The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, January 12, 1899, Page 1

This Paper to be taken from the Library.++** not Call XV— VOLI'_.\I E LX O. 43. SAN FRANCISCO, THURSDAY, JANUARY 12, 1899. PRICE FIVE CENTS. MOTHER AND CHILDREN CHARGED WITH MURDER Mrs. E. G. Dickinson and Mrs. Addie Wilson Are Imprisoned in the Fairfield Jail. SUISUN, Jan. 11.—The most profound | shadow of the gallows he has no kind- | crowd around them was suspiciously Een tion was created in this town to- | ver The Call's exclusive publica- the arrest of W. J. Miller for assassination of Daniel H. Wilson, aged her who lived on his The r Iy farm on the Suisun road. ement grew to fever heat when it me known that the officers were out on the road after the mother and gister of the accused man. Early In little knots of men and men gathered to discuss the tragedy the arrests. A crowd congregated at the courthouse and jail at Fairfield and -waited for hours for the coming of the women and their cap re have be v the morning w history of ¢ alifornia that ¢dqualed in inten dramatic interest the scene that ws acted in the Jus- rt at F 1d this afternoon, ther and her two children the dreadful’ ch gainst them 1 trembled with welled in ge of mur- e tears tested in broken nt of any with her in racked. | ted a dangerous woman, kly as a man. saged, scowling, gleaming eyes, no emotion. If she| she gave no sign. The king, uncouth, bitter in h\s‘ ly proclaimed himself guilt- | fied any oue to prove him | Mother and children listened | nt against them and nt of arrest. Then (hey‘ ¢y to the County Jail to | 1 for one of the most sensa- other and her chfldren are poor. t, they presented to- | pectacle. Mother and are ignorant country women | Jived lice- hermits, without | acquaintances or assoclates, In the dreary solitude of the lonely ranch | on the Suisun road. The son, what- | ever else may be said of him, is a man who e his bread in deadening | drudgery. He bears now a mark of | his.service to his wife and children in | a crushed finger that was caught be- tween crashing cars. He suffers from affliction of the eyes that gives him | ter expression, and as he stood | pt, unshaven, garbed in t the rough garments of a switchman, one might judge in prejudice too harsh- ly of his character. The officers have separated the mother and her children in the County Jail at rfield. The son paces the gloom dor of the prison like some caged animal. The daughter, gleaming | malice in every glance of her eyes, sits | lent in the cell of the insane. The | mother is far removed from both, and | weeps as the hours pass. The authori- | s believe that some delirfum of fear | vill prompt one of the prisoners to con- { fess and tell what the public prosecutor éxpects to prove. | But the accused prisoners have been | firm They declare that the mistress | of Danfel Wilson had a deeper motive | i a more malignant nurpose to seek | his death than they. This mistress they | that she had been sup- | another favorite in the af- | fections of the old man., She saw her | power gone and her influence lost. She ! ready the presence of her suc- | cessor, and in revenge she closed the career of the man who had quietly told her that he had thrown her off. Miller says he knows the man who killed the rancher. ‘“Let them look to the crowd ‘Wilson had around *'m,” the switch- man says, and his mother and sister give eager assent to his worda. But the officers believe that the daughter’s nerves will break under the strain and she will tell enough to send her brother to the gallows and her mother to prison. To-morrow H. W. McEwen will be taken into custody. He unguestionably knows much and may tell what he knows The officers will play upon and strive to hasten the con- clusion they expect to reach in court. "When Miller, securely handcuffed, w bundled into the caboose of a freight train this morning at Benicia felt he begged and pleaded that some one carry the news of his arrest to his wife. He railed at the officers and the law. mned in vigorous profanity the in- the suspicion that had fol- for two years and claimed irance that his life is Under the dim light he was a repulsive, figure. When the train had m its slow wa to Suisun Miller | was taken off and conducted through the darkness and the rain to the County | Jail at rfield. The door of a cell | soon clcsed behind him and he was left in the blackness and silence of the night to his own meditations. ylight came this morning he and nervous after a sleep- less night. His eyes were bloodshot and his hands trembled, but his mood of stubbornness was unchanged. He still protested his innocence, although he | frankly admitted the truth of the state- ment that his sister, in a burst of an- ger, had accused him of the murder of her former husband. To that accusa- | tion Miller attached no significance. It was the venomous stab of a spitfire, he said, and was known to be a lie as soon as it was uttered. Through all his rambling talk Miller gave