The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, March 1, 1901, Page 1

S L0 - all, i o \'L{t_,‘z/, 1Ge VOLUME LXXXIX-—NO. 91. SAN FRANCISCO, FRIDAY, MARCH 1, 1901. PRICE FIVE CENTS. LOOKOUT ELLINGSON MAKES CONFESSION THAT HE HEARD RIO’S SIGNAL OF DISTRESS Diver Fails to Locate Wreck of the Steamship—Con- flicting Testimony Is Presen ted at Offi- cial Investigation. =-SAVING LOOKOUT MARK ELLINGSON, who tain Hodgson, that he had heard the whistles of distress has not since been seen. @ -ttt ittt delefeted =il ot fnfimiell- B ARK ELLING , lookout of g m. yesterday he sought Captain Hodg- -saving Sta- | son and said, “'Captain, I have something to his | to say to you.” Ellingson then unfolded Captain Jo- | the grave story of his action at the time fatal morn- | of the wreck of the Rio. “I told you a lle, captain,” faltered El- lingson, “I told a lle when I sald I 414 not hear the Rio’s whistles.” en no notice Captain Hodgson sprang on the man on hearing | who trembled before him and, grasping him by the throat, choked him until he was livid in the face. s | “You cowardly dog, you cowardly dog' Rio de Janeiro | .y o1aimed the captain as he threw Elling- oS ok “ie- | son to the ficor. Is had been heard Heard the Long Whistles. t has been sub- | both by the e ed, Ellin re the official in in a few words. r and by the con gson told his story much attention to them. eil you why—T don’t know." Before Captain Hodgson had time to fully the awful importance of the realize f ession, Ellingson had passed out of tragedy at t terday morni; intained that he station. Captain Hodgson reported the confes- | ston to his men and Ellingson might have | felt the weight of their wrath If they could bave laid their hands on him. |, The life-savers were wild with anger. |But for the neglect of Ellingson they Hodgson of the Fort Poiat|could have upheld their reputation and g Station has since Friday |saved many lives when the Rio de Ja- Ellingson to tell | nelro took her final plunge. questions put to| The confession was reported by Captain 1 | Hodgson to Major Blakeney. who iIs su- perintendent of the Twelfth Life-saving District, which includes California. o | Major Blakeney Astounded. E",’,’:_",,':: | Major Blakeney, who had defended the { honor of the men under him, was as are ready 1o go out on the angry | tounded by the mews brought to him by on the most stormy night to try and | Captain Hodgson. mrades thought | life-saving service, Major Blakeney hopes ¢ for- | that it will be proven at an investigation the mis- | that Ellingson was blameless. on boara | Ellingson has been in the life-saving | service for six years. He had the repu- 1ife-saving r officers de! heaped on who had charged ingson with criminal neglect of dut Claims He Heard Nothing. him and abusa nesday ange in his demeancr. and kept to himaelf. the conversation of the hardy : ¢ il | PiLoT F JompAan Mars OUT HIS COURSE ON THE CHART had not heeded them. After making the confession Ellingson left the life-saving station and The investigation into the cause of the loss of the steamship commenced yesterday be- fore the United States Inspectors of Steam Vessels. Startling testimony was disclosed. Chief Engineer Herlihy claimed that he heard no orders given to clear the ship or man the boats when the Rio struck. Herlihy admitted that he was not at his post of duty when the ship started to enter port, as required by the rules of the Mail Company. Officer Coghlan gave conflicting testimony as to the course steered by the Rio. The pilot also claimed that he had requested a passenger to go to the bridge and tie down the cords of the whistles some time after the vessel struck the rocks. This statement is disputed. I heard the long whistles, but I did not | I cannot | presence and made his escape from the | For the honor of the | | clatmed was made to him last Monday by | | Herlthy, but which was denled by the en- | was on.duty at Fort Point when the Rio de Janeiro went on the rocks, confessed yesterday to his superior, Cap- sounded by the steamship and fofoedesferte Pilot Jordan and Second ’ tation of being a fearless man in the face |of danger. Two years ago he resigned | from the service and went to Alaska. He ire!urned to this city a few months ago ;nnd Captain Hodgson recommended him | for reinstatement in the life-saving ser- | vice. Ellingson, who passed the civil ser- | vice examination, was agaln placed on | | | active duty early in January. He is about | 3 years old and unmarried. | as under ecivil service he cannot be dis- 1‘m|5.