The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, August 20, 1901, Page 1

This Paper : be take om |} @ < ; : P "-@.‘ VOLUME XC—NO. 81, SAN FRANCISCO, TUESDAY, AUGUST 20, 1901. PRICE FIVE CENTS. S AYS THE ISLANDER’S PILOT WAS INTOXICATED . g SSUMNCES ENDSUFE | ' ' PASSENGERS BLAZING OIL DULY GIEN ~ IN A HOTEL | - MEET DERTH THROWN OUER BYCOLOMBIA AT CHICAGD ~ INTHECHO THE FIREMEN Minister Silva Declares That | Uncle Sam’s Protection ! Is Not Needed. Secretary Hay Gives the Information { That This Nation Is Sending | Warships to Protect Its | Interests. [ S Special Diepatch to The Call. | CALL BUREAU, 406 G STREET, N. % | . WASHINGTON, Aug. 19.—Colombia 1 to handie the situation the freedom of transit Isthmus of Panama. This is | ce of the urances given to | Keys in Possession Bear Tag of the Columbian Bank- ing Company. Letters Are Left Expressing Sorrow at the Deed of Self-Destruction end Hinting at Some Great Misery. Spectal Dispatch to The Call. CHICAGO, Aug. 19.—With a revolver with one empty chamber lying by his side | and a bullet wound in the temple an uni- dentified man was found unconscious on the floor in the waiting-room of the Em- press Hotel, 339 North Clark street, this =SRASTITIEATS Secretary Martinez nie Minister Department this hy conference lay He communicated ntents of a cable from Bogota across the isthmus was Hay to- Silva, the Colombian 3 to the Secre he saying that recety traffic of his confidence | be able to maintain nus. and that it for the United States to would | take any nder the provisions of the treaty of 184, by which this Govern- traffic across | the isthmus | Awaits Colombia’s Request. | Secretary Hay explained the attitude of the T'nited States to Minister Silva, and the Minister left the State Department with the knowledge that this Government dnres not propose to land sailors and ma- rines at either side of the isthmus for the purpose of keeping open traffic unless re- quested to do o by the Colomblan Gov- ernment, or unless it becomes perfectly plain that Colombia is unable to prevent the interruption of communication. The Minister satisfied that the United States is sending warehips to the isthmus not with any intention of seeking.an op- portunity to interfere in the domestic af- fairs of Colombia, but simply for the pur- pose of having a sufficient force on hand, and 1f 1t should become necessary to per- | form the duty imposed by the treaty nfl 1846, and for the further purpose of pre- venting intervention . by any ‘European | power on the pretext that such interven- | tion is necessary to protect their interests ‘n Colombia. While it is recognized that | responsibility for the maintenance of com- | munication across the isthmus rests pri- | marily on Colombia and that the United States should refrain from acting. if pos- | until requested by the Colombian suthorities to land men, this Government ound to await such a request from Colembia, and the question of whether such action will be taken will be decided | by the TUnited States in accordance with | the conditions that may exist at any time on the jsthmus. sible Preparing for Emergencies. In the meantime the United States is ing to meet any emergency. The | Machias finally got away from Hampton | Roads yesterday for Colon, and the Iowa, | which has been delayed at San Francisco of making minor repairs ie expected to sail to-mor- | . where she will arrive bty the neces: to her bollers row for Pana Continued on Second Page. later. | marked, “$1 reward if returned afternoon. No one had heard the shot. | One of the patrons discovered the wound- ed man lying on the floor. The police of the Larrabee station were informed and he was taken to the Alexian Brothers' | Hospital. where he died several hours | From a note found on the person despondency is belleved to have caused | Lim to end his life. It was addressed to the landlady and read: “Mrs. Vandussen—I thank you for the fine treatment you have accorded me, and I am extremely sorry to inconvenience you by the deed T am about to commit. T do not wish to live any longer. T am tired | of life.” There was no signature. The stranger had been staying at the hotel several days, but had not given his#hame. He is thought to have come from San Francis- co, as among a bunch of keys found in his possession was one bearing a tag | the Co- | lumbian Banking Company, Call building, | i | San Francisco.” On the other side was | | the number 514. | %18 16 were also among the effects. The | A pair of scissors and | man is about 38 years old, six feet four 2nd a half inches in helght, had gray [ eves, dark halr and long, sandy mustache. His clothes indicate that he was in good circumstances. They