The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, February 20, 1901, Page 1

Call, YOLUME LXXXIX—NO. 82 SAN FRANCISCO, WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 1901. 20, PRICE F1IVE CENTS. ONE OF CUDAHY KIDNAPERS IS CAUGHT AND [DENTIFIED o ames Callahan, Pat Crowe, a Most Daring J an Associate of Participant in the| Crime at Omaha| | | \ & . | by Patrolmen of whom are COMPETITION IS WORRYING BRITAIN tion to Be Formed to of Coping With to devise means to meet deputa- or abroad to in- to send jol lab DANGER OF FRAUD IN WINES LESSENED Dealers Who Sell the Spurious Arti- cle Will Hereafter Be Severely Punished by Law. 3TON, Feb. 19 —The managers cheap American wines bels of high-priced Internal to-day in Revenue & which he ) the sale of domestic liquors, - beers under foreign labels is be punished by a fine of =cation of the merchandise. 4 in the Internal Revenue Bu- he business of selling domestic f these kinds under foreign labels ge proportions. - Wichita Citizens to Act. WICHITA, X Feb. 19.—A mass eting of business men has been called r next The call says: ns and taxpayers of the city call 2 mass meeting 22, to take such ny lawlessness or city. Every business b: terested In the welfare of | v requested to be pres- | 0Ing this there ed information 3 a to the arrest ther man connected with the crime He is a coachman employed by a neighbor of the Cu The Chief of Police ex- o throw additional light xpect ahys. an’s s the m: elder Murta is name is John Murta. really wanted apd the expected to tell of his son’s the time of the stealing of the ears of age and has lived ral years. He been packing house of the | Packing s ago ight made a statement as Company here up to Ing, absolutely nothing, abou ng of Edward Cudahy | 3r. €1 .4id I would be the last man in the | , beczuse if I aid and Pat | proved to be connected with the the end of the rough me. There ning State’s gvi- knowledge be- city would had hanged me to the h pole. T have swear to my wherea e people they even peo- houts on and the twa| ce pre- 1 the case go for nothing. T know none of th 'm, have never seen nor had s a with them any | APPEAL TO LAWMAKERS TO SAVE THE FORESTS Representatives of the California Club Urge Immediate Legislation by the Present Congress. SHINGTON, Feb. 19. — Mrs. Lovell president of the California Club of and Mrs. A. D. Sharon, who 1 Washington in the interest of the eras big tree bill, will have an in- terview with Speaker Henderson to-mor- row and urge upon him the advisability of action on that measure by the House at They have recelved assur- ances that the recommendations of Gov- ernor Gage to the California Legislature isco, are this session regarding the maintenance and care of the Big Tree Park by the State of C: fornia 1- in case of favorable legislation by in the matter, will be adopted, v have strong hopes that, in view | of this probable action of the Legislature, gress will authorize the purchase of | the property, as proposed in the bill. 5 CHINESE ENVOY BLUFFED. NEW YORK, Feb. 19.—A special to the from Peking says: L{ Hung Chang and Prince Ching, theChinese Peace Com- missioners, had an unpleasant time on Sat- ur Dr. Mumm von Schwartzenstein, the German M! ter, visited the Chinese | envoys on that day and informed them that Count von Waldersee would be ready to start a great expedition for Singanfu on February 23 if the Chinese Government @1d not comply with the demands of the Ministers before that date. The Chinese Commissioners asked “the Minister how many men would compose | the expedition. Dr. von Schwartzenstein refused to tell, but said there would be sufficlent to get through to the Chinese capital. The Chinese Commissioners immediately dispatched an alarming message to the Empress Dowager, in which they in- formed her that she must hurry and agree | to the terms or the Germans would surely start for Singanfu. Later in the day an attache of the Brit- ish lesation visited Li Hung Chang and Prince Ching and told them that the Eng- lish were tired of walting to hear from the Chinese Government. Their troops were anxious and enthusiastic to join an | expedition and would start next Saturday | with the Germans. They would never rest | until they got the entire court in their | hands, and once thcy had succeeded in | | was no i:Uing what | would bappen. it was supposed executed in the utmost | Agents of prominent business men, who | discussion in the downtown districts. 