracey. The pugilists weighed in yesterday af- ternoon at 3 o'clock at 145 pourds, but by the time the local lad stepped into the ring he must have taken on a few pounds. It was 9:30 o’clock, after the preliminary bout between Tye and Jacobs had ended, in which Jacobs received his quietus in the seventh round, that the stars of the evening shone forth. McConnell_and his attendants, Alex Greggains, Martin Murphy and Frank Schuler, first entered the ring. They were quickiy followed by smiling Tom Tracey | and his bodyguard, consisting of _Al| Smith, Jack Stelzner and De Witt Van Court. Monsieur Kennedy then made a tew brief remarks on cigarette smoking, after which the referee, Phil Wand, or- | dered the fighters to the scratch. It was 9:35 o’clock when the gong sound- ed and the battle was on. in the first round McConneil, who wore a very busi- ness-like look, stepped up close to Tracey and after some little fiddling, sent out his ieft, which landed on the {. A second lead was prettily stopped; then Trace tapped Mc on the face and this was f¢ lowed by s ral h xchanges at clos quarters. Tracey planted a hot right on Krank’s stomach and a left on the ear. Quick return stirred up considerable e citement among the spec It was give and until Tracey sent out a Jaw, The opening round was everybody predicted a o which fell short. very pretty and very fine contest. In the second round the fighters, who had now warmed up to the heat of battle, went right at it, hammer and tongs, and it looked as though a knock Trac around his opponent and like a cooper | around a barrel, and then fiddling in the hope of drawing out McConnell's fire shot out his left at McConnell's face as quick as a flash the right followe landing hard on the ribs. McConnell was not there for fun, and io;in leé gll; hés batter; ollowed, both men 1 in efis Hahta on bofly Aot face Jnet Ibeforo the gong sounded McConnell caught Tracey a hard right on the ear, and in return he recelved a short-arm ht in the stom- the sound of which could be heard twenty ds from the ring. It was a great fight so far, and honors were about evenly divided. Another exciting round followe the gong called the fighters to th Tracey jumpeu—or, rather, slid—around the ring like a dancing master, fiddling with his gloves and executing moves, by which he hope his opponent; but McConneli was he nd d, as a cueumber, and moving up to within | range of the Australlan he led with the left, but the blow was very neatly | blocked. In fact, Tracey is considered one of the best defensive fighters of tne day. Tracey tried a mix-up, and as quick as a flash he landed two lefts on McCon- nell’s mouth; but for this he received a right under the left arm which made him wince. . Again the fighters got to mixing it up. but the honors were about even. After a rally McConnell made d erate attempt to swing on Trac yut the agile Thomas siid to one caught his (_}ppunf‘nt in the neck he was passing. he blow slightly staggered McConnell and then the spectators realiz- ed what a quick man the Australian is. Like a cat he sprang at his quarry and sending out right and left at head and body. Tom clinched and wrestled McCon- nell to the ropes, where agaln Tracey landed twice on the body. This was Tracey's round beyond any question. McConnell scored a pretty good lead in the fourth round. The ball opened with | a hot exchange in_which both landed on face and body. Tracey swung his left hard at the jaw and missed. McConnell took quick advantage of the opening and landed a hard right on Tracey's ear, which brought the receiver to his senses. McConnell followed up his game in the hope of landing his right again, but Tracey was too tricky and shot around the ring and away from danger. Hard fighting ended the round but McConhell had the best of the rally. In the fifth McConnell changed his tac- tics and resorted to left hand jabbing, landing occasionally, but generally the blows were well blocked. Tracey was a bit pumped, and he did not resort to too much fighting. ‘He rested up. The pugllists, having had five hard rounds, siawed down In their dash and resorted to cunning tactics. Jabbing and body punching was the order up to the eighth round, when Tracey tried again to steal a march on McConnell, and essayed a knockout. It was a right at the jaw, but the blow landed too far back to bring the desirgd,result. McConnell was now angry, afd rushed Tracey to the ropes, where he, (McConnell) tried to land hig right, but his man was too foxy and sidled away from punishment. In the ninth there was some hard fight- ing at-close quarters, and both men re- turned from two hot rallles with bloody again swung mouths. In the tenth round Tmce{ his left for the jaw, the blow whizzing past McConnéll's chin and sending’ Tra- ‘cey sprawling on his hands, the impetus was so