The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, September 13, 1902, Page 1

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VOLUME XCII-NO, fi¥l(;'5. FRANCISCO, SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 13 PRICE FIVE CENTS. WIFE OF UNITED STATES SENATOR W. M. STEWART OF NEVADA IS HURLED TO HER DEATH FROM AUTOMOBILE WHICH CRASHES INTO FIRE ALARM TELEGRAPH LE ON STREET OF ALAMEDA —_— | M RS. ANNIE FOOTE STEW ART., wife of United States Senator William M. Stewart of Nevada, is dead from injuries veceived yesterday afternoon in Alameda in an automobile accident similar to that in which the Fairs met death ! in F ranice. F le, hurling its ¢ CC beir 1g, apparently. the result upants to the pavement. Mrs. Stewart was dashed against the pole and concrete curb and received injuries from which she died within an hour. Taylor received minor injuries. Foote escaped twithout a scratch. | The machme, which was in charge of H. Ben Taylor, son of the late Captain Chauncey Tayior, and Henry'S. - Foote, son. of Attorney W. W. Foote, brother of the late Mrs. Stewart, crashed into a fire-alarm telegraph ‘ e was not running at g reat speed, the fatal accident ! of an error of judgment on the part of Taylor, the chauffeur, while attempting to avoid a grocer’s wagon which came upon kim suddenly. I SEA OF FlkK Many Victims in the Northern Forests. Flames Partially De- stroy Several Towns. Darkness of Night En- velops the Country at Midday. Special Dispatch to The Call TACOMA, Sept. 12.—Forest fires are burning every county of Western from British Columbia to the T. The o iason, Thurston, Che- sunties, to the south- nflagrations are fires and conflagra- ngs Puget Sound seems to be held vet has not de- ity to the surface Asible to- intensely moke gradu- part of the darkness. residents day with lanterns. ssary throughout ¢ at n was sphere the 125 as on was situation and ysses in South- LGGGERS PERISH. de of the extent telegraph and W thwestern - im- The Chéehalis . and the settlers e fire desperately. suburbs of Elma morning and the 3 burned Before the wires were | Aberdee ais strated reports n that three men in a Polson were burned to A Jarge number of thy 3 est reports from Mason County t every portion of that county is with the exception of Shelton. own of Matlock i= in danger of to- destruetion. The logging camps of réeauy came fro ames. Forty men have gone back to The orthern Pac Harbor c is on branch of fire, even to HEANY IMPERILED TOWNS. i\ -night are in danger of be are Shelton, Elma, Matiock, Black Hills, Bucoda, Rainier and Castle in Southwestern Washing- ton. v and Buckley, in the Cas- cotle 50 are in danger. | Enumclaw requested a fire engine from Tacoma, but as many brush fires are burning on outskirts of the city none could be spared. Many farmhouses about Enumciaw and throughout Southwestern Washington, together with other farm prope have been destroyed. At Enumelaw Mrs. Biles was driven from home with her dead baby in her arms, while her husband was out fighting fire. The burning of a bridge at Welling- ton on the Great Northern has stopped trafiic o» that road. STEAMER COLUMBIA ASHORE. ASTORIA, Or., Sept. 12.—In less than balf an hour this morning the wind chunged its direction from east to west anc tbe destfuction by fire of the small towns ‘which had been threatened for forty-eight hours was averted. The dam- Continued on Page 5, Column 2. have | loco- | near Olympia are sur- | rescue the women and | Victim Dies| Within an : Hour. | | i i | | ‘Was Nervous|| bui Liked fo Ride. Chauffeur Is - Painfully | Hurt. - IS. ANNIE FOOTE STEW- ART, wife of United States Senator William M. Stew- art of Nevada and sister | of W. W. Foote, the attor- ney, was fatally injured | vesterday afternoon in an automobile ac- | cldent similar to the fatal happening to | | | the Fairs in France. She died within an | bour after the accident at the Alameda | Sanitarium, to which she had been re- | movea for treatment. H. Ben Taylor, son of the late Captain Chauncey Tavlor, the Oakland capitalist, tne chauffeur in charge of th» automo- bile, and Henry 8. Foote, son of W. W. | Foote apd nephew of Mrs. Stewart, were | | hurled from the machine, the first named | | being injurea. The accident occurred at the corner of Bay street and Santa Clara avenue at 420 o'clock. In attempting to turn out of the way of a gro-| cer's wagon, which came upon him | suddenly, the chauffeur ran his machine | iato a fire alarm telegraph pole, the con- | cussion