'MERCHANTS RESORT TO A DESPERATE PLAN TO DESTROY EVIDENCE Orders to Get Rid of Documents Which Bear on Case They Issue Pending Befor HE business community of this city was agitated yesterday by an incident which has had few par- allels in commercial and legal circles in San Francisco. A clever scheme, deliberately planned and secrecy, was made to interfere with the processes of the Superior Court and rob it of evidence which, in a bitterly con- tested case now in progress, would have been of the most sensational nature. have been made defendants in an action in which they are accused of organizing | a corporation that the laws of the United States have made iliegal, took the first steps vesterday to destroy the documen- | tary evidence which would have been harmful to them. The facts of, this deliberate plot to in- terfere with the authority of the Superior Court became public property yesterday afternoon and werq the theme of general The suit out of which this sensational develop- ment has been evolved has been instituted by R. P. Merillion against Thomas E. | Ryan, J. W. Bartholomew and Henry Euler, who constitute the majority of the board of directors of the American Box Factory. Merillion is a stockholder and director of this corporation and in his suit he accuses the defendants of having entered into an unlawful combination to destroy commercial competition and main- | taln exorbitant prices in one of the most important avenues of trade on the Pacific Coast. Plot of a Mammoth Trust. This is not the first time that Merillion has accused associates of wrongdoing, but his latest charges are far more se- rious than any others preferred by him. | | His sult is now In progress be.ore Su-| perior Judge Murasky. About two years ago there was organized in this city a corporation known as the Spruce Pack- age Company. This combination, which was designed ambitiously to control the entire box trade of the Pacific Coast, was Grays Harbor Commercial Company, the Clatsop MIill Company and Hobbs, Wall & Co. The purpose of this commercial combi- nation was to control the trade in boxes and to shut out of the market all firms which were not in the pool. In order to do”this it became necessary to secure ab- solute” direction of the Oregon output of spruce shooks, the trade designation for the lumber out of which boxes are made. Until the organization of the Spruce Pack- age Company the local, State and coast competition in boxes had become very keen and it was determined to make the pool uncompromising in its treatment of its competitors. Several of the representatives of the combine went therefore to Portland and negotiated with mills for their exclusive production in the California trade. In making this demand the members of the local trust calculated that they would shut out all coast competitors in the box manufacturing industry by keeping from l, The representatives who were sent by i | | lumber from them during the years 1869 | Government in overcharge was returned. | interest In the matter was displayed, par- e Judge Murasky them all of the box lumber on the coast. This scheme came perilously near being a direct and most serfous violation of the interstate commerce law, and yesterday the entire commerclal community was dis- cussing the desperate means which have been taken to destroy the documentary evidence of the fact. Making of the Telltale Contracts. the pool to negotlate with the Portland lumbermen performed their duty well. They signed contracts with the three | prominent and only important mills of | Portland to purchase a certain amount of and 1900 on condition that these northern mills would not sell to any other Califor- nia firm or combination during that time any box lumber. The corporations with | whom this compact was made were the | Standard Box Company of- Portland, the Multnomah Box and Truck Company, and the Multnomah Box Company. After the local trust had been organized and the contracts with the Portland mills had been made, Merillion quarreled with his fellow directors in the American Box Factory and determined that he would force that eorporation out of the Spruce Package Company. He accused his asso- ciates in the directory of having defraud- ed the United States Government by mak- | ing grossly excessive charge for boxes. | A sensational investigation followed and | the money which had been pald by the | When this had been done Meriliion insti- tuted his suit to prevent the American | Box Factory from continuing as a mem- ber of the Spruce Package Company. He alleged that the latter corporation is an | | unlawful combinaticn and has violated the statutes of the nation. These accu- sations created considerable excitement in the business community of this city and | when the trial began on Monday marked } { ticularly when the attorney for Merillion | | offered to prove his allegations that under | | the laws of the United States the Spruce | | Package Company is an unlawful com- | bination. | Orders Issued to Destroy the Proofs. | The proot of this accusation is clatmed | | to be In the contracts which the Spruce | | Package Cumpany made. with the Port- | {land mills. When Merillion made his threat the responsible representatives of the firms associated in the Spruce Pack- age Company became so agitated that| | they could not keep their own counsel and | the business community was enjoying | their distress as a matter of sensational | gossip. Telegrams were sent post haste, conferences were held and orders were | issued that the contracts with the Port- | | 1and mills be got out of the way in the | shortest possible time. Demands were | | made that not only the originals, but | every copy be secured and now the gos- | | s'ps in the commercial district who have | | been told the secret are wondering what | | will happen when Merillion demands the | documentary evidence which his opponents | l have been.in such eager haste to destroy. STEERABLE BALLOONS WILL SOON BE USED Improved Aerial Machines Likely to Be of Immense Value in Ccn- ducting War. PARIS, Feb. 19.