The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, December 24, 1898, Page 1

The Call Jo oo ¥ { BLAX2 \; \ e ” . SGLr W N " VORUME LXXXV.—NO. 24. SAN FRANCISCO, SATURDAY, DECEMBER 24, 1898. PRICE FIVE CENTS. OTIS ORDERED TO SEND TROOPS TO OCCUPY ILOILO American Soldiers to Succor Spaniards Who Are Besiegded by Insurgents on Panay Islan WASHINGTON, D. C., Dec. 23.—The War Department telegraphed General Otis to-day: to Iloilo, island of Panay, and take possession and military control.” reason of reports that Filipinos and Spaniards were fighting, and is is to use discretion in the selection of troops. Newfoundland waters, with the rank of This action was taken by that the former NEW YORK, Dec. 23.—The W ton correspondent of the Herald red great losses. | encamped in the causing anxiety. suburbs are again The attitude of an ment at the Pendacan graphs: In ions hav Major General Otis at Manila by Fan anchpihat 1 : '\: a 1.~ Slanil d Washington War Alger tc nd tro ated in light | tice at Paco, ons are the res recently 1boat Petrel have arrived here Chinese ports. The steamer U which has returned here from Ilc tive and Spanish soldiers, has used a landing. yler of Company L of the has been sut- m typh St. Paul has arrived here has mail. | American flag was ralsed | schoolhouse yesterday. | versity of Penn- r of raising the | was accorded to Father McKinnon | 3 rnia in recognition of his ser- | ening the schools. 1 | | | | [ | SIX PHYSICIANS ATTEND SAGASTA Condition of Spain’s Premier, Who Has Pneumonia, Causes Grave Anxiety. — The condition of v causes: were 1in | garding his | suffering | . with high | rorable absence ment for their tr is intended t occupation of Iloil thé pact of b o illness is ag- ¥ strain of recent events. | en Regent twice during the day | ephoned inquiries, and this evening | sent her own physician to attend him. The list of callers at the Premier’s resi- | cludes all the foreign diplomats | of other distinguished persons. | d, Minister of Justice, is | the direction of the entire g4y that no in- sent to General all t t 1 was tol a b ps to occupy REBELLIOUS INSURGENTS ARE ON THE RAMPAGE CONFIDENT OF VICTORY Says His Friends Will Punish Treach- ery and Return Him to ‘Washington. e regarded it | s apparently con- STy n some treachery but my friends assure be punished and that I wi al or, 8 will | digrc o RRY IS GIVEN A PROMOTION | England Will Increase Its New- foundland Squadron Next Year. MERICAN TROOPS GET ‘ READY TO FIGHT FILIPINOS MANILA, A Dec. tant Dire S r of the | Office of British | inted to tk squadron In | e | De d. ‘'ommodore, is flagship. into effect next will be increase an. have heretofore been assigned here. tain Bar out of the regu understood to b Imperial Secretary of State for the Colo- nies, - Joseph command of e abilities delicate result from M mi th possible. The appolntment will go d the cruiser Comus as season. The squadron d by heavier vessels than ‘s appointment, which is lar order of selections, is e due to the desire of the Chamberlain, the to have in squadron an officer can be utilized in the complications certain to r. Chamberlain’'s deter- ion to bring about a settlement of French shore question as speedily as‘ Captain Barry will also organize the | proposed naval reserve among the 23 —Captain | ermen of Newfoundland. fish- New Eount?rfe{tv Bill. WASHINGTO! terfeit $1 si , Dec. A new coun certificate has been dis-| T covered. It is of the serles of 158, Bruce | register, Roberts Treasurer, and is ap- rinted from photo-etched plates | bond paper. No attempt has | been made to imitate the silk fiber, and the treasury number has bzen traced with blue writing fluid, which blurs when dampened, as does the red coloring ap- plied to the seal. The execution is poor, and the work would deceive only the most careless handlers. AMERICAN PEACE COMMISSION’S RETURN Steamship St. Louis Arrives at New York With the Members Aboard. NEW YORK, Dec. 24.—The American line steamer St. Louis, from South- ampton, was sighted east of Fire Is- land at 11:12 o'clock last might. The American Peace Commissioners are on board. The St. Louis arrived at quarantine at 2 a. m. and will remain there until daylight. She was not boarded. | e Generals Ordered to Cuba. | CHARLESTON, S. C, Dec. 23.