great. McConnell dashed at Tracey as the latter regained his pins, and as pretty a bit of in-fighting as an. person could wisn to see resulted. i as give and -take, but the local ‘man seemed to have had the better of the ar- gument. Nothing of any particular note hap- pened until the fifteenth round, when Me- Connell landed a _smashing right on Tracey's nose, driving the receiver's head back on his shoulders. The Aus- tralian was now very wild, and he dashed at McConnell, shooting out right and left at head and body. he local man was, however, equal to the occasion, and re- turned blow for blow, but he.could not land a right with any effect on Tracey, the artful dodger. In the sixteenth round, during a re- markably savage rally, McComnell cut open Tracey's left eyebrow and the blood blinded the Australian. n McConnell landed on the eye and Tracey was evi- dently going as he recelved a smash in the jaw which dazed him, but the Aus- trallan was too old a bird to be caught by a youngster in the profession, and he iinched gnd held on until the "gong :a\rr‘ed hh: from what might have been a knockout. When the seventeenth round was called expected to see McConnell job, but Tracey had recovered strong. - After a few backed” toward his everybody. finish the and was fighting exchanges McConnell ight re- a}nfimed up | & C d a hot rally | and | . | forming corner, followed by Tracey, who was fid- dling_like a jack-in-the-box in front of the Californian. Finally McConnell sent out a short left lead. This was just what Tracey wanted, for as quick as a flash he flung his right at the.objective point and the glove at last landed on McConnell’s jaw.” McConnell fell to the carpet and was unable to rise until counted out. The fight is one of, If not the best, from a sclentific point of view, that has ever taken place in this city. The preliminary event of the night was a 10-round bout between Morris Jacobs of St. Louis, whose marvelous muscular development has earned him the title of the “Midget Sandow.” and Charles Tye of the Reliance Club, Oakland. Tye weighed in at 135 pounds and Ja- cobs the same. The contestants agred not to hit in clinches. Tye showed the most cleverness {rom the start, Jacobs’ blows being all wid swings. Tye landed several good straight lefts and proved himself the best ring general. Jacobs landed one good blow in the second round, a hard left swing in the stomach. Tye contented himself with jabbing his opponent’s face with his left. There was some fast fighting in the third, and both men were nearly out First Tye had the best of it, but Jacobs’ superior strength stood him in good stead and he rallied toward the end. The fourth was an exciting round. Tye landed a corker on the jaw and Jacobs went down for nine seconds, and then staggered to his feet and fought back hard to the end of the round, though badly fatigued. The next round was slower. Tye Janded his left continually on Jacobs' oruis=d fade and the latter tried a number of in- effectual swings. Jacobs, great gameness and recuperative powers kept him up through the sixth round, Tye landing on his bloody face at will without a return, but the Oaklander did not have the strength to put him out. From sheer exhaustion, and suffering from the many hard blows he had recelv- ed, Jacobs succumbed in the seventh round, and going to-the floor from a left on the jaw, was counted out. Tye was loudly applauded for his victory and Jacobs for his gamenes: e OLYMPIC OFFICERS. Nominating Committee Elected by the Club Members. An adjourned meeting of the members of the Olympic Club was held last even- ing at 7:30 o'clock for the purpose of elect- ing a nominating committee, who will nominate a board of directors for the next term. The following gentlemen were unanimously elected: Dr. A. M. Burns, Charles Albert Adams, Edward R. Swain, Charles K. Melrose and Mr. Chapins. This committee will meet in a few days and re- port back to the club. NUMEROUS DONATIONS FOR THE RED CROSS LARGE SUM RECEIVED FROM LOCAL CITIZENS. Ferry Hospitality Committee Has & Busy Day—Other Notes of Interest. Donations were received at the ferry from E. 8. Holden, Miss Price, Mrs. Mont- eagle, Mrs. Pembroke, Mrs. J. F. Merrill, E. J. Coleman, Mr. Holmes, Pacific Coast Steamship Company. Donations were receieved by the State society from Eureka, Corvallis, San Luis | Obispo, Cahneorga Valley, Reno, Weaver- ville, Benicia, Lincoln, Napa, Vallejo, San Jose, Mendocino, and a large donation from the children of the Korbil school, Humboldt. Mr. Meeker and Mrs. Webber have giv- en valuable assistance in raising money | for the Red Cross. | " Mrs. Lowenberg of the hospitality com- | mittee reported that during the week | her committee had_entertained over 2350 | soldiers. Yesterday 52 New York men and | 400 engineers boarding the transports were