The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, December 23, 1904, Page 1

ber 23: San Francisco and e4st winds. A THE WEATHER. Fyrecast made at San Francisco for | thity hours ending midnight, Decem- | Friday, with rain; brisk to high south. | District Forecaster. -+ | ! vieinity—Cloudy | G. McADIE, THE | vl - | CENTRAL—"Two day. | MATESTIC—"Jim R \ THE THEATERS ALCAZAR—"Peaceful Valley." CALIFORNTA—“Sis Hopkins.™ COLUMBIA—"The Btilionatrs. | CHUTES—Vaudeville. Matinee to-day. FISCHER'S—Vaudeville GRAND—"In Dahomey." ORPHEUM—Vaudeville. TIVOLI—“King Dode.” Little Waife'™ Matines to- Bludso.” DLUME XCVII—NO. 23. SAN FRANCISCO, FRIDAY, DECEMBER 23, 1904. PRICE FIVE CENTS. ELLIS REFUSES TO BE MADE THE SCAPEGOAT e v That he does not intend to bé made a scapegoat by any member of the Police Department, but he insists that he has not confessed 1 SERGEANT ELLIS DECLARES { to receiving secret instructions from Chief of Police Wittman to protect owners of gambling dens in Chinatown. Last night before T (the Grand Jury he was closely questioned about the alleged “graft” in Chinatown, but made no statement incriminating any one. e That he secretly instructed Sergeant Ellis to permit gambling houses of Chinatown to run. *He says that in the first place he does not | CHIEF IDITTMAN DENIES - believe Eliis so testified before the Grand Jury, as reported, but adds that if he did he committed deliberate, unwarranted, rank | i\ perjury, and knew that he committed perjury, but for what purpose, the Chief concluded, he is unable at this time to determine. | e | — MANAGE DISAPPEARS FITH (O Boxer Nelson Reports| His Loss to the | Police. B, £, “Ted” Murphy Leaves Town With $106,000 of the | Dane’s Earnings, arance May Be a Move ean Baftler From “Billy” Piercs | | '\ | | | manager of Bat- the fighter, suddenly ut of sight last night for a Nelson was much worried isappearance. Nelson notified last night that Murphy had money and that he feared | had abeconded with his | suspicions were aroused sped into Corbett's saloon r anno on account of told Nelson not hear from his , adding that Mu had, own n to Chicago. ad the note he ed Captain zau regard- urphy was n Burnett at > to arrest train. phy had the purse from the s also taking three years le money as r several has made tract as of the e the has tried to ract to give ut Nelson refused to oposal many rumors that d to get a new manager. e, a Boston sporting writ- | ned as anxious to look of the Battling Dane. last night that ng that Nelson intended down and get a new man- ecided to protect himself by ter on it was gen- by the sporting men who | the attempts that have e to separate Nelson from his Murphy's disappearance ve to get Nelson away sco and the persuasive erce and his friends. | ur this morning Cap ved a telegram in- Murphy and Santry | from the Santa Fe) be. money. ot 2 warrant charging t. He has been | ett to be at the | n. to-day if he| ht back. | ! | ARRESTED. Dec. 22.—Ted Mur- were taken | a Fe train here by the ' midnight and are now in| for the San Francisco po- | lice. Only $250 was found on Murphy | when searched. Santry had only a few | cents. They were greatly surprised and said that Nelson bade them good- | by at the depot and knew they were | going to leave San Francisco; lhal1 they had not had his money and that be knew it was at Corbett's subject to his order. Harry Corbett could not be located last night to verify Murphy's state- ment. GRAND JURY MAY UNCOVER A SCANDAL [N POLICE CIRCLES Sensational Developments Are Expected Soon. Men Prominent in the Department Will Be Called Upon to Explain Some Grave Charges. e Office Chief of Police, ey SAN FRANCISCO, Dec. 22, 1904. To the Honorable Grand Jury of the City and County of San Francisco—Gentlemen: In the Evening Bulletin of this date appears an article to the effect that Sergeant Ellis of the regular police force of this city had made a state- ment before a committee of your honorable body to the effect that I had ordered him to allow gambling to go on in Chinatown; in other words “to be easy on the Chinese gam- blers,” he being specially detailed in the Chinese quarter for the purpose of suppressing gambling there. This statement, if made by Sergeant Ellis