The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, February 6, 1899, Page 5

THE SAN FRANCISCO CALL, MONDAY, FEBRUARY 6, 1899. FRIENDS OF DAN BURNS REVILE A DEAD MAN'S NAME Circulating a Story That Thomas H. Reynolds Left a Confession of Guilt. INDIGNANT DENIALS MADE Senatorial Aspirant Attempts to Filch a Certificate of Character From the Grave. nbition of D. M. Burns has led | many devious paths and to the 1ent of many strange allies, but ot until a few days ago that the sted death in his ser h the defilement of a dead man's sought to ta nother step for- oward the Washington goal. as it may seem Burns rough the agency crowd around him, to wipe the n of dishon-sty from his own that if I had got the money I would not be where I am to-day.” That is the answer of a dead voice to the sl vill be remembered that when the alcation was discovered in the of- e of Burns, who was then Secretary State, Burns accused Reynolds and accused Burns. It was clear r the other was guilty, but gglery of the lawyers Burns and Reynolds escaped. Burns made the shameless con- THOMAS H. REYNOLDS, Reviled in Death by Friends of Dan Burns. fession that he had falsified the books. In his admission of guilt he stood alone. In the little town of Yankee Jim there are stories of mys- terious books that Mexican Dan brought up to the Centennial mine. The books had no connection with the mine, but Dan Burns was then Secretary of State and by his own confession falsified the records of his office. When the official investigation of his office was made the cash book and the daily record book could not be found. It is not unlikely that they may be hidden in some forgotten cor- ! ner of the Centennial mine, where Burns made his many and mysterious visits until that final one, when he | came and went, .lching from the miners their poor earnings. These miners might find some retributive justice in a timely discovery. But the books would count for nothing now, as the brand they would have burnt was placed by Dan Burns upon his own skin, with his own words .. confession. T SiEhE The business men of this city gt .',"““ hi who, even under the compulsion of riE I Mose Gunst, indorsed the candidacy f e o. Burns, may be somewhat per- turbed now to justify their action. A public officer who is confessedly a | dishonest manipulator and falsifier of the records of his office is hardly a correct model for the emulation or the admiration f honest merchants. 1t is significant that Gunst did not sign the indorsement he circulated. It possible that he remembered that me one said somewhere: “God save me from my friends.” Even Burns has some associates from whom he must otect himself when traveling near the noses of decent men. There is another significant fact that should be remembered in connection with the confession of Dan Burns and the Mexican’s blackguardism of Rey- nolds. It should not be forgotten that the nolds. The story of this attack upon the dead is one of thé most horrifying s of the Senatorial campaign rogress at Sacramento. Were ting testimony of uld seem beyond belief that en Dan Burns could u so shameful ice to realize his unwarranted neider Se now I it not for the crimi fa ts it w has been before the bar of one court for the theft of public H been arraigned before hal for the corruption of He has been accused of benefact nd friends, of and of filching from s. He has i by those suspected and ho do not. He has ly and privately by w that public or pri- emands. Associate and 1d gamblers, under icion whenever he | ooligations, dis- and sacrificing own, few people with all his evil, capable | T to steal away Yet this is Jurns must s iating Dan of Burns possession homas ild en- for- nolds in his Burns. The later 5 ars of misfortune and | He was poor and forgotten. | Those that flourished under his favor forsook him in his decline and wh end approached he had few men to g a kindly i Yet the n T were a few that were al to him in trvastl el PES his Qg al investigation of the office of his denline and fo tuin he often Spoke | Secretary of State under th adminis- of the crime of 3 < ® | tration of D. M. Burns disclosed the were ecisefl. | fact that for seven . ~ths after the re. When Reynolds was on his bed of i n i < death and knew that he could not de- | Ufement of c?x‘iagénl:ec%';x%}gzefiron{‘hthe jay the inevitable much longer, he said ‘;_‘ . i) Pelm e o anuen, o ere to Joseph P. Cochran, one of his dear-| WoS8 & a ; nesn ce. BT »st and most faithful friends: as there, but Reynolds was not. The et : discradited deputy had no access to the “As GocC is my judge I never took | hooks and certainly no confederate in a dollar of that money. 