The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, January 4, 1900, Page 1

The @all VOLUME LXXXVII—NO. 35. SAN FRANCIS 30, THURSDAY, JANUARY 4, 1900. PRIV(:JVE FIVE CE BIG BATTLE TO BE FOUGHT SOON ON THE TUGELA Buller’'s Call for More Stretcher-| Bearers Indicate the Immi- nence of an Encounter. 4—A report was cur- ultaneously Colesbe: teno to feel the way for an berg, and that the Boers t by a prompt at- 2 a holiow among ain or s * & . < . . 4 - + @ - B E . . . « . « - + . B . B - ¢ . - - - - Cape Colony. Petst0t60t00 0000000500 e W W ing that the ¥ tion in Natal 1= sible that it c erything p: Joubert ‘mation, the twc 14, on the Little d at Hlangwane n Weenen on the n on the southeast o be “the be seneral Buller unt Inhwane, both Colen: series of en- of which will A breaking down the opposit B e of fighting. s and Twentieth fled from Cape- for Durban a few days ago, should completing General War- the end of this week an be expected. It may be out that the very fact of the holding three strong detached posi- facing General Buller, viz.: On the on Inhlawe Mountain, on the south a with entrenchments, fac- nd on left with an Qrange mando at Springfield, may tage to the British, = 80 extended that a rapid at- tack ie of these positions may suc- ceed kefore reinforcements could arrive. The total Boer force is probably 20,000 to 000, with fifty or sixty guns. Buller's forced strength we now know, thanks he censor who has allowed some facts GENERAL H. SHOEMAN, Commanding the Boer Forces Cpposing General French in the Colesberg District, The | 1d guns, twenty slege and naval guns 2000 artillerymen. i a g SS BRISK FIGHTING GOES ON IN THE HILLS NAAUWPOORT, Cape Colony, Jan. 3.— 1 was brisk fighting to-day in the e n, 1 retreated. The British held the extreme position to uth and east overlooking the town. around Colesberg are numer- all, the s The difficult to hunt the Boers out. wounded have arrived at Arun- del. STRONG POSITION OF BOERS AROUND COLESBERG Herald. Copy- don Bennett. R Il rights re. Great Britain.] Jan. rrespondent is published by - Tuesday, Jan. 8.—Al- M e o e e e I S e e . Boers removed their laager of our guns, they still oc- 1 strong position around Colesberg force. General French and his and Colonel Porter's command out last night. Everything s quiet extraordinary occurrence took place night. A number of trucks, loaded h foodstuffs, got loose and ran away from our es down the Colesberg decliv- toward the Boers at great-speed. Far- r . down there was a broken culvert nded by Boer guns. Three trucks e culvert and remained on the marvelous to say. The others fell r, while remained on this side The engine-driver of the trafn attempted to rescue it, but was shelled by the Boers and obliged to retreat. A train was then t 1o rescue the goods in the wrecked , escorted by a cavalry company of lks, but when it reached Plewnans it was subjected to a terrific shell rom a Hotchkiss and a blg gun and o rifle fire. The train and its escort 1 to hurry off. An attempt will prob- ably be made to-night to destroy the goods. We command Norvals Pont. - INCIDENTS OF THE SIEGE OF KIMBERLEY KIMBERLEY, Dec. 2%.—The Boers last night evinced considerable interest in the Premier mine, using their searchlights This morning they actively shelled the fort. The Royal Artillery replied. shells were well placed and dropped amid moke of the enemy’s guns. night’s storm ignited some of our ary mines, but there were no casual- pomn hi Cecll Rhodes has supplied the Boer pris- oners with new clothing. - PUZZLING AFTERMATH OF THE FLOUR SEIZURES LONDON, Jan. 3.—The United States wdor, Joseph H. Choate, visited ish Premier, Lord Salisbury, at ign Office this evening, for the of making the first official rep- resentation on the subject of the Delagoa Bay flour selzure. Mr. Choate received no definite reply, as the Premfer in- formed him that the British Government had not arrived at any declsion as to whether or not food stuffs were contra- band of war, but Lord Salisbury assured Mr. Choate the commercial rights of the United States would be equitably con- sidered and that a decision in this im- portant matter would be reached as soon as possible. The Interview was brief. It is learned that Lord Sallsbury has not only got the Attorney. General, Sir Richard Webster, working hard on the question of the Delagoa Bay seizures, but that he is consulting with the ablest lawyers: in Great Britain. To quote a | high official: “England 1is between Scylla and Charybdis. If we declare food stuffs contraband we put ourselves in a to come through, amounts to about 22,000 | most awkward position should we be a infantry, 3500 mounted men, half reguinr | neutral power in some future war, We and half irregular mounted infantry, fifty | are mqst anxious to conserve the inter- nd Colesberg. The Boers stub- | isted the British at every point, in ranges, but in groups—making | This dispatch from | . @ - ® . ¢ + PS i ® . kS 4 @ * 4 * L 4 . @ . B R e A SR KRUGER’S APPEAL 1 til Great Britain Joins | B R e TO THIS COUNTRY America Asked to Mediate in South