as stated in the Bulletin, does me a gross injustice and is not true in any particular, and I ask your honorable body to set a time when I can appear before you and give me the privilege of giving my testimony that I may refute this unwarranted charge if such has been made. Most respectfully, GEORGE W. WITTMAN, Chief of Police. There was promise yesterday afternoon of a scandal that would force not only the policemen whose beats are the tenderloin district and China- town to come before the Grand Jury to answer charges that would be pre- ferred by Sergeant Thomas Ellis, who has been accused by Police Commis- sioner Hutton of having divulged certain plans for raids on the Chinese gam- blers, but that Chief Wittman himself would have to explain to that tribunal why Ellis was told to “overlook” corruption and let the lawbreakers alone. Ellis was summoned before the Grand Jury last evening, and after per- sistent questioning he was unable, or unwilling, to give any information that would in anyway tend to incriminate Chief Wittman. In fact, he prac- tically said that the report that he had confessed was merely the result of “gossip” and that he had not made any statement that, would tend to throw discredit upon the police force, except, perhaps, in defending his reputation he may have declared that he was not any more guilty than any other mem- ber of the police force. In matters appertaining to his dutles in Chinatown, he said, he was “always subject to orders.” In this he simply meant that he did as he was told to do and asked no questions, giving little attention to the rumors that “graft” existed—only trying to prevent it as far as it was possible for him to do so. But Sergeant Ellis does not intend to be made a scapegoat by either a Police Commissioner or a superior officer. If any one is to blame for the troubles in Chinatown the sergeant wants it passed up to the offender, and not placed upon his shoulders. He declared that he was innocent of the spreading of news of the intended raid by Hutton, and that it was evident that some one was trying to make political capital of a condition that has been supposed to exist for yearg, but which has only been brought into public prominence spasmodically. ELLIS DENIES ATTACK ON CHIEF. Ellis denied that he gave evidence that implicated Chief Wittman to any newspaper representative. He said that he had been frequently ap- proached by newspaper men, but had never given them a statement that couid be construed as a “‘confession.” He was only anxious to protect him- self and avoid being heralded as a receiver of bribes, and the trend of his defense seems to have been that he will go into history further back than this year if he is accused by persons that are not above suspicion themselves. District Attorney Byington and Grand Juryman Edward Bowes were with Ellis during the early part of the evening. The trio held a conferecne in the rear room of the Good Fellows’ Grotto for nearly an hour, and when llis came out he accompanied Bowes down the street and boarded a Mar- ket-street car for a trip to the Hall of Justice. Ellls professed ignorance of the purport of a story published in an evening newspapér, and said that he had not given any information that could be used by the press with any de- gree of accuracy as to his relations with the Police Department scandal. “If T talked to a reporter I did not know it,” he added, “and I am sure that I said nothing to any one who was not known to me as a Grand Juryman.” “My only aim in this matter is self-defense,” he added. “I am not look- ing for any more trouble than I have already on my hands. Iam in a peculiar position as regards this investigation and it would be unwise for me to say anything that would make enemies for me or jeopardize the friendships I have among department chiefs.” The Grand Jury was in session for three hours in the Mills bullding, and Ellis was frequently called. There are several rooms in the quarters, and during the intervening testimony offered by Policemen Heinz, Doran and several minor witnesses the sergeant was requested to retire to one of the ante-chambers. He did not have opportunity to hear what was said of the exacting of tribute from the Chinese and