The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, May 10, 1899, Page 1

The VOLU SAN FRANCISCO, WEDNESDAY, MAY 10, 1899, PRICE FIVE CENTS. LAWTON'S ENCOUNTER WITH TAGALS LmigE Ut The Insurgents Fight From Heavy Earthworks at San Ildefonzo. — MAJOR DIGGLES SHOT — 4 Every Mile of the Forward Move ment Resisted, and a Great Battle Is Soon Expeocted. Sew g A Bpecial Cable to The « New Y e ANILA, May 9 (by carrer inag).—The position yet party the es of a and Second Heavy earth- w i for a mile from a wa eft along a high ridge town, and on the right w A trenches commanding given up to rice on the approach of our y ened a terrible fusil- i the troops withdrew. Major the Minnesota Regiment rough the head. my holds this position a vy be expected soon. suggest that every d movement of toward San Isidro ~4s of hungry Filipinos are into Lawton’s lines. They 1g fed from the large insur- swarm stores of rice captured at Lawton has established t t native m cipal govern- n the Phil ines at Balinag A Filif to select no major, who is authorized a council, was elected yester- day at a public meeting of natives. The D the last of the miss- the American flag ained by the insur- the beginning of the war, nd by the gunboat Manila at Batabangas and ved here to-day. OTIS DECIDES AGAINST LEGALITY OF ILOILO CLAIMS W YORK M ha A Washington ached on WANTS TROOPS RETURNED DIRECT TO PUGET SOUND , May 9. Governor 1t General Corbin etter of May 1 has been re- 1 you inform me that the cople of Washington_for Vol- A Washingtor to Puget ith for docks or o ship’s rst ma- that_in ire in error. The Port Orchard, near battleship Oregon t ent rec- » finest on naster har- 15 dyrdock, state publican pa- | nent your | tt CRUISER RALEIGH WENT ON THE BAR! But at High Tide Tugs Extricated | the Vessel and No Damage Was Done. S, C., May 9.—The]| Raleigh, which went on the t h CHARLESTON, er tugs at high tide this| igh proceeded up the | It was stated | t a superficial examir jurles to her hull, vas coming in with a coast point at which she grounded | North Breakers, just outside | he went on the shoal broad- | asy in perfectly calm water. necessitated a postponement 1 reception to the cruiser, and e carried out to-morrow morn- ay sent the following letter | | hospitality, AN, 'Railroad Commands Given in Secret and Obeyed in Public. T Railroad Commissioners C. S. Lau- Charles S. Laumeister and N. Black- - stock Shamelessly Invite Pub- | ]ic Condemnation. meister and N. Blackstock have com- pletely discarded any mask of pre- tended independence or honesty of | purpose in their duties as public of- ficials and have submitted themselves to criticism and condemnation as the | his creatures of the Southern Pacific Com- pany. They have again instructed the Attorney General of the State to | OWn Views that he printed them at his demand of the Federal Court the dia- ‘ missal of the ‘grain rate cases.” This demand, made in the face of the | scorching rebuke of Judge Morrow, would be astounding if the explana- tion and the reason for it were not more startling. Commissioners Blackstock and Laumeister have so dishonored the positions they occupy as to place themselves openly and abjecily at the dictation of William F. Herrin. These | ¢ men have dined at the home of Wil liam F. Herrin. and wined in the hospitality of his home. They have held secret confer ences at the residence of the chief of | the law department of the Southern Pacific Company. Affairs of public business have been discussed where there had been no open sesame before election to Blackstock and Laumeister. Sessions of pleasure and of business have been held at a house where public officers, holding such relationships as Black- stock and Laumeister, could not be | seen without falling within the shadow of honest suspicion. At the invitation, which was in substance a command, these disgraced officials have gone to Herrin's home to re- ceive the instructions and formulate the wishes of the Southern Pacific Company. There has seldom been in the history of dishonest public life so disgraceful an expose as this. Blackstock and Laumeister have almost invited upon themselves the shame of their actions, for they have always visited Herrin’s home to- gether, which means as public offi- cials. The social equality which Her- rin extended to Blackstock and Lau- meister was given only to Railroad Commissioners, and the discredited officers admitted it yesterday when they passed all bounds of decency and repeated a demand which Attorney General Ford and Judge Morrow can only construe as an insult to men who have forgotten the meaning of the word. Even to a shrewd observer it is not clear why the Southern Pacific Com- They have feasted | pany seemingly