The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, June 18, 1903, Page 1

i p— » e VOLUME XCIV—NO. 1 @all, SAN FRANCISCO, THURSDAY, JUNE 18, EUM[S M BRITISH CONSUL MAKES OPEALY FOR THE TARIFF Baifour Lands in Chamberlain’s Camp. British Colonial Secre- tary Scores a | Triumph. Commits the Government to‘j & Policy of Retalia- tion. Epecial Dispatch to The Call. LONDON, J ©f good £ e 17.—By a single stroke une, in one of the most mo- bates that has vet taken ouse of Commons during session, Joseph Chamberlain the gro he had lost cy of his preferential tted the Govern- t all = scriminate against Great er c fjes. The Colonial - ar c o retreat from a c s and the Governme must stand with him sestions regarding the e L journme: mier made June 11 | 1 atten- st Admira n 1 Wales, Chamberlai al v's prefere Wal . Sir ince telegraphed F er of New had n which referred to ned the berlain and Premier to he Governor of New South , of his misapprehen- 2t he had nothing to n the speech re- | ing Vice Admiral four said that with ential trade, the Cab- | the Government of ng a thorough emphatically ised any falsi The only chance colonles might regard their f the opposition ried out its inten- colonies to the trade ¢ the whole world. arles Dilke having referred to the nt as a momentous one, | Government to a policy which was a direct step avowed protection, Balfour re- rted thet he had not sald a word about he would not shrink from he were satisfled there was latio jation 1 no other method. Chamberlain then arose and referred to Germany’'s ection toward Canada as a proot that tion * against blame Germa there the co as the British long as policy was to lie down under that treat- ment. Then, ing the Premier's statement reg: g retaliation, he ex-| pressed confidence that Germany would not compel Great Britain to consider re- es, but if it did he would tallatory mea: was the Gov- | a remedy. | Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman's mo- | was then rejected, 252 to 132. | The result of the debate is recognized es & great personal triumph for Cham- berlain. The intention of the Liberals was 1o drive & wedge between the Colonial retary and the Premier, who has| throughout endeavored to maintain a on-committal attitude toward the prefer- | % proppsals. Instead of attain- | ing this, the effect of the debate was to | drive Balfour into the Colonialecretary’s arms end commit the Government to a | licy of retaliation. | | | A feature of the situation was the changed attitude of the Conservatives toward Chamberiain. In previous de- bates on the same subject Chamberlain | was treated with a certain coolness. To- night, on the contrary, he was greeted | with ringing cheers throughout his speech and he himself wore the brisk and satis- fied air of a man foreseeing his triumph. Whether Balfour was equally pleased at being forced into the adoption of the Colonial Becretary’s policy is doubtful. Rumors circulated in the lobbles to- bt to the effect that the debate would it In the resignation of Chancellor the Exchequer Ritchie, the Duke of re and other free-traders in the b these reports were not seriously. It is regarded, how- ever, that the Government's position is ore than ever precarious and that noth- ng can delay an appeal to the country on 1he question Except as being an attack on Germany, | mberlain’s speech was a repetition, in | convincing and forcible terms, of | his previous speeches. He made a great | point in showing that the mere talk of a | | Devonsh! Cabinet taken change in Great Britain's fiscal policy had | caused a change of tone in the | n newspapers, which no longer talked of retaliation, the object of which, said, was “less to punish Canada than re a lesson to any British colony ing to discriminate in-favor of the mother country.” Chamberiain added that the feeling on e subject in the colonies was so streng he would have neglected his high that | of charges made agaln | ment is already in possession | purpose of placing | to the Washington - authorities through | British sallors, and, for that matter, those | matter, he proceeded to get it and finally | charge that Ferem was using the home 1908. CHARGE THAT THE CRIMPS CONTROL SAILORS’ HOME — it PR DISTINGUISHED DIPLOMAT, WHO | | | WITH THIS GOVERNMENT THAT THE SAILORS’ HOME IN THIS CITY IS CONDUCTED oY AND IN INTEREST OF “CRIMPS.” HAS FILED STARTLING CHARGE — Investigation Ordered by Promises to End Reign of John Ferem. HE reign of John Ferem, superin- tendent of the Sailors’ Home, which institution has been long | scandalized by his administration, | Through the instiga- | tion of, Courtenay Walter Bennett, I | British Consul General, the Treasury De- partment at Washington has ordered an | investigation of the affairs of the home with & view toward establishing the truth t Ferem by the representative of the British Government and placing the