The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, December 20, 1898, Page 1

(C)" e ing aBs The to the be taken from Library.++++ = s " VOLUME LXXXV.-NO. 20. SAN FRANCISCO, TEESDAY, DECEMBER 20, 1898. PRICE FIVE CENTS. CLAUS SPRECKELS ADVANCES TWENTY-FIVE THOUSAND DOLLARS - TO RELIEVE STARVING FARMERS " THE BIG CHECK, ITS Check for Fifty Thou- sand Proffered to Governor Budd. Committee of Leading| Citizens Appointed to Distribute the Re- | lief Fund. LANS were devised and put into effect yesterday that will afford ample and immediate relief the destitute farmers in Monte- rey and San Luis O D In The Call of last S were published de tles m extent and nature of the destitution that < region. The intelligence d to The Call was at the ne placed before Governor E that prom taken to provide the ced at once 1 be te ge over dis ture convened. ntat rnor Budd and fact that at one time of State hen no public vy mediately avail- able for the support of one of the insti ; Chi r adva was State th subseq h action of the man so gen to advance th distress in the readi Mr. tt f th but hesitation, N d his check for $50,000. Budd had o thought greate m than $ was Spreck. who liste tion to the Gover ot 000. | surprised and gratified | at Mr.” Spreck resp The eflection, decided that mount named by be suffi one-half of t eckels would ring that Mr. | arly comprehend | ined that the question of would rest wholly with ted said [ than not be well > Jatter man He r sums and if id he that rep wit were favored | tract of land | 1t section of | h he purc had b ate 1p into sma d to purchase the | g to the | did not produce fore he had advanced mon tributed supplies to those he was in that s no doubt were eq should receive assista Governor Budd r ace Hotel delight sult of his edit adopted a | n for proper disbur: ment of the ef fund. He decided to | appoint three well known men of high character to supervise the distribution of money and supplies to the end that | the relief should be at once afforded to those in need of it. ¥~ named the committee A. B. Spreckels, President of the State Board of Agriculture; Ji.fes | D. Phelan, Mayor of San Francisco, nd W. Dohrmann, of the Merchants' | ociation. The nature of the ser- 1 con- h whor Oth: erving and | ned to the Pal- i with the happy re- n and immediately vice which the Governor.requested was | | not be necessary for any one to recelve | explained to each of the three, and they all agreed to serve as a sense of public duty demanded the service. oxf tressed farmers. The greatest danger now confronting the State is that an army of begi in the name of g humanity seek needy farmers. rvi for the letters received by The Call yesterday was.the following: SAN FRANCISCO, Dec. 19, 1598, Call—Dear Sir eral articles cs at the settlement of Lockwood, 3 ire to say that nations to the re willing to receive T that the forward free of will mpany y for pub- have written ittee at Lockwo the families in d tity of provisio: 1d it not be best to a vom- to. take charge of this matter? If such a committee be named or should anize itself we € to turn over any inds in our hands to the same. Yours trul GERMANIA TRUST COMPANY, H. Brunner, -Casher. In reply to the foregoing communi- cation from the generous and public spirited people of the Germania Trust We ame mitte will take the field and | 720G LINT NT A B L | e Company The Call suggests that it will | what I de ly command.” The Governor’ interviewed in and give distribution of the funds at my P'rruntinn upset the solicitor but gratified Mr. Dohrmann. Doubtless many other merchants were and urged to get g to somebody. The sentiment of the mercantile com- munity as expr the fact was made Spreckels had advanced money to af- ford ample relief was to the effect that no further AUTHOR AND ) THOSE WHO WILL 7 mention should be publicly made. raised that the distress was con- sed . yesterday after known that Mr. of the distress The point SEE THAT THE MONEY IS USED TO THE BEST ADVANTAGE. ~ = L 5 I $OMRING ¢’ NO 16 - e o Doceo tre: ed farmers of Monterey and San Obispo counties. ‘When Governor Budd went to Mr. received | Dohrmann’s place of business yester- Relief | g ¥ to the committee, he Mr. Dohrmann to s found a solicitor there importuning the merchant for a relief contribution. The Governor put an end to the soliciting negotiation by | the prompt remark: ‘‘There is no noed.{ Mr. Dohrmann, of making any cont butions to this cause. I am the Gov- ernor of the State; I understand the uation and am in position to take | are of the distressed farmers. The great State of California is not asking | or authorizing any one to solicit relief, | All the needed is raised and re now is a proper and tin money preckels for the money advanced on| fined to a small section of the State cash or orders for pro- |the credit of the State to help the dis latter we hope | and was not in the nature of a calamity which the whole world was irvited to was a litt cerned Cal the State W | contemplate, but on the family affair which con- ornians only, able to take care of. and other hand which It was suggested that no further reference should be the committee funds. was made to the subject until able to render a report of the distribution of the relief PEOPLE HIDE THEIR DISTRESS By C. E. Edwords. KINGS CITY. Dec. 19.