The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, August 15, 1902, Page 2

(4] THE SAN FRA ISCO CALL, FRIDAY, AUGUST 15, 1902 PYTHIAN SUPREME LODGE ELECTS NEW OF AND A WELL-KNOWN CALIFORNIAN R — % FRIENDS ARE PLUNGED INTO DEEP GRIEF P | Continued From Page One. the catastrophe is less terrible than re- ported gr thapt one or the other may have | strvived. The newspapers gave the friends and relatives of the unfortunate couple their first knowledge of the tragedy. Hermann Oelrichs was informed at the Pacific- Union Club of the report and somewhat | later of its confirmation. Charles Neal, | manager of the Fair estate, and Captain | Seymour, secret agent for the estate, early | rned of the terrible news, as did also Charles J. Heggerty of Knight & Heg- gerty. With ali of them the one thought waé to learn from unquestionably authen- | tic r fuller details confirming or| ing the awful character of the 1 lletins of the cat Joseph Harvey, the m: i 1 friends to when the was informed by telephone, hastened to the city. | the poor h once € jons of Mrs. ptimates who | friends and was genuine Fair left San Francisco | went at once to France, | the splendid roads. and and Mr: 30, and rawn there g t improvements in automob (‘g. become Fair's greate: r mechanics and ncy for the horseles: d become one of the most chauffeurs in America. machines better than the s he employed, and he them with a fearlessness that e among the wealthy that in San Francisco the finest » ever brought to the coast. It rch machine of the Panhardt able of a _speed of miles an hour.. The roads not satisfactory for the use of cing carriage, and in improvements were leading to it mashing of records. Hence the | abroad. | menth ago Joseph Harvey received a | r from Fair, in which he said that | bought a new automobile of the | , capable of making eighty- hour. Since then cable have told of record: through the French prov- | e young American mil- trips e by and hi received here advised friends | and M would sail for | 28, and intended to pro- Francisco. Ww. of Fe s with they during the racing s and she sailed on the FAIR'S DEATH MEANS LOSS TO SAN FRANCISCO L. Fair was born in Virginia 1857, and was in cons e. He was the th ir, Mrs. Oelrichs be- Fair Jr. the nderbilt Jr. | Charles a boy Charles Fair showed evidente 2 remarkable genius for mechanics. studious boy, much given to Flint tutor ir the of the Custom-house, who the family of Senator Fair | ter years of their residence Sity, has this to say of his of the boy: { a quiet, well disposed | ned, anxious to gain in- | and every subject. vays had Charley as 0 any s reader and al hardly » make himself | ast table. | n his younger days ran greatly n he was only fo built with his own hi temrp quariz mill which worked suc- | r encoursged him in every | s for mechanical pursuits. | roing no doubt led him t5 of money on fast sailing utomobiles. While his older | was inclined to be sportive and | what under m 1 f correct depori d vrnder his father's of h in this country and | manhood yourg | ther's favorite and im in charge of a He was not venture, howeve, and | of the thoroughbreds. air married Miss Maud Nelson in Oak- tober 13, 1893. The marriage was t the knowledge or consent of Sen- nd the latter was very .bitter but after a few months there a reconciliation and when the father in 1884 Charles Fair and his wife de. uming and democratic in his rles Fair was by nature one v died were at the be: most courteous of men. He was | mild of manner and soft-spoken. While | he nothing for clup life and had 1l circ sma le of intimate friends he | was known as a perfect gentieman, to| whom kindly action and courtesy to men | :d women of every rank were instinct- Fair was a noble, generous- Jobn F. Farley said last aking with tears in his eyes of | ath of his friend. “He was always to help a friend. He loved his| ¢ y and there was no thought in his | of living abroal, or indeed away | California. plans for the fu-| all concerned San Francisco and the | suffered a great loss in his| was known generally among those enjoyed Fair's-confidence that he important _ inyestments in San Not only did be intend_keep- ing his wealth here, but he had looked to carrying out -certain enter- cted by his father. The clear- y of the tangle of litigation over estate had opened the way for him his return he intended to de- h attention and make, heavy in- vestments in those cherished plans. KNOWN WIDELY FOR DEVOTION TO CHARITY