The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, July 23, 1902, Page 1

VOLUME XCIl-—};O. 53. SAN FRANCISCO, WEDNESDAY, JULY 23, 1902. | PRICE FIVE CENTS. RELATIVES SPEND A KAISER'S REALM ADDS GEM : TO SWINDLER COLLECTION| ESCAPES Bogus Baron Otto von Meyer of New Jersey Cuts Wide Swath in Society Circles and Finally Lands in San Francisco Jail as Re- sult of Penchant for Spending Money Dishonestly Obtained . DL . { | { t ARON” OTTO H. VON | 19 MEYER, the glass of| tashion and the mold of form, is in jail. He| was arrested yesterday | by Detective Harry Reynolds on .Kwarr eireet because George Schoenwald, man- of the Del Monte Hotel at Mo terey, told the police that the “Baron had bunkoed him out of ¥700. When the “Baron” Wwas brought to the Prison he presented a most unfash- The police took his jew- C ble figure. 4 elry away from him and what little money he bad In his pogsession, and with the loss of that Von Meyer became an sbject wreck. He wept coplously and went through a long list of hysterical compiaints. Hardened jallers piat him in | & cell exactly as they would a common man. The trouble with the “Baron” seems to be that he has lived faster than his tncome. Originally he burst upon £an Francisco s a member of a party of German officlals who were supposed to represent the Prussian Goverpment in the matter of exemining into the public | school system of this country. The head | of the commission was Wilhelm Valen-| tine, whose card declares he is a leu- tenant in the employ of the Kaiser. In the train of the distinguished visitors | were & number of notable figures from | Berlin, among whom was Marcus Val- | ertine, a brother of the head of the com- | mission, and “Beron” von Meyer. It the word of the commissioners can | be believed Von Meyer merely joined the | party on the train. He was an agreeabls fellow and a countryman and he gave such excellent references from the old| country that he was welcomed with open erms. On reaching this city Von Meyer assumed the duty of walving aside the | newspaper reporters and other inquiring persons that might by any chance dis- turb the commission. He became so prominent in this capacity that tuft-hunters became con- vinced that he was the whole show from | outside the Kaiser's realm. He was feted and toast s no other man has ever been on such a small showing. Hermann Oel- hecame richs his friend because the “Baron” knew him fn Bertin, and the talk was so strong that Hermann's memory became & live thing to him. On second | thought yesterday Oelrichs concluded that | be bad never seen the “Baron” outside[ | fornia. | of the Hotel Del Monte. FORMER GERMAN ARMY OFFICER WHOSE PENCHANT FOR BOR- ROWING MONEY HAS LANDED HIM BEHIND PRISON BARS, AND THE MANAGER OF HOTEL DEL MONTE, WHO CAUSED ARREST = oo of San Francisco. This was after the “Baron” had sent to him to borrow enough money to square his delinquencies. LIONIZED AT DEL MONTE. According to Von Meyer'’s story hs comes from a prominent Hanovarian family, poor though honest, and stress of circumstances drove him to this coun- try five years ago. He became a school teacher in New Jersey and followed this occupation until about a month ago, when falling health made him seek Cali- On- the train he met Valentine and his fellow commissioners, and being well educated, at once commended him- |'elf to them. Arriving at San Francisco he became the leading member of (ke party, and as such scintlilated until the | torch gave its last flicker, when he was put into the City Prison. Among the many things he did in his month of greatness was to go to Monte- rey, where as a “Baron” he was the lion So strongly did he impress George Schoenwald, the pro- prietor, that he was allowed to give din- ners costing $400, the bill of which was charged with the usual gleefulness of an innkeeper who thinks he has a good thing in a foreign way. It was not until Von Meyer borrowed $700 in cash and falled to make repayment that Shoenwald became suspicious. Von Meyer gave him a check for the amount on Wells, Fargo & Co.’s Bank of this city and a telegram tp the bank digclosed the fact that there were no funds to meet the order. HOTEL MAN PURSUES HIM. Von Meyer caght the train to San Francisco, but Schoenwald was equally prompt, following the German like a hound on the trail. As soon as he met an officer he pointed him out and Detective Harry Reynolds placed the “Baron” in. custody. When Lieutenant Wilhelm Valentine — was asked concerning his quondam friend he would have none of him. He ex- plained that the acquaintance of the ‘“Baron” had cost him $1700 in borrowed money, and while his sympathy for a “landsmann,” was great, it could not go to the extent of depleting the Prussian treasury to cater to the extravagant tastes of the Hanovarian. Various messages were sent out from the City Prison by the bogus Baron to prominent people in the city, but they re- mained unanswered. It was very evident that he had cut a wide swath during his sojourn, but the men whom he -cited either did not remember him or else had only the vaguest recollection of his ac- quaintance. Behind this reticence there may be other touches, the wounds of which will not bear the smart of public- ity. The “Baron” is young and blonde, and rather attractive in appearance. Soldier May Have Been Murdered. DETROIT, Mich., July 22.