The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, November 7, 1898, Page 1

i AL UR AN | S~ ly The VOLUME LXXXIV.—NO. 160. SAN FRANCISCO, MONDAY, NOVEMBER 7, 1898. Call e} h This Paper not be taken from | € Library, ++++ PRICE FIVE CENTS. FARNUM USED ONE BANK TO SAVE ANOTHER FROM RUIN He Betrayed Thousands of Depositors the Hands of the Into The dged Banker Played a Dubious Double Part in the Destruction of the People’s Savings Bank and the Pacific. In the history of the ruin of the Pa- cific Bank, The Call begins this morn- | Ing the publication of the letters of Dr. | In December, 1891, | R. H. McDonald. Dr. R. H. McDonald fled from this city | to evade the consequences of his own crimes and those of his sons. Before he fled he promised the Bank Commis- sioners that he would piedge his private fortune to save the institutions with which he was so prominently con- nected. Instead of keeping his prom- ises he did everything in his power to divert his property from any channel wherein the depositors might use the eourts to demand restitution. The aged banker went to New York, and while there kept himself closely in touch with the affairs of the institutions that were fast drifting on to the rocks of finan- cial distress. The letters of R. H. McDonald Sr. present a dramatic story of a tragedy of finance. The old man in the latter part of 1892 and the first half of 1893 was battling against the wreck of his fortune and almost of death. In the greatest bitterness of heart he dis- cusses his private affairs, warns and counsels his children, reminds them of their duties and obligations toward re- ligion and begs them to accept the warnings in time. In the old man's letters is the record of the terrible struggle of the family to free them- selves from the human parasites that were sucking their lives and dragging them down to ruin. In letter after letter written from New York, where for nearly a year and a half the elder McDonald was prac- tically iv hiding, Dick is urged to brave the storm that was battering the family to death. In the latter days of | the conspiracy the elder McDonald seemed mad with grief that his for- tune and his honorable name should be erushed. In letter after letter the aged moral- ist discusses the beauties of a truly Christian life and then asks his son to steal ten thousand more from the bank. At one moment he cries out that all must pull together for the shore and reach the end of the bank’s career bonorably if not a dollar is left at the end. Again he cries despairingly that *“if my children go to hell, they will 8o there knowing better.” In the bit- terness of remorse the father of Dick McDonald tells his son that it cost him $100,000 to get rid of Clara Belle Mc- Donald, the wife of Dick. Turning again to the dreadful affairs of the two banks, the old man in warning terms says “we are surrounded by schemers, traitors, vagabonds, thieves, and by all Conspirators. y officials high in the State and the de- | liberate robbery of thousands of men, women and children. | Dr. McDonald fled from San Francisco |in December, 1891. In August of that | year the Pacific Bank was insolvent. | The Bank Commissioners had warned | the Attorney General and commanded Dr. McDonald and his sons to rehabili- | tate the Pacific Bank and stop its aw- ful drain on the People’s Bank. Dr. McDonald tearfully promised the Bank | Commissioners that he would sacrifice | every dollar of his private fortune to place his banking institutions again on | a sound financial foundation. Having | made that promise he fled from the | State to evade its fulfillment. From that time on until the crash on June | 22, 1893, Dr. McDonald was supposed by | the authorities and the public to know | nothing of the affairs of the institu- tion of which he was the president. | When the Pacific Bank failed he was in New York, and, with the same fund of | tears to moisten his assertions, em- | | phatically declared that from the time | | he had left the city he had taken a | solutely no part in any transactioa r {lating to the banks. As a matter of | | fact, when not prevented by .illness, he | | was intimately concerned in ali the | | Eastern manipulations. At his sugzes- | tion his enormous debt to the Pacific Bank was released by a crime; his property was fraudulently deeded and | hypothecated until it was placed be- | yond the reach of execution. On one | occasion Dick was commanded to take | 82000 and on another $1000 for the per- sonal incidental needs of his father. | And when the crash became inevitable | the old man himself, over his own sig- | | nature, told Dick to steal $10,000 more, | | so that the doctor might have living ex- penses for six months. The