The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, June 19, 1901, Page 1

| the LDt Tall, VOLUME XC-—NoO. 19. SAN FRANCISCO, WEDNESDAY, JUNE 19, 1901. HOUSE COMMITTEE ON RIVERS AND HARBORS COMES TO SAN FRANCISCO WITH INTENT THOROUGHLY-T0 EXAMINE THE BAY AND OTHER OUTLINE OF WORK IN VIEW Visiting Congressmen Greeted by City’s Commercial Men Many Places Ready to Give Welcome to Committeemen Chairman Burton’s Views Upon Mare Island’s Channel members of the House Com- River s and Harbors Jose They were rec ker Moses Greereba ané Geerge E. Plumm representing James P. Tay amber of Com- of the & n Fran- chlan came f te with the party. They were escorted from Third and Town- send streets to the Palace Hotel by the, committee, here they d that their epartments handsomely decor- ated with flowers at the instance of the 1 been mittee on Rivers at the Palace Hotel k place with the Tepre- Oakiand and Vallejo con- » in California. The y the reception com- lowed S sertatives o cerning the plan 25 made 1 mittee will be ed. To y Oal will Francisco at 10 cum conferance accidents except- Creek and Oakland party leaving San by the steamer Slo- be visited To-morrow San Francisco Bay. Vallejo &nd Napa Creek will be viewed, the party salling on the steamer Frisbie. Friday morning the Congressmen will go to Tib- uron en route to Petaluma Creek and will return to San Francisco Friday aft- erroon After the enumerated places have been vieited the Congressmen will follow out ar official itine s may be changed becaus: Harbors Committee have neiseo a day e localities to be the following Francisco: the San cramento mship Victorian July 20 on the re- go East by way of Salt Lake ver, Kansas YARD WILL HAVE ATTENTION t evening the members of the party i the reception that ifornia has extended to them. They red that they would be cordially at all other points in the State to be visited and that all possible faclll- be afforded to enable them to channels, etc., satisfac- arbors oot UGH torily. The members of the Congression- al committee are the following named: Theodore E. Burton, Cleveland, Ohio (chair- man); Walter Reeves, Streator, TIl.: Blackbrn B. Dovener, Wheeling, W. Va.: Roswell P. Bishop, Ludington, Mich.; Ernest F. Washington, Pa.: Page Morris, Duluth, Minn.: De Alva S. Alexander, Buffalo, N. Y.: Thoi H. Tongue, Hillshoro, O George P. T rence, North Adams. David- son, Oshkesh, Wis.; Thomas C. Catchings, Vicksburg, Mies.; Rufus E. Lester Ga.: James H. Bankhead. Fayette lp D. McCulloch. tanna, Ark.: Berry, Newnort Stephen M. Tampa, Fla.: H. Ball, T Luman M. Ellis (secretary), Ohio. With the Congressmen are their wi and daughters. Ch an Burton's attention was called by a Call reporter last evening to a tele- gram in an evening paper, dated Wash- ington, which forth that Secretary Long had intimated that “the department is thinking very seriously of transferring part of the Mare Island Navy Yard busi- ness to a point nearer San Francisco or to a site near some other coast city.” Congressmen Kahn and Woods, who had also seen the telegram, did not attach any importance to it as to a possible re- moval 6f the business from Mare.T Chairman Burton s Acheson, Mass.: mes H nnah, Ala.: Phil- Albert S Ky.: Sparkman, Huntsville, Cleveland Thomas set heir views, alluding to another statement in the tele- gram ‘concerning the lack of deep water between San co and Mare Island made the following interesting statement: “The Committee on Rive Harbors has nothing to do with recc ding or making any examination for a site for a navy yard. That work would have to be done by a board of na fiicers and the report of such board d be referred to the Committee on val Affairs. We to deal with that only as in- dual members of Congress.” ve “But the question of the consider- able stretch of comparatively shallow water between San Francisco and Mare Island—twenty-two feet deep -—has been brought to the attention of the committee on Rivers and Har- bors before. ¥ “Some years ago we recommended that a survey be made and that the cost of deepening the channel to the depth of thirty feet be estimated. This recommendation was adopted by Congress and became a law. 2 ARRIVAL AT THE PALACE HOTEL FRANK H. HITCHCOCK CHIEF OF BUREAU OF FOREIGN MARKETS AND ) g Colonel Heuer’s report favored the work. I do not recall the amcunt of estimated cost of deepening the chan- nel, but it was about $380,000. This is a proposed improvement to which we shall give attention.” Concerning other suggested Iimprove- ments Chairman Burton had only to say * DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE" CHAIRMAN THE%DORE- BURTON D PRICE FIVE CENTS. 