The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, April 4, 1902, Page 1

Che VOLUME XCI-NO. 125. SAN FRANCISCO, FRIDAY, APRIL 4, 1902, PRICE FIVE, CEXNTS. BRITISH ACCUSE THE CLAN-NA-GAEL OF A PLOT TO DESTROY ESQUIMAL | story published in The Call on January°20, 1900. — ARTICULARS of the frustration of a dastardly pldt to blow uf the forts and dockyards situated at Esquimalt, British Columbia, were yesterday made public by Charles A. Semlin, ex-Premier of .tlzc proz-inrei thus confirmi;fg a The information published at that time told of considerable excitement existing in Esquimalt and strict precautions taken to prevent some hostile design against the fortifications. Captain Fagen, who was in command of the station, had received a cipher message from the British Consul in San Francisco. The nature of the message was not divulged, but it caused a consultation of the captains of warships on the cruiser Leander. All officers were summoned to their ships and posts, and the torpedo-boat destroyer Virago was sent out to sea on patrol duty: At the forts double gz:grd: were mounted, all the guns were manned and no J one was allowed to approach without the countersign. Steam launches patrolled the harbor and challenged small boats, while steamers were forced to whistle their approach or stand the risk of being fired on. Cou Consul General in San Francisco, last evening confirmed the statements containcd in the dispatches from Vancouver. % trtenay Walter Bennett, British BATTLE | OF TWO HOUSES Discord in Congress May Block Needed Legislation. Senators Give Strong Hints on Ship Subsidy. Opposition That Will Delay Canal and Harbor Bills. to The Call STREET, N —Considera- % G ment there the present a special subsidy bill e House there will be no ver and harbor bill e two branches strained, and should the t feeling continue all three of these likely to fail of final pas- d river and harbor bills 2 re pending ing bill has passed | iing in the House whether the go so far as to nt consideration of the iouse and however, CANAL BILL FIRST. Allison to-day that what- order of business steering committee it n of the canal said the t session. members ) are in ear favorable report of | Representa- of the est in ommittee are . Hopkins, Young, Vree- | 2 Littlefield, all Republicans. ng De of the committee minority would act | ng a report of the bill, | McDermott of New Jer- h its frie s In this i five Demoerats op- | © add to Representatives and F e against the Fr. Two Republ ney, who e bill in | an , vote for the| rincipal objections to the | from thé Senate, offered an opponents in the com- | that in the matter of benefits | ons w be limited to a very few. Some of the Republicans of the committee pof ask that if the ob-| is to stim a fast mall serv)cc«,l | w hy is it that the postal subsidies are mited to ships of twenty knots, when | could be extended just as well to ships of twenty-two, twenty-three and even twenty-four knots, which speed is ained by mall-carrying vessels the flags of forelgn countries? GAME MAY NOT WORK. Representative Alexander of New York, they now & member of the Rivers and Harbors| Committee, said to-day: There will be no adjournment resolu- tion passed in the House until the river | rbor bill passes the Senate. That game will not work this year. and harbor bill has too many | ends in the House to submit re being sacrificed in that nas been three years since a er and harbor bills was he bill which the House has Senate is a fair and reasonable re. We don't intend to be fright- by threats the Senate may It requires the consent of the o adopt a resolution to adjourn, i members of the House who are in- held their votes from such a the river and harbor bill even if we have to remain mn session until next winter.” unt ssed Wood Will Pardon Durfee. WASHINGTON, April 3.—General Leon- a Wood, military governor of Cuba, has informed the War Department that be will pardon Lieutenant Oscar Durfes, now in prison in Cuba, to take effcct on the 7th inst. Lieutenat Durfee is serving & ten-year sentence for an alleged defal- eation of £1000, TShye ePIVING | Gravze, | Dok Admral Beaumont Gigantic Conspiracy Hatched in San Francisco. ANCOUVER, B. C., April 3—Former Prémier Charles A. Semlin to-day made public the details of the plan of one of the most daring and start- ling plots against the British Govern- ment that has been conceived in late years in America In an interview the ex-Premier told of the frustration of a plan to blow up the big.navy docks and if gossible the fortress of Esquimalt. The entire plan was arranged in San Francisco by mem- bers of the Clan-Na-Gael. Its fortunate discovery by agents of the British Con- sul in the Golden City caused the fail- ure of the scheme, but the arrange- ments were carried out-as