The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, December 4, 1904, Page 39

—_— 5 | Pages 39 to 52 i CALL Pages 39t0 5 ] o0 SAN FRANCISCO, SUNDAY, DECEMBER 4, 1904. REPORT 1S THAT McCORMICK WILL BE GENERAL MANAGER May Soon Return to the City as| Southern Pacific Chief. ted in this city yesterday, ars to be good authority, rmick, former pas- ager of the Southern and now assistant f the Harriman lines, n to San Francisco as and general manager of Pacific. According to in- ived here, General Man- was transferred here s between President rmick, d that ¥ recently re- o, was final- the position of n road. 1 be pleasing ad officials con- thern Pacific Com- } al public on this | a strong attach- assenger traffie ny during his n s city. The ck on the Pacific deeply impressed or few railroad in getting clos- | ippers and the | de of the con- Another strong he made him- ed with the ¢ credited with | rd advancing that of Cal- | re, than any | the employ of the i here as a pas- | 1cCormick has | ern cquain nce in other| g and is well| on of general | as a railroad’ when he was a small | Ind., where he hung | railroad station doing hout compensation. Later | water boy to a section | service he received | h wages to keep himself | money, but his patience rewarded when the sec- | unfortunately lost a | McCormick was appointed to | beg ng with that appointment e in the railroad | rapid. He was shifted| g to traffic departments, | ncing, until he finally commercial agent of one of big roads at Leouisville. Next he general agent of the Monon Louis nd later went to ago as a general passenger agent. ime that the Cin- and Dayton road was suffering from heavy competition from and it sought to be-| come he situation by tak- ing over as its general ps 3ut the road could The Vanderbilts, dis- he was a valuable man, big salary to join them ger of the Big Four. one of the first of its ed on ] « I | { a railroad man in| From { he Big Four McCormick was i by Harriman and sent to this than three months uainted with nearly shipper and traveling man = and had entered into every roject designed to better Cali- He was a success from the but just as the public had thor- »ughly settied in its mind that it had yecome acq T ’ur‘d a valuable adjunct to iis list| {*big men, J. C. Stubbs induced Presi- | dent Harriman to make McCormick ; assistant traffic director of the Harri- | n lines, with headquarters in Chi-| cago. No one regretted more than E. { ©. McCormick his removal from Cali- | fornia and no one would more gladly return to San Francisco than the for- mer chief of the passenger department of the Southern Pacific Company. | Mexico. T | RAILROAD OFFICIAL WHO MAY | BE MADE GENERAL MANAGER | OF THE SOUTHERN PACIFIC. FUCITIVE FROM JUSTICE FOIND A. G. Schwartz, Ex-Assistant Secretary Phoenix Build- ing Association; Arrested —— A. G. Schwartz, who fled from the city in January last, is under arrest in Mexico, and the papers for his extradi- tion will be prepared as soon as possi- ble and an officer sent to bring him back to stand his trial on a charge of felony embezzlement. Schwartz was assistant secretary of the Phoenix Savings, Building and Loan Association and had the entire confidence of Clarence Grange, the sec- retary. On January 17 Schwartz dis- appeared, and a hurried examination of his accounts showed that he was a defaulter to the extent of about $12,000. A warrant was sworn to before Police Judge Fritz on February 2 for Schwartz’s arrest on a charge of felony embezzlement and the case was placed in the hands of the Pinkerton detective agency. A reward was also offered for information that would lead to his ar- rest. Since then every effort has been made by the Pinkerton detectives and the local police to discover traces of Schwartz, and it was only a few days ago that he was located in a town in and yesterday steps were taken to pre- pare the papers for his extradition. The way in which Schwartz succeed- ed in embezzling such a large sum was simple. All the moneys audited by the association have to be passed by the auditing committee and a check for the amount signed by the president and at least three of the directors. All moneys are paid out once a mouth. In order to meet the demands between times when the checks are audited the secretary meet the obligations. It was this money that Schwartz embezzled. Schwartz iIs a son of Henry Schwartz, father promised at first to pay up his son’s Indebtedness, but later changed his mind. PESEEOE S Encroaches on. Sutro Land. Emma L. Merritt, administratrix of o1 the northern boundary of the Alms- house tract and built a new barrler, which inclosed about an eighth of an acre belonging to the Sutro estate. She sued yesterday for ejectment and $15 damages. The fences in that sec- tion have been up for about forty vears and there is said to be some doubt as to their accuracy in defining property. lines. The City