with wantonness ex- | poses its creatures to public shame. To those that know the reason is plain. If the Southern Pacific Com- pany can induce the State to dismiss the suit, the great corporation will save an enormous sum in costs and in the exaction of penalties, which would have to be paid in the event of defeat before Judge Morrow. That is why Blackstock and Laumeister must apply the brand to themselves. Their masters are desperate. — ATLROAD COMMISSIONERS BLACKSTOCK AND LAU- JISTER did not attend. the recent banquet given to Collis P. Huntington at the Palace Hotel. Their absence was observed and provoked no little comment at the time. Many people wondered why these faith ful and zealous allies of the corpora- tion were not conspicuous at the feast. In a sense the mystery has been solved. The railroad classification places the Commissioners in a special class. The intellectual or otherwise, which W. F. Herrin bestows Is be- stowed for the edification of the Com- missioners at his own residence in this vity. ,i may surprise the voters of Califor- nia who elected Blackstock and Lau- meister to represent the people to learn | that these two Commissioners dine at Herrin's house, drink the wine that Herrin loves best and smoke the cigars which the chief of the railroad's law department so highly commends. If the functions were limited to the discussion of edibles, wine and tobacco comment might be withheld, but The Call ascer- tains from good authority that freight schedules prepared by the masterly ge- nius of Vice President Stubbs are also discussed. . These little gatherings of Herrin's house, like the banquet to Mr. Hunting- ton at the Palace Hotel, are understood at the yellow building to he purely so- cial functions, which the newspapers ought not to mention. The first one took place early in April and was at- tended by E. B. Edson, C. S. Laumels- ter and Nehemiah 3Blackstock. The president of the board, so far as can be ascertained, has not attended since | is under discussion. The house would >+ | D R o e 2 DD beD e e e | if not discouraged. | | | | | | | the first session. Whether he is no longer on the invitation list or elects to enjoy himself elsewhere is purely a | matter of conjecture. There is a cur- | | rent notion in the yellow building that | | the freight schedule presented by | Stubbs was too raw for the Edson di- gestive apparatus. Nothing, however, | is too raw for Laumeister and Black- | stock bids fair to be able to digest any- thing before the schedule season closes. | ‘ The Commissioner from Ventura and | his coworker representing this district | | are frequent guests at the Herrin resi- dence. The Call is informed that they have held seven or eight sessions there. It true that Mr. Blackstock, before he left his home in Ventura to accept | the hospitality of Herrin, had ideas of own concerning injunctions, sched- | of ght, grain rates and “dif- erential He was so enamored of h and communicated them | ates on the board. Under | or inspiration of Herrin | * notions of dealing uits have been dis- own xper | to his the influence hospitality_his with the railrc pelled. The record of his early opinion, | | ey e i, pemeeto e maek. | - Street, Where the Railroad Commissioners Have: stock’s credit, that he is a seeker for A . B e A Been Holding Secret Conferences. ¢ . e e . . . Hospitality. Railroad Commissioners Blackstock and Laumeister Discussing Rates While Partaking of W. E. Herrin's? SO+ - > B e S S i S G g RAILROAD COMMISSIONERS HOLD SEVERAL SECRET CONFERENCES AT THE HOME OF W.F. HERRIN R O O R ST SIS ) . & O S SR P L o . e BOOODOD VR beh b e eDeDH e @ >0 The Herrin Residence, Corner of Broadway and Scott . . >0 - . N ¢ . Beivisisieistdedededsbedbodoiebosebode® vinced that the views of Herrin and not ba the subject of special mention if concerning freight rates were €0 he applied to Mr. Hunting- ton for additional light on the subject vidently the president of the company regarded Blackstock's approach as an intrusive visit, such as could not be | tolerated from a subordinate. In effect the president replied: “I don’t give a whether you adopt any schedule. No one shall fix freight rates for my road.” If the purpose of the visit was to establish agreeable social relations with the head of the company the Com- @Ot 3 > CHARLES S.LAUMEISTER... missioner must have been disappointed After this bluff Blackstock returned to the Herrin so- cials with added zest. When Edson and Laumeister heard of the Hunting- ton episode they smiled. The house where Mr. Herrin enter- tains the Railroad Commissioners is not ostentatious. It is a really com- | fortable dwelling on Broadway, which was visited during the session of the Legislature by a