The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, February 24, 1901, Page 14

Master THE SAN Ff{ANCISCO CALL, SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 24, 1901 TO FIX RESPONSBILITY FOR THE DISASTER GENERAL OPINION IS EXPRESSED THAT CAPTAIN WARD WAS IN NO WAY TO BLAME et L ‘;' fg - ariners and Insurance Men Say That When Pilot Jordan Went on Boari GIVBSS %’Bflgsnfi ufiflwllfl. Rio de Janeiro He Became the Sole Judge as to the Proper Time to Bring| p Into Port---Official Inquiry Into the Wreck to Begin To-Morrow '} . M the the Steamshi 4 bridge of Winter’s Bequest to Spring. lives who can tell m the responsibility for ie steamship Rio de nd her precious freight ves and merchandise should struck upon Fort Point Reef yesterday | morning. With the passing of the first poignant grief at the loss of so many in- | nocent lives the question which now uppermost in the minds of all is who is rest, and th man is Pilot Fred- | to blame for the disaster. erick Jordzn, who was on the Vice Pri chwerin of the Pacific the fll-fated vessel when she | Mail Company stated on the day of the ADVERTISEMENTS. Blood Humors Waste matters which the kidneys, skin and other organs were too torpid (in the cold days) to take care of, and cannot take care of now without Ip, there is such an accumulatin of them. They litter the whole system. Pimples, boils and other eruptions, loss of appe- ite, that tired feeling, bilious tums, fits of indiges- tion, dull headaches and many other troubles com- on in Spring are due to them. Hood's Sarsaparilla comes all their effects, whole system. removes all humors, over- strengthens and tones the Don’t deny yourself its benefits this Spring. Begin taking Hood’s at.once. “T have taken Hood's Sarsaparilla as a Spring tonic for geveral years and have derived great benefit from it. T ree- ommend it te all who have that tired feeling, loss of appetite or impure blood.” FANNIE FISHER, 2015 High Strect, Des Moines, Ia. Accept No Substitute fer Hood's Sarsaparilia. accident that the piiet was but a guide | ment that he ask to C: 1in Ward ani that the captain was | the sole comr er of the Rio de Ja-| neiro. The @isposition to e the blame upor: he Ill-fated ves sel, whese lips are sealed In death controverted vesterday by the st who are prominent in marine 1% circles. 1 and with A prom- ent m who is familiar b Pacific Mail Com- of the Pilot | iled in vessels all over the! | attache Captain Ward as to whether he should take the ship further in on account of the fog descending, an of the Pacific Mail Company, whose name for obvious reasons is sup- pressed, sald yesterd: “If Jordan safd such a thing, he told a alschood. He was the pilot, and why should he have asked the captain for or- ? Jordan was in command of the Rio Ge Janeiro from the time he went on board on Thursday evening, and he gave the orders to start the ship to come into He might the bay on Friday morning. have consulted with Captain Ward, but I don’t believe for an instant that Jordan said to the captain, ‘The fog thick, what shall T do? told Jordan to go ahead. Jordan is try- ing 1o shift the blame from himself to a KNG Cf 4 HALF L Loar SEARCHING FOR WRECKAGE OF THE ILL-FATED STEAMSHIP RIO DE JANEIRO. + world and I think 1 am qualified to talk as to the rules governing pilots and cap- tains. The rule all cver the world is that when a pllot comes aboard a ship the pilot is in sole command, Of course the pilot is supposed to act as & guide to the captain, who never loses his command of his ship. It is difficult to explain this in proper language. What I mean is this, when a pilot boards a ship the pllot is supposed to give all orders and take the vessel into port at the time he thinks proper. While he, the pflot, is in sole command the captain has the right to judge of the orders of the pilot and if necessary take the command out of the pllot's hands. That is what I mean by saying that the pilot is in sole command of a ship from the time he gets aboard and that the captain is sole commander of his ship. The pilot is but a temporary commander and if he is making a mis- take the captain has the power to rectify the error.” Among insurance men the same idea was expressed, that the pilot was respon- sible for the Rio de Janeiro from the time he boarded the vessel on Thursday even- ing at 5 o'clock until she was wrecked, and that Captain Ward had no reason to countermand the orders of Pilot Jordan. “I don’t think for a single moment that brave Captaln Ward was to blame for the disaster,” said a well-known marine in- surance manager yesierday. “And whiie I did not know him 1 want to champion the cause of a man whose lips are sealed in death. 