The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, June 18, 1901, Page 1

VOLUME XC-NO. 18. SAN FRANCISCO, TUESDAY, JUNE 18, 1901. PRICE FIVE CENT GALIFORNIAN GRASP GREAT OPPORTUNITY Wealth of Facts Rivers and Harbors Committee. LR Urgent Need of Improvements to Aid in the State’s Development. for Congressional Investigators Are Ex- pected To-Day and Will Be Wel- comed by Our Citizens. LWL BT HE members of the House Com- mittee on Rivers and Harbors who have been in California for several | days examining into the needs of the waterways of the State are ex- | t Bted to arrive in Sen Francisco this af- | ternoon. Their mission is of vast impor- tance to California, and every effort will | be made by the public-spirited citizens of this city, as well as of other cities in the tate the gathering of infor- ongressional investigators tha: hem to formulate a com- prehensive report on the subject that will, | in an adequate appropri- s for this impor- t wi tant work Members of California’s Congressional »n have in interviews given clean- i logical expos: of the condi- t and the necessity of in the development of ces of the State they tements are support- | and they stand ready to | explain facts to the mem- | ee that can hardly fall m thet the commercial | is city and State will be | by favorable Congres- | he betterment of Caliy| harbor: 7: Perkins, Congressmen | Zehn and Coombs give | ject, and | kes a broad view of the | ent harbor improvement | ing with matters within | authority of Congress. To Be Received by Business Men. deleg: cut a: tions that now ex Congressional aid statistics embers of the committee will be their arrival the here by repre- commercial bodies of 2 uch men as William nker of the Chamber of Commerce; s of the Board of Trade; the Manufacturers’ and | Greene- d George E. Plummer of the mmerce. will first visit Oakland der the needs of that city. Next ill view the bay of San Francisco Va and Napa. Then | to Stockton. Everywhere California welcome, h was presaged by the invitations | by the California Legislature | bodies. A pro- | nt has been pre- commercial committee, of | lliam M. Bunker is the chair- | to be visited | have arranged to make | gressmen pleasant and | | | | lejo they they w b will go receive a the commercial of entertain the f the Congressional eom- anied by members of The party Theodore E. man of the com- mittee; Mr, = iter Reeves, Roswell P. Bishop ar an Ernest F. | Aches: ge Morris, Mr. and | Mre. de Mr. and Mrs. Thomas | Mr rs. George s. James H. David- Lester, Mr. and Miss Richardson, daugh- M. ana | secretary of | Hitcheock, chief of | Depa: he, stenograph enger. The visit of the Congressmen is recog- | nized in 2ll g ing important | and significant. The distinguished mem- | se of Representatives are | traveling thousands of miles In search of tion, which will be gladly given. Pacific Coast to see rivers and harbors and to of the people which by Congress. Their journey in American history. As Con- gressman Metcalf says in an interview: In the history of the American Congress it is the first time that a great com: tee has traveled thou- sands of miles to personally inspect and inquire into the needs and possi- tilities of our State in the all-im- pertant matter of our rivers and har- bor improvements. They are here by the special invitation of thé Legisla- ture of this State and the wvarious commercial bodies of California, pre- sented by the united California dele- gation in both Houses of Congress, end they come without any appropri- ation by Congress to meet. the ex- pense of the trip. The Fifty-sixth Congress failed to pass rbor bill owing to well un- ders: uses. The question of the util- ization of rivers that are not navigable for the purpose of irrigating arid lands the e to y the e needs que 2 river and I cod ¢ was coupled with improvement of navigaticn, and the bill failed. California was very largely interesttd. The facts are so well understood in the several lo- Continued on Pn'ge Two. PRINCESS HATZFELDT PREPARES TO CONTEST WILL OF COLLIS P. HUNTINGTON, AND VISITS COAST TO GATHER EVIDENCE OF ADOPTION Foster Daughter of the Late Railway Magnate Goes to Sacramento on a Secret Mission While the Prince Asserts She Is at Burlingame---Joseph D. Redding Is Engaged as Attorney to Con- duct Battle for Possession of Millions and His Presence Here Is Explained by Same Purpose HE Princess Clara von Hatzfeldt and her titled husband arrived most unexpectedly Sunday, and The Call made exclusive an- nouncement of their coming and the mystery which surrounded their movements. The Call is able now to an- nounce that the purpose of this visit of the foster-daughter of Collis P. Hunting- ton and the Prince von Hatzfeldt is noth- ing less than to gather evidence upon which to base a contest of the will of the railway magnate. The Princess is now in Sacramento with her mother, Mrs. Prentice, and the Prince has made various explanations of her ab- sence, to