few confidential ad- visers of D. M. Burns. It is not showy or large, but there is ample room for the host and the Railroad Commission- ers. In the wineroom there is always “one’ bottle more” when the schedule ! S S a SOR Y | Mr. Herrin had not elected to have the Railroad Comm or s transact public business there. In order to be and Just, having invited the Comml mers to hold sessions at his house, he shouid invite the people to listen to the dis- cussion. d The law provides a meeting place and a secretary for the commission. An allowance of public money is made to office rent and employ clerical as- The propriety of the con meeting in Mr. Huntington . i 4@/“ office or Mr. Herrin's house may be questioned by citizens who are not on the Southern Pacific pay roll or in line to get there, but Mr. Edson appears to be the only member of the board who comprehends the impropriety of hold- ing secret sessions in Herrin's heme to discuss freight tariffs for the peaple prepared by Mr. Stubbs. Commissioner Laumeister convert to the policy of dismissing the suit. When the propesition was pre- sented he said: “If I should vote to dismiss the suit I would be ashamed to ltve in California.” The precise time and place of Mr. Laumeister's conver- sion cannot be ascertained, but the evi- dence of circumstances establishes the T S is a new | @ *° | belief that he was converted at Her- | Lo an o SORE SRORE SSOSS SCES S0 k¢ MEMBERS OF THE RAILROAD COMMISSION. 192 b L S O o e R SR f=ReReReoRu NPy PR PeFaa=e] *o . @ . &6 Hed ebe>es@® SRS rin’s house. -— INSULTING DEMAND. AN | Blackstock and Laumeister | Again Instruct the At- | torney General. C. P. Huntington's precious twain on the Railroad Commission, Messrs. Lau- r and Blackstock, have decided to in their bald attempt to have the rain rate cases” dismissed by the Federal court. Ignoring utterly the | stern rebuke administered to them on Monday by Judge Morrow, in face of the trend of public opinion which has set so strongly against them, they y terday adopted a sceond resolution di- recting Attorney General Ford to again face the displeasure of the court and reiterate his demand for a dismissal of the cases. As in the first case, the resolution adopted yesterday was promulgated | and offered for action by the faithful Mr. Blackstock. It differed from his | original remarkable resolution only in | that it did not carry the reflections | upon the court to which Judge Mor- row took such strong exception nor | contain that palpable falsehood to the | effect that whiie the cases were pending | the present commission was prevented from issuing a new grain rate schedule. | Yesterday's resolution was nothing more than a flat order to the Attorney General to bring about a dismissal, no matter what the means, and to do so in as short order his wits or his influ- ence might devise. The resolution was, in fact, as follows: WHEREAS, On the 9th day of May, 1899, the Railroad Commissioners of the State of California passed and adopted a resolution amending the res- olution by said board passed and adopted April 24, 1899, o [a = K= ReFoRe D TR SRS L S S S S O R Ry IR R= 3= e R u R a ] repealing and rescinding the resolutions adopted by said board on ihe 13th and 14th days of September, 1895, pro- U“ viding for a reduction of grain P rates, ete.; and ! WHEREAS, The board is < | of the opinion that the case gl p=4 now pending in the Circuit ‘5} Court of ‘the United States fit known as the ‘‘grain-rate” < case should be settled and the | injunction against the board | be dissolved, but that the | same shall be done without | further cost to the State, P | had a laugh coming at the discomfiture | | of the majority, and made good use of | contrary | M. | lution to dismiss. | in its behalf | was | province to ask for this dismissal. | tened interestedly and voted aye. | resolution was declared adopted. | lieve we should do anything with it un- | was taken to the next regular meeting | i | Again a Dismissal of Grain Rate Cases Asked. | e IT IS NOW THEREFORE ordered and resolved that the Attorney General of the State of California be and he hereby is instructed to secure a dis- missal of said case as soon as such dismissal can be obtained and upon the conditions as to cost as herein indicated. BPOBSCOO0D There was nothing of excitement or striking feature to the meeting; the whole proceeding did not require over ten minutes’ time, and everything was as cut and dried as a well-contrived slate at a county convention. It was however, not a happy occ on for any one of them who participated, saving, of course, Commissioner Edson, who it. Commissioner Blackstock was as | mad as a bear with a sore paw, and | though he spent his spare time in