The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, December 10, 1898, Page 1

The TCall VOLUME L 10. XXV,—NO. SAN FRANCISCO, SATURDAY, DECEMBER 10 1898. PRICE FIVE CENTS RIBBONS ADORNED WITH GIBBETS ARE DISTRIBUTED Chicago Populace Still Inflamed Street - Rail- e Mayor Harrison Inclined to Egiessfmpbafic in His Advice to the Masses to Resort to Arms and Violence. HICAGO, Dec. 9.—Though the tation on the part of the ref. to prevent the passing by t Council of the traction ordi- continues, there has been the tone and lan- who addressed the B s meetings held 10ut the city this afternoon and | tion sending him. It is necessary that perman. and watchful force should follow the A score of men started out to-night ng white badges, on which ted a gibbet, from which dan- d a noose. The words printed on the badge were “Anti-fifty-year steal.” Be- | fore the theater crowds had reached on at a mass meeting fhome these badges were all over the uspices of the Monti- | city. One of the men distributing the t K ing, who is|ribbons said over 200,000 had been rican Branch of the | printed ibernians. intro-| Politicians who have been booming tional resolu- | Mayor Harrison for the Democratic g the club’s support to |nomination for the Presidency in 1900, on in his efforts to pre- |and who believed they would be able to ge of the pending ordi- |land him in the place if the failure of cluding with a d 1| silverism made it out of the question for le-bodied men st the Council chamber on the f night to be told off in regimen of 2000 { champion when the crisis in the street men each, a regiment to be assigned to | car agitation was reached to-day. each Alderman, to deal with him ac- At the Monticello Club meeting the cording to his deserts, the latter to be | incendiary resolutions which were ‘in- mined by the way in which he {troduced were shown to Harrison and voted for the ordinance. {approved by him. The resolutions were received with |stcod the primary object of the organ- tumultuous demonstrations of approval, | ization of the Monticello Club was the Mayor Harrison, who was present, ap- | nomination of Harrison for the Presi- g vigorously. dency and its membership contains Murray F. Tuley, who pre- | many of the most prominent Democrats to put the motion for |of. Illinofs. . A thou- It was supposed when he approved de- | the resolutions he would stand by them. He did applaud vigorousiy- their read- ing, and no doubt' would have voted for them, but after the dramatic interposi- tion by Judge Tuley, Harrison meekly | subsided and allowed the paragraph calling for the mob to be stricken out. | His followers and henchmen were dumfounded, and at the conclusion of the meeting denounced their idol for his lack of nerve. He is charged with hav- ing induced his friends to commit an indiscretion that, in the light of Tuley’s arraignment, approximates one of the gravest crimes in the calendar, in order to afford him an opportunity to score a victory that would prove him the real leader of the masses and then basely deserting them. His popularity cannot but suffer from the indecision which has marked his course in this crisis. The Monticello Club will probably dis- dete Judge sided, refused the adoption of the resolution. sand excited men rose at him. nouncing %3n s a traitor, and for.a time it looked as though the life of the aged jurist was in danger. He waited | until the fury had expended itself and t explained that while he was op- posed to granting the fifty year fran- | chises to the street raiflway corpora- tions, he was not an anarchist. He de- clared that the talk of mobbing Alder- | men and owners of street railwavs had | gone beyond the danger point, saying | in conclusion: | “Think well before pressing the pend- | ing resolution to passage. If, as a re- of the action taken here to-dav. following the incendiary utterances of | irresponsible orators and electors for | | days past, the city should be | a mob when the Council | and blood be spilled and | ed, it is more than| members of the Monticello | band as a result. ill be called upon to pay the| Ex-Congressman M. V. Cannon sald for this day’s business.” | to-night, referring to the inflammation rds of the patriarchal old law- | Of the popular mind on the question of im ively uttered and had |€ranting fifty year franchises to street of bringing > 0c srvatives | CAr companies: f bringing-the conservatives | "L, oy ond inithe henddet Ball i the wo t to their senses, and finally the s fight to the end. | . “CARTER H. HARRISON.” | nd | Bryan to be again named, are disgusted | ateful | with the weakness displayed by their | It must be under- | | cobin Club. | [ Tremont House to-day and heard men ordinarily sober-minded and conserva- tive calling for the blood of men who may be doing what they believe to be right, my thoughts ran to what I had | read of the events preceding the reign of terror in Paris. I wondered if the time had receded a full rentury snd it I were attending a meefing of the Ja- All that is lacking to make Chicago the Paris of the nine- teenth century is a modern Mirabeau | or Robespierre. - This Incendiarism must be discouraged or there will be + serious trouble. ASPIRES TO BE CHIEF JUSTICE OF HAWAII TERRITORY Judge Zame of Utah Has Been i Promised the Place by ‘ Senator Cullom. | BALT LAKE, Dec. 9.