Engineer and the surveyor for the Sutro estate have dealt with the problem, but Mrs. Merritt means to have the court de- cide who owns the land. 4 He was placed under arrest, « | turbed the gamblers, Little progress was made yesterday in the investigation of the scandal\in- volving the police and their relations with the gambling games in China- town. Those who have made the spe-: { cific charges again failed to appear. { They sent word that they would tell what they know in an executive ses- sion of the Police Commission, and agreeable to this exaction the board adjourned to 2 o'clock Monday, when the testimony will be heard behind closed doors. Several witnesses were before the Commissioners yesterday. Evidence of a vague nature was adduced tending to implicate members of the China- town squad. The incriminating testi- mony was that of two Chinese, and while it appeared to be fairly well es- tablished that every fantan table paid a tribute of $5 a week, ostensibly for protection from the police, there was nothing to show what became of the money. It looks as if it will remain for the newspaper owner and his managing editor to establish any clinching proof of corruption if the trouble that Commissioner Hutton stirred up by his unexpected visit to Chinatown and call on Sergeant El- lis is to be fathomed. for a star chamber hearing indicates that nothing will 1 | i | | | ability, which has long been a mat- ter of almost common knowledge, that there are levies and rake-offs in Chinatown and that to expose the cor- ruption is impossible. R. A. Crothers and Fremont Older were again represented yesterday by Thomas Hickey as attorney. The Commissioners had adjourned from the day before that the newspaper men might change their minds and| obey the subpenaes’ served on-thém. But they were not in sight at 2 o’clock and without a comment concerning them the board went ahead with the investigation. When all the witnesses in attendance had been heard the call was made late in the day for Older and Crothers. Hickey responded for them and announced their willingness to testify if they could do so behind closed doors. A. Ruef entered a strong protest to secret proceedings. He was present to represent the municipal officlals, himself and others who had been ac- cused, he said, in reply to Hickey. The debate between the lawyers waxed warm. Hickey declared that the only purpose of asking for an ex- ecutive session was that the publish- ers might have protection from per- sonal attack by Ruef. The latter was hot with the retort that it was mere- ly desired to take advantage.of an op- portunity for garbling reports of the proceedings. Commissioner Howell explained that the stenographer would take down the testimony offered and the record would be available to meet any unfair play. There was much ex- cited discussion, but the matter was finally adjusted in a somewhat indef- inite way. No one is to be present but the Commissioners and the sten- ographer when the newspaper men testify and Ruef is somehow, it was assumed, to have protection from in- Jjustice to himself or his clients. ELLIS’ EXPLANATION. Commissioner Hutton is still bent on ascertaining how the Chinese learned of his presence in Chinatown Monday night directly after his note was delivered to Sergeant Ellis, who was then Iin command of the police squad. The sergeant protests inno- cence and gives a plausible explana- tion. Lieutenant Anderson and some friends, Ellis says, were hunting for him to take them through Chinatown at the very hour Hutton sent his note The demand | be accomplished | ultimately but to emphasize the prob- | quarter or threé and a half minutes. It was clear the Commissioner had not absolved Ellis from blame for the warn- ing the fantan houses must have re- ceived. “Do you know of any gambling games being conducted upstairs in China- town?"” asked Chairman Reagan. “From hearsay 1 do,” Hutton an- swered. “I have heard " considerable about that the last three months. Last month I was told that gambling was carried on upstairs in the day- time and downstairs at night. In the latter part of November I was informed the games were compelled to move downstairs altogether.” CHINESE WERE WARNED. ““What reasons have you for believing that the Chinese were notified of your presence in Chinatown last Monday night, when you sent the note to Ser- geant Ellis to meet you?” ‘“They must have been notified. I have often been in Chinatown before, but never before did I see such crowds of Chinamen out on the street looking at me. Every gambling-house was closed, which wag- also an- unusual circum- stance. There must have been some un- usual excitement to bring so many Chinamen into the street at that time.” Commissioner Hutton then gave way to Sergeant Jesse B. Cook, who had been transferred from the harbor dis- trict to Chinatown to take Ellis’ place in command of the squad detafled to suppress