The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, November 11, 1898, Page 4

4 THE SAN FRANOCISCO CALL, FRIDAY, - NOVEMBER 11, 1898. N HIS LUST FOR SUCCESS M. H. SHERMAN | PRECIPITATED A BITTER FINANCIAL WAR The Struggle to Crush the Los Angeles Cable Railway System Forced Bankers Managers of the Pacific Bank Warned to Refire From the Electric Road Deal or Repeat The Call begins this morning its ex- pose of the secret manipulations that led the Pacific Bank and its feeder, the 's Peor Ho s Bank, Into the tremendous n of the Los An- oad. This project Pacific Bank and er their existence. The scheme ed in the brain of Moses H. n, who trapped the bankers of Pine and Sansome streets into a sup- port of his tremendous venture, Sher- man, as already tained prominence in Arizona, where he floated several financlal ¢-hemes and in support of them won the confidence and with it the mon of Frank V. McDonald. Having found Frank Mc- Donald an easy game Sherman went to n in operation. d no money, but through > of Frank McDonald he < behind him. Be- fore Sherman c ced the idea of an electric road in Los Angeles he had foisted upon the Pacific Bank through Frank McDonald his vastly overest mated properties in Phoenix and in dif- ferent parts of Arizona. His state- ments in reference to these holdings were mendaclous to the last degree. the confiden had the Pac ‘What he o ed was not worth the sup- port that the Pacific Bank gave, but Frank McDonald was a willing liste 1o flatt and whe to visit Los Angeles and con the project of an electric railroad t} young .man readily obeved. Sherma explolted the advantages of competi- tion to the c road then in operation under the ion of J. F. Crank. The wily ulator showe could be ¢ e cost bait quently ki es cable cisco and of Crank. Th ed to one million five hundred thousand dollars, and was taken in this city by capita commercial and sav- ings he second mortgage of one m! e hundred thousand dol- n L capita s, bar lars ca ies of Chicago. It w eme to wreck t control it tric system. e cost the People’s and Pa- tence. flattering suggestion Sherman Frank McDonald believed that the bonds of the electric road could be floated as readily as those of the cable system. mistake too late to save his banks and the honor of his family. Under Sher- man's directien a corporation was formed, stock was printed and M. H. Sherman was m system. The Pa road, supplying $600,000. might have been expected, Sherr cific Under c Bank built Sherman, as d not con- indicated, first at- | He found out his | | | | st mortgage amount- | i of | de president of the | the | tribute a cent, violating his promise to | supply one-half the c Through a series of tions and manipula- he deluded the cashier of the Pa- and made that institution for his own portion ng secured such a n of advaptage S had Pacific Bank and its he People’s Bank, just where th man feeder, he wan They had to follow his lead and sup- port his schemes or face public cen- sure for the loss of a tremendous sum of money. The expose of such a loss would e Inevitably resuited in a run on the bank. The McDonalds ac- cepted the inevitable. They tried first to drag Sherman, J. E. Farnum and their -clique of conspirators dut of the bank with an idea of operating the road themselves. They failed In this and then attempted to float the bonds of 1 d m, the electric system. Again failure came | to them and the culminating crash. When the Pacific bankers attempted to | gain control of the electric road sys- tem S n in anticipation of such an effort ‘determinéd to secure eonfrol of the cable roads of Los Angeles. This move brought J. F. Crank . and the holders of three million dollars in bonds to the front. The struggle became a determined contest between the two great roads. The capitalists and banks of this city that held the cable bonds arrayed :s for a contest against the Pacific and the People’s banks, which held the electric road bonds. In this struggle Sherman had nothing to lose and everythirg to gain. As he argued the situation he could not lose whoever won in the contest. If the Pacific Bank lJost Sherman remained as .the only powerful manipulator left in the elec- tric road to deal with the winners. If the Pacific Bank won and the cable system of Los Angeles was wrecked Sherman would continue to be. the president and manager of the electric railroad and qwner of a great part of the wrecked cable system. This struggle, the secret hiitory of which has never before become public | cesstul conclus lnto Conflict. Ralston’s Crash. property, was one of the most gigantic ever fought on this-coast or in the United States. It was a contest of millions against millions, and as the outcome proved