mak- | | ing light of Judge Morrow’s censure, he demonstrated that it had struck weil home by his ill-disguised displeasure at the newspaper representatives in the room and his reiterated statement that he had been too long in the law busi- | ness not to know better than to ridicule | a Federal Justice. Laumeister was not happy at all. The pace set to the cracking of Mr. Hunt- | ington’'s whip is evidently getting just | a bit too warm for him, and he did not | second Blackstock’s maneuvers as | warmly as might be expgcted of one of the Hspee's chosen ones. On the | Mr. Laumeister considered ‘l Blackstock with an eye of sus- picion, and was prone to agree at times | with Mr. Edson when he took his stand | against the well-planned scheme of which Blackstock was the pilot. “In view of the attitude of the court,” said Mr. Blackstock, “and Mr. Ford’s | letter, I move to rescind the nriginali Rue resolution, and I submit this reso- lution to that effect.” Then Mr. Black= | stock moved its adoption and Mr. Lau- | meister seconded. Only Mr. Edson voted against it. Then Mr. Blackstock offered the reso- He made no speech it was evident that none necessary. Mr. Laumeister im- mediately seconded, and, with Commis- sioner Edson again voting no, it was adopted. Not, however, without objec- tion from Mr. Edson. “I object to the passage of such a resolution,” said he. “The court has al- | | ready told us that it is not within our | The | railroad, and not the State, is the plain- | tiff in these cases, and Justice Morrow said terday it was the plaintiff's | business to ask for dismissal. I think | the course that is being taken by this | board is without parallel in the history | of the State.” Mr. Edson stuck to his side of the question as a matter of principle. The fact that the Southern Pacific had got all it ever expected to get out of the grain-rate cases, delay, did not count with him, and, as he said after the | meeting, he could not see the use of | permitting the Southern Pacific to un- | load upon the State thousands of dol- lars in costs its suits had entailed. | Mr. Edson’s little talk was well re- | ceived, however. Mr. Blackstock lis- Mr. voted like- | voted no, and the listened and Edson Laumeister wise. Mr. 1t | did not take a minute, and then, to | stall further talk, both Laumeister and | Blackstock began to talk of adjourn- ment, as there was danger that the question of the “Stockton differential” | would be brought up, and that is an-| other thing Mr. Huntington wants more | delay on. Things are going his way | very nicely under the present prohibi- | tive tariff, and his friends the ware- | housemen at Port Costa are well satis- fieq with rates as they are. Edson, though, brought it up before a motion was made, and gave Blackstock | another opportunity to show his hand. | Mr. Edson thought some action should | be taken at once. He said the Stock- | ton people had been waiting for four | months for something decisive and nothing had been done. “I don’t be- til this rate case business is fixed,” re- torted Blackstock, “and when it comes to further consideration of it you can count me out. I've got cases in court and can’t attend special meetings."” Mr. Edson looked surprised and so did Mr. Laumeister. The Blackstock gait was a little too strong for him | there. It was so palpably what Mr. Stubbs had asked for on the day be- | fore that he couldn’t rally enough nerve | to stand for it. '“We ought to do some- | thing at onc: said he, “or at our next | regular meeting, anyway. In fact, I| think we should call a special meeting. Edson agreed to this and adjournment | on June 12, WILL REMAIN AT CORNELL. Professor Wheeler Does Not Expect | to Be Called to Berkeley. | ITHACA, N. Y., May 9.—Professor Ben- | jamin Ide Wheeler of Cornell University, | Whose name is mentioned among the can- didates for the presidency of the Univer- sity of California, said to-day that he is | not a candidate for the position. “T understand,” said Professor Wheeler, “that there is a division of opinion re- garding the president there. I could not think of going unless the invitation was cordially extended. 1 do not care to leave Cornell and 1 have no reason to believe | that I am going_to at the present time. | My visit to the West was occasioned by | an invitation, but it is not likely that any- | thing will result from it.” | and men of other poli resolution. rescinding the so-called La | OBJECT T0 THE EULOGY 0F ALGER e New York Sons of the Amer- ican Revolution Repudi- ate Action at Detroit. — MILES IS A" MEMBER e Therefore the Society Does Not Like the Slap at Him or Slur on Our Brave Soldiers. g Special Dispatch to The Call. The New York members of the Society of Sons of the Revolution are not inclined to follow General Merritt in his fulsome praise of | Alger as “the best Secretary of | War the world has ever seen,” and are less so because General Miles /s a member of their order, and they do not believe he should have been slapped in public at the na- tional convention in Detroit. The result is likely to be a very pretty little tempest in the order. NEW YORK, May 9.