Mrs. Charles L. Fair was born at Lib- erty Corner, New Jersey, thirty-five years | ago. Her maiden name was Caroline! Decker Smith and she was related to one of the firm manufacturing Decker pianos. She has five sisters, all of whom are stili iiving in the East. One of her parents, her father, died several years ago. At the age of 22 Mrs. Fair came to the | Pacific Coast and four years later married | the man who met death at her side. As soon as the marriage that brought | wealth to her had been performed she | provided generous allowances for each of | her sisters and her mother. For the lat- | ter she purchased a handsome home in Orange. The charitable deeds of Mrs. Fair were | never fully recounted to the world, owing to her utter distaste for the heralding of such acts. But despite the silence she caused to be maintained she was known as one of the most generous, kind-hearted and philanthropic women that ever lived in California. Her purse was always open to the poor and needy and she exerted herself to find opportunity of extending a helping hand or alleviating suffering. She read the daily papers with a view of ascertaining where cases of distress might *be found. Btories of poverty-stricken tamilies and sickness attracted her atten- 'Louisville . Chosen | was a contest, | be_was_ succ | Gemonstration in | of her own. Next Place of Meeting. HE clection of officers and the selection of a place of meeting for ‘192 was ‘the only business of importance that was consid- | ered by the Supreme Lodge of | Knights of Pythias at . thelr | session yesterday As soon as that body was called to or- der two past grand chancellors were given the Supreme Lodge ‘rank and the | supreme chancellor announced that the | next order of business was the selection of officers for the ensuing term: Tracy R. Bangs of Grand Forks, N. D, was elected to the highest place, that of supreme chancellor, without opposition. Mr. Bangs is an attorney-at-law, and for the last ten years has been the supreme vice chancellor of the order. For the office of supreme vice chaa- cellor Charles E. Shiveley, also an attor- ney-at-law, was selected. While not al- ways so, nomination is considered para- mount to an election to the office of su- preme chancellor, and two years hence Mr. Shiveley will in all probability be given the post of honor. CALIFORNIA IS HONORED. California was honored in the selectipn | of one of the highest officers of the Su- preme Loage from among the supréeme representatives from _this, State, - Hon. George E. Church of Fresno being unani- mously elected to the important office of upreme prelate. Judge Church is one of the most prominent Pythians of the State and for many years has practiced av- in Fresno. R. L. C. White, who has been the su- preme keeper of records and seal for sev- cral terms, was re-elected without oppo- siticn, as was also Thomas D. Mears as fupreme master of exchequer. For the | office of supreme master-at-arms there | but the result was in fa- vor of L. H. Farnsworth of Salt Lake | y, Utah. Cyrus W. Hall had a hard | to win the o.ice of supreme outer | d, there being no less than four can- against him. But by superior | management on the part of his adherents | ssful on the fifth ballot. | For the office of supreme outer:guard John W. Thomps: was the only candi- date, and his re-election was a sort of honor of his presence. | NEAL IS CHOSEN. C. F. 8. Neal was elected president of the board of control of the endowment | rank without a dissenting vote.. Presi- | dent Neal was appointed to his present position by Supreme Chancellor Fethers | at a time when the endowment rank was | in a state of bankruptcy, and it was largely through his efforts 'that all in- debtedness has been paid and that a sub- stantial balance is now in the treasury. Of the uniform rank Major General James R. Carnahan of Indianapolis will be- the commander for the mnext two vears, The supreme chancellor gnnounced the appointment of E.”A. Graham to succeed :imself as‘supreme tribune, his term hav- ing expired. The next session. of the Supreme Lodge of Knights of Pythias “will be held at Louisville, Ky., but it was only after a FRESND. VPRI AL FIELAIE BOAKD. OF. CONTROL PRES/DENT. OF THE, @ FARYS WORTA. SALT LAKE CITY SUPRENE [1ASTER: A7- ARNS. T VILLE IN 1904. LEADING KNIGHTS OF PYTHIAS WHO WERE ELECTED AS OFFICERS OF THE SUPREME LODGE FOR THE NEXT TWO YEARS AND WHO WILL OFFICIATE AT THE BIENNIAL SESSION TO BE HELD AT LOUIS- t e ‘At g A. 9:30 A. Palace Hotel. MAIN FEATURES OF PYTHIAN PROGRAMME TO-DAY | M.