—M. de Santos Dumont, the plucky voung aeronaut, sald to-day: “I quite agree with Comte de Dion that never before in the history of ballooning has so much been done or so well. No one realizes better than he the great field opened before us and he has spent many hours, days and weeks of anxlous thought and study in-endeavoring to perfect his ideas and so put them into shape that they may be combined in an aerial ma- chine which can be successfully navi- gated.” ' 1 asked M. de Santos Dumont what were | the possibilties of a steerable balloon in the near future. “For the present,” he replied, “and for a few years to come, I think it will be only used for sport and for pastime. In case of war it could be used with advantage in bombarding the chief towns, in carrying | dispatches and principally to follow the movements of the enemy. | “For commercial means and for transpor- | tation I do not belleve they will be used in | our time, though I am as confident as you are that the time will come when navi- gating with flying machines will be uni- versal.” | “Do you think they can be so construct- | ed that In case of any accident to the | balloon the safety of human life can be assured?” was asked. He replled: “To avold danger we can divide the bal- | loon into different cells or compartments | and so if one bursts we have a reserve in another to keep the machine in the air. As for landing In a storm or a strong | wind, they will be easy to control, being pointed at both ends so as to give less | resistance to the wind.” CUBA WOULD SHUT { OUT UNITED STATES | Alleged Report to Convention That America Have Neither Troops Nor Naval Station. | PARIS, Feb. 19.—The Herald's European edition publishes the following editoria! squib: “Havana telegrams report that the Cu- ban convention, after a heated debate, agreed as foliows: ‘The commission is un- animous in reporting to the convention that no United States troops should be al- low to occupy any part of the island, and that no naval station should be accorded to the United States.’ “If this is true, President McKinley and Congress in session will know what to do.” | men. v.-H‘H—l—l—H-!-H+ Ll ) 1 ILLNESS OF POPE | % LEQO IS CAUSING 5 MUCH UNEASINESS E Medica! Men at the Vat- i ican Are in Constant 4 Attendance Upon the Aged Roman Pontiff —_— ROME, Feb. 19.—The + Pope is ill and has not re- ¥ ceived visitors for four days. Much alarm is felt owing to the great age of the Pontiff. The Vatican doctors are in constant at- tendance. [ e e S L SPEYERS MAY STILL RULE THE RAILROAD Reports Are Circulated That the Har- riman Syndicate Has Not Yet Gained Complete Control. NEW YORK, Feb. 19.—Tt is now believed in conservative circles in Wall street that the Harriman syndicate has not succeed- ed in getting complete control of the Southern Pacific Rallroad, despite the purchase of the H. E. Huntington and Speyer interests. It is said, as a matter of fact, that after having sold out the Speyers have acquired a large holding and will be able to muster even greater strength at the next annual meeting. There is sald to be a great deal of feel- ing between the two interests, and a clash between them would not surprise raflroad It is sald that the Harriman syndi- cate does not own one-fifth of the capital stock of the Southern Pacific. Mr. Harri- man is said to have been equally unfortu- nate in his attempt to control the Bur- lington. | hrelrebedesede ielieleedeniebeldel sl deldedode el el ded=t | —_—— Uses Hammer in a Saloon. - PORT HURON, Mich., Feb. 19.—With a hammer instead of the usual hatchet, Mrs. Charles Rhodes this afternoon en- tered Jomes Wilson's saloon, and after giving the bartender a lecture, broke all the glass show cases and about ten bot- tles of whisky. The er then put her out. Mrs. Rhodes stated that she had served notice on the saloon keeper not tc sell liquor to her son. AMERICA HAS NO REASON FOR AGGRESSIVE ACTION IN CHINA, AND SO NOTIFIES THE POWERS | ALL BUREAU, 406 G STREET, N. W., WASHINGTON, Feb. 19.— President McKinley has taken a determined stand against further aggressive action by the powers in China. As a result of the Cabinet meeting to-day Acting Secretary of State Hill sent a dispatch to Minister Conger defining the attitude of the United States. This message shows that the United States will not only refuse to participate in the expediticn contemplated, but looks upon it with much disfavor. The nots communicated to Conger is of the nature of a vigorous remonstrance. The admin- istration hopes that similar statements will be made by other powers as to their attitude on the German proposition. Two hours and a half were spent by the Cabinet in considering Court von Walder- see’s proposed movement, as reported yes- terday by General Chaffee, and to-day by Minister Conger, who stated that he had protested to the Ministers against he proposed expedition, but without ef- fect. It was finally decid~d to have Acting | Secretary Hill instruct Conger in this ense: “The United States Las no troops In China except those which comprise the legation guard. The United States is not at war with China. Having