The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, February 12, 1903, Page 1

"l VOLUME XCIII—-NO. 74. SAN MACEDONIAN REVOLU FRANCISCO, THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 1903. FTIVE CENT! 2 TIONISTS WORST THE TURKS IN BATTLE; BULGARIA WILL MOBILIZE TWO ARMY DIVISIONS ON FRONTIER THUG BEATS FEMALE DENKEEPER AND PAYS PENALTY WITH LIFE Walter Edgerton, a Former Convict, Is Instantly Shot to Death in a Sa- loon on Second Street by William Rudolph, Son-in-Law of “Mother” Keys, a Notorious Character—Murderer Is Wounded Before Tragedy KNIFE HAN'S POCKET: FOUND IH DEAP —— e LLITABETH ~ MURDERED EX-CONVICT, HIS SLAY- ER AND WOMEN WHO WILL TELL OF STRANGE TRAGEDY IN COURT. ‘ FMRIOULLE | ttoa lose yesterday aft- econd a pistel the Rudolph. The shoot- n of a deadly feud wo men. Each exceed- | Ing was the culmin & few minutes before the tragedy he saloon Edgerton attempted to stab to deatk the corner of Sec- «nd and Natoma streets. He falled in his attempt, but succeeded in Inflicting two knife wounds over Rudol he: After recelving the wounds Rudolph fo wed Edgerton into the saloon and with- t e ie word to warn him of his fm- ding fate shot him to Geath. result so fatally hed its birth in @ house at street, which the police be- be a veritable den of discharged This harbor of outlaws from er by an interesting fother” Keys. The | The feud that was to Edge: to 514 How traged h the“feud that im- wpelied to seek each other's | fo wes resentment of “Mother” Keys for whom she had other” Key nat Rudolph the fatal shot. lowed hot on his trafl, but ! e by the cu 0 denied that | The police fc they were baf ning of the old wo. her son-n-1aw was »use. She even ceded in Ing suspicion on another | whom ¥ he ¥ 't by *““Mothe is the haunt of t of whom have done | 1Afe is heid ve is ¥ here is ador It is crude, bru or clatms t mion severely Keyg, and this is supposed to be one of | thé prineipal causes of ‘the shooting. The saloou in which the shooting oe- | | Jamart, a waiter, In the saloon with her. Wh | selt. While he was in this position Ru- | made good his escape. | bave been Rudolph who fired the shot, but | | volunteered to conduct them to ‘‘Mother” =even-shooter revolver was found on hijs | him immediately before the occurrence, At the time there were two men, Frank Farley, a paper hanger, and Emil Edgerton entered he walked into | alcove formed by some beer barrels | leaned against them as if to rest him- dolph entered the place. He walked di- rectly to where Edgerton was leaning against the barrels and without saying a single word drew his pistol and pointed it at Edgerton's heed. His aim was very true. The bullet entered the ex-convict's right eye and penetrated the brain. Edg- erton death fell immediately to the floor and must have resulted almost in- rley, the paper hanger, but he made no attempt to prevent the shooting or to intercept the murderer. Mrs. Hen- rioulle fled into the back room of the sa- loon, where she found Emil Jamart. She requested him to summon a policeman. He ran out of the saloon and on seeing Mur- dock McDonald informed hint of the trag- edy. Together they went in search of a policeman, but before they found one and | got back to the saloon the murderer had Murdock McDonald knew that it must | he did not inform the police. He went to his home at 550 Mission street, where he vas subsequ found by Detectives oleman and Cody and Officers J. H, Tyr- il and A. C. Winzler. McDonald then told the officers that he belleved that it | was Rudolph who fired the shot and also | Keys' house, where the murderer was | concealed. When Rudolph was arrested a 32-caliber, person. It was fully loaded, but bore evi- | dence of having been recently djscharged. | He wes charged with murder, but he was | taken to the Central Emergency Hospital | instead of the city prison so that his| wounds might be Gressed. | The events which led up to the shoot- | ing, as narrated by Murdock McDonaid, a friend of the dead man, who was with are as follows: 1 —_— J 2 curred is kept by Mrs. Elizabeth Hen- | | | | | | - “Edgerton. and 1 left our rooms on Mission street about'2:10 o’clock yester- | day afternoon and started Second strest.. At Second streets I saw a friend whom I wished to ask ‘about a job. to him Edgerton walked on. he came back and said to me to walk up Presently ‘There Is the corner and he has got a jag.’ 1 tok Edgerton to go on and not to notice ‘Tip." 