the fallen women of the tenderloin. Heinz is =aid to have given testimony that shows that certain assessments were levied in Hinckley alley and other notorious quarters, but if he did the ma- jority of the Grand Jurymen are not willing to acknowledge that they have received any such statement. BYINGTON SITS WITH GRAND JURY. District Attorney Lewis Byington was with the Grand Jury during their session. “I was only there in an advisory capacity,” sajd Byington, “and I can not-tell you whether or not Eilis made statements that incrimi- nate Chief Wittman or any one else. Part of the time I was with the Jury Ellis was in another room.” “This is a matter that requires secrecy. To divulge the plans of the jury would be to defeat justice—that Is if the case looks serious enough to involve a point where justice is to be summoned as an arbiter. There is noth- ing that can be given out by me until I have made a more thorough investi- gation.” Sergeant Ellis has not been on regular duty at the Harbor Police Sta- tion, to which he has been assigned since the trouble with Commissioner Hutton, for ten days. He has been marked off the books as on “special” work, and the supposition is that he has been in frequent conference with the foreman and members of the Grand Jury for a large part of that time. He has been instructed not to divulge any of the plans of the jury, and not to affirm or deny any of the statements attributed to him by the press. e e Continued on Page 2, Columns 3 and 4. ' CHIEF WITTMAN DENIES CHARG—ET‘ | { | | | JENOUNCES STATEYENT AS PERJURY Wittman Denies He Ordered Gamblers Protected. _ Chief of Police Wittman was greatly surprised when informed that it had been reported that Sergeant Ellis had confessed that he had allowed gambling to continue in Chinatown under secret orders from his superior, Wittman. “I do not believe In the first place that Ellis ever made such a statement,” said the Chief, “because I believe him to be an honest man. I do not believe it possible that he made such a state- ment, and I must wait for better evi- dence before I will believe he made it; but if he did there is only one thing! I can say, and that is that he com-| mitted deliberate, unwarranted, ra.nk! perjury. If he made such a statement | as that, he knew when he made it that| =he perjured himself and that he has| never received any order from me other than to stop gambling in his district and to be relentless in the prosecution of his duties. “When Sergeant Ellis was put in| charge of the Chinatown squad I called | him and the members of the squad before me and told them in plain words | that a difficult duty copfronted them, they must prevent gambling among the Chinese. SergeantEllis informed me| that he would see to it that my orders| were obeyed to the letter. H “During his work in Chinatown I had | frequent conversations with him re- garding conditions in his district, and! he generally informed me that he was | succeeding in carrying out my orders.; On one or two occasions he told me; that ‘he thought perhaps some of the; Chinese were steéaling a game now and ' then, but whenever he heard of it he' had always managed to suppress the game.’ I told him to be on his guard; | to watch his men closely and see that, - | they did not ‘throw him down,” and he: said he was confident all of his men. were doing the best they could and that | his work in the Chinese quarter would be found satisfactory. _— OF THE CANNOT ESCAPE CRIES OF DYING | Telegraph Operator Whose Error Caused Fatal Wreck Becomes Insane Wanderer ———— Special Dispatch to The Call. CHEYENNE, Wyo., Dec. 22.—An un- I known man who is believed to be Op- erator James Miller, whose error in copying a train order had much to do with causing the awful head-on coly lision at Azusa last month, as a result of which twelve people lost their lives, has been seen in the vicinity of Opal, in Western Wyoming. He is insane | and wanders over the hills, appearing at ranches occasionally for food. The fellow has been heard raving about train orders, depots, trains and wrecks, and says that he can hear the cries of the dying. All efforts to cap- ture the insane man have failed. The authorities of Unita County will send out a posse to effect his capture. Ranchmen who have seen the lunatic but that it must be perfarmed and that »Say he answers the description of Op- erator Miller. He disappeared from Granger on the night of the awful wreck and has not been heard from since. —— e UPRISING OF PULAJANES ON THE ISLAND OF SAMAR e S Licutenant and Thirty-Seven Native Scouts Are Ambushed and Put to Death. MANILA, Dec. 23.