1f any money | the office. was taken, and of course it was, Dan), Ieynolds dropped from public view after the scandal that besmirched him Burns got it. You know very well|ynq tainted Burns, The deputy left the der that the cunning follow- | knavish politiclan have made | both | State and found employment in Mex- ico. He passed a checkered career, now in prosperity, again in distress. finan- cial, physical and mental. The record of his life has been published, with the exception of its concluding tragic de- tails, In his last days he was forced to { depend upon his friends for assistance. | and to these friends he owes now the defense of his memory. If it were not for a few faithful spirits Burns would add to his record the theft of a dead man’s name. Several years ago Reynolds returned to this city. He had no reason to ex- | pect consideration of any sort from | Burns, who had reviled him whenever a quiet opportunity presented. Burns had declared that Reynolds was the thief. - The Mexican certainly had no reason, except a prompting of fear, to succor his former deputy. An honest man would have resented the ap- proaches of one who had betrayed a trust. But Burns acted otherwise. He extended political favors to Reynolds in a small way. He gave Reynolds small sums of money. He tried with parsimonious shrewdness to hold his former deputy in check. The bludgeon | of exposure was above the head of the | Mexican and he di@ not dare repudiate | the overtures of friendship made by Reynolds. The ex-deputy could yet tell what he knew of the defalcation in the office of Secretary of State. But death was coming upon him and the Mexican breathed more freely. Soon there were whisperings that Burns held Reynolds’ confession of guilt that he and not Burns had stolen public funds. These whisperings grew louder, but not loud enough for Rey- nolds to hear upon his bed of death. The old man had few friends around him in his last ‘illness. Among these friends was William A. Stuart, an at- torney of this city. Mr. Stuart had been a life-long friend of Reynolds and was with him until death came. | When Stuart was told of the story | that Reynolds had made a confession i he declared that he did not believe jsuch a thing was possible. Stuart added that he had been with Revnolds very often during the long illness of | the latter and almost every day was with him toward the end. During that time and up to within two hours of his death Reynolds was in full possession of his faculties. Whenever he referred to the crime that had been committed in the office of the Secretary of State | it was to deny absolutely that he had :nnythlng to do with it. The thought | of confession of something he had not done never found expression, if it ever entered his mind. When death was close upon him he gave Mr. Stuart a sealed envelope that was not to be opened until after his death, which occurred last Tuesday. Stuart thought that this envelope con- tained Reynolds’' biography. which the dead man had spoken of writing time and again for ten years. Reynolds had also told his sister, Mrs. Thomas J. | Birch, that he intended:- to write his | blography and both Mrs. Birch and Stuart believed consequently that the sealed envelope contained Reynolds’ own story of his life. After death came the envelope was opened, but it contained neither a Liography nor a confession. The old man wrote despondently of life and its incidents. He spoke of the friends he had assisted and whose gratitude ch nged to neglect with his vanishing fortunes. He made disposition of the insurance upon his life and mado the final request that lLie be buried by the Society of California Ploneers. These are the facts that Burns has warped into a malicious slander of the dead. This is one of the certificates: of char- | acter that the Mexican asks the people of the State to believe and accept, giv- ing to him what he has stolen from the dead. Nor is this all the testimony that the friénds of i..omas H. Reynolds have to offer in defensc of his name. Another | friend of the dead man, Police Sergeant | John Moffitt of this city, adds his words of condemnation of the slander that has been circulated. Moffitt declares posi- tively and emphatically that Reynolds did not make a confession and, as far as he knows, never intended to make one. Last and perhaps the most import- ant witness of all in the array called forth to defend the dead against Mexi- can Dan’s attack is Joseph P. Cochran, to whom Burns made his dramatic de- claration and called upon his God to witness his plea of innocence. That cry was made upon a bed of death. Tt is the answer to the shocking slander of D. M. Burns. ASSEMBLYMEN START ON A JUNKETING TOUR CALL HEADQUARTERS, SACRA- MENTO, Feb. 5.