The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, November 8, 1898, Page 4

THE SAN :FRANC CO 'CALL, TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 8, 1898. HERMAN G DR. R. H. McDONALD WARNED HIS SON to Beware of Conspirator. the Arch STORY OF DE YOUNG'S AMBITION. Domestic Trage dy of the Aged Banker’s Life. One Hundred Thousand Dollars for a secret history of the In the strange : the letters of cuin of the Pacific I nk Dr. R. H. McDc veal one of the greatest domestic t lies that was ever enacted in this Stat o After the old banker had passed three and ten he found him private fortune in jeopardy. L ng his & s and those of his son he took no pains in choosing his and in his bitter condemnation own fam that are now « tance. The old man in his despair attributed to the immora of his sons the cause of the impending ruin that was about e upon both of the great local primary public impor- to com banks. In the letters The Call publishes this morning Dr. McDonald prophetically warned his son Richard against the n who had surrounded the young banker and were leading him into chi merical projects trous specu- lations. In these the old man advised his son particularly to beware of Moses H. Sherman. The arch con- as | ‘into | spirator had 1 the old man the ve Donald begge man and to r possible from terests. This cou time and agai The old man ware of Dr. other para attached h In tt 1 the Pac matica son to be- gson, a man, had | Pacific Ba published this o urged h am Jenni that, like to the > mome al troub! part of 1892 M. d to be |t a most fc the po- sition of T had, so ance with Coll Sout and exy the fol jon of the Leg elect i’ States Sena! R. H. McDonald and M. H. de Young had been and were then bitter enemies, and ~Dr. McDonald: rdeclared that- he would consider the election of M. H. de Young to the -Unffed- Statds Senate nothing less than a-public calamity That opinion W ATS 280, ¢ inter- have and ma est now In the letters that public this mor rancisco will time that it cos to the R McDonald = 100,000 to get Belle McDonald out of the f y. This or may not ind how much young millionaires to secure a in the Superior Courts of this county. In the that resulted in the legal R. H. McDonald Jr. and iderable amount of peculiar d work had to be done and the 2 Call will publish ir their proper place will indicate how cleverly and consciencelessiy & promi- nent attorney of this city accomplished the work. There is probably in all the secret correspondence of the Pacific Bank no more dramatic letter than 2t which Dr. McDonald wrote in vivid description of his dream that his son Richa been ssinated on the stree ew Yo THE DOMESTIC TRAGEDY-OF DR McDONALD'S LIFE. ther of Richard H. It required the £ McDonald Jr. to denounce him more itterly and to condemn him more athingly than any critic of the ma had ever ¢ On Octobe elder, MeDonald impaled his hig-Ditter invective 1 fatherly punciation. It was of the | son’s inode. _of livi 1 the moral Gua that he layed in relations. wivh me 8 letter possesses a t > interest, eman- eting as s from & that most men honor and hold inviolably sacred. The old man had telegraphe: that he had learned of that s proaching marria n ap- to a woman upon whom the father did not look with fa- vor. In ar er to that telegram which the fath acluded in h answering letter, young McDonald flippantly tele- graphed as follow Your telegram a mvstery. I nor e I know of or you know intends g at present. 1 might for about five millions. ‘I would not now surren- der my liberty for less than that.” The elder McDonald was evidently stunned by the heartiéss answer of his Only they who use it know the luxury of it. l funct bank in San Diego. Divorce. | son and on a Sunday afternoon he pen- ed the fallowing letter: | YONKERS, N. Y. -Oct. 23, 1892 | My Dear Son Richard: I regret you could not have sent me a more direct and clear answer to my dispatch in- stead of that roundabout nonsensical wording tr meaning making up | | two-thirds of your reply. It b hink it would be much more hon- le, respectable and profitable to you y so to (as you suppose) and in pects dishonorable life you 1t is not creditable or ple: It is dishonorable to the vho bore you and who has at te and make a You have made cret marriage ning me finan- do 50 in the end. if and in a great none of om to me that at this time i have learned a little com- e, but from your present con- loubt if you have any. Bad ct of yours does not Stop with reflects itself disadvantage- y business and business with which you have any- say nothing of the t of which can r known. Great