The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, December 31, 1898, Page 1

VOLUME L XXV.—NO. 31. SAN FRANCISCO SATURDAY, DECEMBER 31 PRIGE FIVE CENTS. APPOINTMENTS THAT WERE A “DISGRACE AND SHAME" Gage Hurries His Inauguration in Order to Keep Gunst in Office. Burns and His Police Commissioner, About Whom the New| Governor Is So Solicitous, Denounced in a Public Meeting Four Years Ago. Resolved, sider this last appointment (Gunst’s) no worse ihan the first (Burns’). we do feel that such ary 12, 189S. —E— wants Mose Gu ffice as Police Commis F “has bheen ect Gage. Francisco In mass denounced the ap- Daniel M. irns very e people »f San Francisco rolled up 7 e on the strength ledges. peculiar’’ kindness of Burns has e{gNt WItN the new execut! sires the entire respe of the greatest city in the t Gage is so desirous of sonal obligatio; to t the following h been very kind 1 that I am under ob- He wan to d now that I a dle this matter ught to do it. inaugurated, T natte take the! e, but if it beco igurated in t a urances I ou ) take such course as will pre P not know tha ent of this s retention in t brought gilance ple laughe ) strong would under to Gov- was his “kind” and Gunst nt of the people e general s at the time o appointment of Gu ressed in the terse naster Frank McCop- thing is an infamous 5 to the whole peo- And Gage wants to renew the out- because Burns “has ’'to him. dent of the State surely has not for- ten that immediately upon the an- cement of the ppointment of ( t two committees, representing elements of the city, the and the commercial bodies, ipon Mayor Sutro and asked \11 a public meeting to protest th ‘outrage of the appoint- gt Mr. Gage's s are such as to ag ment Pos Color obligations to cause him to f hat in response to this call there as held a mass-meeting of citizens at Metropolitan Temple, and that the assemblage was so great that fully 16,000 pec were turned away | after the spacious hall was crowded to the doo; In orc Gage's memory may be refre ding the man about whose app« t is so solicitous, because of the ations” to Colonel 3urns, The Call will reprint a few of the expression that meeting Rev. Dr. E. R. Dille—1 deplore the' sppointment, for it is a shame, an qutrage and a disgrace to the commu- | dity. I. J. Truman, president of the! Columbian Banking Company-—Mr. Gunst is the representative of the | worst element with which our city is | affected. W. H. Gagan was foreman of the | Grand Jury at the time and that body kad been investigating Gunst. ! Mr. Gagan said that he could not dis- | cuss the matters which had been un- | der investigation, but he made the in the speeches of | That while we con- the representatives of the immoral elements to the control of the Po- lice Department of this city are a burning shame and an everlasting disgrace to the decent and respect- able portion of the community. Extract from resolutions unanimou adopted at a mass- held at the Metropolitan Temple, Janu- appointments of g " ]| ly meeting of citizens —E-— 8358 L} accompany them are arriving on every incoming train. All are seeking the ho- tel lobbies eagerly inquiring the latest de- vélopments in-the fight for United States | Senator. Representatives from south of Tehach- api who are here ‘insist that the Southern delegation is practically pledged to vote for a Southern man, Grant and Bulla be- | ing ‘the favorites.” They .reason that as the north is apparently hopelessly di- vided, a long struggle is likely to result, which may end in the election of a Squth- erner. The Assembly will have 59 Republican members, 18 Democrats, 2 Populists and 1 | Independent.. The Senate will be com- posed of 26 Republicans and 14 Democrats, On joint ballat the Republicans will ha: 8 votes, 17 of them representing the coun. ties south of Tehachapi. It will thus be een that the northern Republicans have 68 votes, 7 more than enough to elect. None of the candidates for United States Senator are at the capital as yet, with the exception of Senator Bulla, whose duties on the Code Commission re- quire his presence here. Goverhor-elect Gage has been here for several days pre- paring his inaugural address. There will be no great number of leg- I—.—.