gambling. Cook said that he was on similar duty in Chinatown for four months in the latter part of 1902 and in the early part of 1903. Since his return a few days ago he has canvassed the quarter thoroughly and the places where gambling has been going on un- til the present investigation, but he found that the number of houses de- voted to fantan was about the same as that of the games in operation two years ago. According to his statement there has virtually been no increase in gambling in Chinatown since 1902. He -"Nfiped it out the four months he was in charge of the squad there, but only by hard work, that finally Wore him but and compelied him to ask to be trans- ferred to an easier station. “Do you think gambling can be sup- pressed in Chinatown?” queried Com- missloner Hutton. The witness slowly shook his head, smiled and then said, “It would be a terrible job to do it; I can’t say.” Hutton, apparently more hopeful that the vice could be removed, pressed the witness, but Sergeant Cook, speaking from experience of many years during which he had been stationed in the Chi- nese quarter off and on, did not give strong encouragement. “Did the Chief of Police or any one elge ever ask you to protect gambling in Chinatown?” asked Ruef. “No, sir,” was the answer of Ser- geant Cook. TALK OF POLICE VISITS. Lee Sing, member of the so-called “Educational Society,” testified that he had been employed as doorkeeper for the fantan game conducted at 826 Washington street and was on duty when the telephone message came Monday evening from a Chinese named Wong Yu to “Close up because sergeants and detectives were coming up.” Wong Yu was telephoning from another gambling house on Ross alley and he asked that other places in the vicinity of the Washington-street re- sort be notified at opce. The witness knew nothing, however, of how the alarm came to be spread. “Do you know of any money being paid for protection from the police?” “I only heard other people say so.” “Did you ever see any policemen in the gambling houses?"” “I have seen them come up and go away.” Q “Did you see any policemen at 820 ‘Washington street last Saturday or Sunday?"” “I saw them come up to the second door. The inside door was closed when they appeared, shutting them by the messenger boy asking the ser- geant to meet him. The Chinese like- ly took fright, he adds, at the ap- pearance of the lieutenant, and Hut- ton might not at all have been re- sponsible for the great excitement that he thought he created. Ellis says the note was given him by i the boy at 9:30 o'cleck, when he and | Anderson were temporarily separated. . He made a hasty attempt to find An- | derson that he might excuse himself, and failing to do this ran to the corner | and cashier use their personal funds to} of Powell and Clay streets, where he met Hutton. He clalms he did not speak to a single person after receiving the note, and better to escape observa- {a wealthy retired bookmaker, and his|tion chose the broad streets, avoiding the alleys. He knows he was followed every step of the way by Chinese and white spies. It is his opinion that the | presence of Lieutenant Anderson dis- as word was spread around Chinatown that a cap- | the Adolph Sutro estate, charges that | tain of police and a number of detec- | Frank A. Schmitz, superintendent of - tives were visiting the quarter to close | the Almshouse, tore down an old fence | down the games. ! Commissioner Hutton was the first | witness called when the investigation was resumed. He began raising a doubt as to'the truth of Sergeant Ellis’ statement that it took him five min- utes, though he ran all the way, to reach the point where the Commission- er was waiting for him last Monday night. The messenger who delivered the note found the officer in front; of the Chinese theater. Hutton testified that yesterday morning he walked at an ordinary gait the distance the ser- geant ran, and did sq in three and a | from the fantan room. They soon left. On Saturday I was gambling in a house on Spofford alley and the officers came to the door and kicked it. The interpreter was called and when he arrived the policemen were allowed in- slde. He took them off to a side and had a talk with them, after which he told us all to go out. He ordered us to leave slowly by twos and threes, be- cause a rush would attract too much attention. There were two policemen, but they were not in uniform.” The witness was not asked if he could identify the officers. Through Dr, Gardner, acting as in- terpreter, Chin Fay testified that he was Interested in a gambling house in Ross alley, where fantan games have been running for years. The place was closed for a time and re- opened a few months ago. “Did you ever have a talk with any- body about contributing $5 to- a fund?” was asked. » “It was not I. It was the house. He talked through an interpreter. there would be trouble lice.”” the