and now resting iits depend as your good conduct - and Imost_anything or " all Affectionately your R. H. McCDONALD. THE OLD MAN'S SIGNIFICANT DIS- CUSSION OF THE SENATORSHIP. In glaring contrast to the foregoing pistle was a letter written by. the elder Richard, on Octo- In this letter the old s for the moment to have his own affairs and the af- of hjs children. He rested for an al in hi truggle with his do- unhappine and his financial y to discuss politics'and par- larly the contest that.was.then be- waged between Collis P. Hunting- ton -and and Stanford to determine ho woul next United States nator ia. In this letter Dr. McDonatd vof an opinion that it vould be a public calamity for M. H. de Young to be elected United States Senator from this State. He declared it to be his opinion that Mr. de Young had neither ability nor zood principle, but that he seemed to ave @ -very strong support in.the ands of, Collis P. Huntington. Further than tRat Dr. McDonald was, very fear- ful that with such a support backed by. all-the machinery of the Southern Pacific Railroad Mr. de Young might be: elected.- It seems remarkable that indidents that are now disturbing and 1teresting the public mind should have 1 his aged bank president a lar coincidence which he is son to destroy as soon 1s he had read. cerpts from Dr. McDonald’s - ex- tremely interesting and perhaps timely letter are as follows: NEW YORK, Oct. 2, 1502, My Dear Son Richard: Yours of the 19th before me in which you speak of the strongly contested Senatorship be- tween Mr. Huntington and Governor Stanford. I shall feel it a calamity to ave such a man as De Young elected tor, without either abllity or good principles, in my judgment, but he seems to have a Very SLTONg Support in the hands of Mr. Huntington, and if he has taken a decided stand on that question, it will be very Itk him elected, for he now has all t machinery of the Southern Pacif Railroad In h s which is the 8! always has been, hitherto supported the outside to a great extent and Huntington on the inside., However, it is barely possible that we might get a worse man if Stanford should be successful. It is my. impression that Mr. Cleveland will be elected our next President, and by a much larger ma- jority than most-of his friends claim he will be. I hope you will not bother your brain one way or another about Doli- i It will in the end be likely to r. Dorn in his business / that he is taking such rt in politics. Truly and p affectionately, R. H. McDONALD. A PROPHETIC WARNING TO BE- WARE OF DR..W.~ JENNINGSON. I McDonald had a very low opinion in regard to his son-Richard’s choice of business advisers and on November 1 he bitterly denounced Pr. W. Jenning- son, one of Dick MeDonald’s most per- sistent parasites. Dr, McDonald did not like Dr. Jenningson and urged Dick to send him home to San Francisco. He declared that the man was utterly use- léss and a general nuisance. Jenning- son had traveled-various parts of this tate for Di¢k, had gone to New York and had persuaded his master to send him to London and Liverpool. Before making th long journeys, Jenning- son had ared the young banker that he could float some of the securities in the English cities. As a matter of fact he could do nothing of the sort and as might have been expected he return- ed with nothing of advantage to the Pacific Bank. In the following letter Dr. McDonald makes allegations far more serious than incompetency against Dr. Jenningson: SARATOGA, N. Y., Nov. 1, 1832, My Dear Son Richard: Dr. Jenning- son is of no use here. T don’t know what new business you may have for him to attend to here, but his stay here has been fruitless of any use, 0 far as 1 know or haye:been able to.learn. I confess that I have now and have-always had a poor opinfon of Dr. Jenningson, and.I haye wondered how it is that you ha¥e had such-confi- ce and 50 much to desayith him. . - is a smart, cunning féllow, always with his sails to the wind, and talks of what he has done and what resuits are to follow, but these promises do not come out so. So.far as I have been able to learn from him'of otheérs he made some sure and fine arrange- ments for getting a number of thou- sand of dollars of the assets of the de- I have been asking him about the moneys to come into our hands. He does not now seem to know much of anything about them, and I think if he did secure anything there the best use he can be put to is to go there and look after matters there. I fear the time will come when you will regret ever having, had busi- ness with this man. Affectionately, your