The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, December 17, 1903, Page 1

v L e £ e midnight“December Cioudy Thursday, wind. Forecast madp at San Fran- ciscq for thifty hours ending San Francisco and vicinity— sional showers; light southwest A. G. McADIE, District Forecaster... \ rEE WeaTxss. . 17, 1903: with ocoa- ONDEMNS | THE ACTS OF HEATH s Report of Legal Com- mission on Pos- tal Frauds. Conrad and Bonaparte Are Unsparing in Their Accusations. i The report th quest for fficient, and RECORD. vs the revis- un Heath's HEATH'S OFFICIAL 1 report’ w Mr. Tuilloc e reascnable f m Mr. H meet fully and whi Pos Justly with man 1 him riety, added to the record st, a strong prima facie nted of willful and reckless the late First Assistan General of obligations regulations o his as well as by the stat. ited States, and we feel to add that suspicion of his grity must be inevitably ar judgment by an impar- ation of the facts submit- nd of his plainly inadequate n o » BRINGS IN SMITH'S NAME. | The report takes up in detaill the‘ charges of improper appointments of nates and improper disburse- f publ funds, as contained in och charges, and after analysis r des far as indicated by the papers mitted to us the persons directly for these fraudulent em- George W. Beavers, neither of now in the public service. It ar, however, that this respon- extends in some measure to | Postmaster General, who ap- have at least tolerated the after motice of Its existence, and the late and present postmast- | ers at Washington, each of whom ap- | t ve accepted the transfer to flice of a number of persons thus ployed without, o far as i shown, | + or exposure, facts substan- ritted to himself in Mr. Mer- of June 29.” uc g the administration of form- Auditor Castle the report says: “We might give further illustrations | of the auditor'’s apparent readiness to | disregard the usual safeguards against aut ized expenditures, but this | needless because the same, in our| jud nt, regrettable disposition was | «hown in matters. far. more serious. | We have already seen that he not onl passed the accounts for the ‘cleaners « women’ and of the ‘assistants’ ng on overtime claims, the and character of whose service | in pas scepe Continued on Page 2, Column 1 = > "1-.\}"\:[ hind Me.” Central—"The Pischer's—"I. Bush.” To-Day. The Chutes—Vaudeville. -— HE m‘ll. s ’ Alcazar—“The Gidl I /Telt Bo- Califcrnia—“Foxy Grandpa.’” Columbia—"Dolly Vardem™ Grand — “The Orpheum—Vaudeville. Matinee B Scout’s Mavenge.”. Bonnie Brier FRANCISCO, THURSDAY, DECEMBER 17, 1903. PEACE OR WAR RESTS IN COUNCIL OF ELDER STATESMEN OF JAPAN e o ADMIRA L | }(Am AMOTO, | APANES F N RN TER A HoRACE ArLE=N AMERIC AN MINISTER. TO KOREA E3 CHIEFS OF THE JAPANESE ARMY AND NAVY, AND TATIVE WHO. HAS ASKED \TCHED TO KOREAN WATERS. AMERICAN THAT A WARSHIP BE 5 Tokio Conference Is Expected to Result in a Firmer Attitude Toward Russia. TOKIO, Dec. 16.—In consequence of | ST. PETERSBURG, Dec. 16.—The Russia’s reply a special conference of | Novokai, the personal organ of Viceroy the elder statesmen of Japan, including | Alexieff, says: pan knows Russia's desire for Marquis Ito and the Cabinet Ministers, peace, but she should al k th: et e e - g ., she should also know that proceeded here to-day. It is urgdvr Russia cannot surrender vital interests stood that the statesmen are consider- to foreigners, either Japaness or Amer- ing the ad icans, by relinquishing her big under- m of a firm stand against Russ taking in Manchuria, created at the General Kodama, the War Minister, expense of Russian blood and treasure.” was present for the first time at the| MOSCOW, Dec. 16.—A coby of the conference. There is renewed act ¥ | Dai Vostock, just .received here, the Admiraity in vidw of a possible | throws interesting light on the Russian attitude in Manchuria. An imperial , Dec. 16. t the re- commission, which is drawing up regu- Allen at Seoul, who | lations for Admiral Alexief’s vice- reports considerable uneasiness and royal in rendering various decisions ing In Korea, the State Department ted to the Navy Department The custom-house question is not warship be sent to Korean| yet settied. It remains dependent upon It is probable the Wilmington | whether Russia will retain Manchuria detailed | for herself alone.” oo ool @ HOPE T0 FIND BURIED for Treasure Secreted by an Indian in the Early Days WOMEN VOTE Returns From the General Elee- tions Upset the Calculations | of Political Prognosticators oAb datel MELBOURNE, Victoria, Deec. 16.