—The Assembly Commit- tee on State Hospitals and Asylums left last evening on a junketing tour to the Home for Adult Blind at Oakland. A bill is before the Assembly making an ap- propriation for work which has been | completed there. The committee will also | visit the State Insane Asylum at Agnews, | for which there is also a bill before the Assembly making an apropriation for re- | pairs and improvements. The committee consists of Assemblymen Wade, Marvin, | Cargill, Lundquist, Dunlap, Merritt, | Clark, Meserve, Crowly and La Baree. sl Baseball at Woodland. WOODLAND, Feb. 5—Woodland de- feated Winters in a game of baseball to- | day by a score of 22 to 7. Both clubs | were reinforced by league players. ‘BURNS' PETITION PROVOKES MIRTH AT THE CAPITAL Politicians Laugh at Herrin’s Work. FORGERIES TOO TRANSPARENT NONE DECEIVED BY THE LATESy SCHEME OF ThE MEXICAN. Care Taken That None of Grant’s Supporters Should Get Hold of the Fake Appeal From San Francisco. CALL HEADQUARTERS, SACRA- MENTO, Feb. 5.—All political Sacramento was laughing to-day over Dan Burns' latest abortive attempt at vote-getting by “‘moral influence.” That heavy-weight petition, signed by sixty-five of San Francisco’'s heaviest business men, of which W. F. Herrin was the managing editor, has been productive of nothing but broad grins. The thorough exposure made by The Call this morning of the whole crooked scheme by which three score San Francisco merchants were inducéd by false pretenses to affix their names to a petition calling upon the legislators to vote for Dan M. Burns as the “people’s choice,” has turned intd a laughing matter what might have been construed by some as a proposition for serious consideration. It develops to-day that a few of Mr. Her- rin’s unique petitions got to the Grant people. Only the supporters of Bulla and Barnes and those who are still casting their votes for ‘“honoraries” were hon- ored. Those legislators Burns hoped to win to his standard by the ‘“‘moral sua- sion” that his forged and falsified peti- tion was supposed to effect. And his well concocted scheme might have been pro- ductive of results had not the whole glar- ing fake been shown up in all its baldness by The Call this morning. The signature of a business man is as dear to him as his reputation, and he does not fix it at first thought to anything. The signatures of sixty business men at the end of a prayer for Dan Burns' success would certainly carry weight with many of those who are here to make a Senator. The same signatures carry with them even greater effect when they are attach- ed to such tements as appeared in this mornin Call, branding as rank forgeries some of the names signed to the Herrin-Burns petition. This last ault upon the Senatorial phalanx was made with a boomerang, and the thing has come back into the camp from which it was flung, to the very evident distress of its launchers. Assemblyman Dale was about the only Grant man who was in on the deal, and he was engaged in commenting upon the rankness of the fake when a Call repre- sentative saw him this morning. “That's the rawest piece of work I ever saw,” said he. “I got one of those petitions, but was suspicious of it from the time that I saw the names of San Francisco business men whose opinions on the Senatorship I knew. If Burns thinks he is going to get any votes by a fake of that sort there is a lesson or so in politics he failed to learn. I know a lot of the boys who got them, but even if the thing was on the square it would be too late in the day to swing them that way. This thing is a hoomeranf. and I guess it will smash some of the furniture when it gets back to Southern Pacific headquarters. ¥ “Here is another thing to think of, continued Dale. “Burns has got the San Francisco delegation already, and those signatures are almost all San Francisco wholesalers. What does a Yolo County or Del Norte County farmer or store- keeper care for a San Francisco business man’s opinion? Those fellows down there are dependent upon these people from the country for their lving.” Senator John F. Davis of Amador, who votes for Irving M. Scott, is another who got a petition. *I know personally but few of those who signed the petition,” he said to-night, “and I have not heard it discussed up here at all. It eveidently has not created much of a stir. As for my own vote, the only person who can influ- ence it is myself. This petition certainly cannot.” GREEN CONTEMPT UASE WILL BE DISMISSED HEADQUARTERS, CALL SACRA- political manager, will not appear at the bar of the Assembly to-morrow to be punished for contempt for not answer- ing certain pertinent questions put to him by the Assembly investigating com- mittee. Instead, some member on the floor will introduce a resolution dismiss- ing the contempt proceedings against Green at once and for all time. This course was discussed last week, but it was not until to-night that the plan MENTO, Feb. 5—Milton J. Green, Grant’s | was finally agreed upon. During the past few days ;’.cngreful canvass has been made of the Assembly for the purpose of ascer- taining the sentiment of the members re- garding such a course. The result of this canvass was evidently satisfactory to those who are handling the proposition, for it was given out to-night that the res. olution permitting Green to retire grac fully from the scene without prejudice and without having named the districts in which Grant grubstaked prospective leg- islaters would be presented to-morrow. If the resolution fails to receive a majority of votes a physician’'s certificate will be in readiness to prevent any overt act on the part of the unreasonable Assembly. If it does receive the requisite number of votes Mr. Green will be seen on the streets again. ALL THE JOB-CHASERS ARE WELL CARED FOR| CALL HEADQUARTERS, SACRA- MENTO, Feb. 5.