—Bay excursion of the Imp.erial Palace, Dramatic Order of Khorassan. M.—Fourth day’s session Supreme Lodge, Knights of Pythias of the World, 10 A. M.—Fourth day’s session, Supreme Temple, Rathbone Sisters of the World, Shasta Hall, Native Sons’ building. y gto 12 A. M. and 2 to 5 P. M.—Competitive drills by the various companies of Knights of Pythias at the Presidio and the Pavilion. ) '8 P. M.—Distribution of prizes at Pavilion to successful teams. Indian fighting and war dances by Modoc Indians. Dancing from 10 P. M. to midnight. —— + stubborn fight that the blue grass State won. For many days the contest has been waged by a special committee, who were sent all the way to California by the commercial bodles 2f Louisville to secure the honor of entertaining the Knights in 1904. That they have been successful is due to the efforts of this committee and the liberal entertainment they _heve provided at headquarters at the Palace Hotel. STATUTES ARE REVISED. Yesterday’s sesslon of the Imperial Pal- | ace of the Dramatic Order of Knights | of Khorassan was rather short. During | the morning hours the new statutes, as | presented by the committee of revision of laws, were read and adopted without opposition. vr‘urmer reports of the finance committee were read and adopted, and it was decided that after this date the per capita tax should be 35 cents per annum. Resolutions of thanks for the treatment received at the hands of the San Fran- cisco members of the order and.the peo- ple of the city were passed amid cheers of approval. For the office of imperial azim, which was created after the regular election of officers, A. S. Botkins of Indianapolis was elected. The selection of a place of meeting for the session of 1904 was next taken up and after considerable discussion It was de- cided to go to St. Louis during the month of September of that year. The installation of the newly elected officers was the next order of business, after which the palace adjourned to meet two vears hence at St. Louis. The Laws of Rathbo FICE RS 1S HONORED 8 ne Sisters Are _ Revised. EEEEE HE Supreme Templé of Rath- bone Sisters met yesterday morning at Native Sons’ Hall, 414 Mason street. They held an impromptu session and adopted a number of new laws and amendments to the by-laws. One of the most important laws framed was in regard to the eligibility of the daughters of Rathbone Sisters for mem- bership in the order. Formerly only the daughters or relatives of Pythian Knights have been eligible, so that if a Pythian were not in good standing his daughter could not be admitted to the order, even though her mother were a Rathbone Sis- ter in good standing. Under.the-new law, all daughters of Rathbone Sisters in good standing will be eligible for membership. ‘Adjournment was taken at 12 o'clock and at 1:30 p. m. the Supreme Temple went into secret session and did not ad- journ till 5:30. It had been expected that the election of officers would have come up at the afternoon session, but it will probably be late this afternoon before the election will take place. This morning the Supreme Temple will meet at Native Sons’ Hall at 9 o’clock and take up routine business. They will listen to reports from the committees on law, insurance and unfinished work. A trolley ride to the Cliff House had | been arranged for them for this morning, but owing to the stress of work they have had to forego it, but will partake of a luncheon that will be given them at the Maison Riche. Mrs. Dell Phillips Glazier, the superior chief, stated yesterday that she could not say enough for the hospitality of the Cali- fornlans. She said that they had been simply inundated with flowers and that they were altogether charmed with the welcome they have received. CHINESE TO TAKE PART. Mongolian Actors Will Entertain Knights at Mechanics’ Pavilion. The principal part of the performance at_the Chinese theater will be transferred to-night to Mechanics' Pavillon for the edification of the Knights of Pythias. There will also be war dances: by the Modoc Indians. The rest of the pro- gramme is as follows: Part 1—Concert, Bennett's Orchestra; vaude- ville specialties; Professor Harry Brown and mate, foll contest; Professor Kawanamij, ex- pert sword fighter, and his troupe of Japanese acrobats. Part 2—Exhibition drill by the va- rious prize winners in the competitive contes vocal and Instrumental concert by Johnson's