— The first of the commonwealth general elections at which women exercised the right of suffrage was held to-day, with the result that all political calcula- tions were upset. The struggle was chiefly over the fiscal question. The Government party favored protection and the opposition supported free trade, and the third in importance, the Labo; arty, a flsiwiagen, wone sbiont Soalek bia D greed to sink the question of fiscal differences with a vi 3 he was slain. His daughter later told | ew to secur- ing the balance of power, which it - Saper | ) vir- the hiding place of her father's wealth, | yya11y neig in the last Parliament. but when persons were taken to the : vieinity of the cave the cave to her| L0° Women voters were excellently organized and cast a heavy vote, al- did- not seem the same. After much | hesitancy she declared water had | Most exclusively in favor of the Labor REDDING, Dec. 16.—Samuel Mitch- ell and J. Parsons, miners of Butte County, are digging for a buried treas- ure cave near the Jackson mine, on Deer Creek. They believe they are working on the spot where an old In- dian left a large amount -of money which the Indian and his band had accumulated as the result of robbery. The story goes that the old Indian bur- jed the money when he learned that the whites were about to attack his !'| That Nathan Carr lives to tell of his ET IN ASTRALIA caused the ground to fall and cover the money. the money, but it was not successful. Mitchell and Parsons think they are on the right spot. Veteran Newspaper Man Dies. NEW YORK, Dec. 16.—John C. Hennessy, a veteran New York news- aper man, former president of the New York Press Club, is dead after |a long illness. He was born in Ire- land seventy-one years ago and has occupied high positions on. several leading dalilies. World’s Bowling Record. ERIE, Pa, Dec. 16—In a matci | bowling contest to-night the Blue Rib- bon team of the Central City League | established a world’s record for a five- man team, scoring a total of 1164 pins. The former record was 1152 pins. An effort was made to locate | ticket, regardless of other considera- tions, the result being that the Labor party won many seats, mainly from the protectionists, in districts where the three parties contested. i The feature of the result is the re- markable success of the Labor vote in Victoria, where at last elections the laborites were badly beaten. The re- turns are still incomplete. —_—— Captain Dillon Confirms Report. LOS ANGELES, Dec. 16.—Captain Frank Dillon of the Los Angeles pen- nant winning ball team and one of the | stars of the Pacific Coast League, has confirmed the report sent out from San Francisco last night to the effect that he has signed with the Brooklyn National League team as captain for ngxt season. . MISONER FOILED BY DETECTIVES Deadly Cocktail Was Potion for Pawn- " Dbroker Carr, —_—— Hotel Burglar Tries to Mur- | (Qer Witness to His Crimes. | { Officers Handcuff Fiend Just as His In- tended Victim Was Ahout to Drink Fatal Dose. | It was only a stroke of fate that| | saved Nathan Carr, a pawnbroker of | 516%2 Dupont street, from drinking a | premeditatedly polsoned cocktail last | night. Leon D. Neate, one time hotel clerk, | | burglar and Borgia by fnstinct, had | planned to poison the one man whose | evidence would send him to the peni- ‘tcmiur}: Detectives Dinan and Wren | arrested the cold-blooded criminal just | as his would-be victim was about to | 1ift to his lips a cocktail heavy with crystals of strychnine. He was seized | by the officers for a series of burglaries perpetrated by him at the Plymouth | Hotel. | experience can be justly regarded as a | miracle, and his version of the near | approach he had to death reads like | an act from one of those lurid melo- | dramas so dear to the deities of the gallery. Had it not beén for the fact | that a customer happened to enter the | store just as he had a glass of poisoned | cocktail to his lips and the arrival of the detectives before he could again at- tempt to quaff the deadly potion his | inanimate form might be occupying a slab at the Morgue: i e 25 BURGLARIES CONTINUOUS. For