1t is easy enough for people to eay that Captain Ward was responsible for the accldent because the ship was brought Into port during the existence of a fog. ¥ “Pllot Jordan has stated that he ordered the anchor to be holsted, and this in itself shows that the pilot was in command of the vessel. 1f Jordan was not in charge what right had he to order the anchor to be hoisted? If lio was not in charge would the crew have obeyed his orders? He gave those orders to the officers on the bridge and those officers sent those orders to the engine-room. Would those officers have sent the orders of Pilot Jor- dan to the engine-room if they did not recognize the right of the pilot to give them? - “I am familiar with the rules of ship- ping and marine insurance and I state positively that when a pilot boards a ship he is supposed to pe the only judge of a proper time to take the ship into port. If the captain thinks that the pilot is in error then ‘the captain has the right to give orders to the pilot. “The reputation of Captain Ward is too well known to be affected by any charges brought against him by the officials of the Pacific Mall Corapany, and it would have been in better taste for them to have awaited the decision of the officlal inquiry before they started to place the blame for the loss of the Rio de Janeiro on a brave man who lles many fathoms . man whom he knows cannot gnswer him."” | ‘Considerable surprise was ‘expressed in many quarters yesterday that the boats | of the Rio de Janelro were unable to get away from the ship after she struck. Quartermaster Lindstrom, who was on the lookout at the time of the disaster, said yesterday: “We had ten boats and twelve life rafts and 400 to 500 life belts. On the voyage out we had five boat and fire drills and the same number on the voyage home. We had the last boat drill the day after we left Honolulu for San Francisco. When we struck the rock every one re- sponded promptly and went to his place. The Chinese crew hehaved admirably, just as if they were at drill. The Chinese pas- sengers were excited and caused consid- erable confusion. “From the time we struck until the ship went down about eight minutes elapsed, and 1 think the best was done to get all the boats out and get the passengers in them. It took a few minutes to get the passengers on deck and while the work of getting them into the boats was going on the ship gave a lurch and went down by the bow.” Quartermaster Lindstrom denied that he stated soon after his rescue that Captaln Ward went below or locked himself in his room. “The captain simply came down from the bridge,” said Lindstrom, “and went to his room under the bridge to get his overcoat, as he only had his pajamas on, and it was very cold. I was ordered by the pilot to heave the lead, and when I could not get bottom at twenty fathoms and the ship started to slide off, the pilot sald to the captain: ‘Get all your pas- sengers out. She will be sinking pres- ently." * The members of the State Pilot Com- mission could not be found vesterday, but it is understood that they will hold an in- quiry into the loss of the Rio de Janeiro next week. The United States local inspectors of hulls and boflers will hold an officlal in- vestigation next week. It Is known that Yesterday they sent for the officers of the Rio de Janeiro who survived and took their statements as to the sinking of the ship, Second Officer Coghlan being under examination for more than three hours. The greatest secrecy was maintained by the inspectors of hulls and boilers in mak- ing the examination, and it 1s understood that the object of taking the statements is that when the official investigation {s held the Inspectors will have statements of the witnesses to guide them. Coroner Leland vesterday impaneled a Jury to view the eleven bodies recovered from the wrecked steamship, The names of the jury are as follows: Leo Gilbert, 610 Kearny street; Jullus Son- nenberg, 2?8 Kearny street; 8. H. Collins, 227 Kearny street; G. Podesta, 242 Sutter street; W. W. Coulter, 227 Sutter street: F. Jaeger, 236 Sutter street; W. Douglas, 215 Sutter street; D. Renfro, 233 Sutter stieet; George Wise, 718 Market street, and Ernest Ticknor, 248 Sutter street. The fury, after viewing the bodles, was instructed to meet at the Coroner's office next Wednesday morning at 10 o'clock, When the Inquest will be held. The bodies of all the white people were removed from the Morgue yvesterday to various undertaking establishments in the city. The bodies of the Chinese were not claimed until late at night. The Six Chi- nese Companies sent word to Coroner Le- land, asking that the bodles be held until an opportunity could be afforded