determined the exist- ence of two great banks. When this great fight began Sherman calculated every possible contingency. when the Pacific Bank and the Peo- ple’s Home Savings Bank crumbled, he made terms with the opposition, sold out his holdings in the Electric road and profited with what belonged to the wrecked institutions and their deposi- tors. ‘When Sherman began his manipula- tions and with flattery seduced Frank McDonald Into & support of his scheme he carefully guarded against any mis- hap to the success of his plan. He was closely allled to Millspaugh, the ex- clalm adjuster of the Southern Pacific Company, and through him gained the support of that corporation. After he had seduced Frank McDonald into the wild Phoenix proposition and before he suggested his Electric deal he offered himself as a director in the Pacific Bank. According to his own assertion he held only ten shares of stock in that institution and ted simply in the ca- city of a dum He bought a few of stock in the People’'s Home Savings Bank and placed. his cousin, John E. Farnum, in the bank as secre- and ma hold in bo ed as pleased to the e n the crash finally came he i to make Farnum or the Pacific ‘Bank.. This in outline is | the story of the tremendous plot that Mosés H. Sherman carried to & subs on, and in doing so ac complished the downfall of both ban ‘ESECRET HISTORY OF THE GREAT CONSPIRACY. The most thorough and complet vestigation of thc Los Angeles elec railroad seheme that was ever attempt- ed was made by J II. Woodard, ex- newspaper man and lawyer, This man was the bitter and persistent enemy of M. H. Sherman, and lost no opportu- nity to injure the crafty manipulator. His enmity, howe i cident. He was more th formed of the condition of road and of the disastro he electric eculation resented to the Pacific Bank than 1y man except Moses H. Sherman himself. Woodard was familiar with the ery inception of the project in the brain of Sherman. At the request of R. H. McDonald Jr. Wooda on gust 4, 1892, submitted an exhaustive report of the history of the road, its condition at that time cnd its pros- pects. ‘Woodard demonstrated to young Me- Donald that the Pacific Bank had been trapped into a dangerous venture and that if it did not retire even with the heavy loss it must sustain the bank in- tably would go under. This report of Woodard is vitally necessary to the depositors and robbed creditors of the defunct bank, if they care to obtain & clear understanding of the gfgantic | scheme that ruined the institution and cost them their « posits. In the report Woedard has eliminated ‘all - personal reflection upon Sherman, The report mply recites the fdacts of the con- spiracy that resulted in the deception upon the Pacific Bank. Sherman’s wild | naotions of finance and his absurd ideas | the creatio of floating bonds are described clearly and something of the tremendous struggle between the cable systenr of Los Angeles and the electric road is indicated. 2 Thig struggle provoked the most bit- ter enmity between J. F. Crank, the leading spirft in the cable road, and Sherman. It organized most of the banks of this city.against the Pacific and the People’s Home Savings banks, and at one stage of the firht forced a run on thg People's Home Savings Bank. It is perhaps not uninteresting to remember that this run was pro- voked by the simultaneous publication in two newspapers in this city of an article that depounced the People’s Bank for holding electric bonds, These publications, coming as they did on the same morning and containing practi- cally the same assertions, will prove an interesting history in themselves at the per place in the rec of the men and measures that ruined the two great banks. Incidentally, Frank McDonald exercised every influence in his posses- sion to prevent these articleg from ba- { Ing published and to save the People's " | WHAT THE ROAD WAS REALLY that will | Bank from a run. very clearly und H. Woodard's long show how report hundreds (of thousands of dollars of the Pacific Bank were dissi- ated in the Los Anceles electrie rail- road is given in full as follows, and is intended as a significant introduction to the part that M. H. Sherman and his co-conspirators plaved in the de- struetion of the Pacific Bank. LOS ANGELES, Cal.; Aug. 4, 1892, Mr. R, H. McDomald Jr., V. P. Pacific Bank, San Francisco, Cal.—Dear Sir: left San Francisco Mflndn?' p. m., as I told you I expected to, and have been quite busy with other matters, so that only just now have 1 found time to comply with your request to give you my opinilon of the street railway situation In s An- geles. 