-—I—-I—-—'I—I—I—II We find the delendant, W Cordelia Botkin, guilty of murder in the first degree, and fix her punishment at im- prisonment for the term of her T natural life. " -0 -E-E--E-8 | ITH these words a jury fastened upon Mrs. Cordelia Botkin yesterday one of the most cruel crimes of the cen- tury—the - murder of Mrs. John P. Dunning and Mrs. Joshua | Deane at Dover, Del, on the night of | August 9. This modern Borgla sent on the Seventh Day of January. MRS. CORDELIA BOTKIN 1§ GUILTY | OF THE CRUEL DELAWARE MURDERS \Jury Fixes Penalty for the Heinous Crime at Imprisonment for the Term of the Inhuman | Perpetrator’s Natural Life-—The Condemned Woman Receives the Verdict - With Tearless Eyes and Unnatural Composre. Her Attorneys Afirm That the Verdict Is Not in Keeping With Either the Law or the Evidence Submitted Dby the Prosecution in This Case, Which Has Attracted the Attention of the Whole World Owing to the Viciousness of the Methods Employed by This Modern Borgia—Sentence Will Be Pronounced There was a peremptory tone to itscould utter no words of sympathy-or, nesses with impunity when trying a ring and those experienced in the ways | of juries at once said it meant a verdict | had been decided upon and that it was | not likely to be favorable-to Mrs. Bot- | kin. A moment before those in the courtroom stood about in little groups discussing the possibility of the jury being out all night. This seemed likely as valises full of clothes were being brought in from time to time. At the premonitory signal from the bell a hush fell upon those in the room. | Mrs. Botkin fidgeted about in her chair | faint. cheer to the condemned woman. The prisoner’s face was sphinx-like and be- | trayed no emotion, no feeling. The| room was cleared. No one seemed | brave enough to break in upon Mrs. Botkin and disturb her thoughts, what- | ever they may have been. She sat per- | | fectly upright with her hands on the| table opening and shutting as though | clutching at something unseen by hu-i man eyes. She fanned herself automat- jcally and suddenly went off into a But this was but momentarily. | and apparently ecould find no comfort- | and she was soon herself again. able attitude. Her hand went to her | Her attorneys consoled her with the head and she fingered nervously at her | statement that the verdict was not in | mouth. Attorneys Knight and Mec- | keeping with the law or the evidence. | Gowan were in their accustomed places. | and they hinted at great pressure hav-| as were her sisters, Mrs. McClure and | ing been brought to bear on the jury| Mrs. Robarts, and their husbands. through the public sentiment that had | case before a jury of business men. If it teaches him and men of his kind that those tactics are not the proper ones to employ, the lesson will not have been wasted.” When Mrs. Botkin was ready for the road her sisters asked as a favor that they be allowed to accompany her on the journey to the Branch Jail at In- glegide. This boon was readjly granted by Sheriff Whelan. When the time came to move Mrs. Botkin had recov- ered her wonted composure and gave no outward sign of| the emotions within her. She gathered her skirts about her and with the grand air which had be- come a habit with her she said, “I'm ready.” With her little escort she left the room and made her way out of the building by the exit near the Hall of islators here before Saturday night, and | through the mails a box of chocolate the miscarriage of | as vet but few strangers are seen. It is { bonbons, the contents of which' were The silence was oppressive. It was been aroused by significant remark: “I believe the appointment one of the worst that could have been made.” But the people assemhjed there in their indignation did something more | resolution than talk. They passed a which would have laid bz tating flesh of an | pachyderm, and then sent a committee | to wait on Gunst and ask him to re-| sign. But Gunst was not thin-skinned. He was “insulted.” When 10,000 of his fellow-citizens | unanimously passed the following reso- | lution he was “insulted”: “Resolved, That while we consider last appointment (Gunst's) no worse that the first (Burns’), we do feel that such appointments of the rep- resentatives of the immoral elements to the control of the Police Department of this city are a burning shame and an everlasting disgrace to the decent and respectable portion of the community.” What the people felt then they feel | now and while their protests were of | no avail their resentment of the dis- grace burns as ngly to-day as did four years ago, and when Mr. Gage | so far fi ets the kindness of the peo- ple of San Francisco, when they | changed a Democratic majority of 12.000 to a Republican majori.v of 4000 on the | belief in his ante-election pledges. as | to again insult them with such a cen- | sor of public morals he simply publicly | adm that his obligations to Burns 3 such a peculiar nature as to | compel him to dishonor himself and | his State, The appointment of such a man as| Gunst to any position because of an | obligation to such a man as Burns i of itself, a disgrace to the State which | has honored Gage by calling him to the gubernatorial ch: but when that | appointment was made with a full| knowledge of the protests of the peo- ple, not only of San Francisco. but of whole State, insult is added to the injury, and if the be judged bv the past Governor Gage will have to be clothed in hide as thick as that which c rs the Police Com- missioner to e the sting of the people’s contempt. There is a moral, too, for the people of the State in this that is bevond the matter of the appointment of a Police Commissioner for the city of San Fran- ci . If the appointment of Daniel M. Burns as Police Commissioner for i , as stated in that d by thousands of citi- z rning shame and everlast- 1g disgrace to the decent and respect- able portion of the community.” what will his election by the State Legisla- ture to the office of United States Sen- ator mean to the great commonwealth of California? Can the people of the State bear the stigma of being represented by a man so openly denounced by the decent ele- ment of the community? McLAUGELIN IS OUT FOR BURNS Declares He Will Do All in His Power to Help Him to the Senate. SANTA CRUZ, Dec. 30.—In. an inter- view last evening Major McLaughlin, in referring to a reported statement of his in which he is stated to have open- ly declared himself for Burns for Sena- tor, said: “It is true I met Colonel Eddy in the rooms of the State Central Committee in the Palace Hotel last Thursday night, and it is true we talked of the Sepatorial situation. It is also true that I told Colonel Eddy I was for Burns, but did not tell him he could spread it broadcast.” “Then it Is true that you are for Colonel Burns for United States Sena- | “I certainly am, and 1 will do all in | my power to heip his election.” | ety iy LEGISLATORS AND PLACE HUNTERS ARE ASSEMBLING | SACRAMEN1O. "~ Dec. 30.—-Legislators and the usual crowd of place-segkers that | priate address. "There Was an Impressive Silence in the Courtroom as the Clerk Read the Words Condemning Mrs. Botkin. understood that there will be no delay in organizing the Legislature and that on Monday there will be a thorough organ- ization, so that the balloting for a United States Senator can commence on the sec- ond Tuesday following -the day of the organization, Both legislative halls are in readiness, except that there will be. an absence of the usual printed matter in the way of official reports, etc., that has heretofore been -on the aesks of members at the opening of the session. This ‘lack of printing is going to be very embarrassing and will probably delay the work of the Legislature for several days. The Aiffi- culties it will cause have been scarcely realized. Shm s Service at St. Luke’s. A special midnight service will be held at St. Luke's Church, corner -of Clay street and Van Ness avenue, to-night.. llam H. Moreland, will deliver an appro- Service will begin at twenty minutes past 11 and will continue until five minutes after Rosenthal. Rogenthal, the great pianist, made a tremendous hit in Los Angeles last even- ing. He wili arrive In San Francisco to- morrow morning, and will be heard at the Metropolita; Fhursday eveni noon, January 3, % and Saturday after- and 7 The rector, Rev. Wil- | all' next Tuesday and. heavily charged with arsenic. The | prosecution weaved a remarkable web |of circumstantial evidence about the | Wwoman upon whom suspicion was first | }dlrected and she was convicted last | night. As a motlve for the crime they | showed her infatuation for John P.| Dunning, the husband of one of the| unfortunate victims. | Her manner when the verdict was an- | nounced was in keeping with her ac- tions from the start. There was no sob | —no piteous moan as of a heart and spirit crushed by the enormity of the crime thus brought home to her. The | leaning which she has toward the melo- | dramatic was with her to the end. As Oscar Tolle read the verdict of the jury | with all its dreadful import she | watched him as though transfixed and | as immovable as stone. When the jury was being polled she bent a look of supreme disdain upon the men who had | weighed the evidence against her and had sald “thou art the woman.” At fourteen minutes past nine the courtroom bell which is connected with the Jury-room rang.out sharp and clear. | man Kennedy arose and said they had. some minutes before the door opened and the jury filed in. The relatives | and supporters of the woman accused | sat with their backs toward the door | and gave no token of their knowledze that the men were coming in. Those who could see the faces of the jurymen knew at once what the verdict was at which they had arrived. There was a set expression which told