The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, March 26, 1901, Page 1

i VOLUME LXXXIX—NO. 116. SAN FRANCISCO, ‘'TUESDAY, MARCH 26, 1901.' PRICE F1VE CENTS. DECISION GIVES SANTA FE RAILROAD A RIGHT OF WAY THROUGH OAKLAND STREETS Awarding by Circuit Court of Californ‘iavand Nevada| Bonds to Charles H. Smith l'leans That Big Line \’Vlll Reach Bay Through That City. Another ailroad San is Oakland railroad is undoubt- dly the A on, Topeka and Santa | i s ure be- he esterday nt of th the furnis} begun by f Denver against C. K and several other parties to.de- th of Denver the the California and 4 been delivered to him by his was contested, not by ers of the family, but by ith a counter claim that y of the nature of a claim and force a com- refused to it to enforce He produced a bill and it document iting and then had been writ- e of the father. rgery and the charge legal document e Morrow, who the bill of sale was not ribed by law there 1se delay the He enoug without that docu- the title of the bonds in i so the forgery Sued Merely to Clear Title. the title of the bohds and it was brought out | case that, just as months ago, a of merely bring- t to clear his title to them in t he might transfer them. of Mr. Smith during the made a sale of the bonds be had, but there the to the limited scope erday Mr. Smith told the sale of his bonds y that the decision ared the way for an- > enter San Franéisco by and he added that had way of © t not been for thes opposition that was made to his title the deal would have come to a2 head long ago, when the story of the sale was first published in The Call. Means Another Railroad. “This deci: means another railroad into San Francisco by way of Oakland,” said Cha es H. Smith yesterday after- Morrow had handed ent which gave Mr. Smith title to the bonds on the little raiiroad across the ba) there had not been so much fil ing on the part of peo- ple who sought to delay the sale of these bonds the deal would have been well un- der way by this time. I am not at lib- erty to say anything more in detail ex- t it means t there will be an- Iroad running through Oakland g San Francisco directly from e of the bay. ught out during the trial had been sold, and I be- t it has boen otherwise stated hat a transfer has been made. That is rue Jn effect. 1 have been trying to get ctual possession of the bonds in order keep my portion of an agreement to ell. The agreement was entered into h A. A. Grant, who has been interested road to & slight degree. But when me to an actual delivery of the bonds yme persons got it into their heads that sale had been made and they sought to retard the actual delivery. Why it was e must judge for themselves, seen held repeatedly that they had no shadow of a claim. 1 have been compelled to fight this at very turn of the road. First I was con- fronted with an filegal issue of $200,000 coming div'; Francisco through United of the ng in- w that some rallroad is Francisco through ailroad is the Santa | tor of the estate of John | 1 claimed that the | | d and by bill of was sald | 1 | f CHARLES H. SMITH, WHO HAS FINALLY GAINED TITLE TO THE C. AND N. RAILROAD BONDS HE IS SUPPOSED TO HAVE NEGOTI- | ATED TO THE SANTA FE COMPANY. | worth of bonds, which the directors of | any work voted.-to themselves. I was | forced to sue to have those bonds de- | clared illegal and Circuit Court Commis- | sioner Heacock has already rendered a | decision to that effect. This decision has not yet been formally rendered by the court itself, but it will be. “Then in the name of one nephew con- test was made to my taking possession of the 304 bonds that the court had declared were perfectly legal, upon the ground that the transfer from my father to myself was not legal. I brought suit to clear my | title and that was the suit declded to-day. | “I have already instituted a foreclosure | suit to foreclose my bonds upon the road, |and under that proceeding Mr. Grant is acting as the receiver. Mr. Grant was appointed recelver of the road something | my bonds. I will press this foreclosure | suit to an early decision,rand I hope that the legal tangles that have been confront- ing me for several years have at last cleared away.” Only Short Spur Track Needed. A spur track of less than a mile Is-all that {s needed to bring the Atchison, To- peka and Santa Fe system Into Oakland over the California and Nevada line. The California and Nevada Raflroad is lttle more than & right of way, but it is a very valuable right of way into Oakland city. It is a narrow gauge road and most of its rolling stock had passed its days of usefulness, but by building the short spur track and constructing a substantial road- bed upon the right of way the Santa Fe system could run into the heart of Oak- land. It