African War, but Cannot Act Un- Request. B S R e R R =] NAVAL BRIGADE IN ACTION—Bluejackets Guns at Ladysmith. (Drawn from an instantaneous photograph for the Daily Graphic.) P P P Y ALL HEADQUARTERS, WELLINGTON HOTEL, WASHINGTON, good offices to bring an end to its war with Great Britain. | came through the American Consul at Pretoria. No answer has ment will care to go at this time. to depart from its policy of non-interference unless requests for taneously from Great Britain and the Transvaal. Great Britain without offending that power. the United States has not yet become a party to the convention, | the conference guarded the historic position of the United States | from its policy of non-interfering with foreign questions. It is stated that the movements initiated by Europeans to obtain the mediation of this Government will be fruitless of results, unless, as stated, they first induce Great Britain to in- | timate to this Government her willingness to accept the exercise GATACRE’S BRUSH WITH vance camp at Bushmanshoek. The Boers retired hurriedly FRERE CAMP, Jan. 3.—Captain Thornycroft's patrol found the enemy | bridge. Their presence was discovered by scouts. | not returned. A e S e lieve that the Transvaal Government has but recently requested this Government to use its partment, and unless Great Britain intimates that she is desirous of the President exercising his good offices there is no reason to believe that he will comply with the Boer request. f to be expected that a reply will be made acknowiedging the receipt of the Consul’s representa- | tion, which he will transmit to State Secretary Reitz, but this, probably, is as far as the Govern- It can be stated on authority that there is no intention on the part of the administration Just before the outbreak of Boer Government appealed to the President to use his influence with Great Britain to avert war, but the President declined to interfere, and nothing has occurred to change his determination. In certain quarters there is a disposition to urge American mediation on the ground that | under the agreement of The Hague conference the United States could extend its mediation to In answer to this suggestion it is said, first, that ratified by the Senate; and, second, the American delegates representing the Uriited States at contained in the convention should be so construed as to require this Government to depart STERKSTROOM, Jan. 3.—General Gatacre to-day met the Invading forces at Cyphorgat, near the British ad- | shortly after the British artillery opened fire. enemy occupied Molteno and Cyphorgat to-day, but the latter place is now reoccupied by the British. It is reported that five men and a lieutenant of the party have L3 @ | P 1 b4 b H e | = —aiad Working the 4.7-Inch 3i ® 4 & ® Jan. 3.—There is reason to be- The proposition, | understand, been given by the State De- It is mediation are received simul- hostilities the | P S S S S S S D Y because it has not yet been by the declaration that nothing of the powers’ good offices. YHE BOERS. The in some force at the Little Tugela laws. They will, therefore, be sent to Paris as individual passengers and ar- rangements made there for their trans- portation to the Transvaal. Grand Chief Ryan left this city to-day for Troy, N. Y., where he expects to or- ganize a council of the Knights of the Red Branch. P. J. McManus, a leading spirit in the movement to aid the Boers, said to-day: ““We do not care to publish our plans. We will assist the Boers and in such a way that results will tell.” LEYDS CONVERSES s of the United States, vet self-pres- ervation must necessarily come first.” It was further learned that Great Britain may lay down new regulations regarding contraband, making a dis- tinction between food evidently intended for domestic purposes and food probably intended for fleld rations. Under ' the latter head might come classes of canned | Boods. | " The British Government. fully realizes | that the representations of Mr. Choate will compel it to decide this far-reaching matter, and while his request has been made and recefved in the most friendly spirit the quandary is not relished by Lord Sallsbury, though it s not re- ’ garded as likely to cause international WITH HOLLAND’S QUEEN | friction. One thing is certain, the matter | will not be settled hurriedly, though it | is impossible for the Cabinet Minister to | forecast the date when Mr. Choate will | receive a definite answer, which must | settle Great Britain's stand upon the | | question of contraband. | v o-mummd | GERMANY THE HAGUE, Jan. 3.—Dr. Leyds, the diplomatic agent of the Transvaal, at- yesterday evening. Queen Wilhelmina conversed several times with hnim. He was received by the Forelgn Minister. - ALDERMEN OBIECT TO BEGINS M s FRIENDLY NEGOTIATIONS PEACE WITH HONOR” e | NEW YORK, Jan. 3. BERLIN, Jan. 3—It is semi-offictally | announced that Germany has not pro-| sqms ticer eay tested against the seizure of the Bundes- | “QVeTUSEr TN G0 vl o Lo | rath, but has merely requested that the | y,, gollowing message to the Canadian | matter be investigated and settled as| i Commissioner In London: -May speedily as possible. Friendly uegotla-| Now Year's blessings rest upon her tions in this direction are now proceed- Majesty, bringing peace with honor."” ing here. The Board of Aldermen is now after Y T ) f the B d of | ORGANIZATIONS TO D s et ny, Al SEND AID TO BOERS lege, Christle, Maxwell, Waring, McMul- PHILADELPHIA, Jan. 3.