Lady Orchestra; moving pictures by courtes: of Peter Bacigalupl; dancing from 10:30 until 12 o'clock. i tion and were never passed unnoticed. It was a familiar sight Yo see her carriage in front of a hovel while inside she lis- tened to the.tales of adversity and pro- vided that the wolf might be driven from the door, an aching heart be soothed or care be givén the suffering. ~After her visits the butcher or the baker no longer hesitated about supplying their wares. Many families in_this city were the re- cipients of monthly allowances by Mrs. Fair, They were stumbled upon in the persistent search for misery that she in- stituted. No call for "help was ever frowned upon. Impostors flung them- selyes in her path, but she never ques- tioned, so_intent was she in her mission of good. Every vear the aged inmates of the Almshouse received tokens from her. Some of them, whom she believed to be worthy of special attention, heard from her often and the touch of her charity lightened their declining years. rs. Fair devoted much time to self- culture. She spoke German and French fluently and knew much of the literature of those two languages as well as of that | rs. Hannah Nelson, mother of Mrs, Fair, lives at Plainfield, New Jersey. She is 70'years of age. Two brothers and two sisters of Mrs, Fair are living. One of the brothers is in Denver. COURTS WILL - DOUBTLESS BE CALLED UPON Extended litigation will doubtless fol- low the tragic death. The point on which everything will hinge is the gues- tion whether husband and wife met death exactly at the sameé’instant. If they did the law of California presumes that the husband succumbed later to his Injuries and hence became heir in that instant of his wife's estate, which, with his own, then passes to his heirs. If ‘the wife lived even a fraction of a minute longer than her husbard she inherits her portion of his estate or all of it if so vrovided by will, and upon her death all of it goes to her heirs. or is disposed of in accordance with her will. While the accounts from France say that death came instantly to both, it is likely that effort will be made in behalf of the wife’s relations to show that her death was not instantaneous. Both Charles L. Fair and his wife left wills, which are now in a safe deposit vault in San Francisco. They were made about a year ago. Fair's will made his wife his sole heir and named her as ex- ecutor. - Charles J. Heggerty and Joseph Harvey witnessed the will. If it should be shown that Mrs. Fair was not instant- Iy killed and that her husband was the estate would pass to_ her heirs. . Her mother, Mrs. Hannah Nelson, and two brothers and two sisters are living. The mother’s home is at Plainfield, N. J. Mrs. Fair's will was witnessed by Charles J. Heggerty and John E. Cashin, a clerk in the office of Knight & Heg- g]ertyé Its provisions have not been dis- closed. BODIES TO BE BROUGHT BACK TO THIS CITY It is the intention of Hermann Oelrichs to have the bodies brought to San Fran- clsco for interment. They will be placed in the family vault in Laurel Hill Ceme- tery. Oelrichs cabled yesterday evening to Hottingéur Freres, the Paris bankers, to take charge of the bodies. Cablegrams have also been sent to the maid whom Mrs. Fair took with her, and inauiries have been made regarding the chauffeur, Louis Brety, who was with Fair in San Francisco. It is_presumed that he was with Mr. and Mrs. Fair in the accldent. VAST FORTUNE THAT REVERTS TO THE SISTERS The value of thé Fair estate and cton- sequently the wealth of Charles L. Fair cannot be put down definitely. It can be arrived at only in round numbers and within certain limits much farther apart than seems reasonable to the mind not accustomed to reckoning values in mil- lions and incomes in the hundreds of thousands. Varjous estimates are placed upon the Fair estate. Charles J. Heggerty of Knight & Heggerty says it is generally supposed to be worth between §20,000,000 and $30,000,000. ‘Charles Neal, manager of the Fair estate, with greater conserva- tism, says that Charles L. Fair's third &xbobably amounted to $4,000,000 or $5,000,- The trust established by James G. Fair's will was dissolved recently by judicial decision and the entire estate has been distributed. The personal property, about three-fifths of the entire estate, was for the most part divided among the heirs, while the real estate holdings were still held in common by the three heirs— I Charles L. Fair, Mrs. Theresa Oelrichs