—Suspicion of foul play has been raised in connection with the death of Private Joseph Des- mond of thie Fourteenth United States In- fantry, whose remains were found ter- ribly mangled on the Pere Marquette tracks at Brighton to-day near the rifie practice encampment. Desmond’s home is at Leavenworth, Kans. Two privates are under arrest at Fort Wayne, charged with absenting themselves from Brighton camp yesterday without leave. Train Is Ditched in Texas. EL PASO, Tex., July 2.—The Galves- ton, Houston and San Antonto east-bound passenger train was ditched by a wash- out eight miles east of Sierra Blanca to- day. The engine and malil cars were over- turned. Gus Emery, colored porter, was killed and Fireman Evans was seriously hurt. A number of passengers sustained slight injuries. CAPTAIN ARREST Mother of Fugitive Takes Uems Qut of Pawn. Hundred Thousand Is the Cost of the Rescue. May Yohe Regains a Part of the Stolen Diamonds. Special Dispatch to The Call. NEW YORK, July 22.—May Yohe |is again In possession of a large part of her diamonds. She has been, or will be, amply reimbursed for the others, and Putnam Bradlee Strong, once captain In the United States army and soldier of fortune, with a tarnished past and ob- scure future, Is safe from arrest, It has cost Mrs. William L. Strong, mother of the young man, a fortune to save her boy from possible arrest and imprisonment. Mrs. Stroag to-day paid $16,100 for the redemption of the Yohe diamonds and about $80,000 more will be paid by her unless her son restores the jewels still unaccounted for. Of° the $16,100, $7100 was to redeem jewels pawned in this city worth $50,000. In Yokohama $8000 will be used for the redemption of gems worth $20,000 and $1000 will at once redeem others pawned at Genoa. MONEY TO SAVE SON. This action accounts for $75,000 worth ot jewelry, and it is estimated that $80,000 worth more must be accounted for, as it is conceded that May Yohe had over $150,000 in gems. Relatives of Strong have agreed to ad- vance the $80,000 additional and this, to- gether with incidental expenses, will bring the sum to save Strong close to $100,000. Mrs. Strong, her health so shattered that she may never recover, is happy in the thought that she has saved her son. was required to protect her boy. She re- fused to permit counsel to wrangle over details and insisted upon the acceptance of the terms offered by those who had charged him with felony and put the police upon his track. She was in a tremor of fear and anxiety until she knew that the charges against her son had been withdrawn. WITHDRAWS COMPLAINT. Still insisting that she is quit of Strong forever and that she will never forgive him for the wrong he has done her, May Yohe has withdrawn: the complaint against him made by her when she found that his last visit to her jewel casket had left it empty. Declaring that she hopes never to look again upon the face of Strong, who she believes has started for Yokohama, Miss Yohe announces her in- tention of sailing for the Far East in the! near future. Expressing a desire to rid herself of everything that can remind her of the man she accuses of having robbed her, she keeps his plcture in a miniature locket ‘which she wears 'just over her heart. His top coat remalns where he hung it on the stand, and his stick is in the hall corner of the cottage at Hastings-on-the-Hudson. POLICE ARE DISGUSTED. Perhaps the most disgusted of all who have had any part in this incident are the police of New York. They refused to interest themselves in the affairs of Strong and Miss Yohe until a complaint was made and Strong stood charged with grand larceny. Then they began a vig- orous search for him, only to be called off just at a time when they felt certaln of bringing about his arrest. Captain Titus was so confident of the success of his plans that he had arranged to . re- main at his office in police headquarters to-night until his detectives brought in Strong. MISSISSIPPI WATERS ARE SLOWLY RECEDING Levees Protect the Valuable Crops and It Is Thought Danger Is Over. KEOKUK, Ia., July 22.—The crest of the Mississippi River flood is now at Quincy and by morning will be still further south. The river reached the maximum at Quincy at noon to-day and is receding. A sta- tionary stage at Hannibal is expected to- morrow morning. The Lima Lake levee, extending north from Meyer, IIl., twenty miles north of Quincy, developed danger to-day and a large force of men was em- ployed to patrol it and ools were scat- tered along its length. The Lima Lako and the Hunt levees protect corn fields valued at several million dollars, The levees on the Illinois stde of the river below Quincy are standing and saved most of the country there. The Mississippi River fell nine inches here during the last twenty-four hours and there are no signs in Towa rivers of any more flood approaching. A gradual fan ' of a couple of weeks will end the flood in the vast domain south of here. Several hundred tenant farmers are absolutely