were made by a San Francisco taflor. The name of the tailor is Joseph Hern. This letter was also found written on the margin of a newspaper: “After years of tofl and striving, after standing on the brink of that which would suffice to bring me heaven and happiness, vet not the goal of my true and ideal am- bition, T find myself at this stage in hun- ger and thirst and yearning for the sweet things of life. Some of those who were unworthy have employed my honest and | best efforts in the way of toll. There is | to be a great evolution in this blessed land within a few years. Of my laudlord T ask kind and tender forgiveness of this act in his premises; but there will be no excite- T leave much behind. but T go in peace. Many people have been very kind to me. God bless them all. | s —_— | Fail to Open Steel Cashbox. { SACRAMENTO, Aug. 19.—Burglars blew open the =afe in the office of Holbrook, Merrill & Stetson last night, obtaining more than $3% in cash and some checks. They did not succeed in getting open the steel cashbox. The burglars drilled into the safe and then placed. sticks of dyna- mite in the holes. There is no clew to their indentity. Minister to Brazil on Pleasure Trip. WASHINGTON, Aug. 19.—~United States Minister to Brazil Bryan has gone aboard the cruiser Atlanta, now .cruising along the Brazil coast. It is probable that this trip is one of pleasure and general inspece- tion. 2 e STEAMSHIP ISLANDER AND THE SCENE OF THE WRECK. Score of People Are Reported to Have Perished in the Disaster. lien and Women Are Entrapped in the Dining Room and Go Down With the Vessel. e e PADUCAH, K Aug. 19.—The steamer City of Golconda, plying between this city and Elizabethtown, Ill., was struck by a squall during a storm about 7 o’'clock to-night as she was en route to Paducah and turned over in ten feet of water, six miles ahove the city, as she was going 1to | Three or Four Killed and Many Badly Burned Be- | | l‘ fore Rescue. Esie S | | Conflagration Among 0il Tanks Is | Caused by Lightning and Fol- lowed by Explosion of Benazine. | | —_— PHILADELPHIA 20.—~While & of firemen were endeavoring burning ofl Aug. | large foree to check a fire nest o tanks at the At ¢ Oil Refining Com- Point Br ion of the ¢ meorning, an immense the pany's plant a in southwestern 112:30 o'cl about ek this <+ San Franciscan Who Survived the Northern Wreck Blames the Navigator of the Luckless Steamer for the Dis- aster and Claims the Captain Had Been Drinking IATTLE, Aug. 19.—John L. Wil- cox, formerly residing at 503 Sixth street, San Franclsco, who was a steerage passenger on the steamship Islander, was appar- ently more cool under the cir- cumstances attending the wreck than most persons would have been. He tells a clear story of the wreck, and makes the sensa- tional charge that the pilot was intoxi- cated and thut ‘the captain had been drinking. This is his account: “I was returning from Dawsop and boarded the Tslander at Skaguay on Au- gust 14, There was a Jolly crowd on board, and everything went well until the fatal accident. We were within one and one-half miles from the entrance to Lynn Canal and were going ahead at the rate of seventeen miles an hour. It was foggy outside, and we could scarcely see fifty feet ahead of us. All the passengers had retired for the night. “‘Suddenly there was a shock and I Special Dispatch to The Call. grabbed my clothing and ran on deck. looked at my watch and it was 1:50 a. m., Skaguay time. I ran-to the rall to see what was the matter and looked over the side of the vessel. It was too dark to make anything out. I then went below and when I reached my quarters in the steerage I could clearly make out the water as it flowed in and covered the deck. T tried to save some of my effects, but the water was tco deep. “Everything was confusion and T went back on deck only to find that the decks were crowded with the frightened pas- sengers. Some officer on the bridge called to the sailors to lower the boats, and then told the passengers that there was no danger, as ;the ship was fitted with alr- tight compartments and they were all closed, Many went back.to bed when they were told, as the first-class passen- gers could not see the danger like those in the steerage. When'there was nearly 1t was coming in in a big stream. | 1| two feet of water covering the deck they stampeded for the upper deck. The cap- tain ordered the men to cease lowering the boats. The ship was still going ahead. Finally the men became frightened and the beats were put into the water. I got into the first one, and we pulled a short distance away and then stood by to ren- der any assistance necessary. Pilot the Worse for Liquor. “The