to find the relatives of the dead men. The Pacific Mail Company also sent word to the Cor- oner that it wanted the bodies of the dead Chinese in order that they might be em- balmed and sent back to China. Late last evening word was sent to Sur- geon O'Neill of the Rio de Janelro that the bodies would be delivered to the Mail beneath the waters of the bay.” ‘With reference to Pilot Jordan's state. Company in accordance with its request. Early yvesterday morning a number of mail sacks and trunks onging to the ! passengers of the ill-fated Rio de Janeiro | were found toating on the bay and were | taken to the Mail Dock. The malil sacks | were turned over to the postal authorities. One box picked up contained the papers | of Captain Ward, including his Masonic | |and Master Mariners’ certificates. Surveyor of the Port Spear has esmb-‘ | lished a patrol of the ocean beach and | bay, and all fishing-boats must report to | the barge office at the foot of Powell street. ! The list of dead now stands at 121 and { the saved eighty persons, making a total u{ Ih‘(::tlnn board at the time the vessel struck of Dispatches from the East, received in San Francisco yesterday, told of the deep grief which existed in official circles at the ne of the death of Consul General Wildma nd his family. { Jchn Roach, president of the ship building company which bears his name, was interviewed at Chester, Pa., yesterday, and when asked as to the cause of the rapid sinking of the Rlo de Janeiro, said: “The rapid sinking of the ship was due |to the fact that she was not built as modern ships are—with water-tight bulk- heads dividing the vessel up into compar- atively small compartments. At the time | | the Rio was built this practice of Insur- ing the safety of vessels had not been developed as it is to-day., The Rio was a stanch and steady ship, splendily con- structed, and had proved her seaworthi- | | ness in a dozen typhoons, but the lack of | | water-tight bulkheads was a fatal defect | !In case the ship struck a reef.” A Chinese merchant of this clty named | Ho Yung Sang, of the firm of Man Lee | & Co., 409 Dupont street, appeared be- fore the inspector of the Chinese Bureau ! yesterday making inquiries in regard to | his wife, whom he had been advised by | letter would be a passenger on the Rio. The unfortunate woman was the only | lady Chinese passenger on board. She | came in care of her uncle, who was the captain’s cabin boy and who made the | trip in order to care for her. From the | | statements made by the boatswain and those who met the woman there is no | doubt she was the wife of the merchant, | | She is among the missing. | . Miss Kate Hickey, | Sacramento, is supposed to have been | | one of the victims of the Rio de Janeiro | | disaster. She was with Consul Wildman at Hongkong and was expected to ar- rive about the 15th. No definite informa- | tion ‘has been received as to whether or | ‘ not she was on the steamship. Philip Nussenblatt. one of the survive | of the wreck, emphatically denies | statements derogatory to the conduect « } | Captain Ward after the accident and says that Mrs. Wildman never got into the | boat as_others have stated. H Mr. Nussenblatt was on deck at the | time the ship sank and when he at last | rose to the surface he managed to catch | | hold of a plank on which he floated until | nearly 8 o’clock, when he was rescued by | | some Ttalian fishermen. He was severely | | cut about the head by some blocks of | | wood. His wounds are doing well, how- | ever."and he will soon recover. i The City of Rio de Janeiro met her fate | at nearly the same hour and on the thir-| | ty-first anniversary of the loss of the | steamer Golden City, belonging to the | same company. i | _The Golden City stranded on Point St. | Lazaro. Lower California, February 22| 1870. This vessel was one of the finest | owned by the Pacific Mail Company. She | was rated at 3500 tons and was command- | ed by Captain Comstock. She was on her | run from this city to Panama and had a full passenger list. Fortunately no lives were lost. The vessel was valued at $500, 000 and was a :otal loss. OAKLAND, Feb. 23.