far as possible even on British soil until the British au- thorities interfered. Until to-day the plot and its"discovery were kept secret. The whole plot occurred at the.be- ginning of 1900, when mlin was Premier, and he was officially interested in all thé arrangements made to frus- trate the plans. Two men were sent from San Francisco for the purpose of carrying out the blowing up of the docks. Their names, as learned by the British Consul at San Francisco. were Denny McDermott and Albert Ren- vicker, the former an Irishman and the latter a native of Belgium. CONSUL UNCOVERS PLOT. The first information received by the British Columbia Government was from the Governor General, the Earl of Min- to. The latter had been advised official- ly by the British Consul at San Fran- cisco. Premier Semlin sent word to Admiral Beaumont, who was at time in charge of Esquimalt and com- mandant of the North Pacific squad- ron. The two consulted. and that even- ing the commanding officer issued an order that the guards on the forts and the navy-yard should be doubled and only the most trusted men should be de- tailed for duty. The information communicated by the Consul at San = Francisco was that a meeting of the Clan-Na-Gael had been held there at which means were dis- cussed of how to aid the Boers in their war against Great Britain. When the meeting was called at first there was no intention to suggest the use of force, but McDermott, who was present, of- fered to go to Esquimalt and attempt a body blow by dynamiting as much as possible of the forts and the navy docks there. He asked for the naming of 2 companion to assist him in the deed. A number of 'inflammatory speeches were made, and it was beini decided that they should all draw lots for the honor of sharing in the glory of the fight against England when Renvicker stepped forward and offered himself. that | - Secret Agents Sent to Blow Up the Navy=Yard. He was justithe man for the job, silent, stealthy and apparently with plenty « of nerve, DETECTIVES ON TRAIL. The men were supplied with funds and started on their journey fo the north by a Southern Pacific train from Oakland. During the time occupied in making the arrangements the British authorities had been busy. Not only did they guard in every possible way against an unforeseen stroke, but they prepared to systematically watch the two men who were to travel north from San Francisco. So'it came about that a detective em- ployed by the British Consul accom- panied the two men from the Golden Gate city to Portland, and there he handed over his interest_to two northern detectives, who were Well up in the location and environment of all the neighborhood of Victoria and Esqui- malt. The two men came directly through to Seattle, where they spent a couple of days. They made small purchases in the stores, visited many people and gave the detectives a warm time in watching them. While there was no definite as- surance of this possible to be gained at the time, it was afterward clearly learned that they made arrangements to secure an amount of high explosives in Seattle| and from there would take it to Vic- toria. The two dynamiters then took a train to Vancouver, and were again followed by. the detectives. They stayed here for one day and then proceeded to Victoria, from which city they could operate against Esquimalt, which is a couple of miles out of town. In Victoria the two detectives gave up most of their watch- ing to the tender care of a sergeant, whose name Mr. Semlin never heard. but who appears to have been too sharp even for the wily ways of the Clan-Na- Gael. SERGEANT WOULD “KEEP.” This sergeant belonged to one of the infantry regiments stationed at the fort and Wwas an experienced detective. He made the acquaintance of the two sightseers from San Francisco and went to the forts to see the big guns and en- tirely won their confidence. He also by stealth became imbued with the same feeling of hatred against the British, and g— 3 ECENES AT THE NAVAL STA- TION, ESQUIMALT, IN BRIT- . ISH COLUMBIA. g - Local Consul Gives Warning to the Officials. by and by McDermott had so far con- verted him that the British sergeant was willing to assist in the blowing up of the forts. McDermott even went so far as to propose that they should get rid of Renvicker, leave him to bear ¢he blame and themselves to double across the straits when the destruction was ac- complished. ' McDermott never suspected that he was drawn into a net and that his plan was known to ‘the Admiralty authori- ties. He chafed under the delay that his new found brother officer and friend imposed. ~ Renvicker seems to have suspected the fact that their scheme was known, for he suddenly dis- appeared, and the officials were glad to be rid of him. Then they lost no