'Edgerton walked on toward Fol- som street until he was nearly opposite to Rudolph, who -was "talking to Jack McKann, Phil' Kennedy and two other men at Bécond and Natoma streets. Just then Rudoiph walked up to Edgerton and accused him of talking about him. Edger- ton denied this and the conversation end- ed in blows. Not wishing to get mixed up in thé matter T kept on walking, but looked back to see what was taking place. 1 saw Rudolph put.his hand under his coat and I could just see the butt of what looked like a revolver. As soon as Edgerton saw the revolver he looked up and down the street as If looking for an officer, and seeing none he walked into the saloon. Rudolph walked up and down in front of the saloon for a few minutes and then followed Edgerton inside. “In a few minutes Rudolph came run- ning out, holding his right hand in phyg coat pocket. He turned the corner ang ran quickly down Natoma street. “I @idn’t hear the shot and therefore did not know what had taken place untj Herbert Kelley came -out of the saloon and told me Edgerton had been shot, ! ran to the lodging-house and told Mrs, Edgerton of the occurrence. “Fearing that R’dolph would try to { leave the city, I Went to the ferry and watched for him. Later I returned home for supper, and, meeting the detectives; I accompanied them to ‘“Mother” house on Minna street, where we found Edgerton.” RUDOLPH ADMITS CRIME, When seen at the Central Emergency Hospital, where he lay in a cot suffering from the knife wounds Inflicted by Edger- ton, Rudolph admitted the shooting, and 4= Continued on Page 4, Column 6. + e g | | sition of reforms, and avoldance of war and Minna | While T was talking | meaning Rudolph, ‘standing on | Keys' | Sultan Defy the Powers. Baikans War Now Seems Certain. Porte at Reform | Scheme Balks | Special Dispatcht to The Call. ! i OFIA, Feb. 11.—Clashes | between revolutionary | bands and Turkish sol- | diers are of daily occur- | rence. Karapiper's revolutionary | i force has engaged and defeated | la force of Turkish regulars near | Rejanzi. The Turks lost forty | | killed and wounded, besides rifles | : | and ammunition. The revolution- f}isls lost twog killed and three! | wounded. | | The Bulgarian Government is contemplating the calling out of [ two army divisions, Sofia and | | Philippopolis furnishing one each. | | Concentration of Turkish troops | on the Bulgarian frontier is given | as the reason for this partial mo-| | | | bilization. ; \JIENNA, Feb. 11.—There is consid- chble criticism in diplomatic quar- | ! the Sultan of key the Austro- | Russian scheme for yeforms in Macedonia, | it being held that 1 such action is capable | of good resuits £ oLght not to be delayed, every day tending to make the situation worse. Advices from-Constantinople and Sofia show, however, that the Sultanls | determined to fight ratner than accept | any scheme likely to diminish his author- ity. The pessimism created by this news was | materfally increased to-day by a dispatch | from Sofla, from a source that is regard- ed here as authentic, say:ng Bulgaria has now decided to make effective her threat | to mobilize her army ang, will begin with | two divisions, namely, those of Sofia and Philippopolis. Such a step would put 42,- 000 men and seventy guns in the field, | 1t is believed here that Bulgarie’s ac- | | tion, if it is accurately reported, will seal | the Sultan’s resolutioh to resist the impo- | will be consequently dountful, Dispatches from Sofia report that mar- | tial 1aw will be proclaimed in several dis- | | tricts with a view of increasing the agi- | tation among the Macedonians. | | There are rumors of conflicts between | | the Turks and 'the revolutionists, the | Turks losing many men. The revolution- ists are reported to be gaining a number of recruits. LONDON, Feb. 12.