expression to one predominant thought. He does not llke his sister, and even in the | suspect that all was not well The | that had. been speclally prepared for |that she was acquainted with the pro, [ing. The row occurred over her little | that the evidence against Miller is so ness for her, but he hoped time and |large. There was an oppressive si- again that his mother had not learned | lence among the deputles in the office |and a strange whispering in the crowd of the terrible charge against him. his deputi road, o, W= out on the were ha. Mec wen, to arrest Mrs. E. G. Dickinson, the prisoner's mother, and | for an hour in M Ac fe Wilson, his sister. He did not know that the Sheriff and | outside. There was altogether too Suisun | much deliberation for a simple inter- ening toward the ranch of | view with the District Attorney. Mrs. Dickinson and her daughter sat silence. They twisted No news | and turned nervously in their chairs| of the arrest of Miller had reached the |and now and two women, although the tongue of |glances at the deputies around them. 20 daybreak. teams and early in the morning start- ed on the road with his deputies. St exciting incidents of the night, but the arrest of the women was Imperative. It was at first decided to arrest H. W. McEwen also, but the Sheriff con- cocted a new scheme and the old man ip was wagging on the roads before | Finally the Sheriff entered and quietly Sheriff Savage secured two |approaching Mrs. Dickinson addressed her. He told her that she was under The | arrest on a charge of murder and must riff had received no rest after the | remain in his custody. The old woman's | body trembled as if she had been struck. Her lips twitched and her eyes filled with tears. It was the dumb agony of the animal. Finally the woman controlled herself. “Well,” she will not be taken into custedy until this | sald, tremblingly, “you.have me now.” afternoon. the Sheriff met Mrs. Wilson and By an unexpected chance | Mrs. Dickinson is an aged woman, a her | great-grandmother, as she now faces son on the road. The woman was ut- | the terrible charge against her. terly unconscious of the fate in store | When Mrs. Wilson was formally ac- for her, and as the Sheriff hailed her | cused of murder she shot a glance of she reined in her horse. age told her that the District Attorney wished to see her at Fairfield. and it would be wise for her to get into his buggy and go with him. Sheriff Sav- | hate at the Sheriff, but uttered no word. Her lips closed in silent deflance, and when she was ordered to accompany a deputy to the courtroom of Justice of Mrs. Wilson ! the Peace A. F. Hitchcock she obeyed then cast suspicious | them In the County Jail. They are 8o situated that they cannot communicate with each other or with Miller. The officers hope that one of the three will break down and become a witness for the State against the others. After the women had been formally accused and arrested, the same process was submitted to Miller, who again proclaimed his innocence and his ability to clear himself of suspicion at the preliminary examination. He demand- ed the services of an attorney, and was promised that a lawyer would be sent to him as soon as possible. He began a harangue, reiterating what he has sajd so often in the short time since his arrest, but he was interrupted and silenced by the Justice. Miller was then taken back to jail | and the exciting incidents of the day were over. The accused mother and her children will stake their hope of life and liberty on the ability of the son to establish an alilbi. Miller claims that | he can satisfactorily explain all of his movements on the day and night of the tragedy. He insists that he hired a buggy at Vallejo two days after the murder and at no other time. The en- tire case will hinge upon this incident and upon it will depend the life of the accused man and perhaps the lives of his mother and sister. “As God is my judge I am Innocent of this crime,” said Miller to a Call re- porter last evening as he mnervously paced the narrow confines of the dingy dungeon in the County Jail at Fair- fleld. ‘““The officials of this county are on the wrong track when they arrest me or any of my family for complicity in the murder of old man Wilson. I could hang the man who committed that crime, and God knows if I knew him I would put the noose around his JAIL IN WHIC~N | THE MornED & HERCHILDREN MILLER DRAMATICALLY ACCUSED OF MURDER BEFORE A JUSTICE. Incidents followed closely upon each other in exciting succession vesterday at Suisun and Fairfleld. The exclusive publication in The Call of the sensational arrest of W. J. Miller for the murder of The excitement was increased to fever heat when the Sheriff of Solano and his deputies placed Mrs. E. G. Dickinson, the mother of Miller, The women were taken from the McEwen ranch and in a pelting rain were driven down the In the afternoon the three accused persons were formally charged before a Justice of the Peace. Daniel H. Wilson created a profound sensation. and Mrs. Addie Wilson, the sister of the accused man, under arrest upon charges of murder. Suisun road to the County Jall at Fairfield. MR Wikson FORMALLY HARGED WITH MURDER .. 