—The Pulajanes bhave ambushed and killed at Dolores, on the island of Samar, a lieutenant and thirty-seven enlisted men of the Trirty-eighth Company of Native Scouts. Two thousand Pulajanes, it is reported, threaten the town of Dolores and the situation is said to be critical. Lieutenant Abbott, in command of the scouts, has requested that aid be sent him. THREE OFFICERS WHOSE NAMES FIGURE PROMINENTLY. IN THE DEVEL- OPMENT INVESTIGATION NOW GRAND JURY INTO THE AFFAIRS OF THE POLICE DEPARTMENT. — | BEING CONDUCTFD BY THE ANCIENT BLUE LAW REVIVED Wealthy New Jersey Woman | | Is Indieted as a “Common | Scold” by a Grand Jury PR At Special Dispatch to The Call. NEW YORK, Dec. 22.—Accused of | | being a “common scold,” Mrg. Char- | | lotte P. Wood, aged 52, of Jersey| | City, was Indicted to-day by the Hud- | son County Grand Jury. = For six years Mrs. Wood, who is a | childless widow, and who owns con- | | siderable property, has appeared inf { courts every few weeks, sometimes as | complainant and at other times as| defendant. Learning of Mrs. Wood's aversion to mischievous children, the | boys and girls who live in her neigh- | borhood made it their business to an- | noy her at every opportunity, and she | has pursued them and cuffed their ears. ‘When the Grand Jury received the | complaint of Richard Austin, who al- leged that Mrs. Wood had abused his son. she was indicted for being a| ‘“‘common scold” under the old “blue law.” ! ——— TWENTY-SEVEN PERSONS | OVERPOWERED BY GAS Many Women and Children Brought Close to Death by a Leaky Furnace. PHILADELPHIA, Dec. 22.—Twen- | ty-seven persons, most of them women | and children, were overcome by coal | gas in a crowded tenement house at 815 Monroe street, in the foreign set- tlement of this city, early this morn- ing. Twelve of them were in such hl serious condition that they had to be taken to a hespital, but it is believed | they will recover. The lower part of the tenement was occupied by a Turkish bath establish- ment and the gas escaped from a large furnace used in the baths. . [ ! | 1 FIRM STAND 13 ASSUMED BY SCHMITE Wants Proof, Then He Will Act With- out Favor. Mayor Schmitz has taken a firm stand regarding the developments in the Chinatown scandal, ome that prom- ises to insure justice to all concernmed in the case. “I say, as I have said before,” said the Mayor, “that I want this case in- vestigated to the end. I want this In- vestigation also to develop proof of wrongdoing on the part of men in the department before I will consent to see them suffer. It is easy to cha-ge men, but it is harder fo undo a wrong done any man than it is to avold doing him that wrong. “I will say now that I want this in- vestigation to proceed, and if any man is proved guilty, Chief of Police Witt- man, Sergeant Ellis or any patrolman, I will be the first to ask the commis- sion to dismiss him from the force. But if proof is not forthcoming as to the guilt of any man charged with cor- rTuption in this or any other case, I will give him my support even if the whole world is against him. I do not believe in condemning men lightly. Deduc- tions are easy, but it is proof that I want. Let th> proof be furnished. One man's word against that of another is not proof. “If Chief of Police Wittman is guilty, as it is charged he is, the fact can be established, and if a charge of corrup- tion against him or any other man can be established I shall ask his dis- missal. But I shall not fend my aid in an efforf to depose any man until it is proved beyond a doubt that he should be deposed, and that the charges are true. This has always been my stand and will continue to be. in the future.” Patrolmen Who Were Under Ellis Appear Before Chief. The men who served in Chinatown under Sergeant Ellis were summoned before Chief Wittman and Captain Continued on Page 3, Columm 6.