—According to a dis- patch from Philippopolis, published in the Standard this morning, the Sultan ot | is absolutely resolved to fight | rather than accept reforms calculated to diminish his authority in Macedonia. The | Macedonians, however, ys the corre- spondent, will not wait, and Turkey will | almost inevitably be drawn into war with | Bulgaria. “REFOR! 4 | ACTIVE IN AMERICA CHINESE | Peking Government May Appeal to the United States Concerning Them. WASHINGTON, Feb. 1l.—Advices re- celved at the Chinese legation here tell of the activity in San Francisco, New York and other citles in this country of Chinese “reformers.”” They are sald to be soliciting subscriptions from Chinese for the importation of arms into China to be used by the Paowong, as thelr soclety is known. . Tt is difficult to secure any @efinite in- formation about these agents, but if they can be run down it is not improbable that fhe Chinese Government will make repre- sentations to-the United States. The Pao- wong Society, it is belleved, is responsi- ble for much of the unrest that {s reported from China end which is causing much apprehension among the powers. In the peace prctocol the Chinese Government pledged itsclf to prevent the importation of arms, but the officials declare that they have no control over agitators in this country, and must look to the United States and the other powers to do their part in preventing the exportation of arms. FRENCH SHIP OWNERS FORM A GREAT TRUST New Syndicate Embraces Practically All the Navigation Companies of the Republic, PARIS, Feb. 11.—The Marseilles corré- spondent of the Petit Journal announces the formation of & syndicate of French shipowners, which practically includes all | the French navigation companies. M. Le- bon, formerly Minister of Commerce ana ident of the Messageries Maritimes Steamship Company, at the head of the syndicate, which Is a veritable trust and represent® steamshiping of 1,500,000 tons. o OO . ters of the delay fn presenting %o [. — Wil GUATEMALA READY TO WAGE WAR IN DEFENSE OF NATIONAL HONOR Government Denies That It Has Proclaimed Hostilities Against Salvador and Honduras, but Charges That Allied Republics Have Precipitated a Central American Crisis by Dispatching Their Armies to the Frontier ANAMA, Feb. ' 11---An official cablegram has just been received from Guatemala saying that Guate- ‘mala has not de- | clared war, but that : Salvador, Honduras | and Nicaragua men- | ace the Guatemal- an Government, which is ready to defend its honor. PR — DR E CALOERIN Consur GENERAL OF mOnOL NS - o Feanersco- Fwans swOTE | | | | ! = oo INGURANGE. FRAUDS - WIN FORTUNES FOR ITALIAK SWINDLERS .Gonfessi;);;—flesult in Arrest of Rich Con- spirator. Spectal Dispatch to The Cail. - s NEW YORK, Feb. 11.—Ten life Insur- ance companies have been victimized by a band of Italian swindlers led by Jo- seph Trepani, whose operations have ex- tended through a period of ten yedrs and whose gains have been not less than $1,- 000,000, and may reach four times that amount. Evidence has been obtained which proves that substitute bodies have been buried in hundreds of cases, and it may become necessary to open graves in Calvary Cemetery before the full dx- tent of these remarkable crimes is re- vealed. Perjury has been one of the lat- est of the felonies of the swindlers, and it 1s possible murder has been resqrted to that policies might be realized upon. Confesslons have been obtained from ac- tive agents and confederates of Trepahl, and it has been established that the in- surance companies unknowingly gave em- ployment to men who assisted in having policles issued and later made it possible o collect on them. A confession made to-day to Assistant District - Attorney Paul Krotel is described as so complete: that it reveals all of the details of the swindle, which is regarded as perhaps the most remarkable and extensive ever at- tempted in the field of life insurance. Trepani i8 now in the Tombs, and, though he is known to be worth at least a quartér of a million dollars, it has been made impossible thus far for him to ob- tain bail. Several bondsmen have offered themselves, but none have been accepted. His bail has been fixed at $6000, and Dis- trict Attorney Jerome has dnnounced that he will move to have if.greatly increased. Py ) ETTIYE / 2 —~—— —— ‘( wee a\ :,l W ——— HONDURAN EXECUTIVE AND HER CONBULAR REPRESENTATIVE IN SAN FRANCISCO. State of Siege in B | Guatemala. I ! ERLIN, Feb. 1L.