letters will be found interesting and perhaps valu- | able in any effort there may be made | to recover the stolen property of the banks. BANK COMMISSION, A few days after Dr. R. H. McDonald fled from this city his interview with the Bank Commissioners was still on | his mind, and from San Bernardino on | January 23, 1892, he wrote in part to| | Frank, his son, as follows: | I am desirous of knowing the result of the interview you were to have had | or did have with the Bank Commis- | sloners growing out of the note sent us from them the day before I left the | city to come here. I doubt if I will ever again enjoy the health _I us- ually have had. Three score and ten hangs out her sign to say you are nearing the end of that great un- known beyond, from whence no trav- eler has “returned to -bring us the news, but where a_ triumphant faith | lelads us on to a higher and better place. FARNUM THOUGHT THAT | THE BANKS WERE IN DANGER. This intimate association of faith and THE PURCHASE OF CLARA BELLE'S DR McDONALD'S FEAR OF THE |time silent. | was compelled to seek the relief that | he might find at various resorts. | On January 31, 1893, eight days after the foregoing letter was written, Dr. McDonald was in New York and the little band of schemers and manipula- tors had already assembled there. W. H. Eastland, A. F. Johns, M. H. Sher- man, O. T. Dyer and Dr. W. Jenning- son surrounded the old man and began their flatteries and misrepresentations. Dr. McDonald had received a letter from J. E. Farnum, manager of the People’s Bank, and in answer to it, wrote his son Richard as follows: I had quite a long letter from Mr. Farnum. He thinks the changes in the financial board of the People's Home Savings Bank were not wise at the time they were made and gives several reasons for this view of the situation and says, among other things, that there are some innuendoes afloat as to the condition of the Pa- cific Bank, and he intimates the pos- sibility pf some danger ahead. He writes me in a very kind and faithful manner and I think means truthfully and well in all he says. Is‘it not awful to get into such a financial condition as we seem to be at the present time. Mr. Johns has always expressed the greatest confidence in getting rid of the John Brown and Madera property to advantage and coming out with a roperty. I think I would like to give im $50,000 to insure us out of that dif- ficulty, and that would be the extent of our loss in the enterprise. I have now no confidence in the Dyer matter or the Los Aneeles electric road. Taking all together the Pacific Bank has the widest circle and the greatest variety of business on its hands that I have ever known. And for your considera- tion and best interest in the future I will state they never would have hap- pened if there had been the proper confidence, consultation and consid- eration between you and Frank as well as myself. DIAMONDS. Aftor the writing of the foragoing 1ets i ter Dr. McDonald remained for a long | He had been very ill and On August 9, 1892, he was at Catskill, New York, and wrote a letter in reference to. the purchase of Clara Belle’s jewels by Dick. The old man did not think well of the purchase and wrote: I see by a telegram in one of the g:wers here that the Clara Belle jewels ave been sold for a little over $2000 to pay the debts of creditors, and that you are again probably the purchaser and hold them. If ?'cu are the pur- chaser I hope you will get them out of your hands or have it understood that You now have no connection with them as it will attract public attention and criticism such as I hope you do not want if it can be avoided. If you have the jewels I hope you will break them up with little expense into other forms 80 as to avoid identification as much as possible. “FARNUM WILL DO AS HE PLEASES WITH YOU." On August 17 the old man, who had returned to New York, again wrote to Dick as follows: Richard. how the Pacific Ba nd Indtcatg a ot w! the proper time. 0000000000000 O000000000 MY DEAR SON RICHARD: ing 'the bank than he does. Mr. NEW YORK, Farnum is a narrow-minded, self-conceited, stubborn man that knows very little except in one particular line, and ‘assumes to know everything, and one of two things must be done—that he must leave the bank, or submit to the control of those who are interested and know more about the way of conduct- I say this not to be repeated, but to be acted upon at I put him in the bank to be my servant, so far as his duties are concerned, and not to be a tyrannical dictator over me, and that he will soon learn. True and a.ffectiona.tely, your father, M%”z//fl«”&g 20000C00000000000000C000000C0000000000000000000000000000000C0000000CC0000 0000000000000 00000000000000C0000000C000000000000000C0000000000C000C000000 Aug. 25, 1892. 