penniless and with no chance of an in- come this year. Each community seems to be taking care of its own refugees, The same conditions obtain along tha seventy-five mliles of the Mississippi River on the Missouri side and a hun- dred miles of the Des Moines River low- lands. The population of the village of St. Francisville, Mo., has bheen neariy doubled by refugees of the flood district | who lost everything. Willingly she advanced thy Lo, ture whicha |- o EADS A GAY LIFE AND WRECKS HOME Former Baltimore Belle of Noted Lineage Is Sued for Divorce by W. F. Mann, Who Tells Sad Story of Wife’s Transgression F. MANN, a clerk in a prominent commer- cial concern, is seeking rellef from his matri- . monial troubles by ap- pealing to the divorce courts. By doing so he is exposing the revered names of Washington and Lee to obloquy and shame. His wife, Grace Mann, against whom he makes serious charges, is a descendant of the Washing- ton and Lee families. She lays claim to an Inheritance of blood more blue than that possessed by many of the leaders in the American social set. Before her marriage Mrs. Mann was Grace Lee Lewis. A native of Baltimore, a pet of the "F. F. V's.,” beautiful and accomplished, Grace Lee Lewis’ future seemed an assured one. When it was announced that she was about to become the bride of W. F. Mann, the son of a leading banker of the Maryland capital, the bluest of the blue-bloods of the South country hastened to extend their con- gratulations. Mann traces his ancestry back to the days of Lord Baltimore, and his expectations as to wealth are great. The match was an ideal one in the eyes of the effete few who decide upon such matters in the Sunny South. SOCIETY EVENT. The wedding ceremony took place In 1599 and was a notable affair. All Balti- more attended.and the prospects of the newly wedded couple seemed bright. Mann and his bride remained in the Ori- ole City for a little more than a year after their marriage. They were then compelied to leave on account of the fall- ing health of the young hgsband. They came to San Francisco and, according to the husband’s complaint, their troubles then commenced. In the complaint filed yesterday Mann alleges that his wife soon developed a love for a gay and fast life. In fact her fondness for lifé in the under world caused her to forget her wifely vows and her love for her husband and the child born of their union. Mann alleges thdt his spouse drinks to excess, frequents back rooms of saloons and benaves otherwise in a manner that causes him great misery. Mrs. Mann could not be seen yesterday at the Palmerlee, where, her husband alleges, she has for the last two weeks occupied apartments under the name of Grace Lee. It was given out at the hotal FORTUNE TO SAVE PUTNAM BRADLEE STRONG L PRETTY DESCENDANT OF A FA- MOUS FAMILY WHO IS BEING SUED FOR DIVORCE. + that Miss Lee had “left town,” and dili- gent inquiry failed to elicit any further information as to her whereabouts. FEELS NOTORIETY. Mann, in discussing his suit, said: “I feel most keenly the notoriety which the suit has brought upon me. I have little to say concerning the case and wish to avold publicity as much as possible. My wife and I were of dif- ferent = temperaments, and that has brought about all the trouble. -She liked a gay life with gay companions, while I preferred a quiet home existence. “We are both descendants of {llustrious families, and when we were marrfed in the East more than three years ago the match was considered a brilllant one. My health was poor, and about a year after our marriage we came to Califor- nia. We lived happily until about a year ago, when my wife went Eas “While in Washington, D. C., she fell in with a fast set and associated with several well-known sporting men, includ- ing Tommy Burns, the jockey. I heard of her behavior through friends, and it grieved me extiimely. “She returni'f‘ soon afterward and did not seem to care any more for me or the comforts of a quiet home. She was al- ways inclined to be iIntemperate, and about three months ago fell into bad company again. She would stay out with her companions all night and never seemed to think of me or her home. “Finally she met a young man whose father is one of the most prominent dry goods merchants in the city. She asso- clated with him for a while, and he in- troduced her to a young South American, the sclon of a noted statesman. They became very friendly, and she finally left the merchant’s son to associate with the South American. < “I do not know how long they remainea friendly. She is at present living in the | tenderloin district. . When we separated she made no objectlons to letting me | have the baby. The child is about 2 years old and is at present in my cus- tody. I wish to have the suit settled as | quietly as possible. In fact, everything | ‘was fixed to have her get a divorce some | time ago. I was not going to contest the suit, but her escapades upset our origi- nal plans.” Mann is the son of a prominent banker in Baltimore. The family .came to this country from England with Lord Balu- more’s party and settled in Maryland, where they have lived ever since. They are extremely