—Chief Justice Zane of Utah, who was defeated for a | second term at the recent State election, “ulr ..u i Ly ETITION TO STOP THE TRIAL OF MRS. CORDELIA BOTKIN Sensational Affidavit Will Be Filed This Morning in the Supreme Court to Test the Legality * of the Proceeding; V. L. Harper Anticipates the Defenders of the Accused Woman and Secks to Prevent Judge Cook From Taking Action in Litigation That is an aspirant for the Chief Justiceship in Hawaii, in the event of the islands be- ing made a Territory, and it is believed here that he has been promised the place through Senator Cullom, chairman of the Hawailan Commission, and a life- long friend of Judge Zane. Judge Zane wa8 Chief Justice several years of Utah Territory, and has probably sentenced more people to the penitentiary than any other Judge in the country, as dur- ing his incumbency most all the convic- tions of Mormons under the Edmunds- Tucker act for polygamy. occurred. Judge Zane in an interview this afternoon, while stating that he had made no application for the position, said he would take it if offered. The inference drawn from the talk‘ was that a tender had really been made. NO SALE OF THE PHILIPPINES. WASHINGTON, Dec. 9.—The discus- sion of the details of the administra- tion of the government in Cuba, Porto Rico and the Philippines, under the treaty of peace, which is about to be signed in Paris, occupied a large part ?t the time at to-day’s Cabinet meet- ng. An official denial is authorized that the sale of the Philippine Islands to any other nation has ever been con- sidered by this Government, and it is stated that the published statements to the effect that their sale to Japan had ;)een under discussion are altogether alse. resolution calling for the assembling of a mob was withdrawn and others adopted. Tule speech, with its warning, must have had eat weight, for at e ings held to-night there was rkable ahsence of fire-eating on the part of the speakers from whom much of that sort of thing was ex- pected. At Turner Hall, where Mayor Harri- son was the star attraction, a crowd of 5 , mostly workingmen who had not read the evening paper account of the Monticello Club resolutions, was gath- ered. Harrison was particularly mild, and when asked by some one in the audience “How about hanging Yerkes and the Aldermen?” he remonstrated, declaring that all the talk of ropes and mobs and lynching was idle and must stop. His audience at this began to break up, disappointed that the man who had instituted the talk of mobs 1o overawe the Aldermen was among the first to take the back track. John M. Harlan, a son of Chlef Jus- | tice Harlan and one of the most violent | anti-fifty r franchise men in the | ecity, addressed a number of mass meet- ings, but for the first time in his cru- sade refrained from urging violence. It probably is but just to all the prominent men who in this instance have indulged in incendiary talk of mobs and hanging Aidermen and street car owners to lamp posts to state that they did not mean it and had no idea they would be taken so seriously by the masses, and now that its effect is seen they will be as active in preventing as they have been in inciting the popular storm. Mass meetings will continue to be held daily by both sides, nearly one hundred being assigned for Sunday, but the Mayor has let it be understood that i oderate speeches will no longer be tolerated. Mayor Harrison called for volunteers to-day to help him win the fight against the fift ear franchise ordinance on the proposition: “No franchise exten- sion ordinance of' any kind until the Allen law is repealed.” To-day he wrote his name to the_ fol- lowing: “Every political, social, religious or other organization which takes action against the proposed traction ordi- nances is requested to send a delegate to the Independent Anti-Boodle League, room 323, Ashland block. Such delegate shall act as a member of the league's executive committee and shall report the necessity of public action, should such necessity arise. to the orzaniza- = Y b Hedel UL ] § 0 ] wby lagals} DUDULLIU jugslhasislsfa 5] 9. LITY HALL, CHICAGO, WHERE TROUBLE IS EXPECTED MONDAY. | that tribunal to. enjoin Superior Judge | for thé horrifying crime of which she |'will ask the Supreme Court this morn- Must Prove Fruitless. N effort will be made thiy morning to prevent the con- tinuance of the trial of Mrs. Cordelia Botkin for murder. ‘W. L. Harper, a citizen and taxpayer of this city, will file before the Supbreme Court this morning a petition asking Carroll Cook from trying Mrs. Botkin is accused. The petition is made with no purpose of subverting justice. but to determine two vitally,important is- sues to this community. 