—There is likely to be a live ion at the meeting of the Empire State Society of the Sons of the American Revolution on the 23d inst. of the acts of the society’s dele- gat in Detroit last week, which have been heralded as an indorsement of Secre , or affirmation of the indorsement of the Secretary by Gen- erals Merritt, Wheeler and King. The constitution, rules and practices of the organization require members as such to eschew pol as the membership includes Republica and Democrats al proclivities. These general reasons, it is held by a contingent of the New York society, should have restrained delegates to the national convention at Detroit from do- ing anything or appearing in any light which-might be taken as giving support to one side of a controversy essentially political. But besides these general rea- sons there are specific and delicate ones, which, it is urged, should have kept the New York delegates from ap- plauding the generous praise accorded Secretary Alger by Generals Merritt, Wheeler and Horatio King. General s is a member of the Empire State ty and the conspicuous tribute to General ‘Alger by the New York dele- gates is indirectly a slap by them at a fellow member. The dissatisfaction crystallized in these resolutions presented in the meet- ing of the board of governors of the New York society: The Empire State Society of the Sons of the American Revolution repudiates in the strongest manner the use of its na- tional m ng for political purposes. Es- pecially does it condemn any attempt to vindicate reputations of public officials or to compliment th who have been ac- cused of unpatriotic neglect of soldiers who exposed their lives for the country. The first duty of all patriotic societies is to assist, protect and uphold the armies of the nation and to aid in giving them the support that the resources of the country command. This society claims its part in such patriotic duty and repudi- ates with indignation the flippant senti- ment that pposing they had a little spoiled beef, what of it?” Or that in supplying them with food it was not necessary to be particular as to quality This society looks with horror upon offi- cials who can express such sentiments, or who, having the entire resources of this wealthy country at not only furnished soldi oiled be n in home camps, n abun- dance was everywhere at hand, and who also failed to supply them with suitable clothing, shelter and medicine. Resolved, That copies of these re: tions be sent all affiliated societies. LONE STAR SUSPENDS NEW YORK-GALVESTON SERVICE Ylu- | Removal of Steamers to the Pacific Coast Terminates a Noted Freight War. NEW YORK, May 9.—It was said at the office of the Lone Star Line to-day that the line had temporarily suspended its New York-Galveston service. The Miami, whieh leaves port next Saturda the last vessel to leave this port. titional information could be given and the agent refused to discuss the suspen- sion except to say that a statement would be given to the public in a few days. A local paper : The Lone Star steamships now in the New York-Galves- ton trade, it is understood, have been soid and will be used between San Francisco and the Hawaiian Islands. This ends one of the most foremost transporting strug- gles of this decade.. The advent of the Lone Star Line into the coastwise com- merce brought on a war which knocked rates from 80 cents to 2 cents per 100 pounds between New York and Galveston | @nd which upset the rate situation of the Whole Southwest. The Spanish-American War caused a truce, and when that con- fiiet ended the Lone Star, Mallory and Morgan lines worked in harmony for a time. but latelv there has been a great deal ‘of rate cutting and slashing. —-— CAPTAINV CORNING'S CASE. British Embassy 'Awaits Information From Portland. WASHINGTON, May 9.—The owners of the British bark Howard D. Troop, through their legal representative, Robert D. Benedict of New York, made an ap- peal to-day to the British Embassy to take action in the case of the captain and a number of sailors of the ship who are alleged improperly treated at Astoria. Before taking any action, Mr. Tower, the British Charge d'Affaires, called on the British Consul at Portland, Or., for a report on the sub- jeot. This will determine what action It any the British authorities will take.