wealthy and very promi- Continued on Page Two. i LEAVES PRISON SERVICE Captain of the Yard Edgar Quits San Quentin. Gives Way to War-= den’s Reorganiza- tion Policy. Aguirre Forcing Out His Veteran Sub- ordinates. Special Dispatch to The Call. SAN QUENTIN PRISON, July 2—Af- ter twenty-three years’ service as cap- tain of the yard in San Quentin prison, John C. Edgar has presented his resigna- tion 10 Warden Aguirre. The veteran offi- | cial, who has served continuously through a half-dozen State administrations and the regimes of as many wardens, and whose experience in prison routine and the handling of criminals had come to be looked upen as invaluable by the diree- tors of this penal institution, will quit the harness permanently on August 1 Who his successor will be is not yet announced. The retirement of John C. Edgar has been preceded by that of several others of the hitherto most trusted officers of the prison. These men have been forced out by Warden Aguirre on the false alle- gation that they have divuiged prison: se- crets to the San Francisco Call. They have been accused by the chief of the prison ring of giving information that led to the expose of corruption, forgery and thievery in San Quentin. Driven frantic by The Call’'s exposure of San Quentin frauds, Aguirre has become suspicious of every one about him. One by ome he has singled out his subordinates—men who have grown old in the prison ser- vice, whose honesty and capability had never before been questioned — and charged them with having exposed his villainy. The accusations have been met with indignant protests and denials; then has followed systematic nagging until the subordinates who had incurred the dis- trust of Aguirre, weary of- the unjust persecution, have handed in their resig- nations to the Warden. AGUIRRE CONVICTS HIMSELF. Warden Aguirre has proclaimed that the resignation of Captain of the Yard Edgar was entirely voluntary, but the subordinates in the prison have a differ- ent story to tell. Edgar has met the fate of the others whom Aguirre suspected of possessing Secrets whose revelation would add to the corrupt record of the San Quentin ring. What is the knowledge that these men possess, and which Aguirre fears? Does Warden Agulrre suspect them of having given in- formation damaging to the Aguirre reputation and endangering the position of the higher officlal whose creature the Warden 1s? The charge that Captain Edgar assisted in the collection of evi- dence by which The Call was enabled to lay bare the pernicious. workings of the prison ring In its raids upon the State treasury is utterly false. If there is nothing in his management of San Quen- tin that Warden Aguirre would fear to have come before the public e, why does he seek by persecution to dfive from the prison service veteran officials above reproach and surround himself with & coterle of his own creatures, having no knowledge of the past machinations of the San Quentin clique and likely to be none too curious about the future acts of the prison administration? The forcing out of Edgar and others of the prison attgches is a conviction of Aguirre by himself, an admission that he fears the knowledge possessed by those who have been in a position to learn the inner workings of his regime; a confes- sion that his own safety necessitates a complete reorganization of his official family. EDGAR’S SPLENDID RECORD. Captain John C. Edgar’'s period of ser- vice In San Quentin has been a long one and second neither in length of time nor in efficlency to that of any other officer or employe at the prison. With the ex- ception of one brief interval he has oc- cupled the very responsible and exacting position of captain of the yard for twen- ty-three years, serving under five different ‘Wardens. Edgar was first appointed as captain of the yard, which gave him the direct supervision of the convicts, by Warden Ames in 1380, and so thorough was his comprehension of the requirements of the situation and so untiring his energy and zeal in meeting them that he became a necessary adjunct to the administrations that followed and was reappointed In turn by Wardens Shirley, MeComb, Hale and Aguirre. In his management and control of the thousands of men who h#ve been under his charge during these many years Cap- tain Edgar evinced courage, firmness and judgment of the highest order and to him is mainly due the excellent reputation that San Quentin has enjoyed as a com- paratively quiet, orderly and well-man- aged prison. By virtue of his office Captain Edgar was placed in closer personal contact with the prisoners, en masse and individually, than any other officer, and while always prepared to enforce discipiine and obedi- ence from the refractory he was as kind and considerate of the unfortunate and misguided as the circumstances of the cases would allow. Few men in his posi- tion have made as many warm friends among those over whom they had charge. ‘With the officers and employes also of the several administrations with which be- has served Captain Edgar has , been most popular and highly, and not a few of those leaves behind him have t at the Severance of his the prison man