The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, December 21, 1901, Page 1

| =25 ' VOLUME XCL-NO 21 SAN FRANCISCO, SATURDAY, DECEMBER 21, 1901. COURT SENDS DIas OE BAR 10 A PRISON Notorious Laura Jack- son and Companion Convicted. b English Magistrate Wastes | No Time in Passing Sentence, Woman and Her Alleged Husband Must Serve Many Years Behind the Bars for Their Numer- ous Crimes. LONDON, Dec. 20.—Theodore and I.Lu.rl‘ Jeckson, the latter best known in the | United States by the name of Ann O'Delia Diss de Bar, were found guilty to-day by & jury in the Old Balley on charges of | immoral practices and fraud. The Judge immediately imposed sentences of fifteen and seven years' penal servitude upon | Jackson and his reputed wife, respec- tively. The prisoners listened to the passage of | sentence in evident astonishment, but | maintained silence. As the Judge fin-| ¥ ished Jackson turned from the prisoners’ | dock and walked down the steps. “Swa- | mie,” &s the woman head of the so-called “Theocratic Unity” has latterly called | herself, smilef, bowed to the Judge and | court and followed her male companion to where officers were waiting to take| them to prison. | Anticipating that a verdict would be | reached d to-day, the interest in the trial was revived and the courtroom was well filled when the proceedings were re- sumed. The female prisoner, as usual, furnished the dramatic features of the examination of the witnesses, cross-ex- | modulated tones, and al- | g or threatening. When he prosecution was closed for ants announced that they would witnesses, but would'testify in their own behalf. | Jackson Delivers a Lecture. Jackson was then sworn and com- menced &n address, very much in the na- ture of a lecture, in the course of which he claimed to be a man bound to single life by & religious vow and em- phatically denied the testimony furnished as to his living with Daisy Adams, whose | story, he said, was a tissue of falsehood. He described the female prisoner as a med through whom he (Jackson) d nicated with his spirit wite.” address, referred to his acres of land in Florida, and dwelt at great length on the princi- ples of theocratic unity. During his cross-examination Jackson was very insolent to the Solicitor Gen- eral, Sir BEdward Carson. The Judge warned Jackson that he was injuring his case, whereupon the female defendant in- terjected epprovingly: “That's right. Keep him in order. While the Solicitor General was exam- ining Jackson the latter casually remark- ed: *If Bwamie (a2 name by which the female defendant is known) is guiity, I em guilty also.” Mrs. Jackson quickly rose to her feet| (having been accommodated with a chair in the dock) and refused to be included ! case » Jackson in the charge of criminal | ult. hen asked whether Mrs. Jackson had | been imprisoned in New Orleans Jackson | refused to answer until the question was repeated to him by the female defendant. He then said she had been in jall twice. Diss de Barr Mentioned. Mre. Jackson then testified. During her cross-examination the name of Diss de | Bar was mentioned for the first time in court, the witness admitting that she was the divorced wife of General Diss de Bar, | @dding that she had inherited a fortune from him. The woman also admitted that | ghe had been married to 2 man named McGool and to Ph. Messaut. She said her income from the Diss de Bar property was | $14,000 yearly. She acknowledged that she | hod served six months in jafl in New York | for efranding Luther C. Marsh, and de- | nied that she had ever been known as| Vere P. Ava { After Mrs. Jackson had made a general | denial of crimes charged against her, the | Solicitor General announced that as the prisoners were not defended he would not acdress the jury. Jackson then began a gpeech to the jury. He sald it was mon- | strous that this infamous charge had been | 1a3d at their door, especially considering | that his companion had devoted her life | to Christian reform. | “However,” he added, “I believe that ab- jute justice can be obtained from an glish Judge and jury, which is more 1 can say for America. The fem prisoner, in turn, addressed the jury. Drawing her classic robe around | her ample form and raising herself to her | full height s 1d the court spellbound | for over an hour. Mrs. Jackson seemed | never at & loss for words. She carefully | dirsected all the evidence and wound up | with & powerful peroration to the effect ! that she @id mot desire any halting, am- biguous verdict, but an unequivocal ex- | pression of justice. Justice Bigham then summed up very strongly egainst the prisoners, saying it Mcult to conceive of more revolting | and abominable conduct. He said that he be doing his duty unless he . male prisoner from practic- under the cloak of religion | ars to come. The jury was absent than five minutes. Silence followed the pronouncement of the word “guilty” 2nd the Judge quickly passed the s 4 Flight of a Postmaster. NANAIMO, B. C., Dec. 20.