father, R. H. McDONALD. A BITTER DENUNCIATION OF THE YOUNG BANKER'S ADVISERS. One of Dr. R. H. McDonald’s most fmportant letters was written at Sara- toga Springs, New York, and showed conclusively that the old man was not only interested in the affairs of his in- solvent banks but was nervously con- cerned as to the future. The writer was in his habitual mood of bitterness and when in that mood he took no pains to choose his words. In the let- ter that will follow he struck right and left at Dick’s advisers, calling them in plain English the names he believed characterized them best, and warning Dick as he had done many times be- fore to be on his guard. He begged Dick to remember that D. M. Tomblin had broken one bank before he came to them and his judgment was not the best in the world. The old man took another fling at Jenningson and made some rather cutting remarks in refer- ence to ‘scoundrel, , cutthroat law- yers.” As an introduction to the epis- tle Dr. McDonald expressed his opi ions in his customary emphatic way in reference to the local campalgn in which L. R. Ellert was the candidate for Mayor, and in which M. H. de Young used the influence of his paper against him. The epistle is as follows; SARATOGA SPRINGS, Nov. 2, 1892, My Dear Son Richard: Your brief let- ter of the 26th ult. is before me. You say -local politics are running high and that danger of collision is threatened and that somebody is likely to get hurt. The more matters are stirred up the better for the c There is no danger from agitation. I hope the Alert ticket will be elected. That is the people’s ticket I believe, and that the miserable blackmailing curse may miss his aim, for which he is no more fitted than the ordinary drag horse. If I wepe there I know where 1 would be. The Call and Bulletin are right ! this time. 1 think as for Huntington , amd his gang all-they -ave -after - is spoils, but it-is, natural to say such about the matter. When does ‘the Ce- dar River coal mine fall into our hands by liquidation? ‘What have you done with scoundrel, cutthroat lawyers managed the Cedar River matter? Do you allow Tomblin to make any, con- tracts for anything now, or depend much on his judgment about any busi- ness matter? It will not do to trust his judgment. I think he is honest, but an enthusiast. He broke one bank before he came with us. What has be- come of Baird of the Madera Bank? Such a man as he should-be confined for life. Is there any immediate pros- pect of getting the money from Eng- land that Dr. Jenningson went over .to see about? Don't forget it—I don't have much confidence in Dr. Jenning- son. I hope the Bank Commissioners will make a satisfactory report for us at the Pacific Bank. Burn this letter after reading. Affectionately " your father, R. H. McDONALD. THE OLD MAN'S GUILTY KNOWL- EDGE OF THE AFFAIRS OF THE BANK. Two days later affairs had reached a critical stage in the affairs of the Riverside Bank. R. H. McDonald Jr. saw.that he could no longer endure the constant demand of the Dyers for money. He realized that they ‘were sinking and were dragging the Pacific Bank down. He rushed new men and sples to Riverside to harass and bad- ger Miss E. C. Dyer, the sister of O. T. Dyer, and the cashier of the Riverside Bank. Miss Dyer immediately - tele- graphed to her brother in New York that Dick’s agents, through their indis- cretion, would excite a run on the bank. This dispatch called forth the following telegram from the elder McDonald to his son in this city: SARATOGA, Nov. 4. 1802 R. H. McDonald Jr.,, Pacific Bank San Francisco: D. needed here for im- portant business. Observe ’instruc- tigns in my letter. Use no violent measures. Send no more threatening or abusive letters or telegrams. Keep all your men away from Riverside. Keep matters absolutely private from outside parties or you will ddmage mat- ters here. All will come right I think. R. H. McDONALD. And the public was deluded, to be- lieve that the elder McDonald knew nothing of the affairs of the bank after he had fled from this city. A FATHER'S TERRIBLE ARRAIGN- MENT OF HIS CHILDREN. After the foregoing telegram was re- ceived by R. H. McDonald Jr. new troubles arose to assault and disturb his piece of mind. Some of his lady friends conceived and carried into effect a brilllant plan to blackmail Dick and the young banker in distress wrote to his father for advice. In reply the elder McDonald wrote one of the bitterest letters of*the whole series, denouncing his living children and one, that was dead, and calling upon the young bank- er that was fast leading his institutions to