—T have just returned from a sixty-mile drive through the drought stricken district of Monterey and San Luis Obispo coun- ties and for twelve hours have bzen an eye-witness of such destitution and distress as seems almost imposible of realization in this land of plenty. It is not the poverty that is seen in the cities among people who are improvident and always poor. It is the blighting touch of misfortune that has withered the energies and is sapping the lives of a large farming -community which has struggled against adverse cirewmstan- ces for four years without a murmur of complaint until now it has reached a point where it is either death by star- vation or immediate aid from the more fortunate people of the State. In the territory lying between Chua- |lar and Paso Robles there are to-day | 500 families that need assistance. One- ?@@“fil\& %@%W—QEHQA@M ’1?106 o ghonel Bk o/ C S A A A A N A~ AR AR B AR S A AR SR AR A AR A n s A A~ A A A S A A S ————— = H.Buppu half of these will probably deny that they are in want, but the fact remains and is plain to even the most casual ob. server. The ground lies absolutely bare of verdure of any kind. Even the live oak trees are brown and sere and only the stubble of the scant crop which was raised two years ago Tre- mains to show that the white and parched earth ever yielded anything that contained sustenance for man or beast. I saw the members of the com- mittee appointed at the Lockwood meeting and from their lips got stories of destitution that are heart-rending, and even as they spoke the distress o1 their neighbors their own sorry plight could be read in the drawn look and quivering lips. No man whom I have seen to-day has admitted to me that he needed as- sistance, yet but one of all to whom I spoke is in a condition to carry his family through the season without aid. Of thess 500 families requiring aid none are of the improvident class that is al- ways a burden. All are farmers and the great majority are owners of farms ranging from 160 to 500 acres. these farms are unincumbered and with the taxes fully paid up, and the ques- tion naturally arises why do they not mortgage their property. Two illustra- [DENTIFYING “TnE LETTERS] further gifts. A committee to take charge of the matter has been appoint- When merchants, bankers and others |ed by the Governor of California. This | of the community were informed of the | happy adjustment brought about by the conference of the Governor and Claus |the families in distress, but it does not | § Spreckels the utmost satisfaction was expressed. | will be imparted to the public. committee will doubtless authorize responsible agents to obtain a list of follow that the information so obtained Since The whole question of affording relief | an “de‘lU&le. sum of money has been | to those in need of assistance is now |raised and since a committee has been | disposed of until the Legislature sees | fit to make ‘an appropriation of public |the distribution of supplies, it can be | money. The rellef can be quietly and | speedily afforded in a ‘systematic and | methodical manner. occasion for printing a picture of every | person obtaining heip together with his | name and biography. A sack of flour | may be sent toza family in need of it, | and illustratio \fof the family tree will | not be required as a condition of relfef. | Now that all the money needed has been secured there will be no excuse for importuning merchants of the city | every hour of the day to contribute either cash or merchandise. Should Governor Budd find the sum of $25,000 inadequate he can gc to Claus Spreck- | els and get $25,000 more. There will be nothing to justify any individual or any | community in organizing a begging ex- | pedition to visit the Eastern cities of the country. The great and rich State | of California will amply provide cloth- ing, subsistence and seed for the dis- | named by the Governor to supervise said in a general way that persons | other than members or agents of the There will be nc|committee, who represent themselves | | as collectors and distributors of relief funds, are rank impostors and should be treated as such. ‘When the Legislature convenes there will be in the State treasury the sum of $4,000,000. At present the amount ex- ceeds $2,000,000, but it cannot be appro- priated for any use until an act of the Legislature authorizes appropriation. The Governor, observing that the State has appropriated more than $1,000,000 for the support of agricultural fairs, in which horseracing is the chief feature of the rural display, contends that there is ample authority to use the public funds to relieve actual distress among the farmers. He Is:confident that one of the first acts of the incom- ing Legislature will be the enactment of a measure to reimburse Claus | | | DUNNING SWEARS MRS. BOTKIN ADDRESSED THE PACKAGE OF DEATH The trial of Mrs. Cordelia Botkin developed a series of sensations yesterday in Superior Judge Cook’s court. John P. Dunning swore that Mrs. Botkin wrote the anonymous letters which his wife received a year before she was murdered. He declared that during his intimacy with Mrs. Botkin he told her that his wife was passionately fond of candy. He then swore that Mrs. Botkin addressed the package of poisoned candy. Under cross-examination he declined to give the names of certain women who were the companions of his revelries in this city. For this refusal he was sent to the Countv Jail until he does answer, i l JYOGE (oo puTS ) punrtin [0 UNDER ARREST. tions will answer this: One man owning a fine place of 160 acres with good