3. DICKINSON AND M | there was nothing to prove. Dramatic Developments in the Story of the Tragedy of the Suisun Road. Pitiable Spectacle of Those Accused of @Assassin- ating the Aged Rancher—@n Old Woman'’s Hopeless Grief—H. W. McEwen I could. rig for me. 10 o'clock that night. That is the only time I ever hired a buggy in Vallejo. | prietor of a livery stable and probably | boy. could get a buggy much cheaper than | boy drunk. | So I allowed her to hire tha | the time and she was accusing me of | I returned the buggy about | something that was not true. Must Answer. She accused me of getting the| I was perfectly sober at| Both of | us lost our tempers. That is the only | way I can account for our speaking so I defy anybody to say that I ever hired | rashly.” another buggy. “I never owned a gun, either; and I | When asked if he had ever admitted to Fred Bendell that he had murdered don’t think I ever borrowed McEwen's | Wilson to get the property Miller ve- gun. birds in the orchard flve or six times after old man Wilson was murdered, | any person by that name. but I don’t think I ever used the gun | “Why, prior to the murder. Yes, I believe T did use it to shoot | hemently denied that he had. He went o far as to assert that he did not know | He said: | that is a nice statement for | | | anybody to make. I couldn’t say that “When this case first came up my |if I wanted to do so. I repeat what I family was suspected, but no one was | Stated before. anything, because | charge. ever able to prove None of us I am innocent of this I do not know Fred Bendell and I therefore could not have- told | had any hand in this job. What would | him that I murdered Wilson because | be our motive to commit such a crime? Did old man Wilson have so much money that I would take his life just /ment brought tears to the | because it was reported that he was | man’s eyes. Dusk had already going to deed over his property to one of those women with whom he lived? No, sir. I would not stain my hands with human blood for the whole county. And nelther would any of my family. I wish I could be allowed to ferret out this deep mystery myself. find the murderer. I would take pleas- ure in stretching his neck, too. that I cared so much for old Wilson. | dirty hole. No | be here.” | He probably deserved his fate. man, i wever, has & right to shed hu-~ man blood. I bet Icould he sald: we had to get the property The thought of his family’'s predica- | accused wrapped its mantle over the prison and as Mil- ler peered out into the dimly lighted corridor his visage, stained with coal dust and flecked with tears, presented a most pitiable spectacle. Between his apparently sincere sobs “I hope they won’t drag my‘ Say, mother into this hell on earth. Not | jailer, please don't bring her to this It's bad enough for me to | Miller's plun for mercy for his mother | was made too late, for just around the | “The officers must think they have | CcOrridor, in a cell alone, Mrs. D(cklnsnnl found some important information to |Sat sullenly mourning her fate. arrest me for murder at this late day. As Jailer Tom Linihan ushered The Well, I don't care, I didn’t do the job, | Call reporter into the dismal chamber | 2 | Mrs. Dickinson made a supreme effort “My wife went out the night of the |to pull herselt out of the melancholy, | and théy can’t hang me for it. murder. She was in town making some purchdses and came home about | | | reflective mood into which she had drifted, She protested her innocence and that of her son and daughter. “I have very little to say about this matter,” said Mrs. Dickinson. “The officers are on the wrong track to dis- | over the murderer of Dan Wilson. My | son had no hand in the murder. Nelther | did I or my daughter or Mr. McEwen. The night of the murder none of us left the house. About 8 o'clock, the | time the murder is supposed to have been committed, I was undressed and | in bed. Mr. McEwen was still down- | stairs. If I remember correctly he was winding the clock. Mrs. Wilson was | sleeping with her daughter in the cabin. The first we heard of the mur- | der was when two men came to the | house and awakened us out of a sound | sleep. We heard the dogs barking| turiously and when the men arrived at | the house we got up. They told us > { /l g \|‘ begged permission to change her cloth- ing. There could be no harm in that. and she turned her horse’s head again toward the McEwen ranch In a few minutes the Sheriff, his dep- uties and Mrs. Wilson arrived at their destination. Mrs. Dickinson was told that she also was wanted by the Dis- trict Attorney. Instantly she guessed the reason. She is shrewder than her daughter and more crafty. “You want me on the Wilson case.” she said. “You have tried hard enough to connect me with