The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, March 22, 1905, Page 1

Forecast made at hours ending bly light showers THE WEATHER. Francisco and vicinity—Cloudy, led weather Wednesday; A. G. McADIE, District Forecaster. San Franci midnight, possi- fresh southwest & — | I CENTRAL—“He: { TIVOLI—Comic »*" Matinee. LUMBIA—""The CHUTES—Vaudeville. | GRAND—"The Beauty Shop." | ORPHEUM—Vaudeville. “The Virginfan.™ arts Adrift.” Matinee. Matines. Opera. > PRICE FIVE CENTS. AMEDK COMES T0 PORT FROM FAR HONGLULU WITH REMAINS OF MAS. STANFORD Detectives Will Soon Be Able to Clear Away the Thick Veil of Mystery Solution of Poland Water| Mystery Is Near. TWO ARE UNDER SUSPICION Motive for Crime Is Still| a Puzzling Factor. . EVIDENCE IS ACEJMULAT]NG» poison quenche street bly one of lirected w ne poison w ng sifted y the police w »atiently and De- egular Alto, t to Miss closeted with Acting e Spil and Captain a half. Dur- ice the first mentioned v a verbal report of the result n Burnett of Mrs. *h is greatly at dduced at o was pr tnesses after the in- effect that an over- Humphris at indica- He told and the IN CHAIR. iderable is proved spel the chnine sev yen hold a two women wash stand, tering to her aced her in an Berner got which she Stanford’s lap and then atter's hands. Had Mrs w ously testified ected to ve been s, been s ter, or to have bal= i er lap. rought the detectiv ad- , gained from Miss s Hunt, that finally removed the basin from s’ lap and thereupon Mrs. d took Miss Berner’s hands in g acing one against each complained of agoniz- r stomach. Detective closely questioned Dr. concerning his knowledge of poisoning symptoms, and made to Captain Burnett 2y by Callundan and Reynolds, no hesitancy in questioning the inform and roe at police headquarters last evening in Jules > her feet submerged | that s the mystery surrounding the the bottle of Poland water, with d her thirst on the evening of Jan- home, will h: been completely two persons toward whom the e arrested. ced in the bottle before the ding the ected into the bottle € purpose of ent toward Miss Detectives urnett last hnine poison in the Stan- 1l and later confirmed t developments in the case, ectives have not yet been hottle came into the house or by these important details that are ith a view to making disclosures awaited by the public. ctor’s ability to clearly diagnose a case strychnine poisoning. It is shown by the evidence gath- | ered by Callundan and Reynolds and | attentively listened to by Dr, Jordan, |that Mrs. Stanford’s death was attend- ied by only the ordina. rigidity of a death from natural cauw: and that | immediately after she had passed away she was removed from the chair | to her bed, where little difficulty was | experienced in straightening out her lifeless form, a task that could not have been accomplished had strychnine poisoning alone caused her death. ain Burnett was furnished | another strong point against the Coroner’s verdict of strychnine poison- ing in se two facts: First, that the bottl bicarbonate of soda, from which Mrs. Stanford took a potion, tained in all 662 grains of soda, h, when analyzed found to | contain only 48 hundredths of a grain of strychnine, which, proportionately, was only 1-1 th of the total contents of the bottle Second, the :ara capsules, - of wt s. Stanfc ok one,contained ne-ihirteenth of a grain of strychnine, which th chemists declare combined with the strychnine in the soda, might ve produced death in a person of Stanford’s age and at a time when tem' was upset by over-eating nusual exerci such as she in- dulged in on the day of her death. her rebuttal of the original y given by Dr, Humphris, Cal- and Reynolds gave Captain Burnett absolute proof of the fact that rs. Stanford could not have possibiy the to floor atter taking h if it did not contain pof son, and regain her fe® without as- sistance. To substantiate this asser- tion the detectives produced state- ments of Mrs. Stanford’s physicians, and of Miss Berner and Miss Hunt, |to the effect that for more than a year Mrs. Stanford had suffered from stiffness of the knees, and had found it beyond her physical ability to rise from the fioor alone. Although the physicians who con- ducted the autopsy mede the state- ment that Mrs. Stanford’s organs were in a remarkably healthy condition for a woman of her age, the detectives gleaned from inquiry among several prominent surgeons who examined the heart