<fld without an investigation. i ENGINEER HERLIHY VIOLATES ORDERS ‘Witnesses Give Conflicting Testimony Before United States Inspec- tors Whe Are Investigat- | ing Cause of Wreck. | The ometal tnvesugation of the wreck of the steamship Rio de Janelro was com- menced yvesterday by O. F. Bolles and J. K. Bulger, United States Local Inspectors of Steam and Sall Vessels, The investigation was held at the office | of the inspectors in the Appraiser's bufld- | ing. The witnesses under examination neer P. H. Herlihy and Pilot Frederick | Jordan. | The testtmony was mainly on the lines followed by these witnesses before the Coroner's jury, but it was technlcal to a degree. rigid examination, was forced to admit | Pacific Mail Company room on the Rio de started to come into port last Friday morning, the orders requiring him to be | at the engines. Engineer Herlihy and In pector Bulger entered into a hot argu mént as to a statement which Bulger by being fn his gineer. There s a remarkablé discrepancy be- | tween the testimony of Graham Coghlan, | second officer of the Rlo de Janelro, and | that given by Pilot Jordan as to the course steered when the Rio de Janeiro started from her anchorage on Friday | until she struck. Coghlan was on the | bridge of the ship and testified yesterday | that from the time the vessel started un- til she ran on the rocks the course the moment the ship struck, when Jor- | dan called out to alter the course to NE. 1% N., then immediately changing it to NE. by N. Pilot Jordan, who testified after Cogh. | 1an, swore that he sct the course at N | Ellingson has been suspended from duty, | were Second Officer Coghlan, Chief Eng!- | Chief Engineer Herlihy, after a | that he had violated the orders of the | Janelro when she | | given to him by Pilot Jordan was north- | east and that It was not changed until | SMALL, poorly furnigshed room in 1 downtown lodging-house is all hat Mre. Mary E. Hewitt can now :all home. She is 11l both in body and mind. Cast aside by her hus- band, John B. Hewitt of Bakersfleld, who has won a fortune through lucky ofl spec- ulations; deprived of the comfort of her three bables, and dependent upon the charlty of friends, she is battling for life. Her will power is a far greater remedial agent than the medicines prescribed by her physiclan. She says that she must live to right the wrong done her. The preliminary steps have been taken to force the delinquent husband to defend his name and charaetér, and in addition give to his wife from his ample means sufficlent to support her during the few months that Intervene between her and the grave. Mrs. Hewitt lives in hope of again meeting her children. That accom- plished, she is willing and satisfled to glve up the battle against adversity. Her life history is a ead ond. If the charge she makes agalnst her husband is true, he is a bigamist and it is not improbable | that a criminal action will follow the — + PRINCIPALS IN HEWITT DIVORCE SUIT, THEIR CHILDREN AND IN- CIDENTS OF THEIR LIVES. PLEA OF DISCARDED WIFE - TO HAVE WRONGS RIGHTED Action Brought by Iary E. civil sult filed on Wednesday last in the office of County Clerk Deane. Attorney Willlam D. Grady, who is rep- resenting Mrs. Hewitt, filed the suit for divorce on Wednesday on the grounds of cruelty, desertion and failure to provide. In the complaint the allegation is mada that the community property, consisting of both real and personzl property, is val- | ued at $100,000 and Hewitt is asked to pay $250 a month alimony for the support of his wife during the pendency of the liti- gation. An order was issued by Judge | Dunne on the filing of the complaint en- joining and restraining all persons hold- Continued on Second l;age. INSPECTOR OFBOLLES in & @Gespondent mood. What prssed through his mind while he kept his loneiy vigll within a short distance of where the Rio sank is known to Lim alone, INSPECTORS OF STEAM VESSELS STARTED THE VESSEL FROM DE JANEIRO AS HE EXPLAINS THE COURSE HE TOOK WHEN HE LISTEN TO THE PILOT OF THE RIO HER ANCHORAGE FOR PORT. . ing or having in their possession or under thelr control moneys or property of Hew- {tt from transferring, encumbering or dls. posing of the same until further order of the court. Unfortunate Matrimonial Ventures. The marriage of the plaintiff to Hewlitt was her third venture in the matrimonial line. Two of her husbands are dead. Both of them met violent deaths. “] seem to have been singularly unfor- tunate,” tearfully said Mrs. Hewlitt yes- terday. “I must have been born under an unlucky star. My first husband was killed five days after our marriage. I married G. W. Howell June 27, 188, In Benton County, Or. He was a woodsman. He was cutting a tree when it suddenly toppled over and crushed him to death. Exactly a week after our marriage I fol- lowed his body to the grave. I worked at various employments after that. After two years and nine months of widowhood I married Rudolph Voliroth. Our life was a happy one. “We had been married less than a year and a half when we determined to leave Oregon and make California our future home. We were traveling over the moun- tains, when my second husband dropped a revolver from his pocket. One of the cartridges was accidentally exploded. The bullet entered his hip and blood pofsoning set