1 shall keep {n mind your sugges- tion that the expenditures have been made on the electric property, and themefore that you are only considering what should be done to save the investment and, if possible, make a profit out of it. I shall glve vou the situation as I understand it, 8nd you can take such measures as you think best to test the correctness of my conclusions. Primarily—There has been invested in m of the electric system only - He sur- | rounded himself with able lawyers and | Having kained a | affairs of the great concern from | 1 the $675,000 expended by the Paclfic Bank and the Pacific Rolling Mill Company. To this should be added the §25,000 loaned or- | iginaily through the Peopie's Home Sav- |1 Bank to the Topeka Rapld Transit Electric Railwa Company, and other small sums paid out on different lines, | making the entire sum invested almost $750,000. To secure this investment it was agreed that $1,600,000 of the first mortgage bonds should be issued upon this property hat the remaining bonds of the original ue should be destroyed. And right nere We are met by a singular state of facts. In September, 181, the ‘'‘Syndicate Agreement” was entered into by which $500.000 of the first mortgage bonds were to be deposited with John M. C. Marble as trustee, to secure a loan of $250,000. Col- onel Marble certified that he had the $500,- 000 of bonds and $1,000,000 of the stock of the Consolidated Electric Railway In his possession. In addition to this, other bonds were alleged to be deposited with Colonel Marble, and he issued receipts to the owners thereof, but for the present they can be left out of sight. Under this trust about $180,000 was borrowed that I { know of, which sums are vet unpaid. Under the proposed pooling of the cable | and electric bonds, Trustees McKee and | Dorn claim to have $1,548,000 of the electric | bonds in their possession. If they have that number, where are the $300,000 of bonds held by Trustee Marble? He could not surrender them without the consent of every holder of the syndicate agree- ment notes, and 1 know that such unani- mous consent has not been obtained. Take the list of the owners of the $1,250.- | 000 of bonds stated to be outstanding hen tue ‘“pooling” scheme was first | d, and you will observe that the | 85 the Marble bonds were not em- braced in that list. If Colonel Marble { had the bonds which he certifies he had, | and the other claimants had thelr bonds, then there must have been outstanding 000 bonds—at the minimum But { when we go further and find that $1,548,000 bonds have been surrendered to McKee and Dorn, and that they do not include the $300,000 which Colonel Marble certified . then there must have been 2,100,000 10 sccure indebtedness up- ty which did not st the (I_do nat mean the ma ipula- ) over §750,000, and upon which it was greed that 'the bonded indebtedness should not exceed $1,600,000. WQODARD GETS DOWN TO FIGURES. But 1 will leave this branch of the sub- o b -of jicl I could give you pages of 1 d_turn to the practical side of proposed scheme of consolidation, and see if it can be carried into effect. The plan is to issue $3,000,000 bonds upon the electric property, with which to pay: |~ Debts of Cable Compuny as follows: Los Angeles Cable bonds, sold Pledged as coliateral.. Total . . g debt of Cable Company, iding street improvements cal 2 de th $3,000,000 | Total $3,538,000 | There are other outstanding obligations { which I have not included, and could not | without disclosing the sources of infor- | mation, which I cannot do at present, | Let us now analyze the outstanding ob- | ligations, that is, how will they have to be met. You can say, by the direct ex- change of bonds, the following amounts: Cable bonds. ,000 Eiectric bonds. 1,543,000 Two and a half years' interest on 2,348,000 .. = 352,200 Total ... 700,200 | There will then be left $340,000 of the | cable bonds which will have to be pu chased by cash. If a foreclosure Is reac ed by which the Los Angeles Cable Rail- way Company’s bonds are declared to have priority over the bonds of the Pa- cific Railway Company, then the Electric Company, as holder of $800,000, will have | to bid $800,000 to buy the property, that is 70 cents on the dollar of the $1,140,000 bonds. Then they will have to pay 70 cents on the $340,000 bonds not exchanged, | or $238,000 cash. 'There are fifty-two elec. tric bonds which will not be exchs v will be pald for in cas| F: this to the above and it makes $250,0 So we can make a book showing cash necessary to be raised: As glven above... 2 | Floating debt and synal e Electric Company . 