banker of with a man We were told ‘with the po- “Tell what you know of any such trouble.” MONEY STOPS RAIDING. “Three or four days after the house was opened the police began to bother us. We were raided every day and than half an ing not more IN THE POLICE INQUIRY! PUBLISHERS FAIL TO APPEAR Will Give Testimony To-Morrow in an Executive Session. GETS Water Wagun From SHALL HEADWAY IS MADE |NEW PARK SPRINELER PRESENTED T0 CITY SATISFACTORY TEST. Vienna Gift of A. B. Spreckels == & —= e = =3 — MAKING THE SUCCESSFUL TEST OF THR NEW ROAD SPRINKLER FROM VIENNA, AUSTRIA, AND PRE YESTERDAY IN GOLDEN GATE PARK BROUGHT BY ADOLPH B. SPRECKELS EENTED BY HIM TO THE CITY. - | Guy, who told us it would be neces- sary to pay $25 a week for protection. As we had but two tables running we said that this was too much, and the amount was finally reduced to $10. After this there were no more raids. The police would come in and look around, but we would stop playing as they entered the room and no arrests were made.” “Were you in a place in Spofford alley about a week ago when the | police entered the place?” “Yes. Just before the officers en- tered all the gambling Iimplements were put away. When the police en- tered some one spoke to them and they left the place. We were told to stay there awhile and then go out at intervals, singly or in couples.” “What was the money paid to Chin Bock Guy for?” “I do not know.” FIVE DOLLARS A TABLE. On being questioned by Ruef the witness admitted that he also owned a gambling-house on Washington street, between Dupont and Stockton. This house contains six tables and the regular tribute of $5 a table is paid to one of the “eight statesmen’” and an- other $5 is passed over to some mys- terious person for an unknown pur- pose. The money is paid over regularly by the witness’ banker, as his books show, but he has never seen it paid. So far as he can understand $5 a table tribute is levied by the See Yups for running expenses of the society and the other $5 a table goes to the gamblers’ assoclation. The police have not molested his place since the paying of the tribute money. Dr. Gardner inspected the books of the gambling-house taken by Com- missioner Hutton in 'his raid last Tuesday night. They showed that while all such items as rent, insur- ance. light and sundry supplies were carefully itemized, $40 a week was pald regularly to the collector for the See Yups and another $40 was charged to “incidentals.” There was nothing in the book indicating to whom the $40 for incidentals was paid over or what became of it. Sergeant Blank was called and asked for an explanation of the fall- ing off in the number of arrests made of fantan and lottery gamblers when he was in charge of the Chinatown squad last summer. He said he pre- sumed the principal reason was that there was not so much gaming going on. He did not testify very satisfac- torily, but will be called again to bring the private record he has of the arrests made by the squad. —_————— Kodak for -Christmas. ‘Where there's a child, there should the kodak be. As a means of keeping green the Christmas memories, or as a gift, it's a holiday delight. Kodaks from dsézo 'tzuogfim. i Brownle Come 2% el : 112 Geary St. —_————————— /S BODY FOUND.—The body amwmmwumfluuumm w2 s s launch on Novem- ber 24 the Santa steamer San Pablo collided with It, Wetherill was knocked over- MRS, CENTER'S NEW SENSATION Serious Charges Regarding Contra Costa Directors’ Deal for Pinole Tract el PE ALY 5 Following her sensational suit of Thursday charging the directors of the Contra Costa Water Company with the misappropriation of $295,000, Mrs. Jeanne D. Center, a stockholder in the corporation, yesterday filed another ac- tion demanding $773,167 77 damages, an accounting of the use of 3000 shares of the company’s stock, the appointment of a receiver for the shares and an in- Jjunction restraining Wellington Gregg Jr. from disposing of them pending the trial of the case. Her attorneys are Baggett, Jones & Sheridan. Mrs. Center directs her accusations and demands against William J. Din- gee, H. G. Stevenson, Charles C. Bemis, Thomas P. Pheby, A. H. Winn, A. W. Rose, Edwin Schwab, Wellington Gregg Jr., the Contra Costa Water Company and the Bay Counties Land and Development Company. All of those named, as well as the late Al- vinza Hayward, had to do with the transfer of the Pinole tract to the water company, and Mrs. Center declares the Contra Costa directors profited person- ally to the extent of several hundred thousand dollars by the deal. The complainant sets forth that on February 3, 1903, the directors, of whom Hayward was one, passed a resolution for the purchase of the Pinole tract from Edwin Schwab and the Bay Coun- ties Land and Development Company and to {ssue in payment .therefor 8000 shares of the Contra Costa Company’s stock and $73,167 77 in cash. The stock, the par value of which was $300,000, was delivered to the Bay Counties Com- pany and the cash was paid to Ber- nardo Fernandez. Mrs. Center alleges that the land so purchased and paid for was of no greater value than $100,000. She de- clares that the Bay Counties Company was created by the defendants other than the Contra Costa Company as a medium through which the titie to the land might come to the Contra Costa Company, and that the tract was con- veyed to the latter company at a price largely in excess of the price pald, and that the difference between the price paid the original owner and the price paid by the Contra Costa Company it was intended should be appropriated by the defendants. She charges that Schwab was merely the agent and employe of the defend- ants and that the Bay Counties Com- pany was merely an agent to receive and hold the shares for Dingee, Steven- son, Bemis, Winn and Rose. Gregg, it is said. holds the shares as trustee for the others. As in the former suit, the plaintiff says that she requested the board of directors to bring an action, but it refused. The new water-wagon recently pre- sented to the city by the president of the Park Board, Adolph B. Spreckels, was officlally tested yesterday after- noon on the main drive of Golden Gate Park, and fulfilled all the predictions as to its general superiority over the sprinkler now in use. The new water-cart was purchased last summer in Vienna by Mr. | Spreckels and Edward Aigeltinger, who own the American patents, with the ob- ject of using them in the park. There are over thirty of the wagons in use at the public parks and race tracks of Vienna. The water is received into a large boiler-shaped receptacle of riveted and reinforced iron, and is forced by com- pressed air through a sieve of gradu- ated holes larger than an eighth of an inch in diameter. This air is forced into the tank by a pump under the bedy of the wagon. The pump is op- erated by a gear attached to the rear wheel. By means of brakes and graduated scales the water may be controlled so that a slight sprinkle will lay the dust, or, by exerting full pressure, a radius of 100 feet can be evenly watered. One machine therefore could wet down both sides of Market street at the same time. A special feature of the wagon is that all the water is evenly distributed and | none is wasted. It is planned to have a test of oil sprinkling soon. This will necessitate the placing of a largey sieve at the rear of the wagon. Adolph B. Spreckles, Edward Aigel- tinger, Superintendent McLaren and | John Martin witnessed the test, which was conducted under the supervision of Park Engineer Irwin. All were pleased with the results. The various sections of the sieve were tried in succession, then alternately, and then by twos, but not a hitch developed. The trail in the wake of the wagon narrowed and wid- ened as the lever was regulated, but no puddles formed and the water was evenly laid. ————————— Postoffice Promotions. The following promotions and salary changes were made yesterday by Post- master Fisk: Robert H. Chapman, from substitute to regular clerk, vice Ernest R. Fancomphre, $600 per an- num; Nathan Olinski, to regular clerk, $600; Willlam Cochran, clerk, $600 to $700; Hans Graff, clerk, $700 to $800; C. Cox, $300 to $900; C. W. Hayden, $900 to $1000; Simon Green, $1000 to $1100; Joseph A. Fealy, clerk, $600, in place of Viola A. Dillon, re- signed; Blanche Moore, clerk, $1000; George B. McCarthy, $600 to $700; S. Fried, $700 to $800; M. Gibney, $300 to $900; James M. Kane, $900 to $1000; Kate J. Grases, from eligible list to clerkship, $600 per annum. ———— Ends Monday, the 12th. The big removal sale of Pommer-Eil- ers will gome to a close next Monday noon, December the 12th. At that time will end the greatest special sale of pi- anos ever held in the West. Over $135.- 000 worth of fine new and used planos will have been sold during this sale, and instruments have been shipped to every Western State, as well as to Nicaragua, Guatemala, Hawall and New nd. Announcement of bargains still to be ob- tained at the old store is made on page 32 of this issue. S sl S Scherf Decision Deferred. The motion of Attorney Frank I. Murphy on behalf of Gustav Scherf, deputy poundkeeper, charged with the murder of Rudolph W. Schultze on August 24, to defer the trial pending jan appeal to the Supreme Court of the United States was to have been argued before Judge Lawlor yester- day. The Judge, when the case was ! called, sald he had not been able to examine the authorities submitted, but would do so by next Wednesday and he asked counsel to submit any additional authorities before that time | so that he would be prepared fo give a decision on the motion. —— Fountain Head for Fountain Pens. ‘We are sole agents and selling agents for the best fountain pens in the world. Prices $1, $2. $2.50, up to $7.50 each. Satisfaction or money retu born, Vail & Co., 741 Market .