lunched. Donations were received by the San Fran- cisco Red Cross Soclety from Belimont School, | Miibrae Dairy, Mrs. Wilshire, Goldberg, Bowen “., Mrs. e Rhode, Mrs. J. Fader, Mrs. M, B. Kellogg. Subscriptions were received as follows yes- terday: I Unton Iron Works at Pa- cific Mail 5 . Willlam Kohl, San Mateo, , $100; Mrs. : Mr. Ben through Franco-California Raas, $109 67; special donation committee of Santa Bar- lifornia, $101 11; Century Club, adcitional, $3 50; Mrs. Joseph Hutchin- on, monthly subscription, $5. A full ilst of Red Cross articles were ship- ped on the outgoing transports. ‘“Tommy At- | kins”" and pansies were distributed to the | men on_the dock. Mrs. John F. Merrill, president, received the foliowing letter yesterday: Dear Madam: | On behalf of the board of directors of the | Mount Zion Hospital I take pleasure in in- ¥ that two free beds in the hospital, | corner of Sutter and Hyde screets, are at the | Qisposal of your society to be used for the sick soldlers. Yours very Trespectfully, 1. W. HELLMAN JR. a Barbara sent $104 to the soclety yes- to be spent on the Seventh California, now at Manila. At the executive session yesterday morning a vote of thanks was extended to the six dally | papers for their donation of a complete file of Jupers since the Red Cross started in San Francisco, and to Cunningham, Curtiss & Welch and LeCount Bros. for their generous donations. BRINGS THE FAMILIES OF SPANISH OFFICERS San Juan Returns to Santiago From Manzanillo With Women and Children. SANTIAGO DE CUBA, Aug. 5, 2:25 p. m.—The steamer San Juan, which went to Manzanillo under a flag of Spanish officers who reinforced Lin- ares in Santiago before the capitula- tion, returned this morning, bringing thirty-five persons, the wives and chil- dren of the officers who came with Gen- eral Escarios. Originally it was said that there were seventy-five persons to be brought, but General Toral sent two officers to see that only the “legally married wives"” came, which reduced the number to thirty-eight. The San Juan was piloted into Man- zanillo by the Hist, under a .flag of truce. The Hist's commander found everything peaceful and no complaint of hunger. The Spanish steamer Puris- ima Concepcion, which was destroyed there on July 18, had, it appears, landed half her cargo at that time. This morning General Shafter ap- pointed a special board to inspect the men prior to embarkation. The board consists of Major Wood, chief surgeon of the First Division; Major Kilbourne, chief surgeon of the Second Division, and Dr. Gonzales, army surgeon. The board began work to-day at the head- quarters of the cavalrv division, which is to embark to-morrow. urtil Wednesday afternoon, ——— TO BORE FOR PETROLEUM. Movement at Vallejo to Organize a Corporation. VALLEJO, Aug. 5.—Preliminary steps for the organization of a corporation to develop the petroleum belt a few miles north of here were taken to-day. F. de Miranda, the representative of the Peru- vian Oil Company and an expert of world- wide reputation, has examined the loca- tion and gives his opinion that there Is a vast amount of petroleum easily accessi- ble on tne ranches in the belt, which ex- tends from the tules adjoining Napa Creek clear into Benicia Township. A committee of prominent land owners, composed of John Brownlie, John Wilson and Hon. J. J. Luchsinger, was named to see all land owners interested and secure their rights in the mineral claims, under which fiw petroleum will be worked. If the project is successful there is every evidence that Vallejo will become a large manufacturing center. o e TE Lineman Killed at Los Angeles. LOS ANGELES, Aug. 5—Mason A. Binkley, a lineman, in the employ of the Edison Electric Company, was Kkilled this afternoon by a shock from a wire charged with 2000 volts of electricity and a fall of twenty-five feet from the top of an elec- | tric light mast. Binkley was soldering a joint when the accident happened. when he truce to bring here the families of the | () Charles Pettijohri, an each hand informed all who approach Officers Charles Brown, John Ed him. He was charged with insanity a the commissioners yesterday, resulted Pettijohn, who was formerly a fl ‘head with a mallet some years ago a’ since that time. less. A short time ago the idea sel PEEOEEEEPIPNOPHPIOOPPEPODIPODOOOOO® time for the past few weeks. [oX] A MAN UP A TREE. his property even at the expense of life. V. K. Templeton, a milkman, ‘who passed the place about 5 o’'clock in the morning, saw that the man was in- sane and notified the police at the Seventeenth-Street Station. the case, and when they went to Pettijohn’s home they found him still in the tree and were warned that they had better keep their distance. means of coaxing the officers finally persuaded the demented man to come out of his tree and