institution in the hands of some one who will conduct it in a manner becoming the purposes of which it was founded. There is every reason for believing that Ferem will be removed, for the Govern- of docu- mentary evidence of his misconduct. In fact, the investigation, which began yes- | terday, was Inaugurated mainly for the the Government di- rectly in possession of the same evidence which it has recelved from the British Consul General. The affairs of the Sail- ors’ Home have been recelving the atten- tion of Courtenay Walter Bennett for a period of more than twelve months, dur- ing which time hg hes personally pursued an Investigation andsreported the results ocal the medium of the British Embassador. That his persistent efforts to have Ferem shorn of his administrative power have borne fruit is evidenced by the fact that yesterday morning Surveyor of the Port Joseph Spear and his deputy, Chauncy 8t. John, recelved Instructions from Washington to proceed immediately upon a thorough Investigation of the home, and, acting on these orders, they called upon the British Consul General and In- formed him that they would be ready to act at once. COAST JOBS THE BAIT. The charges against Ferem are that he has been playing upon the credulity of of other nations, enticing them away from their ships under promises of more lucrative employment on coasting ves- | sels and, after losing for them their pay and subjecting them to unkind treatment, has betrayed them. To prove these charges to his own satisfaction was no difficult task for thé British representa- tive, but fully realizing that documentary evidence would be necessary if he intend- ed to interest the United States in the succeeded. A year ago Consul Generai Bennett addressed a letter to Secretary of State Hay at Washington, calling his at- tention to the abuses prevailing at the Saflors’ Home, but the Secretary, appar- ently feeling at the time that the com- plaint should come through some other source, did not give the matter the heed it demanded. A few weeks ago, however, | the Consul General sent another com- | municatfon to Washington, this time in- closing his documentary proof of the for crimping purposes. It was proof that could not_be questioned, as it consisted of Government Authorities superintendent of the home offered to share with the shipmaster the blood- money that would be received in the| event of Ferem securing British sailors | from the ship. GATHERING EVIDENCE. When he learned yesterday that the | United States officials had taken up the | matter and were prepared to investigate at once the Consul General set his office force to work in gathering together all the evidence he has been securing during | the last months against’ the- notorious Ferem “This fellow Ferem,” said the British | Consul General at the California Hotel last evening, “is a low crimp, who, un- °r the guise of religion, has been cruelly imposing on unfortunate sailors and otherwise conducting the affairs of his | office In a manner that should bring pub- lic rebuke upon him. Iam glad that your Government has declded to investigate the matter, for I am in possession of facts that will clearly establish the gullt of Ferem and rid the home of his pres- ence. I have been told that this scandal has existed in this institution for a num- ber of years. I positively know that it has existed there for at least two years, for my evidence includes that period. “I tried to Interest’ the United States Government in the affair twelve months ago but failed. A later effort on my part, however, has accomplished the end and all that is now necessary is for the United States authorities to hear the evidence which I and others Interested in the un- |, fortunate condition of affairs at the home are prepared to introduce.” FORFEIT PART OF PAY. The basis of the charges which the Con- sul General will submit to the Collector of the port is that Ferem in his position of superintendent of the home has been able to get close to the sailors and by promises of securing them places on coast vessels, which is always alluring to the mariner, has Induced them to desert their ships. As a result they forfeited part of their pay, something like $75, and In nine cases out of ten they have been eventually ar- rested for desertion and forced to undergo punishment provided for under the maritime laws. “Why, only to-day,” sald Mr. Bennett in referring to the subject, I was compelled to cause the arrest of a British sailor un- der these circumstane and his arrest occurred in the home, where he was awalting a fulfillment of Ferem’'s prom- ises. Months ago, when 1 first entered | upon the duties of my post here and learned of the unmanly methods practiced by the superintendent of the Sailors’ Home, I could hardly believe them. But I soon learned that the information was true, and determined that I would use my