3 The legal defenders of Botkin have insinuated that they intended to spring some surprise upon the prose- cution. This surprise is nothing more or less than the assertion that the courts of this State have no jurisdic- tion in the Botkin case. The Supreme Court of California has decided that Mrs. Botkin could not be extradited. This decision made the trial of the woman in this State a necessity. The orinlon of the Supreme Justices, how- ever, did not determine the legality of the trial of the woman in California. It is this question that W. L. Harper ing to consider. Mr. Harper has con- sidered the question with such men as I J. Truman, Treasurer-elect: Asa R. Wells, Audi , several members of the Merchani ssoclation and other | prominent citizens. The trial of Mrs. Botkin has already assumed a farcical istage. The legal defenders of the woman have inter- et into the case a theatrical ele- ient wnick they take no pains-ty con= ceal. They were confident, even to the point of carelessness, in the selection of jurors. They displayed an unusual un- concern and declared that at the proper time they would secur~ from the court a decree of acquittal. They were bas- ing their position upon the belief that the courts pf this city had no power to try Mrs. Botkin for the crime of which she was accused. This assertion. made with excentional insolence, has excited the interest and indignation of some of the most prominent men of this city. They determined to anticipate the legal defenders of Mrs. Botkin and to have the Supreme Court of this State decide the legal issues involved. Two points were immediately sug- gested. One was whether or not the pecple of this city should bear the financial burden of a very expensive trial and then learn that this State had no jurisdiction in the case. The other, and by far the more important issue of the two, was whether or not a person could be convicted of any crime in any State of the American Union under cer- tain legal conditions. As already indi- cated it was the plan of the legal de- fenders of Mrs. Botkin to permit the introduction of all the evidence against her and then to assert that the Superior Court had no right to try the cause. This plan, had it been carried into ef- fect, would have meant the expenditure of many thousands of dollars of public money. It is estimated that the trial of Mrs. Botkin would cost at the lowest esti- mate $30,000. In the history of crim- inal affairs in California several trials have cost more than this and it is safe to say that the estimate in this in- stance is no exaggeration. Members of the Merchants’ Association and nren who will take public office at the be- ginning of the hext year are deter- mined to save, if possible, this sum of money. As alreadv irdicated William L. Harper h~~ been in consultation with these men. He shares their belief and is in a position to ask for the restrain- ing order that will determine whether or not Superior Judge Cook may pro- ceed with the trial, With that purpose in view he will demand this morning from the Supreme Court a writ of pro- hibition forbidding Judge Cook to pro- ceed with the trial of Mrs. Botkin.; This writ will at once determine the two vitally important issues involved in the Botkin case. The Supreme Court of this State has already decided that Mrs. Botkin can- not be extradited. She cannot there- fore be tried in Delaware -unless she voluntarily goes to that State. The public prosecutors after that decision were forced to try her in California. No appellate court has yet determined whether or not this trial is legal. W. L. Harper, as a citizen of San Ffran- cisco, and the people that are support- ing him in his efforts are determined to test the question before the defenders of Mrs. Botkin do so. It is no longer a secret that the woman's attorneys will make such a contention. They do not intend to do so, however, until after many thousands of dollars have been expended on the trial. It was their purpose to make the trial a dramatic spectacle, even if it were farcical, and at the same time make the people of the city pay for the show. It was for this reason that the public officers al- ready mentioned interested themselves to the extent of supporting a legal ac- tion in the .upreme Court. As far as the trial of Mrs. Botkin has progressed none of the terrible {issues involved have been discussed. The horrifying murder of two innocent women has been forgotten in the effort of lawyers to show that the laws of this State and of the United States are inadequate to punish any one, for any crime, com- mitted under certain conditions. This