pitching the three agcupants into | {he street.” Mrs. Stewart, who was sitting | or. the front seat with Taylor, was thrown a distance of ten feet and hurled with ereat force against the pole and the con- | crete curb. Taylor was Gashed from the | machine and bruised severely about the | head and limbs. Foote escaped without | | a seratch. Immediately after the accident Mrs. Stewart was borne to the home of Wil- ilam M. Bowers at 1109 Santa Clara ave- ue, where she remained until the city ambulance arrived and carried her to the | Alameda Sanitarium. CONSCIOUS FOR A WHILE. There she lingered a short time before | death came to her relief. Drs. L. W. Stid- | ham, A. A. Stafford ani W. O. Smllh; were called in to attend her, but they soon discovered that she was beyond hu- | man ald. For a brief period Mrs. Stew - | art was conscious. She complained of cevere internal pains and conversed free- with Mrs. Bowers, but sald nothing but the accident. | Mr. Taylor sustained a sealp wound and | a wrenched leg and severe body bruises. | He was able to be about, however, and | afterward recounted.the story of the ac- | cident. Mr. Foote suffered much from the shock and upon learning that Mrs. Stewart was dead was completely over- come. Both men were greatly distressed over the accident. The accident was undoubtedly due to an or of judgment on the part of the chauffeur and not the rezult of any reck- | less speedingof the automoblle. The au- | tomoblile left the Foote residence in Oak- land some time during the afternoon in charge of Mr. Taylor and Mr. Foote. Mrs. Stewart was their guest. They ran about the streets of Oakland for awhile and then it was proposed that they go to’ Ala- meda to visit Mrs. Stewart's grand- daughter, Mrs. T. R. Hofer, who was vis- iting with R. E. Kelly, the mining broker, at 1821 Clinton avenue.. On the way. up | Santa Clara avenue, one of the principal | thoroughfares of the city the chauffeur | kept between the tracks of the electric strect railway. The speed was not more than ten or twelve miles an hour, ATTENTION DISTRACTED. Just before crossing Bay street, which | intersects Santa Clara avenue, an elec- tric car passed the automobilists going | west. Spectators of the accident say that | the attention of the chzuffeur was dfs- | tracted for an instant by this occurrence. At any rate the moment the automobile arrived at the crossing the chauffeur saw | a grocer’s wagon approaching from the | south on Bay street, which would be on the right of the automobile party and at right angles to them. It was then that the misunderstanding arose that resulted in the accident. .Com- ing upon each other o suddenly the driv. ers of the converging .vehicles were thrown into confusion and did no; know | which way to turn. Wailter Ridley, resid- ing at 101 Sixth street, the driver of the wagon, who is an employe of J. J. At. kins of 1204 Railroad avenue, hesitated an instant after catching sight of the auto- anobile: and then observing that there was like hesitancy on the part, of the chauffeur whipped up his horse in order to pass the machine. At the same instant the chauffeur, mis- interpreting the falter from the wagon | driver, sént his machine ahead. The re- I sult of these maneuvers was to bring the two vehicles together, making a collision between them imminent. When they saw * their peril they swerved away from each BT WIS C AT Y 1 D ToE A 2 other, the chauffeur turning into Bay | street, going north, and the grocér chang- ing his course into Santa Clara avenue, going east. COLLIDES WITH POLE. Less than a, second after his decision :to turn aside, Chauffeur Taylor collided with | the fire alarm and telegraph pole that e stood on the northeast corner street intersection. He may have made too wide a turn or too narrow a turn, - then altered his course, but in any event the machine ran straight against the.pole. The collision was not exactly head-on, as'the forward right wheel is the only thing about the machine that is much damaged; showing that it must have borne the impact of the concussion. A mud guard over the rear wheel of the automobile was misplaced, flying through the air, narrowly missing contact with thé telegraph pole and sidewalk as it fell. The steering wheel is bent and the rear seat broken, but the machine is by no means a wreck. The force of the shock broke the telegraph pole and a sup- port and hurled them into the vard of Martin Hackett's residence, fifteen feet away. The pole was a 12x12 