—The Knights Iin and others indignantly denounced the Mayor's right’ to speak for the people. of the Red Branch at a meeting last night decided to extend all possible ald to ‘As the Mayor refused to call a special President Kruger. Resolutions of sym- meeting of the Counell to discuss the mat- pathy for the Boers were adopted. The ter to-day, a meeting was called by eight Aldermen and a hot time is expected. The order claims a membership of 100,000, made up principally of Irish and Germans. Board of Public Works, before adjourn- A meeting of the lgcal branches of the ment, adopted the following resolution: Whereas, The expreseion “*Peace with honor'* in diplomatic language, indicates that a natlon which has euffered reverses may, without loss Clan Na Gael was also held last night for | o¢ aignity, accept terms of an opponent; and, drfll. Fully 400 young men have been | whcreas, the opinion of this community is op- formed into companies, and will, it is said, be sent to South Africa. The men cannot go in a body, as that would be a violation of the neutrality A special dispatch posed to peace upon any other terms than the unconditional surrender of the national enemy. Resolved, That the board regrets that in a semi-officiul manner the views of the people of tended the New Year’s ball at the palace | 0 the Commercial | St. John should have been set forth In the lan- guage quoted above, and desires to not only | express the hope but the firm conviction that her Majesty's Government will prosecute the war in such a manner as to vindicate the honor of the nation and the cause of justice they | have, as ever, undertaken to sustain. BOER SYMPATHIZERS AND ALLEGED TREASON VICTORIA, B. C., Jan. 3—A citizens’ committee was formed here to-day to ascertain the identity of all Boer sym- pathizers identified with the Transvaal | assistance movement and iastitute prose- | cutions for treason, also arranging a boy- cott. The movement, which has excited great indignation, is chiefly among Ger- man, Dutch and Belgian residents. R e i RUSSIA’S CZAR WILL NOT INTERFERE LONDON, Jan. 3.—The Vienna corre- spondent of the Standard says: Emperor Nicholas has assured the British Embas- sador at St. Petersburg (Sir C. S. Scott) | that Great Britain need not fear interven- tion or any sort of difficulty from Rus- sla in the South African complications. This may fairly be interpreted as an as- surance ineluding an indirect promise that France will abstain from creating difficul- ties for England. UNITED STATES TUG RESOLUTE GOES DOWN BOSTON, Jan. 3.—The United States Quartermaster’'s tug Resolute, Captain George Loring, was sunk in the harbor early to-night in a collision with the steel ocean tug Swatara. All on board are be- lleved to have been saved except Henry Ottobifis, who had not been found at a late hour to-night. The Resolute filled and sank almost at once. Among the twenty-one persons on board at the time of the collision were Captain Brown, Seventh Artillery, stationed at Fort Warren, and daughter; Lieutenant Hatch, Fourth Artillery, Mrs. Hatch and Miss Hatch. I EX-CHIEF LEES CARRIES AWAY ALL THE ROGUES Leaves Police Department Without a Gallery—He Will Open a Private CHIEF OF POLICE LEES in the San X E may not be missed Francisco Police Department, but the rogues’ gallery will be. When he left he took it with him, and in the recesses of the big black iron case in the “upper office,” where it once was stored, are only aching voids. Lees descended on the office Tuesday night. opened the case and took the gallery with him. He claims it as his own per- sonal property, to do with as he will. | and he does not will that it shall be of | benefit to the department from which his judgment told him to resign to save dismissal at the hands of the new Com missioners pledged to Lieutenant Esola. The gallery is stored safely under lock and key at his home, where it will re- main until he moves it downtown to the private detective agency he intends to | open in competition with the Pinker- | tons and the local police. This news will come undoubtedly as a painful surprise to the newly appoint- ed Police Commissioners. Although they probably never gave a moment of e e e o S o CAPTAIN JOHN SEYM Agency. | legal contest made dete fully the greatest coast. A case his mind that ness he Pinkertons a and, his gallery- have a tin to go on 1 sistants ir eral of t “upper office” force. His. first assistant will undoubtedly be John Seymour, for a long time kis right hind man, and at present captain of the City Prison. - The others are not known. Almost any day now pedestrians may notice the shingle of the Lees’ Detective Agency swinging to e breeze that blows—and