—There are at present 108 attaches laboring in and about the Sen- ate chamber whose daily pay amounts to $451 50, while in the Assembly the daily payroll is in the neighborhood of $420. The payroll of the last session of both the As- segnbly and the Senate amounted to $1000 a day. WEEK'S PROGRAMME FOR THE HOUSE Four of the Big Appropriation Bills Remain to Be Acted Upon. WASHINGTON, Feb. 5.—With but four weeks of the session remaining Speaker Reed and the Rules Committee of the House have taken the reins into their hands to keep the road clear for the bus- iness which must be transacted in order to avoid an extra session. But four appro- priation bills remain to be acted upan by the House. The army, the sundry ecivil and the naval will be ready during the early part of the week. yThe Rules Com- mittee yvesterday blocked out work for the week as follows: To-morrow, suspen- sion day, Tuesday and Wednesday, pub- lic buildings; Thursday and Friday, ap- propriation bills, and Saturday eulogies upon the late Representative Dingley. It | is likely that the census bill w(ll{ be passed under suspension of the rules to-morrow, but it may be that owing to its importance, although there is no sne- cial cpposition to the bill, its consideration may be postponed. Nothing definite has been settled about the Nicaraguan canal, Hawalian or ship- ping Lills, but they are too important to be hurried through under suspension of the rules. The public buildings bill, which will be considered on Tuesday and Wed- | nesday. have not all been reported, but they wili include bills for the New York Custom-house, the Carnegie Library in this city and othet bills for public build- ings throughout the country. The naval h will be taken up on Thurs- carry provisions for the new and is likely to lead to a most in- teresting debate, especially in view of the existing complications in the Philippines. It will be the first opportunity for debate on x;neml topics in the programme of the week. gLk b PORTO RICAM CABINET HAS A GRIEVANCE Objects to the Appointment of Amer- icans to Department Positions. SAN JUAN DE PORTO RICO, Feb. 5.— The Insular Cabinet late yesterday ten- dered its resignation to Governor General Henry because, after dismissing Car- bonell, General Henry ordered General aton to take charge of the Department of Public Instruction and instructed Major Pierce to take charge of the De- partment of Public ‘Works. Both these departments belong to the Interior Department. The Cabinet demands the immediate appointment of a successor to Senor Carbonell and that natives be ap- ointed in place of General Eaton and Major Pierce, in accordance with re=- vious enunciations of the policy of Gen- eral Henry and the Colonial Commission that no Americans are to hold office here. General Henry promises compliance with these demands and the resignations of the members of the Insular Cabinet are therefore held in abeyance. General Henry will place the religious orders in possession of “the buildings from which they had previously been ejected and will restrain any further pro- ceedings to dispossess them until thelir rights are judiciously determined. — MERCURY AWAY DOWN. Cold Wave Descends Upon the In- terior Valleys. WOODLAND, Feb. 5.—Icy blasts from the frigid regions of the Canadian border are sending a shiver through the Sacra- mento Valley to-day. It is unquestion- ably the coldest wave of the season. The wind has a velocity of at least fifty miles an_hour and the conditions are extra- ordinary’and unfrequent. This veritable blizzard froze all water In exposed places to a depth of a quarter of an inch. Not- withstanding the severity of the cold wave it does not appear that the fruit crop has yet suffered any injury. SALINAS, Feb. 5.