ruin to turn to a moral life and all that a moral life means, The letter is as follows: SARATOGA SPRINGS, N, Y., Nov.5, 1892. My Son Richard: These blackmail- ing women will soon die out if you .will keep your mouth shut. They will get some blackmail lawyer to start a suit againhst you in all probability hop- . ing to annoy and get a compromise out of you, but never pay and don't compromise. It does not matter how hard the case, nineteen times out of twenty that is the best way out. I am not surprised that you are getting into trouble. I have been expecting it, but did not know how ‘it would come. But you are likely to catch it roughly betore you are dead. I never knew it to fail in my life where a man or wo- man sets aside his father'ssand mot] er's religious training and teacht and their God, and turns away an neglects his moral andreligious duties, then that God sends In some form a scourge U him to waken him to his duties. You have absented Kourfle f, and I am of the opinion have kept bad company. You kept away from your 4 i i /v’{,’,',l//’////,fl,ifi‘}" k R X2 24 my waking, @ > church and good society and God s whipping and will whip you for it until correction and a better state of things comes to you. And you may Jaugh about what I say as much as you please, but chastisement will fol- low until correction comes. Your brother John killed himself by his own sacts. Think what you are going to do, my boy. There is no ex- cuse for’'you. If my children go to hell, théy will go there knowlnf bet- ter ‘all the time and not from ignor- ance as so many do. Now, my boy, 1 would like to have dyou turn about. Change your life and connect your- gelf with the church. Affectionately your father. H. McDONALD. - “HUNTINGTON IS MAKING A CATS- PAW OUT OF YOU. Having imparted some lessons of morality, that were wasted on his son, Dr. McDonald wrote another letter the same day, scorching Crank, the man- ager of the cable road of Los Angeles. The old gentleman called Mr. Crank some very hard names and at the same time seized the opportunity to give D. M. Tomblin another turn on the coals of his wrath. These parts of the letter that are significant are as follows: My Dear Son Richard: You have al- lowed yourself as 1 am told to talk to the vagabond, traitor and thief Krank, a pretended friend of ours but a traitor and spy every inch of him, but smart enough to talk with and pump the Whole insides of a man of your, Knowl- edge and ' experience. You are no match for such a man as he and you should kick him out of the house when he ‘comes in ot stllgas)tlke;psey:)&r uth tightly closed in his presence. Blome itk hore that he has got some inklings out o7 you that he has used to great prejudice. My son, I fear you think you have grown to Know so much that you are stepping out on to new and dangerous and unfortunate ground for the business. My son, g0 slow and learn all you can from the others of us. You are sending that T. hither and. thither for information about this and -that and his whole course of business has been full of mis- fakes and 1 believe losses to us. I am still more suprised at the letter you wrote to that Jew Moses Sherman in which you say if you are any friend of mine chuek Mr. Dyer on the nose and eyes for me. This letter he has read to Mr. Dyer and rubs it under his nose all the time and then sings, “Richard is such a good friend of mine.” Am sorry he did it.. Making worse for you all the time. Have 1;—mu gained_confl- dence in the man? If you have I have not. : Now about that motor road in River- side that you were so anxious to sell for a price offered by Mr. Huntington, ma.klmi\you&cntspawto pull the chest- * wuts. Now, my boy, If you had known as much as you ought to_have known vou would not have acted as you did. Funtington will be glad to get that road in the end for szfi),ooo. So you see you smnk ylgllx knovxflnolae mtl:lgs ytg:: ou do not know. ‘ectionately, ather, R, H. McDONALD. A SOLEMN WARNING TO BEWARE OF M. H. SHERMAN. Three days later Dr. R. H. McDonald again raised the lash over Dick’s head.