some inquirers saying she had gone to Burlingame and to others that she had gone driving. The Prince refuses to discuss the proposed will contest and says the news will be given out to all the papers in due time. The purpose of the visit of the Princess von Hatzfeldt to Sacramento is to pro- cure if possible documentary evidence of her adoption by Collis P. Huntington, and if documentary evidence is not procurable she will seek cumulative evidence that Huntington regarded her as his adopted daughter and let it be generally under- stood that he had legally adopted her. Arrivals Many and Mysterious. Joseph Reddirg, attorney for the Von Hatzfeldts, came out from New York early last week and established himself at the Bohemian Club. Hie coming also was unheralded, and his visit vas appar- ently without serious or important pur- pose. But when his clients reached Cal- ifornia he knew of their coming and went “up the road” to meet them and accom- panied them back to San Francisco. Yes- terday he was in frequent consultation with the Prince and the two were in com- + slipped into San Francisco and went to apartments at thé Palace Hotel and none knew that the great hotel sheltered them. Yesterday morning, as the result of The Call's exclusive announcement of their presence, many cards were sent up and representatives of all the newspapers sought interviews with both the Princess and her titled husband. The Prince him- self granted interviews and explained that his wife had gone to San Mateo for a few days’ rest. He and the Princess had come to California, he said, merely for a short pleasure trip. His reticence and his fre- quent and protracted consultations with his attorney did not serve to lend force to his explanation of the purpose of the visit to the land of his wife's bjrth. The Prince’s eagerness to keep secret the fact that the Princess was in Sacra- mento is further shown by his statements to other inquirers that she had merely gone out driving and would be in later in the day. The Prince also stated that their stay in San Francisco would be very short, only & few days, in fact, and that their return would be via the Canadian route. In spite of this the apartments at the Palace are engaged for an indefinite time and their stay will be gauged by the — o > 3 | PRINCIPALS AND THE ATTORNEY FOR PLAINTIFF IN THE PROPOSED HUNTINGTON WILL CONTEST, TO - | GATHER EVIDENCE FOR WHICH IS THE OBJECT OF THE UNHERALDED VISIT OF THE PRINCE AND | PRINCESS VON HATZFELDT TO SAN FRANCISCO. . 3 2 95 munication with the Princess at Sacra- mento. W. H. Mills, too, who knows more about the estate of the late Collis P. Huntington than any other man living, arrived Saturday from the Pan-American Exposition, and, after spending Sunday at San Mateo, came up yesterday and is | now at his residence on Jackson street. His arrival simultaneously with the com- ing of the Hatzfeldts and their attorney is regarded as more than a mere coinci- dence. H. E. Huntington also is on the coast. His arrival was recent, and he is now at Los Angeles. He and Mrs. Arabella D. Huntington, the widow, are the principal beneficiaries under his uncle's will, they recelving all the estate except legacies amounting to $2,465,000. He had knpwl edge of the dissatisfaction of the Von Hatzfeldts with the will and their con- templated contest, and his presence at the temporary scene of action is most probably more than the result of for- tunate accident. * Princess’ Secret Mission. The Prince and Princess von Hatzfeldt Princese’ success in securihg the evidence 50 vital to the contest which they will in- stitute. . The Von Hatzfeldts have never shown an interest in San Franclsco or in Cali- fornia. They have resided abroad much of the time since their marriage, and so- clal attractions have not drawn them to the coast. The Huntington mansion is closed, and they cannot cross its thresh- old, but must be domiciled during their stay here at a public hotel. Estrangement of Sisters. Mrs. H. E. Huntington and the Princess von Hatzfeldt are sisters, but it is known that they are estranged and that the bit- terness between them and their husbands will lend itself to the contest of the will. It is said that the Princess has asserted hat she knows nothing of such a sister. Not until the death of Collis P. Hunt- ington did it become known that the Prin- cess von Hatzfeldt, so far as documentary evidence was concerned, was not the adopted daughter of the railroad builder. It had been generally supposed that his adoption of her had been legal. He always spoke of her as his daughter, and his af- fection for her had often been demon- strated. But when his will was filed for probate it was found that she was treated as a foster-child only and was given but $1,000,000 out of the vast estate, and even that legacy was placed in trust. Would Not Be “Second Fiddle.” Jqseph Redding’'s employment by the Prince and Princess to look after their interests in the