officers did all they could, but the pilot was intoxicated. He came on board at Skaguay in that condition and had not sobered. The captain had also been seen drinking in the saloon during the even- ing. “As the ship went down the captain stood on the bridge and gave a leap for one of the life rafts In the water. It turned over and was righted again at once. The captain climbed on again, and Continued on Page Three. Crewall's landing. A score of people are reported drowned. The disaster happened as supper being served. and many of the seventy- five passengers were in the cabin. The wind struck the boat without warning and there was no time for those on the inside Captain Jésse Bauer and Filot was to escape. E. E. Peck were the last to leave the boat | and swim ashore. They saved several per- sons struggling in the water, left the sur- vivors in a house near the bank and came to the city. Captain Bauer. who arrived here two hours after the accident, said: Listed by the Squall. “The boat was getting ready to land when the squall struck her and she listed. Several passengers who were Inside jumped overboard and were caught bv the boat. The women, all of whom were in the cabin, could not be reached. The boat settled down in ten feet of water over a reef, and two of the men who were in the cabin, P. E. Wodten and N. §. Quartermouse of Hampton. broke through the glass and were saved. The colored deckhands saved a woman, and I don’t think she was the only woman saved. A yawl which had broken loose was caught by some struggling men in the water and rowed to shore. We re- turned to the boat on this, but could find no signs of life, and returned to shore.” Score Probably Perished. The boat was valued at about SZ‘SNW There is no way to determine the number or names of the dead until the boat's books are found. - Cantain Peck olaces the number at sixteen. The Mary N left soon after the survivors reached the city for the scene. Among those belleved to be drowned are: Miss Lucy Bartlett of Smithland: Miss Lizzle Graham. Greenville; Miss Trixfe Adams, Greenville: Mrs. David Adams, Smithland: Watts Havis, a prominent farmer of Livingston County: Clarence Slayton of Tola, Ky.: three col- ored deckhands. The Mary N returned late to-night with those saved. They report that the women were drowned, and the total number of those who perished will reach seventeen or twenty. None of the bodies were re- covered, as the rescuers could not get into the cabin. The only woman saved was Mrs. Havden, wife of the engineer. Monument Unveiled. SANTA FE, N, M., Aug. 19.—A monu- ment to commemorate the fifty-fifth an- niversary of the peaceful annexation of New Mexico to the United States was un- veiled this afternoon on the plaza in the presence of a vast concourse. It was erected by Sunshine Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution. tank of benzine suddenly exploded. Many firemen were e proximity and fell oil and flying picces in el victims to the blazi of iron. Three or four were killed and many were badly burned before they could be rescued by their mo ate companions. A general call tele- | graphed for ambulances and patrol wagons and the Injured were hurried to the hospitals in the lower end of the city. | At this hour the names of the dead | men cannot be learned. ! ribly burned and their | mutilated that they were hardly recog- nizable when brought to the Morgue. Some of the injured will die Ten or twelve tanks of benzine and | petroleum have already been destro and the fire is not yet checked. The will reach probably half a million dolia The fire was caused by lightning. The bodies of three flremen were re- covered, but it is feared that others wers killed. The intense heat and the danger of further explosions render a search for bodies almost impossible. One of the dead men is belleved to be James Eals, a fireman in the fire department. The oth}r two bodies are so badly charred and mangled that they are beybnd recog- nition. It is believed twenty firemen were injured by the explosion. Police patrol wagons and hospital ambulances were kept busy for two hours removing the linjured to the hospitals. SEAAD I EAPEETED 1 REIGN PIST President of the Steel Corporation Wishes to Retire. They bodies so_badly were NEW YORK, Aug. 20.—The resig- nation of Charles M. Schwab as presi- dent of the United States Steel Cor- poration is confidently predicted in a special to the Tribune from Phila- delphia. It is stated that Mr. Schwab will devote his energies to the man- agement of the Bethlehem Steel ard Iron Companies. Mr. Schwab when seen in this city and questioned with regard to the correctness of the re- port declined positively to discuss it.