would also give the Santa Fe system a valuable feeder from Walnut Creek through the San Pablo Canvon. A. A. Grant, who admittedly holds the bonds of the road, has been for years the principal contractor of the Santa Fe road. He built much of the old Atlantic and Pacific Railroad and was at one time an officer of that road. He did many mliles of construction work in Southern Califor- nia f8r the Santa Fe system and has al- ways been one of their confidential men. It may be technically sald that the Santa Fe system has not yet got the California and Nevada Rallroad, but it can get it whenever it chooses to take possession from Mr. Grant, and no other road will be permitted to take it. . - The difficulties in the way of the trans- fer of the little road are being rapidly that this decision means another railroad into San Francisco through Oakland is an important one, o The Circuit Court’s Decision. The following is a synopsis of the decl- slon: The phmllfl Charles H. Smith, a citizen of Colorado, seeks to recover from .the defend- ants 190 bonds of the California and Nevada Raliroad Company. It is alleged that the de- fendants are in possession of the property; that C. K. King claims the property as the administrator of the estate of J. W. Smith, deccased, and that the California Safe Deposit the road and a con‘ractor who never did | more than a year ago at the time he fooX | cleared away and Mr. Smith's statement'| | + and Trust Company claims to hold the bonds for King as such administrator. The bonds in controversy are part of a lot of 304 bonds of the California and Nevada Rallroad Company, each . bond of the par value of $1000. These bonds were originally issued by the California and Nevada Rallroad Company in 15%, and 229 of them were deliv- ered by the company to J. W. Smith, the father of the plaintiff, in satisfaction of a con- tract relating to the building of a portton of the rosd. J. W. Smith also received an order upor the Central Trust Company of New York for 75 additional bonds, making a total of 304 It appears that on March 15, 1883 J. W. Smith entered Into an agreemenmt with J. S. Emery for the sale to Emery of the 304 bonds for'a stipulated drice. Payment was to be made in Installments, the bonds being de- posited during ‘the existence of the contract with Abner Doble of San Francisco until the full payment should be made by Emery. This agreement was not carried out and another agreement dated October 24, 1593, was substi- tuted, wherein J. W. Smith agreed to sell the bonds to F. M. Smith upon the terms provided. The agreement-was for an option for a year with an extension upon the same terms for an additional year. This contract was not carried out by F. M. Smith and the bonds reverted ‘to J. W. Smith. Father Gives Him Bonds. In August, 15%, J. W. Smith distributed his property among his children, and it {s claimed by the plaintiff that at this tim& his father gave him the bords mentioned as part of his share of the property distributed and ‘made him a formal assignment of the same. After the death of J. W. Smith In November, 1895, Abner Doble delivered the bonds to the plaintiff, who subsequently delivered them to the California Safe Deposit and Trust Company to hold un- der another meemgnt executed between C. H. Smith and A. A. t. C. K. King de- manded the bonds as administrator of the estate of J. W. Smith, 2 From all the testimony it appears that it was the purpose of J. W. Smith to distribute his estate and give the bonds to the plaintift and that he stated before his death that he had made such distribution. ‘The testimony of the witnesses Doble, King, Palmanteer and Thomas Is clear and positive that J. W. Smith intended to distribute his property to his children, and did so, as to the real estate; that he intended to give the rail- road bonds to his son, and the testimony {s reasonably certain that he did so. These wit- nesses are all gentlemen of character and thenr testimony has not been impeached or discred- ited in any way. This evidence cannot be re- Jected, and giving it the -consideration it fs entitleds to revelve, . the court arrives at the conclusion that the plaintiff has established his ownership of the bonds and his right to recover possession thereof. A judgment will therefore be entered in favor of the plaintiff. —_— FIRST ORANGE TRAIN IS READY TO START Umatilla’s California Cargo Is Trans- ferred to Great Northern Cars in Seattle. SEATTLE, March 2.—The steamship Umatilla arrived to-night from San Fran. cisco with 400,000 pounds of Callfornia oranges, representing the first shipment lnt over the @reat Northern Rallroad. The. frult was transferred to a train of MANY DEATHS N THE SWIRL Widespread Havoc in Alabama Caused by M_jglone. Twenty - Five Killed and Scores Injured at Bir- mingham. Towns in Ohio and Michigan Also Swept by a Storm Which Leaves a Trail of Ruin in Is Wake. BIRMINGHAM, ‘Ala., March 25.