The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, April 10, 1905, Page 1

WEATHER | HE WILLSON, recaster. ED IN $AN FRANCISCO THE CALIFO! mount. A— CED « CHUTES—Vaud GRAND—Grand | MECHANICS' Show. TIVOLI—Comic ALCAZAR—*“Tom Moore." COLUMBIA—""The Otber Girl." TRAL—"‘Paul Revere. ORPHEUM—Vaudeville. THEATERS “The Lady eville. Opera PXVILION — Nature § Overa. - PRICE | FIENDISH PLOT OF MAFIA IS LAID BARE ~ AND EIGHT OF GANG ARE IN JAIL o aver and his pretty wife was an accomplice. CRIME PLANNED IN A LITTLE HUT AT NORTH BEACH for the Sole Purpose of Killing Biaggio Vilardo. R R Toils Are Tightening Around Plotting Band and the Police Are Ready to Make More Arrests To-Day. ed Mafia organization planned the death of Blagglo Valardo. ret meetings In a rendezvous near the Fisherman’s wharf at there plotted the horrible murder of the unfortunate Si- 36%A Green street was rented for the sole purpose of tardly crime i of the city are loud in voicing protestations lafia or secret organization exists among the nerica from Italy. Yet a Mafia, a “Black be applied, does exist in this city. captured and is tried for the murder of his not be the only prisoner eitting in the dock nt'for the part he played in one of the most flendish rated in the city of San Francisco. mmitted the murder. He was aided by his wife and who was arrested by Detective Charles Taylor e his way Into the shambles at 736% Green street rder. The police have in jall besides Possofumi, Sal- Dc na and three other. Itallans, who stead- ive their names. These were arrested yesterday by Po- r and F attempted to enter the house at slept on the night of the murder and ame may 1 has been ¥ will rturici where were doing plain clothes duty yesterday afternoon watch- Powell street with the hope of apprehending some of the crime. About 2 o'clock three Italians or Sicillans t and started to go into the house. When stopped by the sked mes the swarthy men refused to divulge. he City Prison and lodged in the tanks. r names or affix their signatures to the book. : olice to be members of the gang that ¢ and executed the bloody murder of Biagglo Vilardo. Murderous Gang Plans the Death of Vilardo. talian people, the better class who voice their opinions through the edium, the newspaper, “La Italia,” oppose the theory of the ex- organizations among their race. But the Sicilians are only ns. The fact remains that there is a Mafla. and cut-th ts of the middle ages never planned with more on the & man who had incurred their wrath than ho met secretly in a little room in the s ago and formulated and plotted the death maker. Two meetings were held, one four and another fore the killing. The meetings were well attended. had to be decided upon at once. “The devil,” Biaggio 1 to be a friend of the murdered Giusseppe Brogardo, e meted out. Vilardo had been a friend of Brogardo, who January. He had been a constant companion of the he burial, taking money from his own pocket to life-long friend decent interment. Vilardo paid 2 t tri t the memory of a friend, and then paid with his own life. Rosa Torturici, as Decoy, Used to Lead Sicilian. the best man to execute the murder was considered and y Torturici’s name was mentioned. Some one remarked his wife. Torturici was promptly agreed upon. He was organization. His friends who appointed him use his wife as a decoy. She was a beautiful she played her part she has not so far told, but the n the possession of the police. Torturicl was in the house at the time of the murder. The little d which she has constantly said she took for an airing in Weshington Square was an unconscious auditor to Vilardo's death cries, perhaps a wit- nesE. Tortu n are believed by f secret an can ast do the foul deed, the next point to decide was a use at 710 Montgomery avenue was not safe as people were within earshot. The family must move, Lured to his ultimate destruction, the poor Sici- move with the family. Torturici knew he would, rdc ld want to accompany them. She played of her womanly charms to hold the admiration favorable place might be. Too many sald the plotting t ked if he migt we s went to live, the murdered man, his slayer The room was left bare for.the murder, ics absorb bl the house and a rude de re but scantily furnished. The kitchen had but rturici had a tumble-down bed and a few s bedrom and Vilardo's sleeping-room > furnishing, well fit for slaughter. In Not a rug or piece of carpet was his bedroom cant room id of a in the and house. oom Left Bare for the Place of Slaughter. Th n the floors Yo e three people lived in the house for three weeks. All