and Mrs. Virginia Vanderbilt. Along with the real estate certain personal property, such as cattle, horses, grain and machin- ery on the ranches, have remained ¢om- mon property. This and the real estate was owned, under the new arrangement, by the Fair heirs and wus not, of course, a trust, The personal property of the Fair estate consisted mainly of bonds and other se- curities. Of these the most important block was $1,000,000 worth of bonds of the South Pacific Coast Rallroad, guaranteed by the Southern Pacific Company. The South Pacific. Coast Railroad—the nar- row-gauge line from San Francisco to Santa Cruz via the eastern side of the bay—was built by James G. Fair and afterward bought by the Southern Pa- ci. These bonds were apportioned among the three Fair heirs and Charles Fair's third is an important item of the personal property of his estate. The real estate held by the Fair helrs, a_third interest in which belongs to Charles Fair's estate, includes the Lick House, the Fair ranch at Knights Land- ing, the Biehler ranch at Petaluma and smaller ranches, altogether aggregating 23,000 acres of land, with a fortune in vineyards, grain and cattle; the Cosmos Club_property, forty blocks on ~North Beach, representing an investment of over half a million dollars; the seven- story_building at 230 Montgomery street, two 50-vara lots on_Ellis and Taylor streets, where the Morton Special De- livery stables stand: a 50-vara lot on Turk street between Taylor and Jones Streets, and one of the same size at Golden Gate avenue and Jones 3 half a block on Mission between Eleventh and Twelfth streets, the southwest cor- ner of Pine and Sansome streets, the Market-street property occupied %y the Mauvais Music Company and numerous 8 holdings of houses and lots. Mrs. James G. Fair left each of her sons $300,000,° with the provision that if either died before he reached the age of 30 years his legacy was to go to his brother. James G. Fair Jr. died at the Lick House in February, 1892, lacking a few months of being 30 years of age, and his brother Charles received the half mil- Hon left to his older brother, making his individual fortune, apart from his share in the vast estate of his father, a round million. This wealth was not turned over to_him till he reached his thirtieth year. The estate of Charles L. Fair is cer- tainly not less than $5,000,000 in value, and probably approaches much nearer the $10,- 000 mark. Of the million dollars that young Fair got from his mother’s estate he gave to his wife outright $250,000. ther gifts were added to this and careful invest- ment increased her individual fortune. Her constant and generous gifts to the poor kept her wealth from piling up as rapidly as it would have done otherwise, but her fortune is variously estimated at from $300,000 to $400,000. The Nob Hill property, on Powell and California_streets, opposite the Hopkins and Stanford mansions, where the great hotel, the Fairmount, is to be built, is the property of Mrs. Oelrichs and Mrs, Vanderbilt, the brother having sold his Interest to them. The old Fair mansion at Pine and Jones streets is the property of the sisters. Vanderbilt Bringing Machines. PARIS, Aug. 14—William K. Vander- bilt Jr., who made the automobile record for a kilometer of 292-5 seconds and the mile record of 422-5 seconds August 5 on a road near Albi, is taking several auto- mobiles with him to the United States on board the North German Lloyd steam- ship Kronprinz Wilhelm, which left Cher- bourg for New York yests CHARLES FAIR AND HIS WIFE MEET DEATH Continued From Page One. hour, steered by Mr. Fafr. The machine suddenly swerved from the road and struck a tree. Both Mr. and Mrs. Falr were ‘killed instantly. Husband and wife lay side by side on the grass and peasants covered them with rough clothes. The exact spot of the accident is Le Buisson, ten kilometers from Pay-Sur- Eure, opposite to the property of M. Eer- con. Mrs. Fair sat in the front seat next her husband, and the chauffeur, who is reported to have gone temporarily insane, sat in the back seat. The wife of the gatekeeper of the Cha- teau Buisson du Mai was the only witness of the disaster. She says she noticed a big red automobile coming along the road at a tremendous speed. Suddenly something happened and the heavy machine slid sideways from the right to the left side of the road for about sixty yards. It then dashed up an embankment, turned a com- plete somersault and crashed into a big