—Short- Iy before 10 o'clock this morning a fear- ful cyclone swept over thé southern part of this city. The number of killed to- night is estimated ~at twenty-five, of whom five are white. The destruction of property is placed at a quarter of asmil- llon dollars. Eighteen bodles had ‘been recovered up to 7 p. 'm.,, and scores. of injured have been removed to the hospi- tals. Among the dead are G. C. Chapman of the firm of Tally & Chapman, who con- the wife and infant child of Robert J. Lowe, chairman of the Democratic State Executive Committee. ’nllow(ng is the list of identified dead: The Dead. | G. C. CHAPMAN, i MRS. ROBERT J. LOWE. | INFANT CHILD OF MRS. LOWE. | 4. ALEXANDER. | | ! | DR. LITTLE DAUGHTER OF B. B. HUD- SON. F. MYRO, colored, collector Union Mu- tual Assoclation of Mobile | CARRIE HUDSON. | MAGGIE BLEVINS, CARRIE HENRY. LIZZIE GLENN. COOK FOR B. B. HUDSON, all col- | ored. i UNKNOWN LARPENT&RI struck by fiying Tumber. Fatally Injured. The following were fatally injured: MRS. R. H. THOMAS. MRS. W. H. THOMAS. MRS. D. D. McLAUGHLIN. MRS. J. FERGUSON. MRS. MYLUM. CARRIE ELIN, colored. | Others Injured. | Appended is a list of those recovering from injuries: John Dillon, Hambright De Voe, back of head cut; child of Mrs. McLaughlin; Mrs. Stephens; L. L. Holton, arm brok- en; Sarah Adams, colored, arm broken; Albert Glenn, colored; Jerusha Glenn, colored; Green Curry, colored; Carrie El- mere, colored, not expected to live; Mary Goodlaw, colored, arm and leg broken; Sarah Thweatt, colored, arm broken; Dave Elmore, colored, serious internal injuries; Sarah Elmore, colored, serious internal injuries; Mrs. Lynch and daugh- ter, internal injuries; Frank Krimsey, ‘arm broken and head bruised; Lougin Martin, colored, struck by flying timber; Rhea Curry, colored, arm broken and head bruised; Mrs. F. G. Schaefer and baby, slight Injuries? Mrs. Yates and daughter, slight injuries; Mr. and Mrs. Dorr, _slightly injured; W. W. Dorr, bricklayer, bruised and badly cut lip; W P. Dickerson,.scalp wound and concus- sion, *seriaus; Mrs. Joel Giaccopozzai, badly bruised; Mrs. Jane Lane, injured about head; Jim Wiison, colored, sick in bed with pneumonia, badly bruised; Mrs. Calloway, colored, badly fractured arm; Willle Calloway, colored, scalp wounds: Ned Thomas, colored, face cut slightly; Lee Richardson, arm bruised and finger broken. Sweep of the Cyclone. The storm struck the city in the ex- treme southwestern corner and plowed its way eastward, leaving a path 150 feet wide through the entire southern sec- tion, €xtending from Green Springs on the west to Avand_,ala on the east, and continued its course until its fury spent in the - mountains beyond 'Irondale, a small town six miles east of the city. The morning dawned cloudy and sultry and grew more threatening as the day ad- vanced. Clouds began to gather and shortly after 9 o'clock sharp lightning flashed from the southwest. The air be- came heavy and stifiing. 'The velocity of the wind suddenly began to increase and out of the overcast sky the dread funnel- shaped cloud made its appearance. Hug- duct a private infirmary in this city, and | FLOW OF BLOOD FOLLOWS ‘THE COLLISION BETWEEN WORKMEN AND THE COSSACKS UF TH£ W|N|]S Many Arrests Are Re ported as a Result of Sunday’s Encounter at St. Petersburg, but Russian Authorities Censor the News. TWO RUSSIAN OFFICERS WHO FIGURE IN RECENT SERIOUS OUTBREAKS. . ! + S i | T ONDON, March 26.—A dispatch to the Daily Mail from St. Peters- burg says: A collision occurred | here Sunday afternoon between the military and a body of la(‘-l tory hands. There was much bloodshed and many arrests were made. A St. Petersburg special dated Sunday, which has evidently been censored, says: The Sociallst organizations have called off their proposed demonstration. The police openly displayed their reserve forces, massing several thousand Dvor- naks or household police in the courtyards adjoining the Kazan Cathedral. About ,- 000 persons, including a few students and factory workmen, idled along the Nevsky prospekt for about half an hour at noon, but an hour later the streets were no livelier than usual. The police and military' occupled the parade grounds and .other open places. Large assemblages are possible, but no disturbance is looked for unless ia the suburbs occupied by the wm'kh'lgmen COUNT cms DENIAL. ALL BLREA[', 1406 G STREET, N. WASHINGTON, March 35.