several weeks the roomers at | the Plymouth Hotel at the corner of Bush and Jones streets have com- | plained of the loss of many valuable articles, aggregating in value about $1000. Captain Martin was notified of the thefts and detailed Detectives Di- nan and Wren on the case, with in- structions to catch the crook at all hazards. Neate was employed in the hotel in the capacity of night clerk, | but suspicion was nof-directed to him until last Saturday, when he suddenly resigned his position. Since that the detectives had been on his track. Yesterday afternoon Neate visited the pawnbroker store of Carr at 516% Dupont street and disposed of several articles, which subsequently proved to be some of the plunder secured from the hotel. Neate was most affable and suggested that Nathan Carr, brother of the proprietor, take a drink with | him. As the latter could not leave the store Neate volunteered to go after the liquor and purchased two cocktails | at the saloon of Ed Labordette, Cali- fornia and Dupont streets, He re- turned to the store and Nathan Carr | and Neate drank the liquor. Neate then suggested that they have another drink and again repaired to the saloon for two wmore glasses of the same liquor. He was much longer on his second trip and it was thought that he did not intend to return. He finally came back and depositel the two | glasses on the counter. URGES HIS DRINK. He was insistent that Carr should drink and that gentleman had the glass of hiquor to his lips when a cus- tomer came in. He laia his glass on the counter and attended to his patron. He then returned to Neate and started to drink the cocktail. Fate again in- tervened for the young man for De- tectives Dinan and Wren made thelir appearance on the scene and foiled the villain in his diabolical scherae. Neate was seized, handcuffed and taken to the ‘Hall of Justice. "When searched a bottle half mniled with strychnine in crystallized form was found in his pocket, with sevaral pleces of jewelry stolen from the hotel. The detectives had been trailing him all day and had arrived on the scene at an opportune time, as subsequent develop- ments proved. In the excitement of the arrest Carr forgot the cocktail, but upon learning of the bottle of strychnine found in the possession of the prisoner he took the glass of liquer to Joy’s pharmacy, at the corner of California and Kearny streets, The druggist in charge, from the taste of the liquor, to which he first touched his lips, and the presence of in- numerable white crystals at the bottom of the glass, stated to Carr that there was enough strychnine in the mixture to kill several men. The glass and its contents were then turned over to Cap- tain Martin and will be officlally tested by the city chemist. . FATE SAVES CARR. Nathan Carr, who is well known throughout the city, when seen last evening stated that although he did not believe in' miracles he felt that fate played a prominent part in saving his life. He said that he noticed nothing suspicious in the demeanor of Neate until his return with the second round of drinks, and then the insistence of the fellow that he drink the liquor and SECRETARY OF UNIVERSITY AT BERKELEY A DEFAULTER TO THE AMOUNT OF $40,000 B | — w. A. McKOWEN, SECRETARY.OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFOR- NIA, 'WHO CONFESSES TO HAVING VESTIGATING HIS CAREER . OF CRIME. AND IN- EMBEZZLED ATTORNEY WHO $40,000, REGENTS OF. INSTITUTION: AND ARE KING HEARS OF FREEING OF SLATES Special Dispatch to The Call. LONDON, Dec. 16—William N. Ellis has arrived in London from Abyssinia and will sail for the United States in'| friars providing for the settlement of | ten days. Upon his arriva! there he will procéed direct to Washington and deliver to the Department of State a letter from King Meénelik welcoming Americans to Abyssinia “in peace with- out fear.” Ellis sald that Robert P. Skinner, the American Consul General at Mar- seilles, who is now in Abyssinia, would find the negotlating of a treaty with Menelik very easy. The King is very favorably inclined to establish business relations with the United States. ‘Menelik was alert, intelligent and conversant with European affairs, knowledge of which he gathered from the diplomats of the respective coun- tries, but his knowledge of America was deficient. He was very much in- terested in Ellis’ narrative concerning American affairs, especially the devel- opment of the colored race from slaves to the status of the whites. Upon hearing of President Lincoln's libera- tion of the slaves tears came into his eyes and he insisted that the story be told to him a second time, exclaiming: “What a great. man!” _He. explained that he was abolishing slavery: grad- ually. He said: . ) ¥ * 7 cannot do as FRIAR LAND DISPUTERS ADJUSTED Special Dispatch to The Call. MANTLA, Dec. 17.