rescued the American citizens besleged in Peking and taken possession of the city until due reparation is made, there appears to this Government no reason whatever for ag- | gressive action. A general protocol setting forth the demands. of forelgn Govern- ments was agreed upon in December, and China has been carrying out the terms as enerretically as she can. It does not ap- pear, therefore, that there i{s ground for any further military action at this time.” General Chaffee has been Informed of the character of the instructions sent to Minister Conger and directed not to par- ticipate in Von Waldersee's expedition ux der any consideration. There is no doubt that there was a strong sentiment before the Cabinet meeting In favor of making direct remonstrance to Germany, but ra- flection showed the inadvisability of this course or of seeking to form a combina- tion with the powers against Germany. Either course would only have caused a feeling of bitterness in Berlin. It was thought best to have Conger explain the attitude of the United States to his col- leagues and they will communicate this statement to their Governments. The authorities have no definite infor- mation as to the attitude of other Gov- ernments except Russia, which is known to be with the United States in opposing the proposed expedition. Some think that a result of the remonstrance of this and perhaps other Governments Ger- many will be induced to withdraw Cour.t von Waldersee's proposal. CHINA mi "1'0 COMPLY. Envoys Induce the Court to Yield to the Powers’ Demands. PEKING, Feb. 19.—Prince Ching and Li Hung Chang have recelved a telegram which virtually means that the Chinese will comply With all the demands of the powers, although they still desire infor- mation on a few minor details. The for- eign envoys look ahead confidently to absolute compliance by Thursday at the latest. Prinee Ching and Li Hung Chang have been greatly worried by the prep- arations for the expedition into the in- terior, and they hn_mm urged the g HKWANGSU, EMPEROR OF CHRINA - SRS S—— MEETING OF INTERNATIONAL COMMISSION AT WHICH FATE OF CHI- ! NESE NOTABLES WAS DECIDED, CHINA'S EMPEROR AND OFFI- | CIALS WHO ANNOUNCE ACCEPTANCE OF DEMANDS. l court to yield, pointing out.otherwise the dismemberment of the empire was prob- able. General Chaffee signalized the Chinese New Year by calling upon Li Hung Chang, who seemed to be in much better health. . It is now asserted that the Ger- mans wili turn the raliroad over to the English at the end of the month. VON WALDERSEE’'S EXPEDITION Troops to Act a Guard to Emperor on His Way Back to Peking. SHANGHAI, Feb. 19.—A special dis- patch from Peking says Field Marshal Count von Waldersea's expedition to Sian- fu will comprise 15,50 British, Germans, French and Italians. It is understood that if the expedition starts it will act as a guard of honor to the Emperor on his way back to Peking. It is rumored that the allies will simultaneously operate in the Yangtseklang Valley. BERLIN, Feb. 19.—THs National Zel- tung and other inspircd papers assert that Field Marshal von Waldersee has no in- tention of embarking on a large expedition into the interior of China, but they say that the Chinese will find strong forces ready to act if they continue to procras- tinate. Von Waldersee's sphere of action, 1t is pointed out, is limited to the province of Chili. —_—————— GERMAN PLANS OUTLINED. Von Waldersee’s Operations Restrict- ed to Pechili Province. BERLIN, Feb. 19.—A high official of the Forelgn Office, regarding Count von ‘Waldersee's proposed expedition, declares that no representations have thus far been made against it by the United States. - Should such a step be taken the German Government would ask Vom Waldersee for further information. The present view taken by the German Government is that Von Waldersee In- tends openly to exert a moral pressure on China, owing to fresh difficulties in regard to the punishment of the guilty officials. and that he wishes to show the Chinese that the military “entente” between the powers still prevails. Count von Waldersee is the supreme au- thority in the province of Pechill. He voiuntarily restricted the radius of occu- pation to a portion of the province, but he has the right, when he thinks fit, to oe- cupy the rest of it. On the other hand, any expedition beyond the borders of Pe- chill is not to be undertaken until after & consultation of the powers. It is scarcely probable, however, that such an expedi- tion is Intended. TALKED TO COMMONS IN IRISH LANGUAGE One of the Members of the British Commons Creates a Sensation. LONDON, Feb. 19.—An Irish member, Thomas O'Donnell, created an interesting scene to-day by attempting to address the House of Commons In Irish. He only ut- tered a few words when the Speaker called him to order, whereupon John Red- mond claimed the right for any member to speak In the tongue with which him- self and his constituents were most fa- miliar. The Speaker rejoined that he would re- quire a new rule to permit speeches in Irish and after further argument O'Don- nell bowed to the Speaker’s order, but re. fused to address the House in English bes cause he had been prevented from doing 80 in Irish.