best efforts to correct the evil. The only way it can be done is to remove Ferem, and I purpose to do it if I can.” The Sailors’ Home has been a test of scandal for many years. Frequently while it was being conducted by local charitable institutions under a concession office had he falled to bring the matter | @ letter addretsed to the master of a|from the city charges of a character sim- before the British electorate. British vessel by Ferem, In which the ilar to those now made by Mr. Bennett “bored there. REVOLUTION THRAEATENED BY PANAIA People Fear Canal Treaty Is in Danger. Say They Will Secede if It Is Not Rat- ifled. Delegates to Bogota Con- vention Said to Be in Opposition. Information was brought by the steam- ship Acapulco yesterday that the people of the State of Panama are on the verge of a revolt with a view toward seceding from the United States of Columbia and setting up an independent republic. It is claimed that the threatened uprising em- anates from the unrest caused by the re- ports from Bogota to the effect that the delegates now assembling there for the purpose of passing up the ratification of the canal treaty between the United States of Colombia and this country are in a majority against the measure and and have already expressed their deter- mination to vete in opposition. The report received here came through official channels and is to the effect that the people of Panama are almost united in favor of the canal and that they have pledged themselves to support a revolt with the object of declaring themselves a free State if the convention in Bogota votes against the treaty. DELEGATES ASSEMBLING. Before the Acapulco started for this port the delegates were already assem- bling in Bogota. The Liberal party, which is now out of political control, had begun a campaign against the ratification of the treaty and had successfully worked upon the middle and lower classes of the country influences that were proving a strong argument against the adoption of any measure that would guarantee the United State< a hold of any kind in Co- It had been made to ap- © nmbians that if the treaty + Tniteu States of America would soon have control of the entire country. The last news received by the Acapulco before she left the south was that it was generally conceded that the treaty was already defeated. In fact, one of the prominent political leaders and a dele- gate to the convention, August Arrango, who has been fighting for the ratification, sent word north that he had little hope of success, for, he said, the tide of pub- lic feeling, molded by the wild stories circulated among the populace, had al- ready turned agaist tae treaty. TENSION IN PANAMA. In Panama the feeling became so strong when this news was received that it would have only taken a few words of encouragement to bring about an upris- ing, a fact which the Government of Co- lombia had been apprised of. Prominent people of Panama stated that the plans for a revolution had been thoroughly dis- cussed by the political leaders on the isthmus and it was predicted that an up- rising would follow the news that the convention in Bogota had refused to rati- fy the canal treaty. The people fully realized that the future betterment of their condition demanded the construction of the canal and any ac- tion against it would be resented in a manner that would probably result in much bloodshed, even if it did not gain for the Panama people a free state. Thelr idea is that if they were free they could acquire a natural right to the canal property and independently enter into a treaty with the United States. This feel- ing prevalls, according to the reports re- celved here, over the entire western part of the isthmus. @ iviimileeieininimeieininininfuleieineiel @ were often made, but despite the efforts of the religlous bodies to get at the bot- tom of them sufficient political influence was always brought to bear to protect the superintendent. BEWITCHES THE LADIES. Eventually the home passed to the con- trol of the Federal Government and in later years its troubles have been less aired in the press. The same religious bodies that formerly had charge of the home still administer as far as possible to the wants of the sailors who are har- Reading material and other means of pleasant diversion are furnished the inmates and on holidays special en- tertainments are arranged for them. Of these particular features Consul General Bennett sald last evening that he had only words of praise. “Saflors in the home,” said he, “are treated well in a social way. The trouble is that this miserable fellow, Ferem, has completely bewltched those well-meaning ladies by his smooth talk and they find it hard to believe the charges made against him. A dozen years ago, when Ferem entered the home as its superin- tendent, he was known to be a poor man. Investigate the records now and you will find that he is possessed of riches. How did he get so rich on the salary he re- celves?” Consul General Bennett says he has ample proof to support an investigation and that he will submit it as fast as it is needed. e ey China Yields to America. SHANGHAIL June 17.