that the latter discovered that it was anything but healthy. found to contain portions of fat that had not been examined by the autopsy surgeons, and bore other noticeable in- | dications of disease. Another surpris- ing discovery made by the detectives, and one that should have entered into | the considerations of the autopsy sur- geons, was the amount of food con- sumed by Mrs. Stanford at the picnic. On that occasion she ate four Swiss cheese sandwiches, two.tongue sand- wiches, two lettuce sandwiches, two or which of che was very fond; elf before she left the Moano Hotel; some fruit, and twelve or fourteen B ‘rench candy, which later complained made her sick at her stomach. It destroyed her appetite for the evening meal. STOMACH HURTS HEART. The crowding of her stomach, after | considerable walking, naturally weak- { ened her heart and might easily have | hasteneq. the end of a woman of Mrs. | Stanford’s advanced age, so experts {contend. These facts, revealed by the persistent inquiry of Captain Callun- dan, readily appealed to President Jor- dan and were responsible for his con- ;clus]onfi that Mrs. Stanford was not poisoned. He has so advised Attorney | Mountford Wilson in a report prepared | during the return voyage to this city. | The document was handed to the at- | torney yesterday afternoon by Dr. Jor- | dan and was later brought to this city. Although Attorney Wilson refused to make the report public last night. 5 #5 £ - Continued on Page 2, Column 5, It was | hree large pieces of ginger bread, of | two cups | *old coffee, which she had prepared | she | slightly | JORDAN REASSERTS HI . " | Makes Severe Comment on | Those mn Honolulu Con- | ducting Investigation. “Mr. Hopkins and I stand by the | statement we gave out just before we |left Honolulu,” asserted President | David Starr Jordan when approached | by representatives of the press immedi- | ately after the Alameda had been tied at the Oceanic dock. The president was emphatic in reiter- ating his opinion there was no question that Mrs. Stanford died from natural causes. “Yes, I have just séen the statement | issued by Chemist Shorey and the doc- tors wherein they seek to refute our version as to the cause of death and | set forth an argument in favor of the poisoning theory,” the president an- swered. “But,” he continued, “I don't care how many doctors or chemists in | Honolulu make statements, or how many statements they issue. We can't help what public opinion may be. You may say that we are absolutely con- vinced that strychnine did ‘not bring about the death of Mrs. Stanford and that we know whereof we speak when we declare that her death was due to natural causes.” 3 { “Are Detectives Callundan and Rey- | nolds likewise convinced beyond all question that Mrs. Stanford was not poisoned in Honolulu?” “Yes, they agree with us: We con- {sulted with them, of course, before we | issued that statement in Honolulu. We | would not have given it out unless De- | tectives Reynolds and Callundan | agreed with us.” ! QUESTION TOO POINTED. “How do you account for the presence | of the half grain of strychnine found in { the bicarbonate of soda of which Mrs. | Stanford partook before she retired?” ’ “That is a leading question,” came the answer archly, and President Jor- dan turned half\around, indicating that he was averse to saying anything. fur- ther on this point. The courteous president then turned to hig interviewers again with an ex- . planation that he was not at liberty to enter into any detailed discussion of the case. He said he had made a full re- port in writing for the use of Attorney Mountford Wilson, and the attorney must be looked to for further infor- mation, was added. “We appreciate your position in this matter, but the world is left in doubt by the two diametrically opposite state- ments, that of yourself and Mr. Hop- kins declaring death resulted from natural causes and the statement in reply by Chemist Shorey and the Hono- luiu doctors reasserting that strychnine | poisoning was the cause of death. The public is somewhat in the dark as to which statement it shall accept. Are we to understand that you discredit the chemist, the doctors and the Hono- lulu officials?” Then President Jordan made a re- mark of startling import. His man- ner was of as much significance as his words. L “I know all about.them and their work,” said President Jordan. It may be inférred safely within the | bounds of