| IDED BOTH THE BANKS TO RUI 7z The elder McDonald grew philosophic and declared it had been one of the cares of his life to determine what he would commit to paper. He urged Dick to be most particular in this regard and never to write anything that would injure if it were placed in print. At the same time he agaln warned him to be aware of Mr. Sherman. The letter, for more reasons than one, is interest- Ing and is as foilows: SARATOGA BPRINGS, N. Y., Nov. 8, 1892. My Dear Son Richard: fter read- i‘[our abusive letters and telegrams e in F er, or part of them, and to some to Irank as well as myself, I telegraphed you as I did -from this p)u% and then sent Frank a copy of m{' elegram to you. I did not con- sult him about sénding. it nor did he know anything about It. ‘I hope you will not again give vourself away as sou have done to Sherman and possi- i)ly others. Don’t trust that Jew Moses Sherman beyond what is to his own interest. Don’t forget it. A man should be very particularabout whathe commits to paper. It has bgen one of the cares of my life as to what I would commit to paper. Burn up this letter and as many others as could injure if they were in print, unless }he;i cc{ll‘nln som;th}l‘ng useful. Af- ectionately your father, w2 R. H. McDONALD. IT COST A HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS TO GET RID OF ONE WOMAN. Again the rod of parental rebuke was raised over Dick’s devoted head, when his father penned him another letter on November 8, 1892. This letter will pos- sess unusual interest to those who re- member the divorce scandal that sepa- rated Richard H. McDonald Jr. from his wife, Clara Belle. The subject is called up in the mind of Dr. McDonald by. Dick’s frantic announcement that some one of the gentler sex is again blackmalling him. His father coun- seled him how to act toward them and then told him with some financial ex- actness how much his first matrimonial venture had cost the family. Having discussed this the aged doctor gave an eloquent discourse on what a man should be to his family. The letter is as follows: SARATOGA, N. Y., Nov. 8, 1892, My Dear Son Richard: The course to pursued toward those lying, vicious women is silence and they will soon die out. You will never have to take back avhat you don’t say. You say you had to pay $80,00 to get rid of one woman. If you sald one bad woman it would have been nearer the truth. I can show figures that the cost of getting rid of that bad woman with the stealing she did will amount to more than $100,000, and there is no mistake about it. Now that you have been so mixed up and so long with a lot of digreputable women would it not be well for you to look up some nice, good, respectable woman and marry her. ere 1s noth- ing th}t does so much to settle a man’s difficulties like these as to be married to_some go! and reputable ‘woman, and there are lentx of the to be found. The world and all gofi ety rises id says ot Wiy = 7 A\ {ood family alone,” and puts to flight he clamor of bad people and their condemnations. “‘Let this family alone.” All good society becomes your advo- cate and protector. The courts and laws lean strongly to that side and outside troubles soon come to an end. But you have so long been down in this muck of filthy and awful low soclety that I fear that you have lost all true appreciation of true, pure and lovely = womanhood. Affectionately your father, R. H. McDONALD: SOME PECULIAR BOOKKEEPING IN THE PACIFIC BANK. On November 18, 1892, Dr. R. H. Mc- Donald -indicated in a letter very clear- ly that he understood the situation in the Pacific Bank and some of the pecu- liar bookkeeping methods employed there. A. F. Johns received $15,000. of the Riverside Bank stock for the bene- fit of the Pacific Bank. Not $1 of this amount had been credited by the Pa- cific Bank to the Riverside Bank. The discrepancy - had been noted as sus- picious by the Bank Commissioners and as Dyer feared another scrutinizing visit from the Commissioners he begged that the peculiar transaction be straightened out. The letter that R. H. McDonald Sr. wrote to his son, Richard, is extremely significant and is as fol- lows: NEW YORK, Nov. 18, 1892. My Dear Son Richard: Mr. O. T, Dyer claims that there was issued $15,000 of the Riverside Bank stock, is- sued to Mr. Johns for the benefit of the Pacific Bank, which amount of mofgey for same has not been credited to him by the Pacific Bank, as should have been done, and that by the rea- son of this omission his overdraft ap- gea.rs that much more than it should e. The Commissioners at their last examination found this discrepancy of the $15,000 charged their bank as as- sets in the Pacific Bank and not cred- ited by our bank to them, which had a suspicious look of fraud on their part, which was finally explained. But if they examine the iverside Bank ain and find the same condition of airs and this amount not credited it will have a bad effect on them, as well as on_our own bank. Mr. Dyer says that he is quite confldent. thac the Commissioners will examine his bank in the early part of next month, and- he is anxious to have