250,000 Recelver's obligations on Cable Co . pany .. i 100,000 Cost of foreclosure on Cable mortgages, 40,000 Total cash required.. e $580,000 You can see that this sum of $680,000 cannot ‘be raised on $299,800 of bonds (if | sold at par) with 213 pons cut off, or with them on. If sold at | par who will Taise this $3%,000 necessary to be paid before the consolidation scheme | could be effected or have any legal furce? | “As to the status of the $5,000,000 of cou. | solidated electric bonds now issued as a part of the pooling, or ‘‘consolidation’ scheme, what s in sight as security for yoars Interest cou- | them? 'Let us examine the assets behind them? Consolldated Electric Rallway plant, | which does not earn operating ex. penses, and which cost..... . $760,000 Bonds of Los Angeles Cabis Gompany, $400,000 &t 70 cents........ vese 660,000 Total cost of Electric assets..........$1,310,000 WORTH. As the Electric Company has never | earned operating expenses, and In my | opinion cannot do so in the next five | years, it may be valued only for such an | amount as its tracks and cars and ma- chinery could be sold for as second-hand | material, and what could be realized from the sale of the power-house grounds and buildings. = At the most liberal estimate not over $300,000 could be realized now, while the tracks and equipment are com- Sarntlvely new and good. This, then, re uces the assets to secure $3,000,000 of 6 per cent bonds to 000, if ‘they were {,eallzed upon to-day. 1f the eleotrie plant as to be ogemn until a foreclosure can be had of the cable mortgages (not less than two and a half years) the electric glant will be practically worn out and its ebts will be {ar in excess of what could be realized upon it. I am aware that quite a number of hold- gls g{ ni‘: %:.Lbla %ndl: lu twhell as l}ho ectric bonds wen! ) 0olin, ¢ 1t Swould re. scheme with the belief ‘:’h"a 3?5';&;:":: its revenues, in t Siath s Eaarsss o By mlocsle icheme; ut ce; n| e ', T, | $ciee and DIE. Dorh must have knows | B R R R S R R A N R NN N R AN NSNS NN NRRRRANNNRA NN R Ny bankers. ss:'mmwsw82swsmmezzsmfi:;mmsmsszsmazsemzamswzaww:swazz:sgmmsexssms A PROPHETIC WARNING OF FINANCIAL DISASTER. Primarily—There has been invested in the creation of the Electric system only the §675,000 expended by the Pacific Bank and the Pacific Rolling Mill Company. $35,000, loaned originally by the People's Home Savings Bank to the Topeka Rapid Transit Electric Railway Company, and other small sums paid out on different lines, making the entire sum in- vested almost $750,000. As the Electric Company has never earned operating expenses, and, inmy opinion, cannot do so in the next five years, it may be valued only for such an amount as its tracks and cars and machinery could be sold for as second-hand material and what could be realized from the sale of the power-house, grounds and buildings. looked into by investors, and when they are advised of the facts they will buy no bonds. written to you, and so much more that you will regret that you of- fered the bonds in any market. I fear if youdo not do this that the Ralston fiasco will have to be repeated, and even more widespread disasters result. To thi The real condition Investigation will Respectfully sub /J‘a7 P s Almost a year pefore the crumbling of the Pacific 3ank and the People’s Bank R. H. McDonald Jr. was warned of the character of the desperate speculation into which M. H. Sherman had trapped the This warning was given by J. H. Woodard, who possessed an expert knowledge of che af- fairs of the Los Angeles Electric Railroad. Woodard was unheeded, #nd his report to Dick McDona.l stands now as the first puklic knowledge of the inside facts sf Sherman’s great scheme. public the first true history of one of the great conspiracies that ruined the McDorald banks. sshould be added the BRNURRRLNEER of affairs will be disclose all I have mitted, Wit It gives to the RN IRRRRIRRNNRILRRIRIRRINBLARNOGR B RRR NN LN IR N NN ANRRRRNNARRRNARRRRRANRRIRRIRIRLRINIRRRRR RS that such a thing could not be done. Hence, when any res as to the earning capacity are made, the cable lines cannot be Included, because no man can assert that the Electric Company will ever have control of them. I am confident, from what I know now, that'if the courts should declare that the mortgage of the Los Angeles Cable Rajlway Company is a lien of the lPaciflt' Rall mortgage, the property deemed from the purchasers under the foreclosure of the prior lien and that the Electric Company will- be entitled to_re-* redemptioners only $560,- ceive from the 000 for their $806,000 of bonds. . If on fore- closure the Electric Company 1 ds less than $800,000 the redemptioners will have less to pay. Indeed, it is impossible tnat the cable property shoujd ever come into the possession of the Electric Compamny. We now come to the practical question, in which youlare interested: ‘‘Can the Pa- cific Bank or the raliway sell its conso.i- dation bonds of the new issue {in England or In any other market under the existin conditions?” 