—The Chinese au. thorities . have abandoned the idea of transferring the commercial treaty dis- cussion to Peking in consequence of the strong ~of the American and Chi- nese Commissioners. PRICE FIVE CENTS. Hundreds Search the Ruins for Relatives. i EPPNER, ©r., June 17.—One hundred and thirty-six corpses, | so scarred and mangled as to make men’s hearts sick, had been interred in the small hill cemetery by to-night. Many of them were lowered into nameless graves with- out the formality of minister or the trib- ute of a relative’s attendance. Little mounds in a long row mark the places of interment. Name marks are mixed, iden- | tifications are often wanting and every- thing is so chaotic that perhaps only a few will be certain of where their own are really buried. There is need of great haste. Rich and poor lie side by side, | anl depfived of the last rites commonly | accorded to the dead. Often while one | member of a family is interred, relatives weep over the remains of another at the morgue. | To-day’s developments gave promise of | increase rather than diminishment in the | total death list. The official morgue list shows 136. In the earlier haste some were interred without being listed. For three days corpses will continue to come in as | the bodles which drift down Willow Creek | are lifted and many will never be found. | The missing are numerous. The total death list is nearly 230. | This afternoon seven bodles were found | mile below the principal part of town | and almost In a heap. The torfent had | cut its way through a bank and the bodies coming down had been swirled in. | Several piles of drift caught fire and | burned this afternoon. Their dead never will be found. It is urgent now that money relief be | glven. These contributions have been re- ceived: Hood River, Or., $218; Shaniko, $100; La Grande, Or., Eilks, $250; La Grande citizens, $25; other sums, $150. | | Thousands of dollars should be available at once. CLEARING OF DEBRIS. The work of cleaning up the city has passed from the hands of an irregular vigilance committee to the following di- visions named in a special session of the | City Council last night; Ways and means | —Frank Gilllam, Mayor; George Conser, E. M. Shutt; finance—M. Lichtenthal; re- llef—Dr. Higgs, Thomas Quaid, E. G. Bartholomew; supplies—J. A. Woolery; street cleaning—Lee Matlock, Frank Rob- erts, A. Minor, Dave McAtee, Lee Cant- well; police regulations—Al Roberts, John Rasmuss, Frank Natter. All laborers who @o not feel able to do- nate their work are being pald $2 a day and board, and $3 50 if teams are brought. Towns as far distant as Missouri are wir- ing help. Three hundred able-bodled | men are clearing the debris. They are divided Into gangs of a dozen each with a foreman. Most of the men are willing to work and threats to shoot have been made in cases of refusal. Guns are worn | outside by the foremen. One deputy said to an idler to-day: We are looking for men to work.” “I aid not come in to work,” sullenly repiied the loafer. Out came the deputy’s gun. “Say that agaln and you're a dead man. The man went to work. The devastated city furnishes some cu- rious evidence of the torrent’s fury. The remains of a 2-year-old’ coit were found in one place. The animal had been washed into a barb wire fence and strand after strand of wire had been wrapped around the beast. Inside this coil of barbs every vestige of flesh had been torn from the colt’s bones, only a skeleton be- 5. WRECKAGE YIELDS CORPSES AND CITIZENS OF HEPPNER RAPIDLY BURY THEIR DEAD . HE number of lives lost in the flood at Heppner, Ore., is now accurately reported to be 229. The bodies of about eighty persons have not been found yet,and these are in- cluded in the estimate of the dead. In the debris along the creek bottom many bodies are being recovered. They are im- mediately interred in order that there may not be an epidemic to multiply the horrors which attended the cloudburst. MEMBERS OF A FAMILY WELL KNOWN IN SAN JOSE AND SAN FRANCISCO, WHO WERE LOST IN THE FLOOD THAT SWEPT THE TOWN OF HEPPNER. Oregonians Lend Aid Promptly to the Afflicted Town. & the street, and resemble stone boats. Keyboards are warped and twisted, ham- mers ripped completely off, fronts torn away and the Interiors crammed with sand. FREAKS OF A FLOOD. A wholesale implement house is being cleared away with extreme difficulty. Pieces of threshing machines, disc har- rows, plows, coils of wire and every kind of machinery are interwoven so tightly that it is like one great ugly machine with every interstice filled with mud. A man might work