00000000000000000000000 “FARNUM IS MY SERVANT, NOT MY DICTATOR.” In the conspiracy that ruined the Pacific Bank J. E. Farnum plays a conspicuous part. He was hile in that capacity he handled the enormous sums that and w. flowed into the People’s laced In the savings Institution by his cousin, M. H. Sherman, ank. As manager of the bank he transferred the deposits to the Pacific Bank as soon as they were received. On one occasion he attempted to defy the dictation of the McDonalds, and Dr. R. H. McDonald wrote a let- ter of censure, part ‘'of which Is glven in fac-simile above. Under his management the People’s Home Savings Bank became absolutely ti was told. e feeder for the Pacific Bank. In the subsequent develogmf‘nts of the conspiracy Farnum was more tractable and did as he has been saved from ruin and carried forward with a marvelous success by the course pursued, and I don’t intend a set of impecunious fellows to run it into a rut and stunt its growth, and that {s just what is being done now. 1 look upon your interest in the Californian Magazine enterpriseassure to turn out with a loss, and how much depends mainly with the length of time it runs, in my opinion. And you don’t want a disgraceful ankruPtCY of it, the maln notoriety and disgrace of which is sure to fall upon you. If I could have known yourthoughtsIthink 1 could have kept you out of it by showing you its uncertainty and dan- ger, but you do_every such thing in secret. I regard that John Brown colony business as the most danger- ous affair we now_have on hand to- gether with the Bank of Madera. Frank says he has consented that Mr. Farnum shall sell some_ party $i0,000 worth of P. H. 8. Bank stock and then make the man president of that. I am_opposed to anything of the kind and I want all such pledges declared off. Neither he or you or any one else has any right on your own re- sponsibility to make any such ar- rangements and I will insist on be!nE consulted before any more of the stoc is sold or any other movement of im- portance is_entered into. Affection- ately your father, R. H. McDONALD. DR McDONALD'S BITTER DENUN- CIATION OF J. E FARNUM. On August 25, 1892, Dr. McDonald wrote an important letter to his son, This document shows clearly was conducted, ld-have 10U d to J. B. 1 had not sub- mitted to the control of the McDonalds —father and sons. manded at this time to do as he was told, to be a servant and not a dictator. That part of the letter which is perti- nent is as follows: NEW YORK, August 25, 1882. My Dear Son Richard: You say in one of your letters that the People’s Home Savings Bank statement makes a fine show, but don’t forget, my boy, that for nearly a vear we have done a large amount of advertising in one or another form, and to an extent of $1000 per month, and to that more than all others combiped is due the good showing of the savings bank, and now that the advertising is stopped you will see the business is running down from week to week, and the ery comes up ‘“hard times and bad business.”” Now, bad business is not the cause; it is on account of the stimulant given the bank in the way of our regular advertisements. And you will see, unless attention is paid to it, we will be in an old rut just the same as other slow-going banks in our city. And just about as well, and I want to prevent that if I can in spite of the bullhead course that some of mentum which we have obtained at so much cost and energy in the way of advertising. Mr. Farnum is narrow-minded, self-conceited, stubborn man, that knows very little except in one partic- ular line and assumes to know every- thing. And one or two things must be done—that he must leave the bank or submit to the control of those who are interested and know more about the way of conducting the bank than he does. I say this not to be re- peated, but to_be acted upon at the proper time. I put him in the bank to be my servant, so far as his duties are concerned, and not to be a tyran- nical dictator over me, and that he will soon learn. True and affection- ately, your father, R. H. McDONALD. FARNUN HAS MOUNTED THE THRONE AS A PETTY TYRANT. In the latter part of the same month Dr. McDonald wrote another important letter to his son, Richard, in whih hs informed the latter to be on his guard against Miss Mary Grant, as she was becoming less and less useful to the Pacific Bank and it would not be too wise to talk to her of private affairs. The doctor also took another fling at Farnum and the proposed sale of $50,- 000 worth of the stock of the People’s Home Savings Bank. The old man wrote as follows: Miss Grant, you say, is away on her vacation. She is becoming less and Jess to us. Only a small por- m?