—Henry Malle, Postmaster at Extension, has ab- sconded, leaving a shortage estimated at $50. He is supposed to be in the United Etates. Worthington to Hold| | suspended. The engine I had was & fine machine, but we | engineers like the old-style engine better. PRICE FIVE CENTS. TWO VIGTIMS OF UPLANDS WRECK DIE OF INJURIES AND ONE GHARRED BODY [5 FOUND IN THE ROING e Investigation at | Once. | e HE death list of the Southern| Pacific disaster at Uplands, Mon- terey County, has reached a total | of five, and there it is likely to| stop, as none of the other igjured | passengers or trainmen are believed to| be in danger of succumbing to their in-| juries. Two Itallans, John Cordona and | Francisco Savania, dled early yeszerdu? morning at the Southern Pacific Hos- | pital. Another charred body wasdisen- | tombed from the wreckage at Uplands at | noon. It is supposed to be the body of a | tramp who was riding the brakebeam. The members of the train crews were | in attendance yesterday at the inquest| et San Lucas on the bodies of Willlam C. Garland and Owen A. Thurber, the | first known vietlms of the wreck. If | the trainmen get back in time Superin-| tendent Worthington of the Coast di- vision will hold an investigation at 9 o'clock this morning, after which he will make his report and recommendations to Manager Agler. Engineer Coffey has been temporarily He is bedfast at his home, 2920 Sixteenth street, his body racked with pain from his injuries, but he is suf- fering a thousand times more from men- tal anguish. He said yesterday: My consolation is this, they all speak well of me. T have no enemies and they all say I was careful and reliable and never made mistakes. But tho poor people—why wasn’t I allowed | to die with them? It will all come out at the Investigation. It was the first run I had made on her and the | injector was giving me trouble. While I was | working with it We passed the whistling post | a mile the other side of the Uplands switch. | I did not see the post and did not whistie or apply the brakes. Neither aid I notice when we rocked over the frogs at the switch. I | believed we had not yet reached the whistling | post. 1 had not forgotten my orders. Then | suddenly the danger loomed up in front. .In- stinctively I applied the emergency brakes and | closed the throttie. Dameron, my fireman, did not see the danger until I shouted to him. | 1 had done all I could do and &s the train | slowed down to twenty miles an hour I jumped. Dameron will not say at’ the in- wvestigation that he closed the throttle or ap- plied the brakes, I did all that mysell and SCENES OF THE WRECKAGE OF THE TWO ENGINES AND THE CARS OF THE NORTH-BOUND TRAIN AT T T I PR T e S | UPLANDS, AFTER THE TEMPORARY TRACK HAD BEEN BUILT AROUND THE DEBRIS TO PERMIT THE RESUMPTION OF TRAFFIC. Engineer Coffey Says He Did Not Forget Orders, but Ran Pas{ Switch While Engrossed With Strange Engine. e bl reversed the engine only for its having driving brakes. Every wheel on the engine was equipped with brakes which are capable of stopping her quicker than can be done by reversing, which causes her to slide as if down a chute. I am going to be at the investigation to- morrow if T have to be taken on a stretcher and I belleve that rallroad men will not blame me when the evidence is all in. Superintendent Worthington said yes- terday: Coffey was one of the best engineers on the road. He was always careful, conscientious and capable. Conductors were always glad to have him on the engine for then they felt safe. He has been rallroading for fourteen years. For six years he was a fireman, then he was promoted to engineer and for a long time he ran on a freight train. For two -years and & half he has been hauling passenger trains. There is no doubt of his competency and reliability. He was always sober and when in the city could always be found at home. He certainly deserves sympathy, for the poor fellow is almost crazed and his in- quiries about the dead and injured are piteous. I went to see him this morning, not to put him on the rack, but out of sympathy. The situation Coffey faced was so elementary that his mistake seems unexplainable. There were no complications. He had a simple order, received at San Ardo. It was the only order in his possession and No. 10 was the only traln with which he bad to concern himself. The most inexperienced man’ in the business would have had no cause to become confused. There is no doubt as to the speed of the train, No. 9 left San Ardo at 12:55. The collision occurred at exactly 1:06, The distance between San Ardo and Uplands is 5.2 miles and the wreck was at a point .3 of a mile farther west, making the distance traveled in 11 minutes exactly 6% miles. That shows the train to have been traveling at the rate of thirty miles an hour, and all statements of the rate being forty to fifty miles an hour are nonsense. Engineer Coffey believes the mpeed Wwas not more than twenty miles an hour when the trains struck. The emergency brakes were set and the throttle of Coffey’s engine closed— whether by Coffey or by the fireman, Dameron, 1 do not know. The engine, 1486, under Coffey’'s control, is one of the finest large eight-wheel passenger engines belonging to the Southern Pacific Com- pany. It is of the ““C. W." class and has a 72-inch driver, 