1 tell vou what you wi learn later on—that if cannot do it. T'he real condition of affairs will be looked into by investors, and when they are ad- vised of th s they will buy no bonds. Investigation will disclose all I have written to you and so much more that you will regret that you oifered the bonds in any market. NO CHANCE FOR THE BANK. What, then, Is the best line of policy for those having actual investment in the property? I told you during our confer- ence that, in my opinion, you should re- verse your lines of action, and move in | another direction—that no matter how badly the bank needed its money, it could not get it nor s credit by stand- ing behind the y longer. I recommended that you recall your elec- lrl\c bonds and pool with the holders of the 836 cable bonds. This would make a bond issue of less than $1,500,000. Let the electric bonds default their interest and | have a foreclosure as soon as it can be reached. If you stop now the electric road is wrecked at once. You may carry it a while, possibly three or six months, but the last condition will be far worse than it Is now, and you will be only the more deeply involved, and the credit of Four bank still farther weakened, The owners of the 836 cable bonds will be only too glad to admit the bonds of | the Pactfic Bank to a pro rata representation . with theirs in such a scheme, and if you should only | get 70 cents all round in cash you would still have a profit on the bonds held by vou. If, on the other hand, the electric property should pass into the control of the combine, which I have suggested, you | would receive more than par in new bonds for those now held by you, and the new bonds would property can be 50 operated that it will yay 6 per cent on $2,000,000. Of course to reach this result, the entire electric plant would have to be eliminated, that is aban- | doned as a street railway system, but the material and electrical machinery could be utllized on such lines of the two sys- tems as it would be profitable to operate. You have nothing to fear from the pro- Jectors of the Eastern scheme. They have done your bank all the harm they can do if you stop now, for 1 assure you that the whole situation is widely understood, and ach effort to bolster it will only result n further injury. atmosphere about you is filled with state- ments of fact and exaggerations, and they are growing stronger all the time. You ask me to talk frankly to trying my best to do it. I desire that you should save every dollar that your bank has Invested, and if I had any means of helping vou other than by advice, would do so, but I know that the course you are following now leads only to a lower level. I heard at San Francisco that an effort would be made to get the British Vice Consdl at that place ‘to certify to the scheme, and that act would be “‘coppered” through the British Consul General, who would be asked to warn British investors against Investment In the property. 1 am well acquainted with the govern- ing committees of the Boston and New York Stock Exchanges, and knew what will be required if an attempt i{s made to list the electric bonds there, even for wash sales. wg"can 0 to Brown and e, I am satisfled ohn McKee and Alvord, Lovell pthe others, and have them join in the plan which I have suggested, even if you do not associate yourself with the Roll- ing Mill Company, 1 do not think it necessary for your suc- cess that you have the rolling mill join in the scheme I have sugfiested, because you can succeed without them if they do not want to join you, I fear if you do not do this that the Ralston flasco will have to be repeated, and even more widespread disasters re- sult. Respectfully submitted, J. H. WOODARD, 1507 Grand avenue, Los Angeles, SHERMAN WANTED TO FLOAT FIVE MILLIONS After Sherman had inveigled the Pa- cific Bank Into an expenditure of hun- dreds of thousands of dollars and had issued bonds vastly in excess of the true cost of the Electric road, he con- celved another financial nightmare and contemplated placing another bond issue of §5,000,000. This scheme was ex- be worth par, for the | The whole financial | ou, and I am | posed by J. H. Woodard to Dick Mec- Donald in the following letter: | LOS ANGELES, Cal., Aug. 5, 1892. | H, McDonald Jr. Esq., San’ Fran- | | eisco, Cal.