careful interpretation that President Jordan meant to convey the conviction in his mind that not all the doctors and chemists and officials con- nected with the investigation in Hono- lulu are at least trustworthy. “Do you mean to say that there was a conspiracy or an effort on the part of any one to make it appear that Mrs. Stanford was poisoned, when as a mat- ter of fact they knew there was no evidence to support such a theory?” Dr. Jordan made no reply. The in- terviewer persisted: “Are we to believe tHat some one mixed the Strychnine crystals in the bicarbonate of soda after Mrs. Stan- ford took the dose from the bottle in order to make it appear that she had been poisoned?” 3 But the president was through with interviewing along this line and he c:m“nu('d‘on Page 2, Column 1, — IS OPINION THAT DEATH RESULTED FROM NATURAL CAUSES ROTHER, BROTHER OF MRS. STANFORD AND THE MOTHER OF MAY HUNT, ING ASHORE FROM THE ALAMEDA AT NOON l FORMER PRIVATE SECRETARY OF MRS. STANFORD, HER B l i Ilm’i 11 BN \ } | e THE coM- YESTERDAY. OF HONOLULU HONOLULU, March 15.—Opinions differ. widely here as to the death of Mrs. Stanford. If Honolulu were to decide by vote how Mrs. Stanford met death so suddenly the oyerwhelming majority would probably be in favor of the theory of natural causes. Her advanced age and the attack of indi- gestion are taken much into account. But the autopsy surgeons and the attending physicians are solidly op- posed to this theory, for it fails utter- ly to account for the presence of sirychnine, no matter in how small a quantity, in the bottle of bicarbonate of soda. High Sheriff Henry and Dep- uly Rawlins are firm adherents of the murder theory, as’ formally promul- gated by the Coroner's jury in the case, OPINION DW/IDED AMONG PEOPLE Officials and Doctors Support the Verdict,, but Public Ciriticizes REGARDING DEATH Freely. : 3 The local police have been subject- ed to severe criticism in their conduct of the case. Both the High Sheriff and the deputy are quite new to such work as the .investigation of a mys- tery of this character entails. Hono- ;ulu is absolutely without a detective orce. There is reason to believe that De- tectives Reynolds and Callundan were | ceptibly surprised at the neglect of some lines | she passed the police | swiftly as if the sight of home caused of investigation by the local | S SIYs C | e STANCH SHIP -COMES SAFELY WITH HER DEAD Body of Mrs. Stanford < Arrives From Far Honolulu. Special Train Speeds With Remains to Palo Alto. To the solemn requiem of land and harbor whistles, marking the hour of noon yesterday, the casket bearing the mortal remains of Mrs. Jane La- throp Stanford was carried from the hold of the steamship Alameda and placed in a hearse to be borne to Pal® Alto, there to rest beside her beloved husband and son. Barely a month has elapsed since she left this city in the best of health and soirits, bound for a long voyage of recreation and little dreaming of the fate that cut short her pleasure seeking. Constant inquiries throughout the early morning of yesterday as to the whereabouts of the Alameda were made of the Merchants’ Exchange. Along Mieggs whart, which com- mands a view of the Gate, knots of people began to gather. About 9:45 the smoke of a siecamer hull down on the herizon was discerned througi the binoculars, and in a short time the lookouts at the barge office wera able to identify the Alameda. Outs side the Gate she could be seen buck- ing the heavy swells that beat against the rocks of Marin on the north and Fort Point on the south. * Slowly the stcamship drew nearer and appeared to be heading south- ward. She was for a few minutes lost to view behind Fort Point, only fto emerge, heading northeast and per- nearer. About 19 o'ciock Gate and crept in and the final reports of the detectives | her to make a final burst of speed. will, it is reported, cast considerable Meantime the bay steamer Goiden discredit on the work the Honolulu|Gate placed at the disvosal of the department has done. Both Callundan | funeral party by Collectdr appreciate | hove in sight from around the sea- N to work on such a|wall. ,As the Alameda drew swiftly, Instead vf being | hugging the Marin shore, the passen- and Reynolds, however, the lack of meé case in Honolulu. Stratton able to put a dozen men on the case, | gers and crew of the vessel could be Continued on Page 2, Column 3. 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