—Salinas Valley is now | experfencing a_severe spell of frost. The | thermometer this morning registered 24; degrees above zero, and the mercury has | been as low as 40 all day. Where fruit had | buddca during the recent warm spell there may be sught damage, but no serious re- | sults are feared as to barley or other grain. The present temperature is the lowest experienced in ten years. T The crown worn by the Czar of Russia | on state occasions is surmounted by .a | cross, formed of five magnificent dia- monds, resting upon an immense uncut, but polished ruby. The ruby rests upon seven large diamonds, which in turn are supported by a mat of pearls. ll 7 / GRANT SEEKS TO COQUETTE WITH DANIEL M. BURNS Opens Negotiations for the Transfer of His. Following to -the Mexican’ s Ranks. CONFERS WITH COBB. Supporters of the Southron De= clare That When He Drops Out They Will Vote as They Please. CALL HEADQUARTERS, SACRA- MENTO, Feb. 5—“Is U. 8. Grant try- ing to get even on his campaign ex- penses through Dan Burns, or is he trying to sell the Mexican a gold brick?” These are the two questions the per- spiring statesmen who are on the in- side of affairs in Sacramento are ask- ing themselves without hope of an an- swer. That he is trying to do one or the other, or both, w.thout hope of suc- cess in any direction seems so certain that the men who have been voting for Grant for Senator are wondering if they are to be sold without being given an opportunity to be present at the | ceremonies, or to have a say in fixing the price. All of this speculationhasbeen brought | about by a conversation that occurred | between Grant and Assemblyman Cobb, one of Burns’ confidential supporters, in the Assembly chamber some days ago. The facts in the case as well as the exact nature of the conversation, which was strictly confidential, Just leaked out, and the result is no end of a row on all sides. On the oecasion in question Grant | honored the Assembl chamber with his presence during the taking of the joint ballot. At the conclusion of the ballot- ing Grant made known his desire to have a confidential chat with Mr. Cobb. That gentleman, ever on the alert to gain an advantage for his master, lost no time in signifying his appreciation of the honor that had been done him by the request, as well as his earnest wish to comply with it without loss of time. When the two gentlemen were alone Mr. Grant gave utterance to the following remarkable statement: “It would be too bad if some of these little fellows who are running around here with lightning rods in their hats waliting for the Senatorial flash to strike them, should win the prize. It would be a bad thing for the politics of this State for any man of their caliber to get in, for next year a horde of them would swarm in and no proper man would stand a chnce. “I admire Dan Burns; he is a splen- did man, and I think would make a worthy representative of this State in the Senate. If I cannot win myself, I would rather he should get it than one of these little fellows who are running around here, and I shall throw my in- fluence to him rather than see any one of them get it.” Here is a state of things, to be sure. It would appear, then, that the son of | his father has a supreme contempt for the caliber of such gentlemen as Gen- eral W. H. L. Barnes, Senator R. N. Bulla, ex-United States Senator C. N. | Felton, Irving M. Scott and others who are being voted for by members of the Legislature. 4 But there is a serious side to the situation, and it is this side that is worrying the politicians. Grant’s re- markable statement seems to indicate, if anything that he can say may be considered as indicative of anything worthy of serious consideration, that he is making an awkward attempt to. flirt with Burns. The thought there- fore suggests itself that perhaps Mr. Grant has come to the conclusion that he will never be elected United States Senator, and that he has begun to figure what his little bid for fame has cost him. Having grub-staked the en- tire State and failed to get a return, it may be that he now wishes to get even by selling the influence of his father's have | honorable name to Colonel Burns, whose name only serves to mar a rec- ord that is as black as it is long. This modest gentleman from San Diego thinks Dan Burns a “splendid man” who would worthily represent the State in the upper house of the National Congress. This being his opinion of Burns, what must be his opinion of himself? 1t is a singular fact that Grant is the |only candidate before t}- Legislature who has no power to direct the course his followers shall pursue after they | sever their allegiance to him. The best he can e ect is that they will continue to vote for him. No one knows this better than Colonel Burns, and for this reason the coloned is fighting shy of Grant’s overtures in so far as they relate to a possible transfer of voting strength, but he is taking ad- | vantage of the situation in another way. He is trying to turn Grant's flirtations to account by offering pro- posals that will lead to the holding of a joint Senatorial caucus. It is this that is the real news in the Senatorial situation to-night. Burns’' touts have | been sent out with an invitation to the | followers of all the other candidates to join in a friendly conference, having | for its purpose a discussion of the | Senatorial situation. The touts make | the argument that a friendly chat