—Dear Sir: Since writing you | | I have learned from a friend of mine | here that General Sherman has e\'nl\'ed’ a new scheme for handling the electric | property, and that is to issue a bond of | 35,000,000 "which he ‘proposes to sell in| Iingland. This scheme for relieving the necessities of ‘the electric_ company is of sort that Is practiced by saloon keep- | ers in curing a man of delirlum tremens— | | glving him more whisky as a remedy for | his frightful condition. ~ Of course, If this | ‘ scheme could be carried out it would re- | qutre @hother exchange of bonds, and by | the time the exchange was half made | | that gendition might be relieved ‘by exe- | i c\{fil‘ng a4 new mortgage of seven or ten millions, I-am’ satisfied that If he s left alone it won't take Yim ‘a great while to ex- | plode the whole scheme himself, Wheth- | er-he expects to make this work Or hot, the result is that those who hear of what | tifey deém his vagaries' now understand | how he has gone kiting from one scheme | to another, believing all the time that | the more obligations he could ‘issue the | richer he would be. If his mind is not | now unbalanced it seems to me thdt it | has been moving in an eccentric orbit, and tne quicker you sft on him the bet- ter it will be for all concerned. Yours truly, J. H. WOUDARD. The Call will publish to-morrow morning another scathing criticism of | Sherman’s great project by George M. Mitchell, who was a trusted employe | of the McDonalds. = Mitchell not only | described to his employers the true na- ture of their investment, but he drew a character sketch of the three great figures in the financial tragedy, Moses H. Sherman, his formidable antagonist, J. F. Crank, and the merciless critic of both, J. H. Woodard. The public will | find great interest in the characteriza- ‘tion of these men by men who knew | them well. AMONG THE CYCLERS. | Arrival of Sox;::l’;;zinent Devotees | of Wheeling Sport. Dan E. Whitman, the well-known pro- fessional cycle racer, returned from Hono- | lulu on the Australia vesterday, and will | leave for Los Angeles to-night to visit | hig relatives, returning to the islands about December 1. Whitman first went | down there a year ago with Sharriek, | Jones and others to attend the opening of the big Cyclomere Park track, and | becoming enamored of the place decided to make |t his home. He is established In business and is doing well. He says Allan | Jones has gone to Australia or New Zea- | land to race. Conklin, the former mana- | ger of the party, is now in the newspaper | | business at Honolulu. | Harry A, Lozier of the big Cleveland | manufacturing firm of that name, arrived | here day before yesterday in company with his brother, Ed. Ross Lozier. who | went as far as Portland to meet him. The | | Loziers have big Interests here and in | | the islands and Australia, and the pres- | ence of the two brothers here is thus ac- | counted for, | Orlando _Stevens, the team-mate of | Floyd McFarland, 'the San Jose racing man, arrived from the East the other day and is the guest of his racing part- ner in the Garden C“fi' Stevens has been here twice before. e has had a good season, and expects the entire Eastern | racing contingent will come out here next | spring to race and train. —_————— ROW ON AN ELECTRIC CAR. John Burr, a Carpenter, Struck on the Head and Ribs With a Con- troller Bar. As the result of a row on a Kearny- street electric car on Tuesday, John Burr, & carpenter, living at 1625 Mason street, Swore to a complaint in Judge Low's court yesterday for the arrest of *John Doe,”” the motorman, on a charge of bat- tery. Wfit]x:r“wu & passenger on the car, and Wwas going down the hill hetween Broadway and Pacific street the motor- man got into a dispute with a_boy named Buga, who lives near Burr, and struck the l’éoy on the face with the' controller bar, urr Interfered to protect the boy, and the motorman hit him on the head and ribs with the controller bar, knocking him out. Burr's scalp was cuf open and his llbl were nearly broken, It is sald_that he boy Buga Is In a serious condition from the effect of the blow on his face. ——— Wanted for Forgery. Fred Smith, a bellboy in the Lane Hospital, was arrested in Los An- geles yesterday morning on a ais- patch from Chief Lees that he was wanted here for forgery, Detective Crockett swore to a warrant for his ar- rest before Judge Low and left by last evening's train to bring him back to the He forged Mrs. Brady’s name on the back of the draft and cashed it at the City of Paris dry-goods store. He went to Los gngeles, where he was known as Reid erry. —_———— IN THE DIVORCE COURTS. Several Unhappy Couples and Others Are Granted Decrees of Divorce. Mrs. Elizabeth.H. Nowell filed suit yes- terday for a divorce from her husband, Frank H. Nowell, alleging cruelty, de- sertion and neglect as causes of action. [The defendant is the Son of ‘a well-knowxn mining man~-assoefated with the