in, causing death. After bhurying him, I proceeded to Redding, Shasta County, where T met Hewitt. He was engaged in business as a searcher of titles. I se- cured employment in his office as a copy- ist. He and his wife did not get along happily together. They had been married town home with the younger children. Two of his daughters, Lily and Dora, kept house for him. - + INSPECTOR eighteen years and nineteen children had The testimony of scores of -:l:’le;- :\;: | J K BULGER been born to them. All of the children ks that they ear | 2 1 };n: ‘d‘l:’:::.b:-;f‘:fia and had been awak- “ | ;‘e::a x:fl lt‘v:’e'l‘:a o!!f i e:n:mb:;fl n,:‘:: ened from slumber by the noise; the sworn | ! the time I first met him. Mrs. Hewitt evidence of the officers and passengers | | sued him for divorce on the ground of of the Rio that the whistles sounded con- | ' — cruelty and she was awarded a dec tinuously after the vessel struck hlfl; | Hewitt had a home in Redding an their effect on Ellingson. When Ellingsor | ; 5 | another one in the outskirts of the town. went on duty yesterdav mcrning he was } 7 | His divorced wife rematned at “he out of When Ellingson came off watch at 8 { - posed to me. I accepted him. I should bave known better. He sald that owing to the publicity of the divorce he did not want to cause any more talk than was necessary and suggested that we marry by contract. I at first refused to listen to him, but he finally persuaded me to agree to the contract marriage. He drew up the paper and we signed it in the pres- ence of a witness. This was on March 26, 1891. He kept the contract, saying that he would place it in the safe of his office. A short time afterward his second oldest daughter, Dora, commenced legal pro- ceedings against him, making serious al- legations. The suit was trled before Judge Sweensy and resulted in a dis- agreement of the jury. It was afterward dismissed. While my husband has not treated me right, I believe that the suit brought by his daughter was unjust, as she afterward =aid that she expected to force her father to pay her several thou- sand dollars. After that we came to San Francisco and lived Yor a time at 209 Va- lencia street. My husband did not care for city life and we went to Bakersfleld, Kern County, where our three children were born. There he followed the busi- ness of searcher of records and formed a partnership with Mr. Bender. They are still partners, but have of late been de- voting most of their time to speculating in ofl lands. “In my complaint I allege that my hus- band is now worth §100,000, but I have been informed that his holdings are worth closer to $500,00. It was at Bakersfield that he first commenced to abuse me and treat me in an inhuman manner. We were living in a small cabin on the out- skirts of the town. Here is a photograph of it. The ingcriptlon on the back of it, ‘Pleture of your old home. I stole it for you. God bless gou. May you soon have a better home,’ tells the story of how I received it after I was driven from home. Tt was sent me by a lady friend. I hope that that prayer will soon be granted,” sald Mrs. Hewitt, wearily, as she read from the back of the picture. “I want to g0 home—I want to go to a better home,” she added as she turned In the bed. “Go1 knows I want to go home—but not until my wrongs have been righted. My bables,”” she exclaimed as she burst into tears, “am I never tc see you again? I must and I will have you with me once more. There is justice and I know it will be done me." Husband Commences Abuse. "4A ghort time after the divorce he pro- | After the paroxvsm of grief had passed - Mrs. Hewltt continucd her narrative. “It was in August, 1892, when my first born Myrtle, was about five months old, that Hewltt called me vile names and after cursing me slapped me in the face. He was infurfated and choked me until I be- came unconscious.” From that time on he continued his abuse. He struck me and beat me and on one occasion dragged me from the house. It was in February, 1899, that we separated. My husband accused me of Infidelity and drove me from our home. me to sign a paper relinquishing all my title to the community property for a con- sideration of $250. He forbade me ever returning to Bakersfield, threatening that he would have me arrested and put me to great trouble. He would not allow me tc take the three children born to us—Myrtle, Gladys and Jotnnie. Myrtle I1s now aged 8.years, Gladys 6 and Johnnle 4." ““Where are the children?” was asked. “I would feel easler if I knew,” replied Mrs. Hewitt. “I have endeavored to find them, but cannot get any trace of them. They are not in Bakersfleld. Friends of mine in Kern County have made inquiries for me, but they are unable to learn any- thing as to thelr whereabouts. Before driviug me away he forced | I ap-| pealed to the local Soclety for the Pre- | vention of Cruelty to Children to aid me. The officers sent several letters to agents in the Interior, but met with no encour- aging reply. I presume that the babies are being cared for In some private instis tution. I would like to know just where. Sick, weary and tired as I am, I would xo to them. You cannot understand how my heart yearns for them. I must and I will see them again.” “Have you proof of the contract mar- riage?’ was asked. “The proof? All the proof required will be forthcoming at the proper time,” re- plied Mrs. Hewlitt. “My husband dare not deny our marriage. I never had the con- tract in my possession. destroyed it, but that 1t existed will be shown in court. He will be put in a seri- ous position, for he is, so I understand, married again. He never secured a di- vorce from me. If he did it was through fraud, for I was never served with any summons. It may be,” she added, “that when he secured the release to the com- It may bde that he | munity property he thought himself on | safe ground. But I am going to battle as long as life wrong done ed. Bables, poor. bles, where are you? Can you not hear your mother calling to you? Answer—an- swer quickly, or I shall go mad.” Cries Piteously for Her Babies. me and my children is right- quiet her. She continually called—first for | occurred. is left in me, to see that the | unfortunate little ba- | Hewitt Against Her Husband, a Wealthy Oil Speculator of Kern—Says He Drove Her Away and, Despite Contract arriage, Weds Again. DRIVEN FROMsHER, | BAKERSEIBLD - an_ T ; — 4 able to prove every allegation in our complatst When the matisr comes wp for trial ex-Judge Van R. Paterson will assist me In presenting the claims of Mrs, Hewitt. In the meantime we will deavor to locate the three children.” “If 1t 1s ascertained that Hewitt has married again without securing a divorce from your client, will you proceed against him criminall was asked. “You will have to excuse me from an- swering that question,” replied Grady, “for, as I told you before, T do not wish to discuss the litigation In any form,” Hewitt Has Another Wife. Hewitt has been married again. That fact has been disclosed by the records of Alameda Coun en- A license to marry Irene bel Hedrick was issued to him Juny t. The age of the bride is given ears and her residence De- lano, Kern County. They were married the same day by Justice of the Peace John W. Stetson. The certificate of mar- riage Is on file In the Recorder’s office. Residents of Bakersfleld variously esti- mate the value of Hewitt's estate. They all agree, however, that through fortu- nate investments in oil lands he has amassed a fortune much larger than that given by his wife in her complaint. HEWITT IS WEALTHY. Divorce Suit Occasions No Surprise Among Bakersfleld Residents. BAKERSFIELD, Feb. 28.—The news of the divorce suit brought by Mrs. Mary E. Hewitt against her husband, John B, | Hewitt, of the firm of Bender & Hewits, did not create any great surprise here. The couple separated about two years ago, Mrs. Hewitt going to San Francisco, while her husband remained here to at- tend to his prosperous abstract businesa, It is not positively known where the chil. dren are, but thers is a general bellef that they are In Los Angeles and belng well looked after by their father. The fact that it was a contract marriage waa common gossip at the time Mrs, Hewitt left here. ‘While Mrs. Hewitt 414 not make many friends during her residence in Bakers- fleld those that she did make sveak well of her. The present Mrs. Hewitt was for. merly employed in a hotel. A baby girt was born to the couple a few weeks ago. Hewitt Is at present out of town, He fs reputed to be very wealthy, He and his partner are large stockholders in the Kern Oil Company. Hewitt made a European tour last year and after visiting the Parig Exposition pald a short visit to his agsed parents in Ireland. BATTLE IN PROSPECT IN SANTO DOMINGO PORTO PLATA, Feb, 23.—The Santo Domingo Minister of War, who Is at | Monte Christy, has sent a war vessel to | this port for reinforcements and artillery, The unfortunate mother became hyster- | ical, and for a time it was impossible to | ritory in which recent disturbances have which are to be sent to the frontier ters It is announced that the Gov- Myrtle, then for Gladys and “my baby | ernment will send six thousand men to boy, who is named after papa, although ' the front. he has been an unkind, eruel papa.” Attorney W,.D. Grady, who will make the legal fight for Mrs. Hewitt, declines to discuss the case, “I do not want to say anything about the matter,” said he, “‘until it is heard in court, Complications are said to be growing and it is feared that the friendly arrange- ments of the boundary dispute cannot be made, The foreign Consuls here to-day offered their services with their subjects to guard the city in case of necessity. 1 have ' thoroughly investigated | The patriotic sentiment is at the highest the cgse and [ am satisfied we will be ' pitch,