is the second point that prominent citi- zens of this city seek to have de- termined. The case in which Mrs. Botkin is the central figure is an anamolous one. A murder has been committed, a woman has been accused and the fact remains that punishment cannot be inflicted be- cause the laws of the United States are insufficient. In the petition for a writ of prohibition that will be filed this morning W. L. Harper will ask the Su- preme Court of this State to declare if the laws of this State and of the United States are actually inadequate to the conditions presented by the Bot- kin case. It is probable that the ter- rible dignity of the issue involved will prompt the Supreme Court to postpone the trial of Mrs. Botkin until the ques- tion has been settled. The resumption of the trial has been set for Monday morning. If the writ of prohibition asked for by W. L. Har- per be granted the Botkin case will not proceed until the Supreme Court has passed on the question that has now been raised. The jury in the case has already been selected, the Prosecuting Attorney has made his opening state- ment, and everything is in readiness for the reception of evidence. The trial has already cost the State thousands of dollars. Chief of Police Lees has received from the Treasurer. by order of the Superior Court, & sum far ex- ceeding. Mr. Haiper willcontondin his petitioy for a writ of prohibition that the afard of this money was ab- solutely illegal, because the cause in which the money was advanced was beyond the jurisdiction of the court. Other sums of money, greatly exceed- ing that expended, will be awarded, and to prevent this as well as to cir- cumvent the plans of Mrs. Botkin's at- torneys, the writ of prohibition will be demanded. In this demand Mr. Harper seeks no personal notoriety. As spokesman and representative of many of the leading men of the city he desires to know whether or not the city will uselessly expend money in a fruit- less. action. He seeks also to know whether or not it is pessible for a per- son, under the laws of the United States and this State, to commit a murder and escape unpunished. Mrs. Botkin, it has already been determined, cannot be ex- tradited. If it is true that legally sha cannot be tried in this State W. L. Har- per, L J. Truman, Asa R. Wells, mem- bers of the Merchants’ Association, and other prominent citizens demand to know. If the Supreme Court shall de- cide that the courts of this State have no jurisdiction then some means will be employed to remedy the defect in the laws. This is possibly the first time in the legal history of this State or any other American State that an appellate court has been asked to prevent a court of inferior jurisdiction from proceeding with the trial of a person accused of an offense. It is not the first legal anomaly that the Botkin case has pre- sented. Under the usual rules of legal pro- cedure a person not directly interested in the issue of a trial has no right to interfere. Mr. Harper will contend in his affidavit, however, that as a citizen and a taxpayer of this State he is per- sonally interested in the expenditure of public money. He will claim that in his capacity as a citizen and a taxpayer he has a right to know that public moneys are legally disbursed. If Mrs. Botkin is not being submitted to a legal trial it necessarily follows that public funds are being illegally spent. This is the first point that the Supreme Court will be asked to settle. It happens that no Federal question is involved in this case. If the Supreme Court of this State decides that Judge Cook has le- gally the power to try Mrs. Botkin no other court can interfere. The woman may then be tried and must accept the decision, even if it be at the sacrifice of her life. It is claimed that the laws of this State and of other States hold thatatrial for murder must be held where the instrument of death took effect. In the Botkin case this con- summation of the crime took place in Delaware and not in this State. Un- der the laws it would seem, therefore, that the woman should be tried in Del- aware. The Supreme Court of this State has refused to extradite the woman. Her defenders have planned to raise the question of jurisdiction. It is their purpose to permit the State to expend a vast sum of money on what they believe to be a useless trial. Harper, and those supporting him in his petition to the Supreme Court, seek to prevent this waste of the public funds, if it be a waste, and to deter- mine now, rather than later, the ques- tion whether or not a person accused of murder under the conditions that Mrs. Botkin is charged may be tried. If the Supreme Court decides that the woman cannot be tried in this State and cannot be extradited to Delaware, the Supreme Court in fits decision will have rendered a great public service. If the laws, as they ex- Continued ;n Fourth Page.