—Count Cassini, the Russian Embassador, is m- dignant at the publication of exaggerazed and untrue reports regarding the alleged turbulent conditions in Russia and at- tempts on the life of ‘he Czar. “Such reports are pure inventions,” he sald to-night, “and are probably circulated in the hope that they will embarrass the Russian Government. I read the other day that a steel-lined room had been con- structed in order to protect the Emperor from harm. Such a statement is ridicu- lous. ' No such precautions ane needed. As a matter of fact, the Czar, unprotected by the military or police, takes frequent drives in his sleigh. It s difficult to under- stand.an imagination which can incarcer- ate the Czar In a steel-lined room when he appears so often on the streets of St Petersbu: “‘Reports that the life of the Czar is In danger are on a par with the statement 1 have read that 100 men were killed by Cossacks in St. Petersburg. This report is probably based upon the fact that Cos- sacks in dispersing a crowd used thelr whips, with which they are equipped. It is utter nonsense to say that 100 men were killed. “It is possible that the unlverslty stu- dents in St. Petersburg have been causing some disturbances, but I am certain they are not political in character. The troubles are probably the result of dis- satisfaction with the faculty. Every time they occur they are seized upon by some newspapers which delight in making a sensation. This is what they are trying to do now. In generai, vou may depend o it, the reports ave greatly exagger- ated.” D s ground. Skimming close to the earth the storm swept lhmu;h a young pine grove, tearing the trees up by the roots and hurling them through the air like arrows. Cabins of Negroes Crushed. Beyond the groye the storm cloud swept over negro settlements, and cabins were érushed, not one being left in its path- way. Carrie Elma, a' negro woman, was | burled beneath the debris, but most of the negroes escaped with slight injurles and, after the storm had passed, gathered around the wreckage, apparently thankful that they had escaped with their lives. Eastward the storm swept, cutting its way through another strip of woods, strik- ing the Second “Presbyterian Church, at Avenue H and Fifteenth street, demolish- ing the structure. The pews were piled on top of the debris, a small oak table, which was used in the rostrum, being de- posited on the topmost point of the wreck- age. East of the church, directly in the cy- clone's path, in another negro settlement, much havoc was wrought among the shacks, seven of which were swept away. A number of small houses were leveled be- tween Sixteenth and Seventeenth streets. In Alley H, between Seventeenth and Eighteenth streets, a ‘small house occu- pled by negroes, was destroyed and Green Curry, & megro woman, was caught bé- neath the timber and sustained serious in- juries. Three other houses were blown down near by. Cottages Completely Demolished. The storm then struck the more thickly settled residence portion of the city and its work of destruction increased. A cot- ging close to the earth it came down upon tage occupled by Fred Schaefer at 819 the city. The altitude of the cyclone was not more than seventy-five feet. The ne- gro shanties and cottages in the lowlands were the principal sufferers. The larger residences on the higher ground suffered but slightly.” The large trees on-the hill- side of St. Vincent's Hospital were torn South Eighteenth street and a small build- ing a few doors north occupied by L. H. Stewart were badly damaged. Almost a elean sweep was made of the district lying between Eighteenth and Twentieth streets and Avenue H and 1. two blocks. Here the scene is one of complete .demolition. up by the roots and an immense quantity [ The frame cottages were reduced to flat- of stone was twisted out of the ground and broken and scattered over the drive- ways leading to the institution. From Eighth to Tenth street the cyalone bounded like a rubber ball, and when it again ‘descended it struck a two-story tened piles of debris; every tree, large or small, was elther crushed down or up- rooted. A row of small cottages fronting | path after it had passed the city limits, east upon Nineteenth street, between Ave- nues H and I were flattened out. The occupants had no warning and were un- house occupled by Joseph Busenhehlner | able to escape from their houses and were and almost razed it to the ground. The 11-year-old daughter of John Krunsey rescued by workers after the storm. The house on the corner of Nineteenth and was caught under the debris and severely | I was occupled by W. H. Merritt, a mem- injured. A house occupled by Taylor Han- sen, near by, was unroofed and three small negro houses-near there were de- molished. Onward 'the wind sped in its fury, demolishing trees and fences, until tour cars, which will start for St. Paul |it reached Eleventh street, where a house and Chicago at § a. m. to-morrow. owned by John Hayes was leveled to the | was