3 el e i NI W % JULIVS KARN. WAS THERE WITH HIS 4LAQ GLAD SMILE ~ — E2 P TER OF T HE LATE COLLIS P. HUNTINGT PROMINENT FIGURES AMONG THE MEMBERS OF THE HOUSE COMMIT- TEE ON RIVERS AND HARBORS, WHICH ARRIVED HERE YESTER- DAY ON A TOUR OF INSPECTION OF THE STATE WATERWAYS, — that every one would be considered care- fully. The committee had considered that only by visiting the rivers and harbors of the Pacific Coast could it gain the knowl- edge necessary for considering any river e O % — and harbor bill as a whole. Mr. Burton has personally visited and inspected every navigable river and harbor for which im- provements have been asked—that is, on the Atlantic or on the Gulf. Other mem- ON AN N \ TR FLORAL TRIBUTES — bers of the committee have taken pains to similarly equip themselves with a full knowledge of the facts. Chairman Burton, in speaking about river and harbor improvements, is en- thuslastic and evidently is greatly inter- ested in the work, Indeed, when he as chafrman of the committee presented the river and harbor bill to the Fifty-sixth Congress he sald: ‘‘The Committee on Rivers and Harbors presents this bill with the confidence that no measure be- fore Congress confers greater benefit unon the country.” DESIRES THAT ALL RIVERS BE VISITED Congressman Frank L. Coombs sald: “The visit of the House Committee on Rivers and Harbors to California should be of supreme importance to the State. Heretofore our appropriations for our rivers and harbors have depended upon the energies of our representatives, to- rether with the reports of the United States engineers as to the advisability and necessity of the same. The greatness of a State cannot be studied solely by maps and through sclentific reports. The breadth, length and resources of a river can be ascertained accurately by sailing down it. Observation is and always will be the true lesson. California is so far removed from the nation's’ capital that visits of this kind have heretofore been deemed impossible. “The committee should visit every river in California and te made acquainted with the great resources of the valleys which they drain. Tacts gained from scientific knowledge will be more easily understood. Necessities based upon ob- servation appeal to the fairress, the judg- ment and the wisdom in a two-fold light. It is to be hoped that the commtitee will be given an opportunity to visit the coun- try and learn the value of the improve- ments contemplated for the rivers which pay their annual tribute to San Fran- ciseo. Tt is necessary to learn, not only the needs of a river, but it is important to learn of the resources of the great valleys through which they flow and which must depend for all time to come upon their improvement and protection. “It s to be hoped, therefore, that the people of San Francisco, having the en- tertainment of this committee in charge, will look to the advantages to be gained in a knowledge of the great valleys which, year by vear, are paying their tribute to San Francisco.” D HER IWHTERWAYS PRESENT NEED OF VALLEYS Congressman Woods Has Ideas About the Necessary Works The San Joaquin River Has a Vaiid Claim on the Public Purse Proposed Dams for Debris Are Also Very Important ESTERDAY morning The Call afforded the people of the State an opportunity to learn what was deemed by men well qualified to speak to be essen- tial to the improvement of the rivers and harbors of certain sections of the State. This morning interviews with Congressmen appear in print. which give the views of the people’s represc in regard to localities other tha mentioned yesterday. The import having a clear understanding of tk lic needs cannot be overestimated &° ‘him time. Every Intelligent observer J that the Pacific Coast of the United is about to enter into an era of development, and commerce will lead tiis way. The Call is accordingly willing to surrender a great deal of space in this connection for the public good and does so gladly. Below will be found what Con- gressmen Woods and Coombs say In reference to the present tople of para- mount importance. The first named calls attention te the fact that while he speaks at some length about the San Joaquin Valley, the peo- ple of Sacramento have prepared a memorial in which they set forth their desires and a general statement of value to themselves. He therefore leaves the presentation of their case to them, being confident that they will do the subject justice. The statements that man Woods makes will be considered. for his figures and facts are striking. They show how important are the interests of the interior. WOODS SPEAKS OF NEEDS OF VALLEYS Congressman S. D. Woods says that the most urgent requirement for the Improve- N Congress- ment of waterways in the San Joaquin Valley is the proposed diverting canal to carry the waters of Mormon Slough to the Calaveras River. “This is a proiect recommended by Lieutenant Colonel Heuer and is in- dorsed by the War Department,” said Congressman Woods. “The purpose is to prevent the deposit of detritus and con- sequent shoaling of Mormon and Stockton Channels and the San Joaquin River. The jmprovement calls for an appropriation of $255,016, a part of which is for the dredg- in= of the two channels named. This ap- propriation has not been authorized by Congress, although there is little doubt of favorable action after the Committee on Rivers and Harbors has visited tha locality and becomes acquainted with its needs. The dam proposed by Colonel Heuer, to be placed in Mormon Slough, three miles east of Stockton, and the ex- cavation of a canal from that point four and one-half miles northwesterly to the Calaveras River, and the alteration of the mouth of the Stockton Channel will save the Government annually $7113, which ha® been the average expenditure for dredg- ing the detritus from Stockton