enter the house, where they surrounded and disarmed This tree is about 100 feet high, and on two branches about eighty feet from the ground he erected a platform, where he has spent most of his A ten-foot ladder leads from the foot of the tree up to the first branches and from there up to the primitive fortress cleats are nalled, which made his ascent to the platform possible. @@@@@@@@@3@(‘)@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@_@@@8 ;"n‘”"%é/{/“ 'A‘ A % v 1 Aged Lmiatic, Builds a Fort and Seeks Refuge From: Imaginary Enemies. Belleving that he was pursued by enemies who desired to rob him, Chas. Pettijohn, aged 61 years, living at 1017 Florida street, took up his station in a large gum tree on his property yesterday morning and with a pistol in ed that he was determined to‘defend ner and E. F. Bode were detailed on By nd his case, which came up before in his being sent to Agnews. ne mechanic, received a blow gn the nd has néver been right mentally- PEREVOIVECOLEECOO Four years ago he was taken before the insanity com- © mission, but was discharged.. The neighbors have known that he was not @ possessed of his right mind, but until recently have considered him harm- & . ® ized him that some one was trylng to ® rob him. He told friends that he had applied to the authorities for protec- ® tion, and as he had been réfused he was determined to take the matter i into his own hands. He procured a long plece of steel, tied it to a rape, ® and would pound this with a hammer to let his neighbors know when the © burglars, the creatures of his own mind, were about to attack him. The @ next move was to build a fort in the tree in which he was found yesterday. © 5 @ O] PAGO-PAGO TO BE IMPROVED Washington Aroused at German Aggression. PROMPT ACTION ORDERED | THE LONG DISUSED COALING STATION NOW NEEDED. On the arrival of the Mariposa last week The Call was the only paper to chromnicle the important news she brought from S& moa. The Germans, evidently deeming that the Spanish-American war was their opportunity, have been carrying matters with a high hand. Despite all the clauses of the Berlin treaty, which gives the United States, Germany and England joint control over the group, the German president of the Municipal Coun- cil has openly defied the American Chief Justice. He has refused to. admit Judge Chambers’ jurisdiciion, and as a consequence the English and - Ameérican consuls have appealed to their respactive powers for redress. The effect of this plece of news at ‘Washington has been very marked. The administration has moved with extreme rapidity, for yesterday we published the announcement that the Presld(er!‘lt had iven instructions to commence the erec- %l:l: of a coaling station at Pago-Pago harbor, on the isiand of Tutuila. 5 The idea is not aAr:lewh?an ears ago Admi e Y moun Government thic conges- slon of a coaling station at this point.’ The Tight was formally embodied in a clause oflhe Washington treaty of 188, bet the United States and Samoa,. which reads: ‘‘Naval ve: . T ulefl;? ';r?:;?’:‘nila:\tx;‘; 1 ve the privilel e 0 t?f PRg‘O-PnKo and estab- lishing therein and ofi the shores thereof a station: for coal and other supi lies for | their naval and commercial marine, and the Samoan Government will hereatter neither exercise nor authorize any Juris- diction within_ said port adverse 1o :l_uch‘ rights of the United States, or rostrictions | {hereof. The same vessels shall also have | the privilege of entering other ports of the Samoan Islands.” At lh;: tlmg o Suicese when the war v i N Germany 8o nearly exchanged shots in Apla harbor, and were afterward wrecked wholesale in the famous hurri- Sane, Congress voted the sum of $200.000 o ‘maintaln American prestige in the Samoan group. What' became of this money is not clearly apparent, for noth- ing beyond landing a few thousand tons of coal was ever done at Pago-Pago. small wharf was built at the time, but it has long since fallen into decay, the coal has been consumed and nothing remains to denote that the place is American roperty. o pApres)l'dent of San Francisco, who re- cently visited Pago-Pago, “describes the arbor as one of the most remarkable in he Southern Pacific. It is really a flord, or deep indentation in_the land, nearly Ouitting the small island of Tutufla fn two. It has deep water anchorage sufficient to accommodate - the whole United States for it runs back some. three miles. £ the Tamasese troubles in 1s of Uncle Sam navy, Hhere 18 good anchorage all the way, in (rofn thirty to forty fathoms, though, as the wind blows very strongly through this orge, sound ground tackle is neceunr{. he shores of the bay are very steep, high, green clad mountains tower on each side, and around the tops of these peaks the trade winds rage in a continuous storm. ‘1t always blows and nearly