time in disposing of the Esquimalt career of McDermott. Just what happened to him on a frosty night when he ventured too close to the Rritish sentinels at the dockyard Semlin does not pretend to know. But next day the man from San Francisco who had come north for the purpose of converting the British fortifications into a mass of debris marched meekly between two of his Majesty’s marines down to the outer wharf, where he was furnished with a second class ticket and enough ‘money to last him to within sight of the Golden Gate. The sergeant, who had been making a good fellow of his San ‘Francisco friend among his beer-loving comrades, bade the dyna- miter a sad but affectionate farewell, ‘telling him that any time he had a few| Confession Is Made to an Astute Sergeant. British battleships to sink he could find a ready, list for his plans by writing to Esquimalt. Former Premier Semlin said that was the last he heard of the plot. His state- ment to-day was the first that ‘has been made public of the affair. rart e L, MYSTERY OF THE DEATH OF AGED MAN IS SOLVED Police Learn That Samuel Collins Who Was Found Dead in a Cave Killed Himself. SALT LAKE CITY, April 3—The mys- tery of the death of Samuel Collins, the old man found dead in a cave in the mountains near this city Sunday after- noon, has been solved. Clyde Felt, a sixteen-year-old boy, late to-night made a statement to the police that Collins, who seems to have exercised & hypnotic influence over the boy, after removing his clothing crawled into the cave and cut his throat with a razor. Be- fore entering the cave the old man ex- acted a promise from young Felt that he would hide the razor and clothing and wall up the mouth of the cave with rocks. UNNATURAL SON WILL PAY: THE DEATH PENALTY Clinton Dotson to Be Hanged To-Day for Plotting Against His Father’s Life. DEER LODGE, Mont., April 3.—Clinton Dotson, known as ‘“the unnatural son’ and a life convict in the State Peniten- tiary, to-morrow forenoon at 11 o'clock will be hanged for plotting against_the life of his father in order to secure his release from prison. James Fleming, his cellmate, was executed last September for his part in the bloody crime. Fleming is supposed to have killed Dotson's father upon being released from the penitentiary. Governor Toole this afternoon positively refused for the last time to interfere in behalf of the condemned man. Dotson gives every indication of going to the gai- lows without fear. His body will be buried alongside of his companion in crime, Fleming. b FOUR MASKED MEN HOLD UP A TRAIN ST. JOSEPH, Mo., April 4—Burlington train No. 13, which left this city at 11:40 last night, was held up by four masked men. Nothing of value was secured. At 3 o’clock this morning a special train with police officers and railroad officials left for the scene of the robbery. BrtishConsul General } Bennett Extraordinary Story Confirmed in This City. OURTENAY WALTER BENNETT, the British Consul General, last evening confirmed the news sent from Vancouver, B. C.. as to the frustration of a plotrhatched in this city, to destroy the forts and dockyards of Esquimalt, B. C. When seen last evening Consul Gen- eral Bennett stated. that the plot was discovered during the tenure of office of | his predecessor, the late W. Clayton Pickersgill, who informed the Governor General of Canada. “This matter is not new.” said Consul General Bennett, “and the British Gov- ernment quickly frustrated the inten- tions of the plotters. Of course I can- not say how the information came to the knowledge of my predecessor in of- fice. any names. It was the work of a society affiliated with Fenian organizations.” “Are you at liberty to give the names of any men who were connected with the society you mention?” was asked of the Consul General. “That I cannot do,” was "the reply, “but they were prominent men. I was not Stationed in San Francisco at the time and am not conversant with all the details of the affair. I can only say the plot was concocted here, and I cannot give any information as to how the de- tails were secured by the consulate. The phrase ‘from information received’ will cover it. The only thing new in the affair at this time is that the details should be made public in British Co- lumbia.” Irishmen who are prominent in the local patriotic societies when seen last night in 1egard to the alleged attempt to blow up Esquimalt emphatically de- nied that there ever was a branch of the Clan-Na-Gael in this city. They also stated that they knew of no Irishmen of the names mentioned in the Vanp- couver dispatch who could pessibly be implicated in any plot against the Brit- ish naval station. If such a society ever had its existence in this city or on the Pacific Coast, according to the local Irish leaders, it must have been com- posed of a very few of the most radical haters of England who had no standing améng the Irish people. Jaseph P. Kelleher of the Ancient ®rder of Hibernians stated that he had never heard of such a seciety existing in this city. He said that he knew of many patriotic Irish societies, but he knew nothing of the Clan-Na-Gael. As Archbishop of Manila. ROME, April 3—Right Rev. Sebastian ‘Messmer, Bishop of Green Bay, Wis., has declined the appointment as Archbishop of Manila on the ground of ill health. The Vatican insists _that he shall accept the office. 