estate is not a secret in New York, and that his mission here is to prepare for an assault upon the will is now known beyond doubt. A prominent lawyer in New York was recently approached 'by a rep- resentative of the Hatzfeldts with an offer to engage him to assist Redding in an attempt to break the will. The offer carried with it the prospect of a princely fee, but the attorney declined. Much as he respects the legal prowess of Mr. Redding, he would not consent to “play second fiddle!" to him. Further than that, he believed there was very little chance of the success of such a contest. Charles H. Tweed is attorney for the Huntington estate and has the handling of the probate case. His influence with s Tammany and the well-known facility with which the New York courts dispose of contests of wills brought on shaky grounds were potent reasons why this at- torney refused to become connected with the suit. It is his belief, and other at- torneys hold the same opinion, that if possible the Princess will bring some legal action here that will establish the fact of her adoption and strengthen her claim to a share of the estate. After such a skirmish only, they hold, will the contest- in the New York courts begin. A well-known attorney, who was on in- timate terms with Huntington, pointed out last night that the arrivals of so many interested parties followed close upon the heels of the appointment of ap- praisers for the small portion of the es- tate which is in California. He gave it as his opinion that it would be found ul- timately that the lots in San Francisco, Oakland and Santa Monica, and the Santa Monica ranch, which have been supposed to constitute Huntington's holdings in California, had been deeded to Mrs. Hunt- ington, as well as the Nob Hill mansion. Hope of Compromise an Incentive. The value of the estate was estimated at the time of Huntington’s death at $35,- 000,000. It has recently been appraised at about $70,000,000, exclusive of the small California holdings. The Southern Pacific stock, of which the estate had 630.000 shares, was sold to the Harriman syndi- cate, according to H. E. Huntington in an interview in The Call since his arrival in San Francisco, for $33,000,000. This marvelous increase in value doubt- less has encouraged Princess Hatzfeldt to make an attack upon the will, in con- fidence that even if she cannot break It she can at least keep the estate tied up in probate for years unless the fear of great loss in the varied interests of the colossal estate should be incentive enough to cause a compromise. A proportionate share, even, of the increased value would be well worth the bluff of a will contest. ‘When the issue is joined, with widow and adopted son and nephew of the late magnate fighting for the will and the fos- ter daughter asserting by legal procedure the claim of an adopted daughter, the — - - | I | | 1 | I I i 8 | L C | 7 /‘ 14 A 7 7 MRS. C. P. HUNTINGTO! 3 a3 . [E i contest will be Titanic. What a feast for the lawyers to fatten upon will be spread! What possibilities of years of litigation, | of bold attack and skillful parry of appeals and long delays!.! When the eve of pro- crastination takes its measure the strug- | gle for the fortune left by Fair shrinks to insignificance. It will be a battle royal, in keeping with the gigantic opera- tions of the age of the steel trust and the Harriman syndicate: Prince Not Ready to Talk. Prince Hatzfeldt spent a very busy time yesterday. After seeing his wife, the Princess, off on the 10 o’clock train for Sacramento, he visited the Crocker build- ing and had a lengthy conference with Joseph Redding, his attorney. After lunch he paid another visit to Redding’s office, accompanied by his friend, Mons. F. M. Guedalla, who is visiting the coast in the Prince's party. He then went back to the Palace Hotel and ordered a vic- toria to take him for a drive through Golden Gate Park. While waiting the ar- rival of the vehicle the Prince was inter- viewed by a Call reporter. . “The Princass has gone out of town alone, has she not?” was asked. Y She will be away for a day or so,” the Prince replied. “She went to Sacramento, did she not?” ““Where she went I would prefer not to say,” he replied. The Prince was showing signs of un- easiness. “Is it not a fact that the Princess is Zoing to contest the will of the late C. P. Huntington?" “I have nothing to say at all about the matter at present,” he answered. “When the proper time comes I will send for all the newspaper men and state what I want to tell them. I want to treat you all alike, but I am not ready to talk yabiT The vehicle was waiting and the Prince entered the carriage, accompanied by his friend Guedalla, the latter adjusting his monocle before giving the driver the word to start. Mills Has Important Business. W. H. Mills, land agént of the Central Pacific Company, arrived here from the Pan-American Exposition on Saturday. He is considered ome of the closest Continued