always rains in Pago-?agn harbor. Squalls are of al- most hourly occurrence. t there is no danger from these minor climatic disturb- importance has since been coral reefs which guard the entrance, but they cannot penetrate far. At Goat Isiand, a mile from the ocean, the channel takes a sudden turn and the rest of the harbor is completely land- locked. Just within this island, on a sandy spot, Is all that remains of the United States coaling station, which it is now- proposed to reconstruct. A native village, its brown huts peeping out amidst the palm trees and banana plantations, is close by, but the fifteen acres of land belonging to Un- cle Sam.are bare and desolate. A few old lighters lig rotting on the beach; decay- ing stump$ of piles indicate. where there was once a wharf. Owing to the steep- ness ¢f the mountains which - surround Pago-Pago, very little land is available round the beach. The natives themselves are terribly cramped for level areas on which to place their huts. They will not live away from the water, consequently every inch of level ground around the shores of the bay is occupled by these Samoans. X Therefore, the land owned, if not o¢cu- pled by this nation, has considerable in- trinsi¢’ worth, apart altogether from its strategic value. It would be difficult, in- deed, for any other nation to acquire, on this harbor, such a suitable place for a coaling station. The site is' the pick of the bay. At last, as learned from Washington, it is proposed to erect a suitable wharf, with modern appliances for coaling. There are no difficulties in the way. 'T'he water is always smooth and the shore reef of coral, which runs out for about fifty yards from the beach, affords a splendid foundation for piling. Beyond this is deep water, so that once the wharf is carried out far enough the largest. ocean= going steamer can lay alengside &nd load or discharge coal.. There is no question as to theé strategic advantage of Pago-Pago as a coaling station. In the event of a prolonged oc-. cupation” of the Philippines or -of any complications arising with Germany or the alherfurnpenn powers the United States would find It of the greatest ad- vantage to have a station in the South- ern Pacific, where her ships could repair to refit or to obtain that great essential of modern naval warfare—coal. Though late in the day, President McKinley has at last recognized this fact. ' In point of distance Pago-Pago is as far from Honolulu as that port is from San Francisco. t forms a sort of midway halting place between San Francisco and Australia, being 2300 miles from Sydney, 2263 miles from Honolulu and 4160° from San Francisco. It is also nearly equally placed with regard to the Philippines, being 4000 miles from Manila. 1t 15, however, the prospect of the near construction of the Nicaragua canal which gives the Samoan harbor its pros- pective strategic value. When the isth- mian canal is opened the great volume of American maritime trade will undoubt- edly follow this route across the Pacific. A vessel sailing from Panama will have %000 miles of water to cross before reach- ing Australia, and the only American station vessels of this nationality wiil find en route is Pago Pago harbor. Of “British, French and German isles there are, plenty, but the United States ship has only this one national port of refuge. The United States Consuls in moa have not been slow to recognize the great importance of Pago-Pago, and -two or three years -ago Mr. Mulligan, a Zormer Consul General, made a very strong pro- test to Washington on the subject. He wrote: 5 So far as concerns the United States the en- tire question of Samoa is centered in_this harbor, that is aside from-what may perhaps be permissibly termed the humane interest of the American public fn the rights and welfare of the Samoans. Whatever value, from a na- Yal point of view, Samoa possessed when the treaty of Washington was formi that intreased many times over. The a%r;flrené}y;fe ain construc, at no.dista te, thmian can: e Mo Gesirability ot the lsiands and, the ors they coptain, whether that cahal’ be uRder American control or'mot. If not under American direction,: then thé great- er the importance of the possession of this roup. : gsumm lies almost on the .direct line of hmus of Panama to Auck- transit_from the Ist 3 land, . Sydhey, in’ fadt; AN parts of tho Australian cold‘lsedi. As “the latter population, production and wealth, the Ume of their tonnage, to Europe lespecially, and in great part to the Unifed States, must Seek the interoceanic canal ms its route when built, unless driven away by exorbitant tolls. There are quite as direct lines as Apia, but none of them: Americ: B 2 tion, adds ances. as _the harbor is securely _land- locked. The huge rollers of ‘the Pacific break with tremendous force upon e