—Charles B. Jay- cox, who was lost in the wreck of the Rio de Janeiro, was born and his boyhood days were spent at Mount Eden, in Ala- | méda County. When he and his brother, | Westley Jaycox, were quite young both | of their parents died, leaving them a large | | estate. The children were left in care of Mr. and Mrs. O. Dennis, who are now liv- ing in San Francisco with Westley. | Charles reached his majority about a year | ago and his portion of the estate was | turned over to him. He left soon after | for Honolulu, where he had been ever | since. His brother and his foster-parents wanted him to return to San Francisco, and he took the {ll-fated steamship Rio de | Janeiro. GREAT LOSS SUSTAINED | BY THE DEATH OF WHITE | _— | Supervisors Adopt a Memorial and | Order It Entered on the Board’s Journal. When the Suvervisors met yesterday afternocn the following memorial, intro- | duced by Suvervisor Braunhart, was | unanimously adopted: | In the meridian of life Stephen M. White fs | i | at rest after having filled to more than a meas- ure the demands of duty in every station In which he was placed. As a son, a husband. a father. he discharged each domestic obligation | with fidelity and fervor: as a citizen. prior to | his call to civic station, he recognized his re- | snonsibilitles and_employed his talents in ad- | cancing the interests of the community in ch he was cast; as.an occupant of office he neglected no detail that made service beneficial to the commonweajth, In the pursuit of a laudable ambitioin to se- cure the most Post as u national legis- lator he illustrated the est_type of public virtue and set an e: f enduring excel- | lence to the vouth of land. proving that honor and shame from Bo condition rise. but | | that in just dealing with fellow man, honest ana earnest endeavor in right doing lies all the honor of achievement, His career has been notable for Its departure from the comimon grop¥es of success; he carved out his own way fpom. the beginning and ad- hered to his original purpose with inflexible | resolution until its culmination in the Senate | of the United States, where at once he was ac- | knowledged the peer of the most accomplished | in all the qualities combining to make a per- | fect legisiator. In the State and in the United | States Senate and In party national counclls he was always recognized as entitled to the first place and alwa: oceupy it. San Franeisco, In which Stephen M. White first saw the light, and in which he received his early education and to which he ever cher- ished a tender affection, always reciprocated, owes to his memory equally with the fair city of Los Augeles, where his matusr vears and | last hours were passed, a tribute of grief for | the loss borne by these citles, this State and | the Union; and in recognition of our common | sorrow this board orders this meorial to be en- | tered in its journal. R | TYPEWRITER GIRLS i CAUSE EXCITING SCENE | A few Dbelated pedestrians passing along | California street. between Kearny and | Montgomery, last night were startled by | loud cries for police help. employed in the office of the Equitable Gas Light Company ran hurriedly out to the sldewalk and declared in excited | tones that a daring attempt had been made by female footpads to rob him. A few minutes later several policemen | arrived on the scene and listened atten- | tively to the janitor’s tale. He sald that he was sweeping when the front door was suddenly opened and three women en- tered, one of them was armed with a re- volver, and demanded his money, threat- | ening to biow out his brains if he made an outery. He said that, despite the threat, he began shouting for aid and the baf- fled robbers ran out and disapppeared in an adjoining building. 1 An investigation made by the police showed that the janitor was the victim of a joke played by mischievous type. ! writer girls employed in an attorney's of- fice. ex were detained after office | hours to finish up some work and had been to a neighbo: restaurant to get supper. One of them took a banana from the table when she was leaving and when | they saw the janitor at work one of them ' prepared when called upon to | ted that it would be a good joke to frighten him. Armed with the e th‘u‘y entered the office and A the janitor that he ler loose éhange. ‘When he commenced to they becamme frightencd and ran tothe w!fan they are emvlond‘.’“ e A UNITED a former resident of |. Lynch and August Quinlan, who ! caught in the act of robbing Lov 1 clothing store, at 3 Jessie street. on the morning of last Thursday. Following ! the City The Janitor = T | FORECASTS :HORE RAIN | have more rain to-morrow. ADVERTISEMENTS. Says Pe-ni-na, e Catarrh Cure, sesesssesessserssn - cesoee . ! + 4 on i) | A Hon. W. N. Roach, United States fr e R , . Hon. W. N. Roach, United Stat na personal endorses Peruna, the great cata ) ter to The Peruna Medicine Compa at « Ohi w Washington, D. C., Senator Roach = “Persuaded by a friend | have used Peruna as a ftonic, and | am glad to testify thet it has greatly hslped me in sirzngth, vigor and appetite. | have been cdvised i + % S S Mr. Ed. J. Makinson, contractor and builder, 610 Grand Block, W A street, St. Paul, Minn., #“Many doctor bills can be saved by th use of Peruna I have all my friends taking Peruna, have he nothing praise clined toward - onsumption, as all my fam- secsssee seseeee Mr. E. J. Makinson have died Contractor and with it. I Buflder. weigh 153 - ounds, and T s Peruna that has given me such good health.”