this flaw corrected, and it seems to me that this should be done, as it is calculated to do mischief as matters now stand. As I understand it, Mr. Johns has given his check for that amount, and says he s ready to give his note if that is the preferable way of carryin this asset for the bank. 1 think it woul be unfortunate if the Bank Commis- sioners should find this amount just as it was at their last examination, and I hope you will make the entry. I don’t see what harm it will do us as matters now stand. This is no time for prejudice or caprice to gov- ern Mr. Dyer's affairs. It is a critical time. Your affectionate father, H. McDONALD. THE OLD MAN'S DREAM OF HIS SON'S ASSASSINATION. Ten days after Dr. R. H. McDonald Al & s letter ¢ N Anden Sl 1) o o I/; 5 £ L1/ 1A/ 3 A 1/ /’//2)}/”/// 75 THE OLD MAN’S VISION OF DEATH. “This morning at nearly 2 a.m. I awoke out of my sleep in great alarm and consternation. I had a vivid dream that I was walking along the street, and on the otherside Isawacrowd gathering, and I went over to see the cause, and as I came up I saw you being carried away in the arms of two or three men. I, In great excitement, asked what had happened, and Mrs. Rienzi said to me: ‘I stuck a knife into him.’ dream scene was and is now as strong and plain in my mind as if it had been an enacted reality. “It has been some time since I have had one thought of her in any way. I have no faith in dreams, but merely mention this incident to you; it S0 excited me, that it was a good while before I could again go to sleep. The old St. Paul clock near my window rang out the hour of two, just after which gave me the correct hour of the night.”—Dr. R. H. McDonald in a letter to his son Richard. At this juncture I awoke. The 22 2A XXX ) @®Q‘0'b@@00@QQO@@@60000'600000000000000900 PPV PPOPPVPPPPVPOORO00PV00009020O00 02000 O & dream in which he saw his son, Richard, murdered before his eyes. The «| picture, even as the old man wrote it, is extremely dramatic and in an effort to tell his terrible vision' he displays a most unusual descriptive power. He declares that. he saw the wounded and bleeding body of his son carried from a crowd and he asked a woman at his side what was the matter.. The woman he saw in his vision was Mrs. L. Rienzi | and she calmly informed the old man, S0 he thought in his dream, that she had stabbed his son. Mrs. Rienzi was one of the women that gathered around Dick McDonald in many of his wild ventures in this city, such as the Pano- rama, on Bddy and Mason streets, and the Californian Illustrated Magazine. As a matter of coincidence Mrs. Rienzl had sent Dick many threatening let- ters, giving him great disturbance of mind in her decidedly candid criticism of his.other lady friends. ' Dr. McDon- ;fld’ letter about his dream is as fol- ows: 3 NEW YORK, Noy. 25, 188, My Dear Son Richard: This morn- ing at nearly 2 a, m. I woke out of my sleep in great alarm and conster- nation. I had a vivid dream that I was walking along the sireet, and on the other side I saw a crowd gather- ing, and I went over to see the cause; and as I came up I saw being caried away in the arms of twos or three men. I, in great excitement, asked what had happened, and Mrs. Rienzi said to me, “I stuck a knife in him.” At this juncture I awoke, The dream scene was and is now as strong and plain in my mind as if it had been an enacted reality. It has been some time since I ha had one thought of her in any way. T have no faith in dreams, but merely men- incident to you tion this ¥ that so excited me that it was a good deal while before I could go again to sleep. The old St. Paul clock near my window rang out the hour of 2 just after my waking, which gave me the correct hour of the night. Affection- ately your father, R. H. McDONALD. | To-morrow morning The Call win | continue the publication of the: letters | of Dr. R. H. McDonald and will show what the old banker thought of Moses H. Sherman and the wildcat schemes that involved the Pacific Bank and subsequently ruined it. In these let- ters it will be shown that the oid man realized that Sherman had ruined the institution, but had involved himself | in that ruin and was as legally re- sponsible for the disaster as the Mec- Donalds themselves. Ia this recital W. H. H. Hart, D. S. Dorn and J. E. Farnum will be revealed as three most interesting per~ sons. ———— Overland Trains Delayed. Owing ‘to the burning of several snow sheds and the timbering in Tunnel 13, n Summit, the two overland trains, due y terday at 9:45 a. m. and 8:45 p. m., respect- ively, will not reach here until 9:5 this |