elm tree in front of the gate of the cha- teau. The automobile was completely wrecked. The front axle was broken and other parts of the machine were smashed, including the steering gear. When the auto turned over, the wife of the gate- keeper says, she saw Mr, and Mrs. Fair thrown high in the air and fall with a heavy thud to the ground. The chauffeur, who was sitting behind the Fairs, was precipitated into a ditch He staggered to his feet, calling for help The gatekeeper's wife rushed to his as- sistance and aided him in extricating Mr and Mrs. Fair, who were buried beneath the wrecked machine, and in the last throes of death. Both had ghastly. injuries and were almost unrecog- nizable. Mr. Fair's head had been crushed in, while his wife's skull was split. The chauffeur was terribly affected at the calamity and.seemed bereft of his senses.. He threw himself into a ditch on the opposite side of the road and rolled about crying, ‘“My poor masters.” M. Berson, owner of the Chatéau Buisson du Mai, was summoned and after advising the local authorities of the accident he ordered the bodies of Mr. and Mrs, Fair to be carried to the gatekeeper's lodge. Here they now lie on mattresses and flowers have been strewn over them. In the room are three wax tapers burning dimly. The accident was evidently due to the bursting of a tire. At the time it occurred the automobile, whic was capable of run- ning seventy-fourmiles an hour, was going at the rate of sixty-two milesan hour. The local police authorities hold in their pos- session and have sealed up a valise be- longing to the Fairs, which contains jew- elry, two letters of credit, a French bank note worth $200 and some old coins. PARIS, Aug. 14.—The fatal accident to Mr. and Mrs. Fair occurred at the villag: of Santa Aguilin. Mr. Fair himself was driving his automobile at a high rate of speed when one of the pmeumatic tires burst. The machine swerved, collided with a tree and with a terrible crash was overturned. Mr. and Mrs. Fair were killed outright and the chauffeur was bady, injured. The Fairs had been living lately in Paris at the Hotel Ritz and kept their apart- ments there while they were staying at Trouville. This morning the Fairs sent a dispatch from Trouville to the manage- ment of the Hotel Ritz saying they would arrive there this evening. Mrs. Willlam K. Vanderbilt Jr., who was Mr. Fair's sister, returned from Trou- ville Sunday and safled sor New York Liloyd yesterday on the North steamer Kronprinz Wilhelm. HAPPY COUPLE THINK NOT OF DANGER NEAR TROUVILLE, Aug. I4—A Call corre- spondent met the Fairs yesterday at the hostelry -Guillaume le Conquerant at Dives. They were then full of life and cheeriness. Mr. Fair told how delightful _it was to have no house and thus be inde- pendent. Mrs. Fair was full of the idea of buying pottery to present to Mrs. Van- derbilt. Both were full of enthusiasm over the virtues of.their Mercedes auto. She spoke of how much they had traveled and how they had been up to Paris and back in one day. Mrs. Fair asked all about the Grand Prix here to- day, and said she must certainly be back to see it. Then, full of pleasure and laughing, she asked the correspondent to photograph them. MRS. OELRICHS LEARNS NEWS WHILE DRIVING NEWPORT, R. I, Aug. 14.—Mrs. Her- mann Oelrichs, elder sister of Charles Fair, heard the sad news this afternoon when she was out for a drive. A bulletin containing the information had been post- ed at the office of the Newport Herald, and the news was quickly spread about. Mrs. Oelrichs had been making some af- ternoon calls, and while on the avenue was stopped by a friend, who gave her the sad news. On her return to Rose CHff she found a cable message from Paris, announcing the death of her brother and his wife, This she answered at once, giving instructions to have the bodies embalmed and sent to New York immediately. Later in the afternoon Mrs. Oelrichs re- ceived a cable dispatch from Willilam K. Varnderbilt, who placed himself at her dis- posal, and who, in all probability, will at- tend to the duty of sending the bodies of Mr, and Mrs. Fair to this country. A ca- ble message was received here early in the day announcing that Mr. and Mrs. William K. Vanderbilt Jr., Mrs. Oliver H. P. Belmont and her daughter, the Duch- ess of Marlborough, had already sailed from England. It was out of the ques- Continued on Page Five. EAGLESON & CD. SHIRTS UNDERWEAR —r FACTORY PRICES. 748 and 750 MARKET ST. 242 MONTGOMERY ST.