90,000 pounds on the drivers and 190 pounds of steam. She has been giving excellent service on through overland trains on the western division for a long time and was assigned to the coast division when the new card took effect on December 6. She was in first-class shape and the superintendent and master mechanic of the western division ob- jected strenuously to the engine being taken from them. Any contention by Coffey that the engine was ‘‘cranky’’ and took his attention from the track will scarcely prove valld. Cordona and Savania, the two men who died in the hospital yesterday, were Ital- tan section hands who were returning to Cordona’s home In Oakland, where they intended passing the holidays. Cor- dona was 65 years old, and he leaves a large family. Savanla was not married. The liabilities for personal damages of the rallroad company will not be heavy. Of the passengers who had paid fares none were serfously injured, and maay of them have already accepted settlements offered by the company. Cordona and Savania, former employes, were riding on passes. The Wells-Fargo Company does not know the extent of its loss,and will not know until reports are in from offices all along the line, It is known that a large amount of coin was in the car, but the waybills were burned. It was stated in Superintendent Langtry’s office yesterday that any estimate of the company’s loss would be simply guesswork, as little re~ liable as guessing at the winning num- ber in a lottery. CROWDS VIEW THE WRECK. collision occurred on the Southern Pacific Rallroad at Uplands Thursday morning is still the scene of many visitors curious to view the wreck of two fron horses. People from far and near flock to'the scene of the disaster anxiously watching every movement made by the clearing crew, fearful that some friend might be uncovered at any minute. The debris is being raised as rapidly as human hands can accomplish it, but it will be three or four days before the work will be com- pleted. Latest reports received in this city give the finding of one more body and many more are expected to be found. Reports were- curreht here this morning that ow- ing to the southbound train being late ‘Wednesday night the engineer on this train was given orders at King City to remain there until the arrival of the northbound train, but on looking at his | watch he claimed he had ample time in which to reach the switch. The night operator at King City, on be- ing questioned in regard to the matter, says he gave no such orders and that all talk about him giving any warning of that nature is fictitious. He says the in- structions to both ergineers were plain and explicit. INQUEST BEGINS. Coroner’s Jury at San Lucas Listens to the Evidence of Trainmen. SAN LUCAS, Dec. 20.—The Temains of Messenger Thurber were charred almost beyond recoglflnon when they were recov- ered from the wreckage, but there is no doubt of thelr identity. The Coroner’s inquest over the dead bodies of Owen W. Thurber and Fireman ‘W. C. Garland was begun to-day. S The witnesses examined were Conductor ‘Wallis and Engineer Konold of Train No. SALINAS, Dec. .’)-—The spot where the }10, Conductor - Willlams and Fireman z -+ Superintendent Says Coffey Deserves Sympathy. Dameron of Train No. 9, Station Agent Sharp of King City and the station agent at San Ardo. They testified regarding the receipt and delivery of the train order which stated that the northbound and southbound trains were to pass each other at Uplands. The incidents attending the collision were told by the witnesses substantially as have already been related. The inquest ‘was then adjourned until 9 o’clock to-mor- row morning. P R Engine Breaks Down. SAN JOSE, Dec. 20.—The north-bound Los Angeles express had a succession of breakdowns to-night, finally being tied up for several hours at a point about three miles from San Jose. A broken eccentric was said to be the cause of the trouble. Efforts were made to secure an engine from San Jose. Conductor Muller took a passenger’s bicycle that was in the bag- gage car and rode around the neighbor- hood seeking assistance. Passengers tried to find a telephone, but their efforts were unavalling. Finally the break was re- paired and the train crawled into San Jose many hours late. hours behind time. ——— FREIGHT TRAINS COLLIDE ON THE NORTHERN PACIFIC TACOMA, Dec. 20.—Two extra freight trains on the Northern Pacific collided near Weston at 5:30 o'clock this after- noon. Both engines were damaged, ten cars were derailed and the track was blocked for several hours. Wrecking out- fits from Tacoma and Ellensburg were sent to clear the tracks. The cars dam- aged were laden with coal. Conductor C. A. Fisk on the eastbound train was slightly injured. Engineer Kelly, on the westbound train, has not yet been found and there'is a possibility that he may be found under the wreck. The cause of the accldent Is being investigated. T S R Collision on the Missouri Pacific LEAVENWORTH, Dec. 20.