—Advices received | here! from Guatemala announce | that the entire republic has been declared In a state of siege. | WASHINGTON, Feb. - 1.—The | | Btate Depdrtment has not yet been in- formed of the reported . declaration of | war between Salyador and Honduras on | the one side and Guatemala on the other, | although it has Ministers.or agents at the capitals of these countries, whose duty 1t is to report immedlately so se- rious an event. DisturBing reports as to unsettled conditions, however, have | reached the department from these agents | from time to time, and it was because of | these that the Navy Department dis- patched from San Francisco a suffictent | naval force to guard American interests | in Central America. SO S DISTRUST FEDERATION PLAN. | Hondurans in This City Doubt That | It Could Be Carried Out. | Eustorjlo Calderon, Consul General of | the republic of Honduras, accredited San Franciseo, was asked last night give an opinion in regard to affairs In | Central America at the present time. Dr. Calderon said that he knew little or noth- ing concerning the situation. ‘Unfortunately we have no Minister at ‘Washington,” the Consul saild, *“and therefore it will be some time before I may get any definlte Information. The last mail I received contatned the message of General Don Terenclo Sierra, president of Honduras, to Congress,dated January 1, in which he said that the country had peacg during the four years of his admin- istration and that there was no danger of war from the outside or strife at home. The message stated that the Government had done its best to préserve discipline and loyalty in the army, to keep the am- munition supplies up to the stardard and have money in the treasury so that in case of war it would not be necessary to avall itself of forced loans or annoy the citizens. The message went on to state | that amicable relations had been cultivat- éd with all the civilizea governments of the world, more especially with Central ‘America, 'with which our relations could not be more cordial.’ " The Consul sald he considered the Presi- dent an exceedingly fine man, who had g | | |Government Declares ; — i MEN N DISGUISE SEEK AN INTERVIEW WITH MAS. NELSON Lawyer Denies French Doctor’s Reported Statement. NEW YORK, Feb. 11.—Mrs. Hannah Nelson's lawyer, Henry T. Beekman, said to-day that the statement purporting to come from Dr. Perriquet, a French physi- clan, was false. “Dr. Perriquet has not,” Beekman said, “signed any certificate stating that both Mr. and Mrs. Charles Fair died at about 2 o'clock In the afterncon. On my recent visit to France I met the physiclan and know that thus far he_has only sald that when -he examined th} bodles he found evidence of cerebral Injurfes. As to the time he sajd nothing. “An effort is being made to find out the present condition of Mzs. Hannah E. Nel- | son by some persons interested In the suit. A few days ago two men disguised in women's clothing appeared at ‘the house in Verona, J.. where Mrs. Nei- son is lying ill, and gained admission by presenting a memorandum on which was written the name of William B. Smith of Newmarket, her son. After getting inside of the house the men rushed through the rooms and went upstairs to the room of Mrs. Nelson, and after asking a few fr- relevant questions left as abruptly as they came. “Attendants on Mrs. Nelson penetrated the disguise and became alarmed, but the men rematned only a few minutes. Only to-day a stranger Inquired of the attend- ing physiclan as to Mrs. Nelson's condi- Continued on Page 2, Column 3. Continued on Page 4, Columa 3