—Dis- patches to the quartermaster’s depart- ment here to-day announced that General Bates, now at Macon, and General Sanger, now at Americus, Ga., have been ordered here to embark for Cienfuegos and Ma- | tanzas, respectively, on December 21. Each general will be accompanied by his headquarters and a regiment of volun- teers not named in the dispatches sent here. MRS. CORDELI HE defenders of Mrs. Cordelia Botkin have closed their case. The woman charged with the murder of Mrs. Dunning and Mrs. | Deane in Delaware concluded yes- terday the testimony she had to give | in support of her claims of innocence; MRS. BOTKIN IN HER VARIETY. The Accused Woman Completed Her Testimony Yesterdav. Entered a Sweeping Denlal to Many Statements Made by Witnesses for the Prosecution. Although Frank Grey, the Drug Clerk, Claims to Have Sold Her Arsenic, and Also Claims an Acqualntance Extending Over a Considerable Period, She Says-She Never Saw Him Before and Never Spoke to Him. She Said She Never Bought Arsenic In Her Life. On the Stand She Was Somewhat Subdued, but Posed Much Alter the Manner of Her Appearance on the First Day. She | and then withstood the ordeal of cross- | examination by counsel for the people. | | This cross-examination was not severe | | and there were signs of evident delight | Jamong the attorneys and relatives of | | the prisoner when she was released | ifrom the witness chair. | The surprise of the trial came in the | absolute denial by Mrs. Botkin of mat- | ters which witnesses for the prosecu- | tion swore to as absolute facts. Calm- |1y she said she did nbt know Frank | Grey, the drug clerk. She had never | | met him; had never talked with him | and had never purchased arsenic in her life, either here or elsewhere. She de- | nied that she had ever discussed the matter of postage rates with her old | nurse, Mrs. Ruoff. She also denied that | Dunning had ever told her that his wife was passionately fond of candy. The witnesses affirmed these things on the stand with positiveness. Mrs. Botkin also claimed that Mrs. | Price, the manager of the Victoria Ho- | tel, saw her on Monday, August 1, and | not on Sunday, the last day of July, | as she testified. Mrs. Botkin acknowl- edges that she returned from a short | shopping trip on the Monday, but | claimed to have been confined .to her room all day Sunday, except when she went to the telephone in the house. City of Iloilo, Island of Panay, Philippines wife sent him a copy of an anonymous | | Mr. Dunning has claimed that his [ letter, reserving the original for her- self. Mrs. Botkin swore that the anonymous letter which Mr. Dunning sent her for inspection was in the same | handwriting as those which have been placed in evidence. The prosecution is prepared to put in much evidence in rebuttal to strengthen the case for the people. It will try to controvert the | claims of the defense that Mrs. Bot- kin, in Humboldt .County, could not have mailed a letter which bears the canceling stamp of the postoffice sta- tion at the foot of Market street. The prosecution expects to show that let- ters are placed in a mail bag that hangs at the gang plank of the steamer and are brought to this city without the stamps being canceled. Upon ar- rival here an official of the steamship lfomp-ny takes the bundle of letters A BOTKIN CALMLY ENTERS A SWEEPING DENIAL TO MANY CHARGES and deposits them in the postoffice, where they are run through the can- celing machine and the stamps killed. The anonymous letter in question bears date of June 17 and is postmarked June 18. It is a day’s journey by sea from Humboldt County. Humora MR RIRD ON THE, wryrs.ss STAND The opportunity of seeing Mrs. Bot- kin on the stand attracted an unusual- | ly large crowd to the court yesterday. Captain’ Callundan of Morse's patrol was the first witness called, his testi- mony being for the purpose of im< peaching Mrs. Grace Harris, the for- mer saleswoman at the City of Paris. Mrs. Harris has been the especial mark of the defenders of Mrs. Botkin, ana has been handled without gloves re- peatedly. Captain Callundan’s knowl- edge of the woman's antecedents did not get into evidence owing to the ob- Jections of Mr. Hosmer. Knight ac- complished what he wanted by manner in which he asked his ques. tions, in which he set forth all that the detective could tell. J. W. Bird, the next witness, proved the undoing of the lobby in the rear portion of the courtroom. He had a peculiar Swedish accent coupled with a quaint framing of his words that amused those in attendance. They laughed immoderately at one of his answers and Judge Cook at once or- dered the room cleared of all persons who could not find seats. This provea a bitter disappointment to many. Mr. Bird is a brother-in-law of Kitty Dett- ner, one of the candy girls. He ad- mitted under questioning by Mr. Hos- mer that he had tried persistently for some months past to break the force of Miss Kittie's testimony. Mrs. A. F. Grant followed the loquacieus Bird on the stand. She told of statements made her by Miss Livernash. Mrs. Botkin then tripped blithely to the stand. She drew her chair quickly over to the