1 It would not be wise to mention | 'TRANSFER MAY NOT BE MADE ‘Meddlers Likely to | Defeat Sale of Islands. Indignation Aroused by Unauthorized i “Agents.” |Investigation of the Charges Becomes | a Farce. Spectal Dispatch to The Call COPENHAGEN, April 3.—Behind the | negotiations which have marked the sug- | gested sale of the Danish West Indies to the United States there lies a tale which | must interest every politiclan and diplo- mat. The moral of that tale is that | statesmen and politicians cannot be too | careful in the choice of those with whom they enter into relations. Whether these islands will ever become American now is a matter of doubt, but that such is the case, that such doubt exists, is mere- ly owing to the indignation aroused by the intervention of certain unauthorized | agents in a matter of international inter- est. There is no question here of any per- centage being paid to any agent for the sale of the Danish West Tndies. There ls no.eash to be had from here for the al- | leged *ofling of palms™ of. committeemen | in Washington, and the suggestion made by Richardson is received by the Danes with angry comment. For reasons of sound political economy Dr. Duentzer, President of the Council of Ministers and Minister of Foreign Affairs, obtained the assent of the representatives of the Dan- ish pecple to the sale of the three islands. HAS A BAD RECORD. The upper house has not yet sanctioned the vote of the lower, as Is necessary, ard will only do so by a meager majority, but the Minister of Foreign Affairs has nevertheless signed the treaty with the United States. Mr. Loerring, President of the Council, was anxious to see the | sale arranged. He showed himself indis- creet, or at all events was won over by Captain Christmas, who Is a very shrewd and clever man. Thus the latter obtained | certain letters from the Premier. The new President, Loerring, had no power in the matter. It concerned the Minister of Foreign Affairs, but to go to the latter would not have suited Captain Christmas, because the Minister of Foreign Affairs | had been Minister of Marine at.a time | when Captain Christmas Jad been tried by ceurt-martial and dismissed from the Danish navy for being concerned in trou- bles in Siam and misrepresenting French naval action and other things. Gron had | recetved 6000 kronen. Captain Christmas | was not so lucky, yet from a private per- son interested in the sale he managed to get 5000 kronen. Whatever President Loerring did must be taken as having been done in his pri- vate capacity, as he had no power to act without the approval of his colleagues, and when they heard of what had been | done they did not approve. Anyhow, Cap- tain Christmas started off for Washing- ton with a certain letter from President Loerring, and claiming to repfesent Den~ mark. He was bound to come across Gron, and the pot and the kettle met and collided. OPPOSITION TO SALE. Captain Christmas was forced to re- veal his business. Gron was indignant. He was then conducting his business through H. H. Rogers of the Standard Ofl Company. Gron had had-a letter to «Rogers from a Danish capitalist named Hagemann. Captain Christmas had an exactly similar letter of recommendation. The entire upper house, in secret com- mittee, held a sitting to-day on the Dani- ish Antilles sale. Several fanatical speeches formed its feature, all wildly op- posing the transaction. Dr. Duentzer, Prime Minister, appealed for support of the sale on economieal and practical ground. Then Petersen, a-rich man, who sent Gron over to the United States to start up the scandal, indulged in an impassioned tirade against the sale. To avoid the sale, he says, he would sacri- fice his entire vast fortune. BECOMES A FARCE. CALL BUREAU, W., WASHINGTON, April 3 members of the Danish Landsthing, who are thinking of rejecting the treaty for the sale of the Danish West Indies, be- cause Nells Gron brought to the attention of Representative Richardson the decu- ment written by Captain Christmas, claiming that he had bribed the American Congress, could have heard the testimony to-day they must have laughed, evem though they have no sense of humor. The proceedings before the special im- Continued on Page Two.