redwood, re- inforced by a prop of the same size and wound with a wire. Attached to the pole was 4 fire alarm box. ‘When the shock came the automobilists were thrown many feet. Mrs. Stewart was picked up on the edge of the con- crete sidewalk ten feet away from the spot where she was sittng with Chaufteur Taylor on the front seat. Mr. Foote in the rear s2at was leaning out of the auto- mobile watching the machinery when the impact came, and was unaware of the danger. WITNESSES RUSH TO AID. The accident was witnessed by a num- ber of people, who rushed to the assist- ance of the injured. Among these were Principal ‘George Kierulff of the Mastick School, Otto Morgan, conductor of the electric car which passed the automobile at Bay street, and passengers onthe car. Several assisted Mrs. Stewart's’ com- panions, who had recovered ~their com- of | mosure, to the Bowers' residence. Efforts ‘nee: were made to summon a physician, ‘but none could be found. delay the city ambulance arrived and Mrs. Stewart was removed to the private sani- tarium for treatment. 4 After considerable The examination of Mrs. Stewart at the-hospital by Drs. Stafford, Smith and Stidham revealed the fact that there was no “possible chance for her to recover. She suffered from concussion of the brain, several broken ribs, internal injuries and shock. Mrs. E. R. Hofer was notified of her grandmother’s condition and arrived at her bedside just before she expired. ' Shortly afterward Mr. and Mrs. Stanley Jackson, Dr.” Crowley, T. T. Dargie and W. W. Foote, with other friends and rela- tives, arrived. ; Senator Stewart is at The Hague, The Netherlands, where a cablegram was sent to-night informing him of his wite's death. For twenty years Senator Stewart has been one of the representatives of Arch- bishop Riordan in the “plous” claim con- troversv in Mexico, which is now before the International Court of Arbitration at The Hague. Senator Stewart is there at this time in company with the Archbishop and Attorney Garret McEnerney of San Fragcisco. / M&. Willlam M. Stewart was a daugh- ter of the late Governor Henry S. Foote of Mississippi, afterward one of the lead- ing members of the bar in California. She was a sister of 'W. W. Foote, Judge Henry 8. Foote, Mrs. Virginia Foote Ald- rich of San Francisco and ‘Mrs. J. West Martin of Oakland, widow of the late J. West Martin, Bank of Savings of Oakland. She leaves two daughters, Mrs. Bessie Stewart Hooper of New York and Mrs. Major Frank Payson, who has just returned from the Philippines and is stopping in San Franeisco. She was the grandmother of Mrs. T. R. Hofer, wife of the post- master at Carson City, Nev.; Willtam Fox and Thomas Fox of Nevada, Richard Hooker and Harry Hooker of New York. Mrs. Stewart was 64 vears of age and was born in, Mississippl. In early days she came with her parents to California, being among the first of California’s pio- .women. For a time the family re- ndeqém San Franclsco,: where Governcr president of the Union + — .-WIFE OF UNITED STATES SENA- | TOR WHO « WAS KILLED AND I | i TWO MEN WHO ESCAPED. — 'Foote was practicing law. Some time prior to 1854, she met William M. Stewart, |/Who was then Assistant Attorney General ‘of - California, in ‘the offices of Attorney ‘General John R. McConnell. Her mar- | rlage to Mr! Stewart in 1854 was solem- | nized at the old Foote mansion, near |/ Clinton station, East Oakland, which was fbuilt in early days by Governor Foo':. After the wedding Mr. and Mrs. Stewart went to Nevada City and to Downieville, where he practiced law. | DECEASED .WAS PROMINENT. ‘Mrs.:Stewart -had taught school at | Downieville during the early times. She was a graduate of a famous Catholic con- | vent at Washington, D. C., where many of her Contemporaries were trained. In that time she was a boon friend of the | girl - Who ' subsequently became Mrs. Stephen A. Douglas. When in 189 the famous Carson and ‘Washoe districts development began the Stewarts went to Nevada and there re- sided for vears. The young attorney be- came a prominent factor in the affairs of ‘the newly created State and his wife, who was a highly cultured woman, was equally - prominent. It was but natural that the talented lawyer should forge into politics: In 1864 he was elected a United States Senator, and with the exception of | one term has since served his State con- tinuously in that position. As her husband attained prominence in the . natlonal capital Mrs. Stewart also surrounded herself with a host of