and Mor- mon channels during the past thirteen years. The plan will also be a great sav- ing to the shipping interests of Stockton. “The city of Stockton and its business men have repeatedly expended vast sums Continued on Second Page. E TITLED HUSBAND PROCEED WITH PREPARATIONS TO CONTEST THE WILL Joseph |[D. Redding Has Complaints Pre- pared; to Be Filed When Evidence of Adoption Is Sufficiently Well in Hand HE intention of Princess Hatz- feldt to contest the will of Col- lis P. Huntington, pubiished ex- clusively in The Call, was a topic of much discussion yes- terday, particularly among law- vers, raflroad men and finan- clers. Interest in the news was general, and wherever men gathered in conversa- tional groups the proposed contest and The Call's exclusive announcement of it became invariably the subject of conver- satign. The principals In the colossal legal struggie that the Hatzfeldts are prepar- ing to inaugurate are keeping discreetly silent. The Princess is still in Sacra- mento with her mother, Mrs. Clara Pren- tice, who is one of the strongest cham- pions of her daughter’s claim to a larger share in the Huntington millions. She as- serts that she signed a document by which she relinquished her authority over her daughter, and that Huntington legally adopted the child, the papers be- ing duly recorded. The procedure fin- cluded even the formal changing of her name from Clara Louisa .Prentice to Clara Elizabeth Huntington. Mrs. Pren- tice and the witnesses she will be abie s L to produce will doubtless: be the main- stay of the plaintiff’s case in the event of failure to find record of legal adoption. Prince Paul Hatzfeldt and Joseph D. Redding, the attorney who has been chosen to lead the assault upon the Hunt- ington moneybags, keep their own counsel well. Prince Sees Vaudeville. The attorney and the Prince were in each other’'s company- almost the entire day. They were in consultation, on busi- ness matters presumably, during the course of the forenoon, and saw some of the sights of San Francisco during the afternoon, accompanied by M. Guedalla. Among other places, they visited the pub- lic buildings of the city. They dined to- gether and afterward occupled box-seats at the Orpheum, where the jackies of the battleship Oregon were being entertained by the best that vaudeville had to offer. They enjoyed the enjoyment of the saflor- men, and when the monologist suggested The Romantic Life of Princess Who Now Claims a Fortune e 4 that the poor should all go to sleep and let the rich do their own work they smiled at each other in comfortable antigipation of multimillionaire opulency. *“Do not ask me to talk to-night,” Mr. Redding sald In reply to a Call reporter’s request ‘for a statement. “Really I am here foran evening’s recreation and I do not want to talk of business or will-con- tests.” Good Cause for Reticence. The reticence of the Hatzfeldts and/ thelr attorney and the secrecy with which preparations for the contest are surround- ed are not hard to understand. The will - i o of the late railway magnate provides that in case any legatee, devisee or beneficlary under the will shall contest the will he shall cease to have any right, title or in- terest in the estate and shall forfelt what- ever legacy was provided for him by the will. In view of this clause Princess Hatzfeldt will jeopardize her legacy , of $1,000,000 by the contest which she will bring. Ordinary precaution would dictate secrecy and caution in preparation for the contest in order that the opposition might. be taken at a disadvantage, and this ne- cessity for secrecy is immensely increased by the forfeiture provision of the will. It is not, however, to be supposed that this provision of the last testament of the great financier will deter the Hatz- feldts from bringing the contest. The stake to be won is too great to permit timidity to stop the throw of the dice. Confidence that compromise may be forced upcn the executors of the estate mo doubt plays an important part in the causes that impel the Hatzfeldts to con- Principals Are Discreetly Silent and Refuse to Discuss Palpable Evidence of Their Intention to Bring Suit Against Estate test the will. The interests of the estate will suffer almost inestimable injury ev- ery month that it remains tied up by a contest, and the well-known Huntington prudence may be expected to desire an early settlement out of court of the ques- tion at issue. Further, the enormous in- crease in the value of the estate, it is ar- gued, will make the executors more ready to add liberally to the legacy left by Huntington to his foster-daughter. Though Redding raintains sphinxlike silence, it is stated on authority of a well-known lawyer that Redding has the complaints prepared, and that they will be flled in New York and San Franeiseq simultaneously when the auspicious timg arrives. @ siiriniieinprinieeieieiei il G MANY NATIVE CONVERTS KILLED AT QUETPARET YOKOHAMA, June 18.—The Japanesa Consul at Mokpho, Korea, reports that the recent mission troubles at the island of Quetparet were caused by native con- verts. These persons so exasperated the other natives that the latter surrounded them and killed 500 of them. The foreign &crulsera are still at Quetparet