occupted by Roy ber of the fire department, and his family, a wife and two small children. The Mer- ritts were rescued with but few brulses. The second house was occupled by the family of !d'n.rd Mann. These were rescued, badly bruised.. The third house Charles -R. -Robinson and their familles. These -escaped serious- injuries. The | fourth house was ‘Gecupied by Captain | John D. Johnston and his daughter. They were caught in one corner of a room, the only part of the house left standing, and after the storm made their way out. The last house in the row was the property of D. McRae. Mr. McRae was caught be- neath the wreck, but escaped unhurt. | Mrs., Hardwick, who lived in the same house, was fll and in bed. She was burled | under the ruins, but was rescued without | apparent serious injuries. Wild Antics of the Wind. | From Nineteenth to Twentieth streets on Avenue I every house and little shanty | 'was - destroyed.. Minter's grocery store | | was literally picked up and tossed into an adjoining yard, killing Dr. G. C. Chap- man, who had sought shelter in the store. The wind here secmed to dart upward and then strike the earth again at Twen- ty-second ' street, sparing buildings be- tween - Twentieth and Twenty-second streets. It struck egain, destroying all the small buildings in its path for haif a mile and killing and injuring many peo- ple. From Twenty-second street tHe storm plowed its way eastward through the block between Avenues H and I, tearing away the roofs of a number of resldences, smashing in windows, blowing down trees and fences. | Crossing Thirtieth street it struck the | residence of Robert J. Lowe, at 815 South Thirtieth street, leveling it to the ground and Instantly killing Mrs: Lowe’s 4-weeks- old child and fatally crushing Mrs. Lowe, who dled within fifteen minutes after be- ing removed from the wreckage. The cook was badly hurt and may dle. Mr. Lowe and the nurse escaped with llllhtl injuries. Continuing in an eastward direction the | storm swept everything In Its path of sev- | enty-five yards' width until it passed be- | yond the city limits and struck Lakeview Hill, about Thirty-fourth street. There were no houses of any description In its and consequently there was no damage until ft reached Avondale. At Faggotts Hill, just south of Avon- dale, a number of persons were seriously injured and many housés badly damaged. Suburban Towns Swept. At Irondale the cyclone again repeated its work of destruction. Houses and tences were leveled to the ground, and up to this writing several bodies had been re- covered. A number of injured persons and | property loss is estimated at 3330, were visited by the storm and In each much destruction was wrought, but no loss of life is reported. Many houses were demolished at Pratt City, including a number of churches. At Powderly there was also much de- struction. At'Cleveland Mrs. George Hatt was struck by lghtning and will probably die. A terrific rainstorm follbwed the wind and greatly retarded the work of re- lef. To-night a mass-meeting of citizens was held, at which a rellef fund was started. Fully 500 houses were demolished or dam- aged, and at a iate hour to-night the total MJCHIGAN TOWNS SWEPT. Cyclone Wrecks Many Buildings in Its Pathway. DETROIT, March’25.—A special to the Tribune from Kalamazoo, Mich., says that a cyclone struck the town of Pa- | vilion, a small village about twenty-five miles . outheast, of . Kalamazoo, which wrecked a number of houses, uprooted trees, tore down telegraph poles and did much other damage. The home of Noah Tripp wu rolled over for a distance of five rods and Mrs. Tripp was completely buried under the debris: She was found lying under the stove, and sustained injuries which will result fatal- ly. The house caught fire and was com- pletely rutned. The storm passed through Vieksburg and Scotts Station, both small Yowns, do= ing great damage. Nearly every bufld- ing In the path of the storm was wrecked. Large orchards were destroyed and fences are down everywhere. At Indian Lake the wind formed a waterspout In crossing that body of water, and a large district on the east shore -was inundated. —————— < Severe Windstorm Passes Over Erie County, Ohio. CLEVELAND, Ohfo, March 25.—A spe- cial from Sandusky says: A severs winde storm passed over the western part of Erle County iste this afternoon. Thé principal sufferer was the settlement of Mustasch, on the shore of Sandusky Bay, where several roofs were blown fromy houses and trces were blown down. Na one was injured so far as known. The storm aid not touch Sandusky. ———— IN GEORGIA AI'D TEXAS. Work of Qdm. Tornado and a BUENA VIBTA. Ga., March %.—A/tor- Enstey, North and other suburban towns nado struck the southern edge of this Continued on Second Page.