—An agreement has been reached by Governor Taft and the | the “friar land” question. The Pope has given his approval of the terms of the settlement and the approval of the War Department is awalted. The settlement provides for the pur- chase of 403,000 acres, comvrising all jof the -agricultural lands and build- ings of the friars, with the excep- | tion with a shock that < McKowen Con- fesses Crime to President. SaysHeBetMoney on Races and Lost It. After seventeen years of s the University of California, which period he esteem of faculty and they had thorough confidence integrity, William A. McK tary of the great ed tion, stands a self-confessed gambler, vice for during eadily acquired the Regents until in his betrayer of trust anc defaulter. His peculations, which began about five years ago, ot up about $40,000, and - he wagered and lost all the money on the racetrack. He is under a $5000 bond, so the State is likely to lose | $35.000 as the result ¢f the extraordi- 1l supervision to operate nary conditions of financ that emabled Mr. McKov so long without detection. So thoroughly had the man bamboo- zled the finance committee of the Board «f Regents that the mbers of that body received the news of his defalca- not entir me as free from incredulity. But there was no gainsaying the fact or repudiating the evidence. McKowen confessed his | erime to President Wheeler yesterday morning and modestly imated his shortage at $20,000, but subsequent in- vestigation raised it to double that sum. But the confession was not made un- til exposure inevitable. In a mo- ment of indiscretion—the fatal moment that sooner or later overtakes the most cautious practicer of deceit—McKowen paid a racing debt of $1160 with a check for $1200 that had been intrusted to him to place in a scholarship fund. It bore the signature of Mrs. PIM@P»:; Hearst, and its possession by “Jim Davis, a dishonored maker of books on horse races, aroused suspicion and created inquiry. MAKES FULL CONFESSION. That hapvened on Tuesday, and nr: the afternoon Of that day the report of the check transaction was wafted across the bay to President Wheeler, n_'hn im- mediatelv inaugurated an In\'esn‘zaunn, The president, loth to believe in Mec- Kowen's guilt, endeavored to find him and get an explanation Tuesday even- ing, but when the defaulter learned that the cat was out of the bag he made himself invisible to those who sought him. Yesterday morning, however, he visited the president’s house at Berke- ley and sobbingly made confession of his wrongdoing. President Wheeler was immeasurably surprised and grieved by the man’s statement, but he did not allow predilection to intefere with daty. After suspending McKowen from office and placing him under the surveillance of Deputy Town Marshal Edgar of Berkeley, he’telegraphed the tidings to Governor Pardee and Messrs. A. W. Foster, I. W. Hellman and J. A, Britton, with a request that they meet him at 4 o’clock at the university for a corference. The Governor responded that he was unable to attend, on ac- | count of official business, and Mr. Hell- man pleaded illncss and sent in his stead E. F. Heller of the law firm of Heller & Powers, with instructions to Continued on Page 2, Column & tion of twelve thousand acres, lnelnd-‘ ing a farm near Manila, which bas been sold to a rajlway company, and one sugar plantation. The price agreed upon is $7,250,000 gold. The friars originally demanded $13,000,000. Governor Taft gffered them ,000,000. ¥ — Austria’s Embassador to Paris. VIENNA, Dec. 16. — Count von | Kheuenhueller-Metsch succeeds Count. von Wolkenstein, who has been re- | tired from the Embassadorship of ‘Austria-Hungary at Paris at his own request. > @ Ml @ upset things too much, but I have de- _creed that, while those at slaves shall remain such, their em be. Thus slavery will dis-