—E. J. Makinson. | As a result of the chanzeable climate | catatrh has become one of the most | prevalent and universal diseascs known to man. Nearly onesthird of the people of the United States are aficted with catarrh ome of its many phases and stage: 4 to this the fact that catarrh rapidl tends to become fixed or chronic. also the fur- ther fact that it is eapable of produc- ing a great many other diseases. and | ve begin to realize the true nature of this dread disease. So formidable has catarrh become that in every city or town of any size numerous doctors are to be found w nake the treatment of catarrh a spe- ~jalty. Of course a great deal of good is accomplished in this way, but as yet a comparatively small number of | the people can avail themselves of this treatment because of the great expense necessarily attached to it. | § ! i z | POLICEMEN SEIZE . SEVERAL BURGLARS Three of the gminals Are Cnughtl in the Act.and One Gives Battle. Captain John Spillane’s patroime succeeded in placing behind bars six early-morning burgla the last three days. First to co were the young e capture Officers Chase, Cassidy Shinkwin and Clay arrested Robert Fleming Bannister and James K - had stolen thirteen boxes of cigars f a store at 2 Howard street, where had pried open the door. Not to be outdone by his brother offic Policeman T. P. Kinch while on his w to his home after reporting off dv Hall station vesterday morni discovered a man on the inside of a st at 223 Fourth street in t 34 stolen goods out through the trar two confederates on the outside. Kin once grappled with burglar and a desperate fignt. 1 succeeded in plac his wrists and send wagon to the statio me of John Kelly the charge of hurglary. add that Captain Spillane is with the record made by ! g sev the handcuf n the & ing him ir whe . he FOR THIS VICINITY | Chief McAdie Discusses th: Weather Conditions—Northern Rivers Are Rising Rapidly. Chief Forecaster MuAdie of the local | Weather Bureau maide the following | statement yesterday to weather con- | ditions: “There has been nearly an inch and| three-quarters of rain in the vicinity of | this eity in the last twenty-four hours, | and there is every likeiihood that we will o aln has been very heavy over the | nor’lt'::nrl part_of the State and iIs likely | to continue. The snow is melting in tha mountains and with a heavy rainfall wi ve very high water. Very little rain has allen in the southern Ran of the State. The rivers are very high, The Sacramen to at 10:30 o'clock to-day was 25.6 steads t T think it will rise. At Coiusa it was 4 and rising steadily. The danger line is feet there. The highest water they had there was 25 feet some years The river at Red Biuff is 15.8 and Hitng. At Oroville it is 123 feet” efficacious as a cura for the almost universal complaint of catarrh.”” —W. N. Roach, Larimore, North Dakota. No other remedy can take the place of Peruna. of Pe case and the | Oh DO e i BRIGF LOCAL NEWS. CLINTON R. COi sses00 000000 ssssessssssed Senator from North Dakota. by friends that it is remarkably 3 . . . . 3 . . . . . . out equal for ¢ oughs, eolds, bronchitis, all climatie ¢ e consumptic of winter, nor an ex- . . . . yn, N.Y., owing: w ! recommend. cured me 8 very bad attack and though I suffered for years I feel en- , _ tirelv relieved and it it will benefit others, I gladly give my endorse- ment™ —B. J. Kirkhutt. 4 _If you do mot * derive prompt and satisfactory results from the use ina, write at once to Dr. Hart- giv a full statement of your he will be pleased to giva you his valuable advice gratis. Add Hartman, president of Hartman Sanitarium, Columbus, o yron J. Kirkhuff, Attorne n Cou man R e R R L e e LTER'S BSTATE.—A peti- ton R. Coulter, n the raliroad wreck at was filed yesterday by Decedent’s estata is IPS DEAD.—The Po- was notifled yesterday that Phillips had died in Healds- ad gome for his health. Phil- ¢ age and joined the force art d erficient o ack rifle shots PHILL " > of the will be paid to the find- er of NAOMI WAKE- FIELD, lost in the wreck of Rio | de Janeiro; 19 years of age, tall, i slender, dark hair and dark blue eyes. Report must be made within 4 days from this date. R. H. CROSS, Attorney. Mills Building, San Francisco. February 23, 190¥ R . . ‘. ) ’ . . . . . . . . . . . ‘. . . : . . . . . . . * . ‘. . . . ‘. . . ’ 13 ? ‘. * . ‘. . * . * 13 3 . . . . . ’ . . , . ‘. . . . STATES SENATOR"