of | this nature may possibly lead to a so- lution of the present perplexing situa- | tion, but they carefully avoid stating that it is Burns’ intention that the | agreement to be reached must be a joint Senatorial caucus. This fact is | so evident, however, that it needs no elucidation, and the plan bids fair to | fall for want of support. Grant's followers ignore their chief | and declare they must be allowed to | direct his fight as they see fit. They {have therefore notified Burns' lieuten- | ants that they will neither enter a “friendly conference” or a conference of any kind at this, or any other time. | The same ultimatum has been issued | from the Bulla camp and from the | headquarters of General Barnes. The situation to-night is, therefore, unchanged. Burns’ closest friends now admit that | he can never win the Senatorial toga. | Grant never had more than a ghost of | a chance to win it and that chance was | lost to him weeks since. He is not |even now a factor in the fight because | he cannot control the votes that are be- ing cast for him. JAMES L. FLOOD TO LIVE IN NEW YORK Young Millionaire Will Not Reside in San Francisco After His Marriage. KANSAS CITY, Mo., Feb. 5.—James L. Flood of San Francisco, who arrived h-re last. night to be married to Miss Maud | Fritz of this city next Wednesday, said | to a representative of The Call to-night | that he had decided to abandon San Fran- { cisco as a place of residence and move to New York. | “Iam not taking this step because T am tired of the West,” said he, “but because I believe that the woman who is to be- | come my wife this week and myself can | get more out of life in New York then | we can in San Francisco. My business interests are all in California, but I have | placed them in such shape that I can live | where 1 please without detriment to them. We shall go to New York immediately af- ter the wedding, then to Florida. and then to Europe. On our return we shall make our home in New York at once.” THE SENATOR FROM SANTA CLARA RETURNS TO SACRAMENTO FROM A VISIT TO HIS CONSTITUENTS. ness. the circular presents. P4040404 Even if the signatures were genuine and properly authorized the faint praise accorded the colonel would be almost equal to his censure. Mose had better send cigars here than waste his time with such weak indorsements as 404040 +0+0 40404040404 0 0404040404040+ O40404O4O4 O 4 40+ 04040404040 404040440404 S 6@6@4@0@4@*@#@#@4@0@0@#@3‘ 3 - ¢ ALL FACTI $ X - © y > 53 + 3 DESPITE BURNS' BOASTS : 74 + > 3 $ + No Breakaway To-Day Likely on the 3 ited Stat 3 allot for Unite ates $ > > + : + 3¢ Senator. 3 2 CALL HEADQUARTERS, SACRAMENTO, Feb. 5—There is not a single § & indication to-night of any break in the Senatorial deadlock to-morrow. Each & 4 candidate'is confident of his ability to hold his forces in the joint assembly + @ to-morrow noon, although the touts have been passing out the word for a z 4 week that the “Colonel” would achieve substantial gains on Monday. ¢ $ 4 men, Bulla men and Barnes men who came up from San Francisco this ye ® ing assert that there will be no caucus while Burns is in the field, and that & 4 there will be no break from any camp to the fold of the colonel. ; pe © " Assemblyman Le Barron has been singled out by the touts as a Grant man & 3 who might be persuaded to join the followers of Burns. Since the adjourn- + 4 ment of the Legislature yesterday particular attention has been paid to the @ § Sonoma Assemblyman. The prolonged interviews between the touts and Le ¥ Barron excited some apprehension in the Grant camp and induced inquiry & < as to his feeling with regard to his future support of the San Di PS < man. The inquirles developed the fact that Le Barron was . + % Grant. From various sources the information comes that th it men will 2 entertain no proposition to caucus while the contempt procc s regarding g Milton Green are pending. Before they will listen to negoiiitions of any 4 character the committtee of investigation must be dissolved. @ The first break may come from the corral of Burns. Whu ever may be ; 4 sald about the solidity of his forces, there is an undercurrent of talk to the § $ effect that several of his supporters are so weary of the deadlock that they & will soon Legin voting for another candidate. The opponents of the colonel + are on the alert and will not be caught by sham scattering for the sake of 2 securing a caucus. p <% The deadlock will be broken and a Republican Senator elected when both 4 @ Grant and Burns retire from the fleld. It is the judgment of unprejudiced & observers that neither can win, and if they stay to the finish the Legislature <4 will adjourn without reaching a choice for Senator. The first break from ® the Burns forces may come next Tuesday. The merchants’ circular was the 4 last card and it has fallen flat under The Call's prompt exposure of its weak- $ +o+o + @