it will blew no good fo:the Pinkerton He will undoubtedly --cut | deepl > their busin on this coast: " Up till a year a a hali ago. the aged nee r private age 2 mof key!” R ] OUR of the City Prison. R e L R R e e e SR S R ok o e g % § | thought to such an institution as a rogues’ gallery, they certainly labored under the impression that a fully equipped Police Department was about to be turned over to them. Even after the retirement of Lees they had no fear that they would be unable to find in Esola a competent successor. Whether or not that is so remains to be seen, but it is certain that the choice of the new Commissioners will be badly handicapped in going into office —the business of which is to prevent and detect crime—without the aid of a be | rogues’ gallery. How the Chief to appointed will get around this difficulty is a conundrum hard to solve. Lees’ descent upon and capture of the rogues’ gallery is based upon his claim | that he owns it from cover to cover, with every photo and criminal record in it. There is no question that he start- ed it, years and years ago, when it was not dreamed that San Francisco would grow to its present importance upon the map of the world. At that time— thirty or forty years ago—no financial provision was made for the collection of photographs of criminals, no books were provided for criminal records. He began on his own account to gather and index and classify the “mugs” of notorious crooks that came this way, and he has continued it ever since, with- out, he claims, a cent’s worth of assist- ance from the city. The collection is now an enormous one. It contains the photographs, an- tecedents, criminal records and close descriptions of nearly every crook the country, white, black and yellow. The ugly “mugs” of 14,744 whites and blacks, men and women, the pages of the gallery, and in black and white their records are under the thumb of the possessor. In addition the faces of 2570 Chinese and Japanese murderers and thieves are inclosed be- tween its covers. cupboard is bare. Whether or not this claim of the ex- | Chief will hold in law is a question that depends entirely upon the incoming Police Commissioners. They will un- doubtedly make claim that the ex- Chiefi had no right to re- move the gallery. Those who know the white-haired veteran de- tective may be sure that he will stub- bornly contest any such claim and will make as bitter a fight in the court as he knows how—and he can go a little | at that, as the history of the department will show. Pending the probability of any such in | glower from | And Chief Lees has | them all, and the city's big black iron | ve with the Pin- | Chief was hand in glo s ,-.indeed. that they | kertons did not con ecessary to have | an agency here. ally, with the rush | of racctrack business, they were com- pelled to put in a local force, and since then Lees has not been working with them. No rupture is supposed to have occurred, but all is fair in love and de- tective work, and the San Francisco veteran is on the trail of the golden goose. With his private rogues’ gal- lery, which the city thought its very own, he should be able to cover the detective business of the coast.. That he will leave no stone unturned to do so goes withor Meanwhile the San Francisco Police Department will have to go without a rogues’ gallery. ROUGH VOYAGE OF THE STEAMER THYRA Beset by Heavy Seas on Her Trip From Portland to San Diego. SAN DIEGO, Jan. 3.—The California and | Oriental steamship Thyra, Captain J. O. | Edwardsen, arrivea this forencon from | Portland, having on board about 3300 tons | of flour. She left Portland on the morn- | Ing of December 27, and after being bar bound at the mouth of the Columbia River for twenty-four hours she got away, running into the storm which has been off the coast for the past week and more. The storm did not leave her until she rounded Point Loma into the bay this forenoon, and even then the rain con- tinued, though with some abation. The captain reports that the seas were heavy all the way down the coast, and that progress was necessarily slow. He expected to make San Diego on Monday, but the storm kept him back. There was | no trouble and the vessel made headway all the time, but the wind was from the southeast and it was slow work heading into it. The Thyra will begin loading to-morrow morning. She will take about 1000 tons of wire and nails and 3400 to 3800 bales of cotton, besides about 100 tons of general merchandise that may be offered. She will take out one of the most valuable cargoes yet taken from this port by the | new transpacific steamer line. The steam- er Volumnia, now twenty-eight days out of Valparaiso, is due on Sunday or Mon- | day, and the Oriental steamer Lady Joy- sle is expected along about the 12th. STEAMER BORGHESE IS A TOTAL WRECK LONDON, Jan. 4 —A dispatch from Bris- tol says that the British steamer Borghese of Glasgow foundered off Cape Finistere | last Friday during a hurricane. Twenty- | two of the crew were drowned. The sur- vivors, nine in number, have just arrived at Bristol