hours on the mass and make little impression. Under huge heaps of drift lie the ma- jority of the seventy-five or hundred bodies yet to be gathered up. Some were washed miles down the valley. Where rows of houses once stood are cellars filled almost to the brim with mud and water. It would take days to clean these out and the task seems impossible. Body after body was brought in this forenoon and afterncon and placed in Roberts’ Hall, which is being utilized as a morgue. The condition in which these corpses are unearthed is terrible to behold. The number of animals killed was very large. Twenty-five horses were dragged to a heap last night and burned, while many others are yet to be removed. Down the creek bottom dead cattle may Bé seen at frequent intervals thrawn on the banks. The heroic deed of Pomlikeba, a Japa- nese cook at the Palace Hotel, has hither- to passed unnoticed. Pomlikeba sprang into the flood Sunday night from the ho- tel back door, grasped a struggling wo- man named Brock, pulled herinto the building and closed the door just as the waters rose high enough to beat against it. PERILS IN THE NIGHT. Walking about town after dark is ex- tremely perilous. Cellars and wells filled with water lie unprotected every few yards. All saloons are closed and the first drunken man is yet to be seen. These places were closed, not through the or- ders of the Mayor, but through the better feelings of the owners. All last night al- most perfect quiet prevalled. At 9 o'clock the special officers notified every one to get to bed. The orders were promptly carried out, and before midnight no one could be seen on the streets except those who had to be there. The town was in utter darkness save the dim lights in houses along the side of the hills. The only thing which disturbed the quiet was the hourly striking of the town clock, and the sound of the strokes coming as they did was as the death knell of those who had been swept away. In an Interview to-night Mrs. James Willis related a horrible experience not yet chronicled and the most sensational account yet given of the flood. As she lay fatally injured in the Palace Hotel she said: “My husband, myself and three children Ing left. Fine pianos lie in the middle of | were eating supper when rain so heavy that it seemed like fog began. Baby was in his high chair and was sick. Jim de- cided we had better go over to mother's, which was on high ground. When we had got through the garden fence Jim called out that the town was moving. I looked up and saw all the houses starting toward us. If my S-year-old child had not pulled back on me we would all have been saved. When he felt the water around his legs he tried to get back to the house. Jim rushed forward and threw baby on the bank and came back to help me. He was swept away. “I grabbed the second boy and clung te a railroad car. A big timber came down, struck him on the head as I heid him and killed him. It hit me on the leg and near Pl,\' killed me. The oldest boy got back te the garden, which was then dry. A wall of water swept round and took him after all. Alone, T was swept under the rail- road car. I had to tear off my skirts be- fore I could rise. Getting to the ware- house platform I pried a door open in my desperation, took off all my clothing and wrapped myself in wool sacks. There I lay In the cold until morning.” Mrs. Willis' baby was found lying on the bank covered with drift, but alive. A partial list of the bodles recovered to- day follows: Bert Hynd, Louis Estes, J. H. E. Den- nis, Mrs. Nettle Kinsley, Dr. P. B. Me~ Swords, Young Stalter, Chinaman Louie, J. J. Roberts, Clara Lang, James Lang, Mrs. A. L. Baird, Blanche Estes, Robert Stalter, Maud Elliott, Cecil Ashbaugh, Bertha Fristoe, Mrs. C. A. Rhea, Nora Adkins, Mfs. Willlam Estes, Mrs. M. B. | Haines, Robert Morgan and Louls Staiter. Three brought in to-day could not be identified. The identifled list shows 136 So far eight are unidentified, making the total found 144 The number missing is | about eighty-five, making the total | drow‘md 9. NAMES OF THFR MISSING. Register Tells of the Guests at the Heppner Hotel. HEPPNER, Or.. June 17.—The tollowing 1s a list of those missing: Mrs. Harry Hanby, one child of Percy Dawson, four children of James Long, one child of Mrs. Iva Baird, Mrs. Clare ence Andrews and one child; Bertha and Bida Hamilton, 16 and 12 years of age; | Elsie Jones, Mrs. James McBride, Mrs. Clyde Wells, Abe Wells, Mr. and Mrs. Robert Morgan, Mrs. George Thornton, J. L. Hockett, John Myers, Mrs. Carhea, four children of Edward Ashbaugh, Mr. and Mrs. W. L. Salling, one child of W. W. Lipsett, George Kintsley, Mrs. Guy Boyd and three children, Mrs. Beach Haines, one child of W. K. Carro, Mrs, William Estes, Mrs. Blanch Redfield, Blanche Estes, Mrs. Frank Harryman, daughter of L. W. Biggs; W. A. Fisher Continued on Page 2, Columa §. l