of an un- pleasant duty performed in keeping with the trust and responsibility re- posed in them. They were asked if they had arrived at a verdict and Fore- He handed a slip of paper to Clerk Tolle, who in turn passed it to Judge Cook. He read it to himself and then ordered it read aloud. The words of such terrible import were spoken and nothing broke the stillness save the order of the Judge that it ' be recorded. This required some moments and no one in the court room stirred. Attorney Knight looked neither to the right nor the left. Mrs. Botkin cast one long look at the jury and then gazed at the desk before her. Her sisters were struck dumb and | Records. From here they went to Mar- ket street and thence down Seventh to | the Mission-street cars. She walked | between a Deputy Sheriff, who has | been her custodian from the first, and | Brother-in-law Robarts. Some of the loungers on the street corners recog- | nized her as she passed, but to the ma- jority she was but an ordinary person- age. The greater portion of the day was given over to the closing argument of Mr. Hosmer. At its conclusion a re- cess of ten minutes was taken before Judge Cook commenced to deliver his charge to the jury. The hum of rcon- wersation commenced immediately and ‘was not hushed until the jurymen com- justice in the Rosser and other cases lately. George H. Knight was the most dis- appointed person in the courtroom (not even excepting the prisoner herself) when the decision was handed in. Im- mediately. after the verdict he was asked to express his opinion about it, and said: “Well, all T have to say is that it is against the law and against the evi- dence.” ‘When asked if he expected it he re- plied emphatically that he did not, al- | though later on he was heard to say, with an assurance that was no doubt assumed, that he rather looked for i but he would not give the reason for-his | change of sentiment. “There have been errors of law made in this case,” he continued, “and on ve will base our appeal for a new ‘When asked for a particular instance of th#se errors he said: “The Judge erred when he did not state in his charge, as I requested him to do, that there was absolutely and positively no evidence that Mrs. Botkin had pur- chased any lump arsenic in the Owl drug store.” The attorney then abused one of the jurors. “Why, this juryman,” he said, ‘“owes a large amount of money to members of the police force, but I will not say any more, and I have advised my client to keep a discreet silence.” Knight assumed a general ‘air of in- different levity throughout his con- versation on the subject, but it was ap- parent he did not express his real feel- ings at the verdict. If the jury came in for criticism from | Mr. Knight he in turn was criticized by them. As they were leaving the room after being dismissed one of them re- marked, “This will teach George Knight that he canpot bulldoze wit- menced to file back to their seats. the second time during the trial | Botkin removed her veil. | The great strain to which her over- | strung nerves had been subjected dur- ing the long day showed In her face, and she looked her two-score years. The charge, which Judge Cook read from manuscript, required dn hour in its presentation. The woman’s attor- neys knew that portions of it decided certain disputed points in the testimony favorable to her and they were confi- | dent, or affected an air of confidence, | in the outcome of the jury’s delibera- ‘ tions. Not so Mrs. Botkin. Her face as- sumed an ashen pallor and her lips twitched almost continuously. She could not cry, although there was at all times a suspicion of moisture in | her eyes. For a time she watched the | Judge and then bent a steady gaze on | the jurymen, as though to learn from | their faces what the fates had in store | for her. The solemnity of the closing | words of the charge did not seem to | strike home to her heart. As the jury- | men left the courtroom to commence | their deliberations Mrs. Botkin leaned | her head on the back of her chair and | her Hps moved as if in prayer. The | pallor on her features, which seemed | swollen, increased and for a time it | seemed as if she would faint, Her faithful sister came to her reliet |and in a moment she stood up and | moved about in a sprightly manner. At the suggestion of the Sheriff she was taken to his office, where she and her relatives could commune in privacy. The charge of Judge Carroll Cook was an important one. If there was any leaning, the tendency was toward lthe woman on trial for her life. In opening the Judge congratulated the jurymen that their duties would soon end and thanked them for their atten~| For Mrs.