improvements tried to borrow $100 on it and could not get even $50. Another with almost similar property and with secured notes amounting to more than $1000 tried to borrow $100 and failed. Yet these men have nothing upon which to feed their stock or upon which to support their families until such time as their farms will again be productive, and it is these m;n who are now in need of assistance. ‘here are but few families who are now facing actual hunger, but the ’ " Continued on Second Page. < Most of | DUNNING SENT TO JAIL FOR HIS REFUSAL TO EXPOSE THE ~ COMPANIONS OF HIS GROSS REVELRY Swears Mrs. Botkin Addressed the Package. | Terrible Story of Vice Unadorned Told in the Court Room. John P. Dunning is a prisoner in the | County Jail by the order of Superior Judge Carroll Cook. Dunning will re- main there until he tells the names of women of this city with, whom he claims, with shameless unconcern, to have been intimate. The trial of Mrs. Cordelia . Botkin reached yesterday a dramatic clima The scene in the courtroom during the afternoon has had few parallels in San Francisco. | There were only two witnesses on the | stand and both namrated a story of | shocking immorality and unbridled | lust. One of these witnesses, Miss Liz- zie A. Livernash, related what she claimed had been told to her by Mrs. Botkin. The other, John P. Dunning, pictured disgusting scenes and inci- dents in which he had been one of the | leading actors. His testimony was a }Cflnfessinn of his own degradation in | which, if his manner of speech and at- ptitude indicated anything, he took con- | siderable pride. In a courtroom crowd- ed to the very doors he confessed a moral obliquity that stamps him as | despicable. | Dunning’s material evidence for the prosecution may be briefly summarized. This man, who admitted yesterday that he deliberately deceived his wife and dishonored his home, could do little more ‘ than declare that the anonymous letters in the case and the address on the package of poisoned Gandy were writ- | ten by Mrs. Cordelia Botkin. Beyond \‘this Dunning knew nothing except that | he had suggested during his intimacy | with Mirs. Botkin that his wife was | passionately fond of candy. The rest i Was an unvarnished, revolting story ot unadorned vice. It was a story that | told of unbridled, vulgar passion in a | man and woman without refinement, | education or the common restraints of decency. This story was told plainly, without an effort to disguise or soften a mean- ing. It was vice in rags, the whisky- soaked passion of the Barbary Coast. And the man who confessed it, whose presence on the witness stand was moral pollution, had the indecent ef- frontery to characterize San Francisco as a city involved in an immoral at- mosphere. There was something of horror in the calmness with which this man admitted his own viciousness and Wwhen he was released from the witness stand to be taken to jail there was a murmur of relief and satisfaction in the crowded courtroom. Hundreds of fashionably dressed women, and girls who were hardly more than children, listened to this dis- gusting recital. They were at a tension to hear every word spoken. Their eyes shifted from the speaking figure on the witness stand to the woman before the bar. There was in the manner of the man an utter absence 6f shame and across the woman's face now and again would flit the shadow of a smile at the narration of some escapade with her former paramour. There was no session of court in the morning as a sister of one of the Jurors was dead. At the opening of the afternoon session Miss Lizzie A. Livernash, an occasional reporter for the Examiner, tock the stand. Miss Livernash had much to tell. Quick and sharp of speech, nervous and positive of manner, she related for an hour a new edition of La Terre. As a reporter Miss Livernash gained the confidence of Mrs. Botkin after the Dover mur- ders had been committed and Mrs, Bot- kin was suspected of the crime. As a witness Miss Livernash told what she had learned as a confidant and as an eavesdropper. She related what Mrs. Botkin had detailed to her of the liaison with Dun- ning. Miss Livernash tcld more than that, and described what she heard while listening at the transom of a door. The witness cavered ground that has been trackefl more than once in this case. The progress of the illicit love of Dunning and Mrs. Botkin was traced from its inception to its culmination. Scenes on the race course. at road houses, in the park, in cafes, saloons and low resorts were pictured. Orgies at 927 Geary street were described in merciless detail. 3 Dunning was represented in physical and financial distress, whisky-laden, poverty-stricken and mentally despond- ent. Now he was at the race track squandering his money and that of others. Again he was the recipient of money from his jealous mistress. Now the picture was that of a drunken mother and her drunken son, one with her paramour, the other with his mis- tress. The story from the witness stand shocked even those who fed their morbid curiosity with it. Miss Livernash spared no detail in passing. If one escaped her she in- terrupted the progress of her story to { recall it. The great audience listened | in absolute silence to the end to learn that more than once Dunning would have taken his own life had it not been for the restraining hand of his mistress. : She fed him, housed him. clothed him 4and te-.r-stux}_ei bade Em good-by as