friends. Senator Stewart erected a magnificent home in Washington. One of the show sights of the city is “Castle szewart,"i opposite’ the residence of Chief Justice | Fuller of the United States Supreme Court. The Stewarts entertained lavishly. | Mrs. Stewart traveled a great deal and was noted as a linguist. PERSUADED TO COME WEST. It seemed as if the fhtes had conspired against her in the culmination of this outing vesterday, because she had tried to persuade Senator Stewart to take her on the trip to Europe when he left with | Archbishop Riordan and Attorney Garret McEnerney for The Hague. Mrs, Stewart felt that her knowledge of French would be’of much value to Senator Stewart, but ke thought that the trip would be too arduous, as-his wife was in feeble health, Finally Mrs. Stewart was persuaded to come West. She went to Arkansas Hot Taylor Tells| of Fatal Trip. Tragedy the Result of Error-. Approaching Wagon the Cause. FTER having been treated for his wounds in the hospital, Mr. Taylor gave his version of the accident. . He sald: “It was an accident pure and simple. It is one of those things that are likely to happen to the | most careful of men. Nobody is to blame, | but I am dreadfully sorry that such an | accident should have happened to me. I/ have always been careful and to-day I| was particularly so, because Mrs. Stew- art, who was old and in {ll-health, was nervous about accidents. We took her out for a short drive this morning and did not intend to take her this afternoon, fearing the effects of the strain. But she was found of driving and I could not re- fuse to let her go this afternoon. “We crossed over from Oakland by way of Webster street and rode leisurely up Santa Clara. I do not think we were going over ten miles an hour. I was driv- ing and took the right side of the road. On the way up we passed an electric car at one of_the. cross streets, 1 remember. Nothing else happened until we reached the corner. ‘Thén suddenly I saw a| grocer’s wagon with'a top and drawn by | one horse. The driver was going fast and | had reached the middle of the crossing | before 1 saw him or he saw me. There | was some hesitancy there that I cannot | explain and then finally, to avoid runnlng.‘ into him, I turned off to the left, intending | to run into the cross street. TURN WAS TOO WIDE. “I must have made too wide a turn, for the first thing I knew we had struck the ‘We just happened to get the pole inside our axle. A few inches more and we would have been safe. We struck so -quick that there was no time to jump. Mrs, Stewart was on the seat with me, but I could do nothing to help her, having all I could do trying to avoid a collision with the pole. “We were all thrown out and I am sorry | to say Mrs. Stewart was fatally hurt. | She was so old and frail that she could | not stand the shock like us men, but I | wish it had been me instead of her. As \ soon as I regained consciousness I scram- | bled to my feet and, half-dazed, went to | Mrs. Stewart, who was senseless, and | with assistance got her into a residence | pole. near by.” Mr. Foote, the least hurt, —recovered | from the shock sufficiently to give a de- scription of the accident and of his sen- | sations as he was hurled from his seat tn | the automobile. His story follows: | I was not looking ahead when the accident | occurred, having been occupied With an in- | spection of the running gear. But I !2“; enough to know that Mr. Taylor was trying | to keep from colliding with that grocer's | wagon. It he had collided with the wagon it | would have been better for everybody com- | cerned. Mr. Taylor evidently did not make a sharp enough turn, because his wheel just hooked that ‘elegraph pole. UNAVOIDABLE ACCIDENT. It seems to me it was an unavoidable acci- | dent. When the car struck the pole I was | thrown out upon the pavement, just grazing the pole as T was hurled through the air. I fell in the way of the car, Which moved for- ward a few feet, and caught me under 'the | wheels, but I managed to pull myself loose | and escape. Walter Ridley, the grocer’s driver, says | he-did not see the automobile when it crashed into the pole as he was occupied | with holding his horse, which became | frightened, but he remembers all the In- | cidents leading up to the accident. He | satd: I saw the automobile just as I reached San- ta Clare. avenue, driving in from Bay street. I tried to stop, but my horse reached the car tracks before I could bring him to a stand- | still. To avold me