big Treadwell Company,- Mrs: Nowell -states that frequently her husband has left her and remained away-over night solely in the pursuit of selfish indulgencies.. He | has also been in the habit of cruelly treat- | ing her, esgeclally in the presence of third arties. esides the decree of divorce Mrs. Nowell asks the custody of her three-year-old .daughter. Meyer Frankenheimer, a street railway emploge, residing at 333 Jersey street, has sued his wife, Nora Frankenheimer, for a divorce on the ground of cruelty. The Ela]ntlft alleges that his wife has long een in the habit of treating him In an inhuman manner, but capped the climax a few days ago by trying to put out his eyes with a hat pin and ended up by tak- ing several shots at him. In consequence he has had enough of married life and wants a divorce on the ground named. Suits for divorce have been filed by Hattle B. Postner agalnst J. Postner on the ground of fatlure to provide and L. Burns against Honora Burns on the ground of cruelty. Harvey A. West s granted a divorce [from Alice W. G. West yesterday on the round of extreme cruelty. Decrees of glvorce on the ground of willful neglect have been granted Elizabeth Neumann from Edward Neumann, Anna Malkus from Conrad Malkus and Walter F. son from Ella J. Kasson., ——————ee CREMATORY IS UNHEALTHY. A Physician and Several Citizens Testify Regarding the Gasses That Escape. Residents in the neighborhood of the plant of the Sanitary Reduction Works of San Francisco are determined that thelr health and lives shall not be jeopar- dized by the proximity of the company’'s crematory. Affidavits in the suit of August Vetter against the company, in which 1t is sought to force the company to adopt methods that will not endanger the health of the community, were filed yesterday. Dr. John T. Davis, a well-known chem- ist and physician, in his affidavit stated that he had Investigateds the matter in- volved and had found that through the incineration of refuse, dead animals, tin cans and garbage many polsonous gasses, including carbonic oxide, nitrous | oxide, carbonic acid and marsh gas, to- gether with many metallic oxides, were found. These the physician declared were especially poisonous to those predisposed to bronchial affections and dangerous in general to_the health of the community. Many residents of the district around the crematory also made affidavits of the foul odors that emanate from the stack of the crematary. The case will be tried in a few days. —_—— Charles Rollo Peters writes about Alexander Harrison, the famous American painter, in next Sunday’s Call. —_———— ELECTION BALLOTS FOUND. A Package of Them Was Left in a Deserted Booth. At about half past 4 yesterday morning Officer E. J. Rooker of the North End Station chanced to enter an unoccupied election baoth In the Eleventh Precinct of the Forty-first District on Union street and found, lymg on the floor, the package of municipal ballots voted last Tuesday. They were inclosed in an envelope and were properly sealed and signed. In Offi- cer Rooker's company -was Officer James Barry. TRe ballots were taken to the Central Police Station and at the sugges- tlon of Sergeanis Harper and Shay were immediately delivered to the Registrar. The booth in which they were found had been unoccupied for a number of hours. ——ee————— How Dewey beat the British in next Sunday’s Call. Polo at the Park. This afternoon Golden Gate Park will be the scene of the first game of polo played in this city for many years, This newly inaugurated sport will commence at 2:30 p. m. on the baseball grounds. The game will be given much interest and will be attended by a large_ number of people. Two teams have been selected from the ty. Smith on October % stole a draft or sent by a bank in Salinas M. ? Brady, a patient In the h}:;p‘léft f the Burlingame club, The ‘flnr:: mh;?wr; ou the “Reds,” s composed of the following players: W. S. Hobart, | Jail for six months, yesterday Harry R. Stmpkins, Joseph §. Tobin and Frank M. Carolan. The second team, called the “Whites,” is made \|{} of the following: Captain Harris of the Pre- sidio, Charles Dunphy, R. M. Tobin and Charles A. Baldwin. —_—————————— RESUMED AGAIN TO-DAY. Licutenant Bennett Will Continue Investigation of Fort Baker Scandal. The investigation into the conduct of the efficers of Battery B, California Heavy Artlllery, now stationed at Fort Baker, went over yesterday until to-day, owing to the fact that Lieutenant Ben- neit, who is securing the evidence in the case, being forced to accompany General Merriam on his official visit to the Itallan crulser Etna. It will be several days be- fore Lieutenant Bennett completes the work of taking all the evidence that he