tnat affair and I suppose some day you will succeed. I will go with you.” She did not know that she would not come back, and that within two hours she would be in prison with a charge of murder against her. The two women went with their cap- tors down the dreary mud-covered road, the rain splashing in their faces as the horses made their way. A crowd had gathered at the Courthouse to see the women arrive. Mrs. Dickinson and Mrs. Wilson were ushered into the of- fice of the Sheriff and were detained there until the complaint charging them with murder was prepared’ by the District Attorney. As soon as the com- plaint was finished a warrant of arrest was issued. The women seemed to sullenlv. Her mother, weeping and in dire distress, leaned on the arm of an- other officer. The journey from the Courthouse to the Justice Court Is not a long one and the little party, fol- lowed by a curious throng, were soon before the aged Justice. The complaint and the warrant of arrest were soon read to the two women. The elder could only with difficulty suppress the hysterical emotion that shook her body. ‘When her son’s name was mentioned and she knew that she and her two children were accused of murder she almost collapsed in a paroxysm of grief. The scene was pitiful in the ex- treme. There was In the expression of this old woman’s face a look of ut- ter hopelessness that touched even those that believe her to be guilty of the horrifving crime of which she is accused. The women were told that they could have the benefit of counsel if they have none of their own, and that the State will summon whoever they desire as witnesses. At the request of District Attorney Devlin no date was set for the preliminary examination, as the prosecution will require gome time to communicate with its witnesses. The women were then taken to the quarters A neck in two minutes. The stigma and suspicion that has rested upon my family since the murder would then be removed. “I have no fear that they will con- vict me. I don’t see how they can do it. I don’t see why I was arrested un- less they have found some startling in- formation. It is all a lie anyway. I had nothing to do with that murder and nobody In this world can say that I did. 3 “I was in Vallejo the night of the murder. I can prove this by the testi- mony of Mrs. Sheehan and her daugh- ters, Now how could I get up to old man Wilson’s ranch in time to murder him unless I had a horse and buggy, or a bicycle? I only hired one horse and buggy in Vallejo, and that was on the Sunday morning after the murder. I really didn’t hire the buggy, for that matter. Maggie Sheehan hired it for me. “I didn’t know a thing about the mur- der until the Sunday morning after, when Mrs. Sheehan told me that she read the account of it in the morning papers. I was surprised to hear of it and immediately told her that I was going to get a buggy and go up there at once. Maggle Sheehan then told me 9 o'clock. I was in the house with the children when she came in, so how could I be up at old man Wilson's ranch one hour before the time the murder was committed? They can't convict me of this murder, unless some- body goes on the stand and swears my life away.” When questioned in reference to the conversation which George Hughes heard between Miller and his sister, Miller lapsed into a deep study and re- flected carefully before he attempted to answer it. Finally, with great reluct- ance, he admitted that he and Mrs. ‘Wilson did have a quarrel one day and both tried to place the responsibility of the Wilson murder on each other's shoulders. “Yes, I'll admit that I did have a row with my sister,” Miller continued, “and in the heat of my passion I tol@ her that it was such women as she who were responsible for the Wilson mur- der. Hughes was there at the time. and I may as well admit that the words were passed. My sister resented the accusation and replied: ‘Yes, and if the truth were known you are the man who did the job.” It was intense anger that made both of us speak so rashly. Neither of us meant what we were say- that Dan Wilson had been murdered, and we at once suspected one of the women with whom he lived. That's all I know about the case, and that's all T will know if they keep me in this dirty place the rest of my life. That is the gospel truth, and I couldn’t tell | any more if T wished. They will have to look outside of my family for the | murderer of Dan Wilson.” - Miller’s Movements Are Now Traced in Vallejo VALLEJO, Jan. 11.