‘g:lr time is ours nop. I think B %A better be carefu’ gbout say-y a | to her on giy subject; e afraid that she may not to us as she might fgether the less you side with vy and his backers the better. talk sweetly to you and use influence for all they can make o you, and there you will end. Med¥arnum has by his own authority mounted the throne and attempting to lay the pétty tyrant, which can only ast so long, and I hope you will not allow him to use you for that purpose., I consider him an honest man, a good worker, but a narrow-minded bigot that wants to rule or ruin. I person- ally placed him where he is, and he al- most at a_ stride assumes to be my master and defy all my wishes. He nearly acts like a fool and does not see the ax over his neck. Mr. Toy is a man with all the elements of sel- fishness wrapped up in him, and_as- sumes to dictate everything. Now, these seif-assumed dictators must be and will be regulated some way. Frank told me that he had agreed with Farnum that he, F., might sell some one, if he could, fifty or_one hundred thousand dollars of the P. H. 8. B., and such party could become president of the bank, and that by and by we would agree to take back the stock if the purchaser desired to have us take it back. | of this city wanted him to be Mayor. dent and think us to buy him out at his own price with any such condi- tions. Third—We have passed the worst in that bank, I think. We had all the troubles and difficulties, and now if there is profits and honors to come we want themi and no more dic- tation from Mr. Farnum. I hope you will not be a party to the arrange- ment made by Frank. I hope you and Frank to just let matters remain as they are. ~ We have had enough of this individual and personal responsi- bility business in our bank, and both you and he ought to begin to see by this time that a great prosnerous and promising business has been almost wrecked by this personal responsi- bility business. Don’t forget this, my L} boy. Affectionately your father, R. H. McDONALD. “CAPTAIN JIM” WANTED TO |BE MAYOR. In 1892 Captain James McDonald had a very serious thought that the people Captain Jim and his brother, the doctor, were never very good friends in their later years, and when the doctor heard on September 5 that his brother did have designs on the position now | occupied by the greatest ‘“Hefter” in the land, he wrote to Dick as follows: “I hope the captain has too much good sense to allow his name to be used for Mayor of the city.” THE MONEY OF THE BANKS POURED INTO ‘A BOTTOM- LESS SACK. If any of the friends of Dr. R. H. Mc- Donald have a lingering hope or belief that the old man was ignorant of the condition of his bank, the following letter that was written from New York on September 26, 1892, will destroy the hope and dispel the belief: My Dear Son Richard: I hope you are doing all that can be done to keep the Pacific Bank in a prosperous con- dition and that she may pass safely over the rocks among which she is now passing. You make no mention whether you have sold the Madera Bank or not. I hope you have. I am more afraid of that Madera property than anything we have. It to me is like a sack open at each end. Pour money in at the top and it is lost be- low, or the tendency is dangerously that way. If the bank is not soid I fear it will greatly reduce the value of our bank. Now, I hope you will be able to 'YOU WILL REMEMBER THE LESSON ALL YOUR LIFE” If the foregoing letter was mnot evidence enough that Dr. McDonald was fearful of returing to San Fran- cisco and knew thoroughly the condi- tion of his banks here, the following epistle will prove it: NEW YORK, Oct. 5, 1892 My Dear Son Richard: You must not expect much of me at Lue present time, but, as you are doubtless aware, I am keenly alive to all that is going on in San Francisco. My boy, keep the Pacific Bank intact and going on safely if you can, and if you can get out of this complex condition of business mistakes and the present embarrassed condldon of rs you will have learned a lesson that may prove of value to you the remainder of your life, even it it has cost you a fine for- tune to gain that experience. Affec- tionately your father, R. H. McDONALD. «“YOU WILL KILL THE GOOSE THAT LAYS THE GOLDEN EGG." On October 10, 1892, Dr. McDonald wrote a letter to his son, Richard, in which he shows that he had not yet reached the point of distrusting O. T. Dyer, who was in New York trying to negotiate unnegotiable securities, ‘While the old gentleman believed that the manager of the Riverside Bank e o Placing money in ban ns | @ moment, however, misunderstand the or in treasuries, and nag LRRCIhel pradicamient nte swnioh £ Nos. & Jindbe thte: ‘od i+ Pacific Bank been placed by Finie of his wrother, ,“,qu’er. i s B 3 } that Mayor Phelan h i G roll‘avws.om Oct, 10, counselor. Son Richard: From all I learn from Frank can Dyer seems to be hustling here to gef money in one and another wai, an from the talk has a prospect of having returns soon, The it g, it seems Fir o s e S e Sl Of course, there };snx a point hey‘fii which this cannot go. I know this to be a very vexatious and dangerous debt we have against him, and one most unwise for us to ever have gotten into; but the management on the part of Dyer has been most in- sidious and well plannea to bring it to what it is now. Aflecuona.terE'Dour father, R. H. McDON. ), To-morrow morning The Call will continue the publication of the letters of Dr. R. H. McDonald, and will show. to the public what the old man thought of the schemes and the schemers that had ruined the two Iinstitutions of which he was the founder and the leading spirit. In these letters the old man discusses with a pathetic bitter- ness of spirit the private affairs of himself and his family and the terrible wreck of his fortune that came to him after he had passed three score and cf.hemi d means don’t trust that Jew, Moses | finance, this trembling at the desig &3 i/ » gns directors seem disposed to taxe Bherman.” Throughout the story of | of earthly investigators and the child- | My Dear Son Richard: I think all ‘5’:’1% force upon us on that subject. It Now, what a nonsensical plece of 5c~t together the odds and ends of the these letters reveals the conspiracy of | like confidence in heavenly mercy, will | *«mr hobnobbing with Farnum and is much easier to keep the business ‘business that would be to do anything acific Bank and that it may come out | ten, These letters, associated as they financial manipulators, the domestic | probably not strike the public with the 'oy will prove a disadvantage. They going when in a prosperous way than of the kind. Now, we dont want to all right and that you and Frank will are with the wreck of two great Insti- miseries and love entangl ? a| will commit you all they can and then it 1s to let it run down and then com- sell any more of that stock except in learn a valuable lesson. Affection- B e ored family Gaglements of & | same confidence that it hit Frank Me- | do just as they please, using vou as | mence to bulld it up again, and I do | small lots, if at all. Second, we dom't | ately your father, tutions, are of primary public impor- Vs ption of | Donald. far'as they can carry you. Our bank not want to lose the effect of our mo- want Mr. Farnum look us up a presi- E. H. McDONALD. tance. e SUPREME COURT CHAMBERS ARE SMOKING RUINS Havoc Wrought by a Gas Explosion. DISASTER AT WASHINGTON ONE PORTION OF THE CAPITCL BUILDING LAID WASTE. Priceless Records of the Court De- stroyed by Fire Which Im- mediately Followed the Shock. Special Dispatch to The Call WASHINGTO! Nov. 6.—An explo- sion and fire at 5:13 o'clock this after- noon wyecked the Supreme Court room and the rooms immediately adjoining it on the main floor of the Capitol. The damage is enormous. The entire central eastern part of the great mar- ble pile, from the main floor to the sub- terranean basement, practically is a mass of ruins. The force of the ex- plosion was 80 heavy that the coping- stones on the outer walls, just east of the point where the explosion occurred, were bulged out nearly two inches, windows in all that part of the build- ing were blown cut and locked doors were forced from their hinges quite a hundred and fifty feet from the scene of it. Fire followed the explosion go quickly as to seem practically simultaneous with it. The explosion shook the im- mense structure to its foundations and was heard several squares from the Capitol. It occurred in a smal room tightly inclosed by heavy stone walls in the subterranean basement imme- diately below the main entrance to the old Capitol building. In this room was a 500-light gas meter, which was fed by a four-inch main. Very little gas is used in that part of the bullding, but at the time of the explosion the gas had not been turned off at the meter. The meter itself was wrecked and the gas pouring from the main caught fire. The flames originating from the explosion darted up the shaft of the elevator, which had been com- pletely destroyed by the force of the explosion, and communicated with the record-room of the Supreme Court, the office of the marshal of the court and the Supreme Court library. Before the flames could be subdued the priceless documents in the record-room had been almost totally destroyed and serious damage had been done in the marshal’s office and some minor rooms in the