desires to segure prior to submitting the facts to General Merriam. As the case now stands there does not seem any chance of a court martial being avolded, and in case one is ordered it is_thought that it will go hard with the officers of the battery. Captain C. B. Hardin, Eighteenth Infan- try, has returned from Honolulu. He has been granted a month’s sick leave on a surgeon’s certificate of disability. First Lieutenant John O’Shea, Fourth Cavalry, who is to have charge of the Tacoma, has been appointed bsv General Merriam the quartermaster and commis~ sary of the vessel. Recruits James Casey and Charles J. Edwards, enlisted in this city, have been assigned to Troop B, Fourth Cavalry, and oiréilered to join their troop at the Pre- sidio. On the recommendation of the chief sur- eon, Major Rudolph G. Ebert, surgeon United States army, now in this city, bas been assigned to duty at the division fleld hos&ltal at the Presidio, vice Major W. B. H. Matthews, relieved. Sergeant Joseph B. Black, Battery B, Third Artille: has been ordered to re- port to Major Kenzfe at Alcatraz for tem- porary duty as commissa lergea.no!! pending the appointment to that post an officer to that position. Acting Assistant SBurgeon A. J. Pedlar has been ordered to proceed to Los An- geles to make the medical examination of the officers and men of the Seventh Cali- fornia Regiment prior to their being fingl- ly mustered from the service, Assistant gurgeong J. B. Cutter and C. BE. Webb will perform the same duty here for the Sixth Regiment, the mustering out of which will begin to-day. —_——————— Eczema and Itching Scalp Cured quickly by using Smith’s Dandruft Pomade. For sale by all druggists; price, 50 cents; sample sent free by Smith Bros,, Fresno, Cal. . —_—— ESTATES IN PROBATE. ‘Wills of Jacob Marx and Sarah Burns Filed. The will of David Marx, who died on the 6th inst., leaving an estate valued at over $20,000, was flled for probate yester- day. The bequests are as follows: $1000 to the Hebrew Orphan Asylum; $11,000 to Jacob Marx, in trust, for the benefit of Meyer Marx, who resides in Germany; Rosa and M Marx, sisters of the tes- tator, who reside in Bavaria, and Rachel Levernuth of w York. The residue of the estate is ueathed to Jacob Marx, a brother of the testator. The will of Sarah Burns, bequeathing an estate valued at $20,000 to her immedi- ate relatives, was also filed for probate. —_— e ———— Disturbed a Religious Meeting. Montey Davenport, a habitu4 of . the Barbary Coast, was sent to the County by, Judee Low on'a charge of vagrancy. Tuesday night he went to.the Salvation Army meeting on Clay and Kearny streets and attempted to break up the meeting. He was arrested and a charge of vagrancy bookéd against him. Varicocele Varicocele Varicocele Yaricocele O MAN HAVING THIS DREADFUL DIS- order can afford to refuse himseif the proper treatment, for if he does not attend to his case it is certain to develop into more serious dis- orders, which no man wants. Varicocele is a disease that can be cured, and cured before your own eyes. Sometimes varicocele is compli- cated with other troubles. A man may also suffer from a weak back, @ listless feeling; he may be & victim of his own vice or excesses. Drinking, late hours, abuses, bring men to think of their troubles, and, like men, they walt until the last moment and then expect & cure while they wait. YOUNG MAN, BEWARE! Beware of the error and pitfalls of youth; be- ware of the losses fhat nature requires to give tone and strength to the body. Beware of your folly. When a cure is offered grasp it befors you are too late. HUDYAN DOES CURE. No one need mistake this. Hudyan Remedy treatment is guaranteed to cure. Hudyan does cure. Hudyan cures man's diseases and disabii- ities. Hudyan cures failing strensth, melan- cholia, nervous debility, spermatorrhoea and those disorders of men that are called dis~ abilities. Call at the greatest medical Institute on the Pacific Coast for ald. Write for_Circulars._ FREE If you call at office, FREE————DMedical examination.” | FRE FR CURES IN A WEEK. Fr—————Consultation. l —————Advice. First treatment. Mison_ Mot st BTOCKTON, MAREET AND ELLIS STS. and 7 Faclal Cream. Use Faclal Soap Woodbury's Faclal Soap, Faclal Cream and Facial and Tooth Powder will be found effica- clous for preventing Wrinkles, Freckles or chapping, cleansing and preserving the teeth. _LOST VIGOR, === AND MANHOO! erslmmyNZn,h(Emisim-ndo L f cacess aod Acaic and blood-builder, Brings the piak glow to pale cheeks and res g s o or $2.50" guarantee 10 cure or refund the money. Wervita Hiledicat €o., @linton & Jackson sis., Chicags, WALLER BROS., 33 Grant ave., San Francisco, IERCES FAVORITE RESCRIPTION FOR WEAK WOMEN.