on Second Page. FAKERS LAND BEHIND BARS OF GITY JAIL “Charity Workers” Ar- rested and Charged ‘With Conspiracy. |Harry Mamleck, One of the Leaders, Departs, Leaving No Clew Behind. Schemers Unable to Furnish Bail Fixed by Judge Fritz at $1000 in Each Case. = HE leaders of the charity workers and some of their in jail charged with to obtain money by tenses. W. W. Doneghy, Howie, Belle Smith, and Mrs. C. E. Wilcox were arrested last evening by Detectives Wren and Dinan on warrants issued on the complaint of Charles A. Smith, a ant cashier of the Columbian Banking Company, who last week purchased some of the benefit tick- ets of the bogus “California Boys' and Girls’ Aid Societ: Harry Mamlock, the sleek operator, who was one of the prime movers in de- | frauding the public on the fake concert scheme, disappeared from the ecity onm Sunday night. The police searched the | tenderloin for him last night, but without success. Mamlock did not even take any | of his clothing or effects with him, but | left all his belongings in the room he oc- | cupied in a boarding-house at the corner | of Post and Leavenworth streets. The reluctance of some of the dupes of the band of ‘“charity workers” to come forward and swear to a complaint opened a way for Mamlock to slip through the fingers of the police. The swindler was detained in custody at the Hall of Jus- tice for two hours on Sunday, but Cap- tain Seymour set him at liberty, as it was impossible to secure a complaint charg- ing fraud. Cashier Smith Swears to Complaint. | Yesterday afternoon Cashier Smith of | the Columbtan Banking Company was | willing to do his duty as a citizen, and by swearing to a complaint set in motion the machifiery of the law calculated to ef- | fectually end the work of the charity fakers and swindlers and at the same time protect the charitable public. After the complaint of Cashier Smith | had been sworn to before Police Judge A. J. Fritz the warrants were signed by | his Honor, and Assistant District Attor- ineys Perry and Burke soon had the doe- | uments in proper order. Eight warrants were Issued by Judge Fritz. As soon as the warrants had been hand- ed over to Chief of Detectives Seymour that official set his force atwork to bring in the accused partfes. Detectives Wren and Dinan proceeded to room 612, Emma Spreckels building, where Doneghy, Helen Barnes and the rest of his outfit have been located for the | last three weeks. Entering the room the detectives found Doneghy, Miss Barnes and a few other persons there. The of- ficers of the law wasted no time, but tants are conspiracy false pre- Helen Barnes, Julie Isabelle McDonald | quickly placed Doneghy and the woman under arrest. The warrants were read to them, and when Helen Barnes desired to know who Charles A. Smith was, who had sworn to the complaints, the detec- tives replied that they did not know, which was the truth. The arrested persons were taken to the Hall of Justice and kept in the detectives’ room until the rest of those wanted could be found. At the boarding-house on Post and Leavenworth streets the detectives located Julie Howie, Belle Smith and Mrs. C. E. Wilcox. The women took thefr ar- rest with coolness and only asked for a chance to “fix their hair.” Mamlock Makes His Escape, The room in the house which Mamlock occupled, adjoining that of his three wo- men accomplices, was then visited by the detectives, but Mamlock was missing. Inquiries made of the three arrested women led to answers that they had not seen Mamlock since Sunday evening at dinner, and the servants in the house in- formed the police that his room had not been occupied on Sunday night. The second batch of arrested charity schemers was taken to police headquar- ters, and, with Doneghy and Helen Barnes, were booked on the charge of conspiracy to obtain money by false pre- tenses. Doneghy gave his occupation as a “con- cert promoter,” residence New York; Helen Barnes was booked as of “no oc- cupation,” residence New York: Julie Howle stated that she was a milliner of Los Angeles; Mrs. C. E. Wilcox was book- ed as a “trained nurse,”” also of Los An- geles, and Belle Smith gave her residence as Santa Barbara. The police were unable to locate Miss Detweiler, one of the schemers, who came from the Bast with Doneghy. Isabelle McDonald was arrested late at night by Detective Hamill and locked up. Judge Fritz, in issulng the warrants, was so impressed with the seriousness of the offense charged that he fixed the bail !in each case at $1000 bonds or $500 cash. None of the schemers were able last night to secure bail and they spent the, night behind prison bars. Conspiracy to Defraud. The Penal Code of the State of Califor- nia makes it a misdemeanor for persons to conspire for the purpose of obtaining money by false pretenses. The complaint drawn yesterday by Assistant District At- torney Perry: charged the parties named with having conspired to defraud the pub- s Continued on Page Twelve