immediate vicinity. The library of the Supreme Court, lo- cated immediately beneath the Su- preme Court room, was badly damaged by fire, smoke and water, practically destroying the great collection of law reference books. The library contains about 20,000 volumes and was used not only by the Justices of the Supreme Court, but by members of Congress and lawyers practicing before the Su- preme Court. Mr. Justice Harlan said to-night that the library was very valuable. Many of the works it contained would, he thought, be difficult to replace. Li- prarian Clarke, after a cursory ex- amination necessarily made by the Iight of lanterns, expressed the opinion’ that many of the books could be saved, although they had béen drenched by water from the streams poured into the library for two hours or more after the explosion occurred. The most serious opinion of the J sub-basement. These records of cases and opinions damage, in the |® ustices of the Supreme 8 Court, 18 to the records stored in the £ included all the |©® by the fathers of judiciary of the Gov- ernment. Apparently the documents in this room are either totally de- stroyed or so badly damaged by fire and water as to be useless. Justice Harlan said that while the loss of the records was irreparable, it was for- tunate that the later records of the court, which are kept in the office of the clerk on the main floor, were not injured. As documents for reference at this time and later, Justice Harlan thought these were of far greater value than the records destroyed. Fortunately the clerk’s office was not in the least damaged by fire, and the explosion did no damage In it except to blow one window out. James McKenney, Clerk of the Su- preme Court, expressed the hope after making an examination of the old room that some at least of the documents, priceless from the view point of the historian, could be saved. To-night, however, owing to the inadequate light- ing facilities in that portion of the building where the explosion and fire occurred, it was impossible for him to make an intelligent or thorough inves- tigation of the damage. The Supreme Court room was damaged principally by water and smoke, the fire not reach- ing that point. Adjoining the court- room, however, both the marshal’s office and the Senate barber shop furnished food for the flames. ‘While many theories are offered as to the cause of the explosion it seems be- yond doubt to have been due to escap- ing gas. At 5:07 o’clock Lieutenant Nelson of the Capitol police detected foJolololcYofololoYofolotoloXoXoYoFoToloYotofotofoXoXoXofoloXoXoJoFoRoRoFoToY oo ol oY oXSXOROTOJOXOXOROROROROROIO) ELECTION SIGNALS FROM THE CALL BUILDING. result of the elections by signals from the dome of The Call will tell the The Call building. {0JOJOJOOYOXO) Justices practically escaped an odor of gas from the corridor adjoin- ing the Supreme Court room. Not being able to locate it he proceeded to Statu- ary Hall—the old hall of the House of Representatives—thinking the gas might be escaping from a burner in that vicinity. While he %as endeavor- ing to locate the escape of the gas the explosion occurred. Only a few persoms, principally offi- cers of the Capitol police, were in the building at the time, but several of them had narrow*eéscapes. Before the fire department, which responded to an alarm sent in by a policeman three squares from the Capitol, had arrived C. P. Gliem, chlef electriclan of the Capitol, and H. W. Taylor, chief en- gineer of the House side, had a stream playing Into the Supreme Court record- room, which by that time was a roar- ing furnace. after the arrival of the fire department the flames were under control, although as a precautionary measure streams were poured Into the marshal's office, the library and the subterranean base- ment for two hours. Within a few minutes The firemen were unable, however, for a considerable time to extinguish the flame of gas which shot out of the four-inch main in the From this main the fire swept through an orifice in the basement floor caused by the explosion and attacked the con- sultation-room of the Supreme Court Justices on the main floor. age was done to the furniture and fit- meter-room. Some dam- tings of this room, but it was incon- siderable as compared with that done f the mage. The robing-room elsewhere. The code, by which the public will be able to know the progress of the returns, will be published Tuesday morning. fErellofolololofoloreloloforololofefolofoYotolotoyfolototelelofoofofofofoTotofotototototelelofelelolofol Io) i It was evident that the fire could not be extinguished until the gas from the main was cut'off. That this might be accomplished the firemen turned two streams upon the