—Missouri Pacific passenger train No. 53, due here at 5:25 p. m., and a freight train met in head-on collision near Nearman, a station close to Wolcott. No one was injured. The passengers | were landed in San Francisco nearly three | JUDEE SHS HS LIF 15 I JEOPERDY Hints That Lynchers’ Counsel Desire His Assassination. Remarkable Utterance From the Bench During the Al- | turas Trial Attorneys for the Defense Make Bit- ter Retort and for a Time a Courtroom Tragedy Is Threatened. Special Dispatch to The Ca ALTURAS, Dec. 20.—For a time to-day | spectators at the trial of James W. Brown, the alleged Lookout lyncher, were mo- mentarily expecting to see pistols brought into play and to hear the ping of bullets. Probably no more exciting scene has ever been enacted in a California court than occurred this afternoon, when Superior Judge Harrington declared in unequivoeal terms from the bench that the attorneys for the defense desired his assassination. The Judge did not mince words, and his | expressed fear that he would be shot | trom ambush before the present trials were concluded brought bitter retorts from the attorneys for Brown. Raker, one of the men representing the defen- dant, grossly Insulted the court in his reply, but in the excitement of the mo- ‘ment his remark was passed with only a verbal rebuke. The bitterness between | Judge Harrington and Attorneys Harris | and Raker, representing the alleged lynchers, has now grown to deadly hatred, and residents of Alturas are pre- dicting that a tragedy will be enacted be- fore the ppesent trial draws to a close. | Agnes Wilson was on the stand under | cross-examination and the, defense tried in every possible way to cause the child to contradict herself. Agnes testified that she unhitched the horses she and her | mother had used in coming back from Bieber and tied them'to the hitching post. Deputy Constable Brown, the defendant, unhitched them from the post and kicked them and they ran away. This was on the day of the arrest of her stepfather, Calvin Hall, and her brothers. The girl | and her mother found their home in the | greatest disorder, it having been searched Dy the @fresting party. Court Fears Assassination. It was during the cross-examination of the half-breed child that the bitter dis- pute between the court and counsel for | the defense arose. Brown's lawyers at- tacked the girl's testimony and incident- | ally the character of the members of the family. Finally Judge Harrington inter- | posed. “Such conduct will not be permitted | while I am on the bench,” said he. “Well, you won't be there long,'” retort- ed Lawyer Harris. «I will be here until my term is up, | Judge Harris, unless some of you assas- sinate me or shoot me from behind," answered the court. Harris sald"that he never yet tried to assassinate any human being, and the court replied in substance that he had. “You can’t prove any such thing,” ex- claimed Harris, and RaKer, his associate counsel, added: “Well, that is a nice remark for a man to make on the bench. We don’t want to kill anybody. If I wanted to kill any- body, I would kill a man. There is no man in here wants to assassinate you or anybody else. If there is we want to see him. I can prove by a dozen different witnesses that witness Courtwright said he came down off the stand to kill me and would have done so if the Sherift had not interfered.” “This is none of your put-in, Mr. Ra- ker. Harris is the man I have been talk- ing to, and when the time comes I can prove my assertion,” said the court. “You can’t prove any such thing by anybody,” was Judge Harris’ retort. Apologies Not Forthcoming. Here the controversy ended without apologies from any of the three. Neither of the attorneys representing the State had anything to say while the war of words was proceeding. Whei some meagure of calm had been restored Agnes Wilson continued her tes~ timony. She said that after Calvin Hall's arrest Deputy Constable Brown swore at the aged man and jabbed him In the back with the muzzle of his rifle. Counsel for the defense this afternoen objected to Assistant Attorney General | Post quoting law in support of his argu- ments. Judge Harris declared that this | was not a law college, but sarcastically !remarked that if Post should start such | an institution he (Harris) would attend. Senator Sewell Improves. | cAMD N. J., Dee. 20.—United States | Senator William J. Sewell, who is Iying seriously ill at his residence here, is much improved over yesterday. At 11 o'cloeck to-night his physicians said the Senator passed a comfortable day and is doing well to-night. He*is very cheerful and carried on a conversation during the | evening with the doctors. The physicians entertain no apprehension at this time of a serious change in his condition. Mme. Tsilka Is Reported Dead. LONDON, Dec. 2.—“Semi-official news received here from Constantinople,” says the Rome correspondent of the Daily Telegraph, “asserts that Mme. Tsilka is dead and that Miss Stone, the American captive, will be released almost imme- | diately.” 4 Babe Is Fatally Burned SAN MIGUEL, Dec. 20.—While emulat- ing their father, who had been burning stubble, two children of Thomas Horden of Bradley startedsa small grass fire. The dress of the youngest, a girl of two years, was ignited and she was so badly burmed that death soon followed.