the automobile turned into | Bay street in front of me. He must have turned too wide, because it seemed to me M' had plenty of room to steer into the street. | My horse got frightened when we came upon the automobile so suddenly, so I had'all 1 could do to hold him in. That is why I aid not see the automobile strike the pole. I turned my horse up Santa Clara avenus | and stoppéd. By the time I got back to the corner a crowd had gathered around the au- | tomobile and the injured people, and I did not | see who was hurt. All I knew was that the automobile had run into thé pole at the cor- ner there, ATTRACTED BY THE CRASH. George Kierulff, principal of the Mastick School, which is across the street from the scene of the accident, was standing Springs and remained thefe before going to San Francisco to visit her sister, Mrs. ~Virginia - Foote Aldrich. HERSTO RECEIVE 185,000 Amountsthe Fair laimants Are fo Get. N SN Mrs. Nelson Accepts Cash Instead of Annuity, Stories of Fabulous Sums for Compromise Are Tabrications. To set at rest the wild tales of fabulous sums having been pald to the heirs of the late Mrs. Charles L. Fair by Mrs. Te- resa Oelrichs and Mrs. Virginia Vander- bflt as a compromise of their eclaims on the estate, The Cail is in a position to- day to announce the exact terms of the settlement. The important information was received from a close friend of Mrs. Fair’s relatives and one in a position to krow whereof he speaks. In making the terms of the compromise public it is almost needless to say that the amount received by the rslatives of Mrs. Fair, deceased, is not ¥500,000, nor $1,000,000, as has been variously stated, but the comparatively paltry sum of $185,- 000, for which the heirs forever renounce all claim or interest they may have or ever acquire in the estates of Mr. and Mrs. Charles L. Fair. The settlement WaS effected on the basis of the provisions and terms of the last will and testament of Mrs. Charles L. Fair. To her mother, Mrs. Hannah A. Nelson of | Newmarket, N. J., Mrs. Fair left the sum | of $2500 to be paid to her annually during her life. Mrs. Nelson is in the neighbor- hood of 70 years of age, and realizing that under natural conditions she has not many vears of life left to her accepted the sum of $125,000 in cash in lMeu of the yearly annuity. This sum Judiciously in- vested should net at least $62i0 yearly, and the difference between that amount | and what she was to receive under her ¢aughter’s will represents her gain by the compromise, not considering the principal at all. TWO BROTHERS SETTLE. William B. Smjth of Newmarket, N. J., and Charles Smith of Boulder, Colo., two full brothers of Mrs. Fair, each received the sum of $10,000 from the sisters of Charles L. Fair. In their sister's will they were both remembered to that amount, so they gained nothing by the compromise. Frank Smith, another brother, whose present address is unknown, was be- queathed the sum of $10,000 by his sister, and that is the amount he will receive from Mrs. Oelrichs and Mrs. Vanderbilt as soon as he comes forward to claim his own. | Abraham Nelson, a half-brother, who lives with his mother in Newmarket, N. J., also received the sum of $10,000 in set- tlement of his claims. He would have received exactly the same amount had his sister’s will held good in court. Mrs. Elizabeth Bunnell of Union Coun- ty. New Jersey, and Mrs. Joshua Leon- ard of Caldwell, N. J.,, both sisters of Mrs. Fair, also recived the sum of $10,000 each by the compromise. They were re- membered in similar amounts in their sister’s will. SETS STORIES AT REST. The foregoing amounts total the sum of $185,000 and render absurd the dispatch from New York which quotes William B. Smith, one of Mrs. Fair's brothers, as having stated that the heirs of Mrs. Fair had received the sum of $2,500,000 by the terms of the settlement. Smith js report- ed to have said that his mother was given $1,100,000 and that he and his brother, Charles. Smith, and Abraham Nelson had received $350,000 each. In view of the fact | that William Smith received only the sum of $10,000 his assertions are absurd on their face. In the dispatch no mention is made of Mrs. Joshua Leonard and Mrs. Elizabeth Bunnell, the two sisters of Mrs. Fair, who were mentioned in the will, so his statement is far from com- pletely accurate at best. ‘When Hermann Oelrichs was shown the Continued on Page 2, Column 1, Continued on Page 2, Column 6.

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