main, choking the flow of gas and at the same time cool- ing the pipe. Electrician Gliem, brav- ing the intense heat, entered the meter- room and shut off the gas at the floor valve of the main. Throughout the lower central portion of the old Capitol building doors, windows and fittings in common rooms and other apartments are badly damaged. Just north of the crypt an archway almost over the meter-room was com- pletely blown out and masses of ma- sonry were hurled to the ceiling with such force as to burst the stone and plaster of the walls above. Ponderous pieces were wrenched from their places and throughout the corridors the fres- coing on the ceilings and walls were utterly ruined. No damage was done to the main foundations of the building, as these are of solid masonry, -deeply imbedded and twenty-five feet four inches thick. The electric lighting apartment, in- cluding -dynamos, boilers and Wwir- ings, was not damaged. In order to enable the firemen to work without peril from live wires Electrician Gliem cut off the current from all wires ex- cept one circuit which lighted the lower western part of the building. ‘Within thirty feet of the scene of the explosion a solitary incandescent lamp marking the exact center of the Capitol structure and hanging directly over the bler in which it was proposed to lay the [c] ® ® ® ® ® ® ®© ® ® c@ ® Colonel @ | Bright, sergeant-at-arms of the SBenate, remains of George Washington burned brilliantly. Among the losses which wui be most sincerely regretted are those of busts of Chief Justice Marshall and other distinguished members of the Supreme Court, which were arranged on small pedestals about the Supreme Court chamber. In the smoke and ruin which followed the explosion these invaluable works of art were either badly dam- aged or who..; destroyed, and with their destruction the country has suf- fered an irreparable loss. Many of them have been treasured exhibits in the Supreme Court chamber for half a century. The Capi‘ 1 building has been dam- aged a number of times before by fire, but it is believed to-night's fire will prove to be the most disastrous in the history of the building. On two occa- sions prior to this fires have been start- ed by explosions of gas. Seventeen years ago a large amount of damage ‘was done to the same part of the build- ing by an explosion of this kind, and in 1876 there was an explosion of gas that killed two men and came near killing another. 123 No intelligent estimate of the money loss by the explosion and fire can be made yet. In the opinion of the Capitol officers and mechanics who examined the structure to-night the loss will reach probably $200,000 to the building. The loss on the library and records, as stated above, can scarcely be esti- mated in dollars and cents. A million dollars couc not replace them, because of many of them no duplicates are in existence. 2 Arrangements were completed to- night by Librarian Clark of the Su- preme © Court and Richard by which the sittings of the!Supreme Court will not be Interrupted. The court will convene Monday in the room of the Senate Committee on District of Columbia, one of the most spacious rooms in the Capitol. How long the sessions of the court will be held there will be determined by the Justices themselves. e HAVANA'S YELLOW FEVER EPIDEMIC Great Anxiety Among. American Officials. Preparations for the Reception of Troops Suspended Owing to the Illness of Those in % Charge. Special Cable to The Call and the New York Herald. Copyrighted, 189, by James Gor- don Bennett. HAVANA, Cuba, Nov. 6.—The yellow fever situation here is causing great anxiety among the American officials. The increasing number of cases, the majority of which are of a serious na- ture, has alarmed the entire American colony, and the announcement to-day of two new victims caused the alarm to develop to almost the character of a panic. The disease apparently is spreading rapidly and is not confined to the Vidado district, where Captains Foraker and Beebe were stricken. The outbreak of the disease in the quartermaster’s department has tem- porarily disorganized the work of the office, which has charge of the erecticn of camps and making preparations for the reception of troops. As matters now stand, it scarcely seems possible to get them ready by December 15, the latest approximate date yet named. Colonel Smith of the Commissary Department, who arrived yesterday, took charge of the chief quarter- master’s office this morning in place of Colonel Williams, now {ll. Immune nurses especially are re- juired, as well as a properly equlpvgg e situation as grave. The conditions Havana, military officers believe, be no better in December and than they, are naw,