edge of the jury box and then bent her gaze intently on the men in whose keeping is her life. Her affectations of the pre- vious day seemed more subduea and her mannerisms not so pronounced. She had the same abounding confidence in herself and posed to her heart’s con- tent. As on the day before she paused oc- casionally and asked Mr. Knight in a bored tone: “Ah! Do you want more of that?” Her examination proved he: to be a gay bird of passage. She flitted from one lodging-bouse to another and the | The Accused Woman Completes the Story of Her Movements and of Her Benefactions to John P. Dunning==A Mild Cross-Examination. apparently at one time or another had modest apartments in almost every boarding-house in the city. Her cross- examination by Attorney Hosmer seemed insipid and colorless when com- pared with the severity with which the menacing Knight handled some of the women with pasts that would not bear the fierce light that beats down upon the witness stand. Mrs. Botkin seemed to dwell fondly on the expression “My son Beverly.” It was ever on her lips and Beverly, the leviathan, seemed to have invaria- bly shared the company of their friend “Jack” Dunning together. Mr. Hosmer tried to get from the witness her exact relations with Dunning, but she bristled up indignantly at the first hint of any impropriety and Mr. Hosmer abandoned that line of inquiry when objections to some of his questions were sustained. There were evidences of delight among | the supporters of the accused woman | when Mr. Hosmer said that was all. | After asking the jury if they had any | questions and receiving no response Mr. Knight said that was the case for | the defense. An adjournment was then | taken over the Christmas holidays. The | trial will be resumed on Tuesday morn- ing. THE PROCEEDINGS. . Captain J. J. Callunden, superintend- ent of Morse’s patrol, was the first wit- ness of the day. He was called by At- torney Knight to prove the character and | to impeach the testimony of Mrs. Grace Harris. The prosecution has attacked | this witness more savagely than they | have any other person who has testified { for the prosecution. Mrs. Harris' testi- mony as to the sale of the handkerchief to a woman resembling Mrs. Botkin and | of her ordering it sent to the Victoria Hotel created one of the sensations of the tri: This has brought out all the bitter- ness of the defense. Knight was not able | to frame a question that would pass Mr. | Hosmer’s objections, but he succeeded in | getting the facts he wished to prove be- fore the jury by means of his bitter ques- tions. The unfortunate Mrs. Harris is not through yet, as a juror has asked that she be recalled, as he desired to ask a question regarding a tag she is said to have made out. | J. W. Bird, brother-in-law of Miss | Kitty Dettner, one of the candy store girls, was asked to tell what he knew of | that young woman’s reputation for truth, honesty and integrity. The witness had the quaint accent of an *“Ole Olson” or onny Yonson™ of the vaudeville stage, | and but for Judge Cook would have had the courtroom in an uproar. At the first outbreak of laughter his Honor ordered the lobby closed, and those remaining were careful to control their feelings. The | witness' direct examination was a sim- | ple one, as he was hardly called upon for | more than the bare statement that Miss | Dettner’s reputation for truth was a bad one. Turned over to Mr. Hosmer for cross-examination he acknowledged that he had had trouble with the young woman, but said he had no prejudice against her. He acknowledged that he went out of his way to say mean things about the young woman to newspaper men. and also to Chief Lees. He was asked as to persons who had spoken un- kindly of Miss Dettner, and said their name was “legion.” ‘“Her own brother had said mean things about her, and to recite the names of her detractors would be tedious.” Mr. Hosmer asked him to let him be the best judge of that, and to name at least one. He finally named Mrs. McDonald as one who had said, ‘“What canwe do with such a liar as Kitty Dettner?” He denied ‘that he had ever made any approaches toward her. “If you please, sir, it was the other way.” He sald the obfect of his going to Chiet Lees was to secure fair play. He said the Chief was not particularly interested in his disclosures regarding the girl, but that he was anxious to know if she made a good appearance and would she be likely to impress a jury favorably. He was asked.if he did not tell equally disagree- able stories about Kittie's mother and her grandmother. Regarding the girl's mother he said sadly that she was his mother-in-law, as though that explana- tion was all that was required. The wit