—The arrest of W. J. Miller at Port Costa for the brutal murder of old Dan Wilson two years ago, the exclusive account of which was published in The Call this morn- ing, created a sensation in this city, partly because Miller was a resident of Vallejo at the time the crime was com- mitted and partly because a number of the principal witnesses in the case against him still live here. The story of the murder was almost the sole topic of discussion on the streete all day, and varfous opinions were advanced as to the probable guilt of the accused. The consensus of opinion seems to be | front hall | “What do you want? strong that a solution of the mysterious tragedy that has balked the best efforts of the authorities for the last two years to unravel is at last in a fair way of being realized. There is at least one family in Vallejo, however, to whom the news of Miller's arrest came as an unpleasant surprise, The Sheehans, on whom Miller de- pends to prove that he was at home on the night and at the hour when the as- sassin's bullet ended the existence of the aged rancher, were greatly wrought up at the possibility of being called up- on to go on the witness stand. Their trepidation could hardly have been greater if they had themselves been charged with the crime. Every caller at the house was closely scrutinized through closed blinds or a crack in the door. A reporter for The Call who vis- ited the Sheehan residence to-night was challenged before he could open the gate. The entire family was gathered In the peering through the door, which was opened about three inches. ‘We have nothing to say,” was the greeting in excited tones, and slam went the door before the reporter could state his mission. The evident apprehension of the Shee- hans would seem to indicate that they are in a quandary and do not know which way to turn to get out of a tight place. Whether they will stick to their criginal story when put to the test and thereby help to strengthen the alibi | which Miller claims he will prove re- mains to be seen. ‘Willlam Craig, who was employed in the Callender stable with Samuel Riley at the time of the murder, remembers distinctly the circumstance, but as he was not acquainted with Miller, and as | the man who hired the rig was muffled in a heavy ulster, he could not identify him. “I asked Riley who he was when he brought the rig back,” said Craig to- night, “and he said: ‘He is a plug that works at Aden’s mill."” Miller at that time was employed at the Aden mill FINAL AGREEMENT ON THE HAWAIIAN BILL But Democrats Reserve the Right to Make a Minority Report Op- posing Several Features. WASHINGTON, Jan. 11.—The House Committee on Territories reached a final agreement this afternoon to make a fa- vorable report on the Hawalian bill. The agreement to report was unanimous, al- though the Democrats of the committee reserved the right to make a minority re- port opposing several features of the bill. The drafting of the majority report was | left to Chairman Knox, who will take several days before presenting the bill and report. As agreed to the bill is in all essential features the bill submitted by the Ha- walian Commission, although changed to conform to changes already made by the Senate committee, and aiso as a result of the discussions before the committee, cov- ering more than a month. Most of the Senate amendments are agreed to, the purpose being to have the legislation in both houses conform as far as possible. In addition to these, section 25 of the committee bill is struck out. It provided punishment of persons guilty of disre- spect or offense against the legislative bodies of Hawail. Another change, not made by the Sen- ate, is the striking out of section 75 for an investigation of the land laws of Ha- wall. The qualifications of electors, Rep- resentatives and Senators, which have been subject to much discussion, are ar- ranged so that no limitations are placed on admission to the House, while the, qualifications of Senators and electors of, Senators are $1000 of property or $600 in- come. The minority report will be directed mainly against the principle of a property qualification and against life tenures for the judiciary. ANNUAL MEETING OF THE AMERICAN SUGAR COMPANY President Havemeyer Reports Radi- cal Changes Have Been Made, but Does Not State Their Nature. NEW YORK, Jan. 11.—The annual meet= ing of the American Sugar Refining Com- pany was held in Jersey City at noon to- day. President Havemeyer said that it had been found necessary to make radi- cal changes in the policy of the compa- ny's business, and that these changes were made with the unanimous consent of the full board of directors. No report was submitted for the year, and no indi-* cation of the condition of the business was, disclosed in the president’s remarks. W ell M. Palmer was elected a director in place of John E. Searles, who had de- clined a re-election; John Mayor was elected to succeed Willlam Dick, resigned, and John E. Parsons was elected to suc« ceed himself. Frederick Heicke of Jer- sey City was elected secretary pro tem. It was resolved that the accumulated profits, less dividends declared up to Jan- uary 3, be reserved as a working capital. Zola Must Pay Damages. PARIS, Jan. 11.—Emil Zola, the author, has been sentenced to pay a fine of 100 francs and 500 francs damages for ac- cusing M. Judet, a writer of the Petit Journal, of using forged documents In attackln% M. Zola's father. M. Judet claimed 10,000 francs damages.