this while Tor- ht in vain for a chance to perform his bloody task. He tried T with Vilardo: someti s he was successful, but the. right mo- ent did not come. Wednesday night relations were strained, Vilardo his lttie roon ading sickness. A few hours later his six pieces k his supper »dy had be cut The det of the crime have not yet been learned and may never be, if sa Torturici and the men in the City Prison keep their silence. Enough dience, however, i in the hands of the police to convict the murderer and accomplices. the murder Torturici did not alone carry the burden of the dis- i body. He had assistance from his fellow-conspirators. Just e picked out for permanent residence is shown »’ 1 | | | | Conspirators Hire House on Green Street| 4o The police are certain of this. , besides the woman, are already under arrest. Mafia society plotted Biaggio Vilardo’s death and rented the Green-street house for the purpose.: Pietro Torturici wielded the ' The toils are tightening around Torturici, and seven The rendezvous of the murderers was in a house near Fisherman’s Cove. ARE SENDING BROADCAST. s PHOTOGRAPH OF PIETRO TORTURICI, TAKEN TWO YEARE AGO AT NEW ORLEANS. HE HAS NOT WORN A MUSTACHE FOR SOME TIME PAST. THE ABOVE IS THE BEST LIKENESS THE POLICE HAVE FOUND ARN QUIT THE FLEET ABRUPTLY Hundreds of Deser- tions From Evans’ Warships. Special Dispatch to Thé Call. PENSACOLA, Fla., April 9.—Vessels of the North Atlantic fleet here report an unprecedented series of desertiong of bluejackets. It was to-day estimated that at least 600 sailors are missing from the vessels. Sailors who have been seen on shore give varying excuses for leaving the ships. Some of them have an idea that the yessels will for the most part be made station ships at some out-of- the-way place, where disturbances are not infrequent, and others say their treatment is not what it should be. Still others contend that they deserted only because they wanted to get on American soil and stay there just as long as they could. This morning Chief Schad of the po- lice department went out to the flag- ship Maine and had a conference with Rear Admiral Evans regarding the methods 'of apprehending deserters. Admiral Evans placed at the disposal of the Pensacola officer a detachment of marines to aid in taking ‘in all de- serters found. The determination; to ried the trunk and left it on the dnorstep at Powell and Vallejo when he was seen by George Olivia staggering under his peculiar and who deposited the mutilated head and extremities in the waters »ay at Fishermen’s Cove are questions that only®the conspirators ver. Continued on Page 3, Colummns 4 and 5. have them returned to the ships is strong, and the regulation reward of $10 per man is being paid out fre- quently. Marines patrol the city and are au- thorized to pick up any man in navy uniform who cannot ghow proper cre- dentials HOLDS FORT N PULLMAN CAR BERTH Mrs. Yerkes “Bluffs” Officials of a Railroad. —_— Special Dispatch to The Call NEW YORK, April 9.—How Mrs. Charles T. Yerkes forced the Atlantic coast line to carry her and her secre- tary and maid to New York on a Pull- man car despite the company’s protest has just become known here. Mrs. Yerkes was on her way from Havana to New York, accompanied by her secretary, William Lauer, and her maid, and had obtained Pullman ac- commodations at Tampa, Fla. When the train reached Jacksonville she was informed that the Pullman sleeper from Tampa would go no farther and she must change to another Pullman to be attached to a train which was about to pull out for New York. All the ac- commodations she could have were 'an upper berth for herself and' a seat each for her secretary and maid. Mrs. Yerkes insisted that she had purchased * through accommodations and refused to leave the Pullman. Ac- cording to Mrs. Yerkes she was delayed several hours. Finally the railroad of- ficials ylelded and the car was attached later to a train on the Atlantic coast line. 4 —_—— Dr. Harper Ends Treatment. NEW YORK, April 9.—Dr. William R. Harper, who has been taking the X-roy treatment for cancer in New York City, left Chicago, late to-day. The improvement in Dr. per's health was so marked that it was felt urnecessary for him to stay here any longer. -+ AND 18 THE ONE THEY OBSOLETE VESSELS IN (UR BAVY In Class With Those England Sold a.s_{u_ng. Special Dispatch to The Call CALL BUREAU, POST BUILDING, WASHINGTON. April 9.—In the re- cent sale of $15,000,000 worth of Brit- ish war ships as junk, some naval offi- cers have again been reminded of the problem as to the ultimate dispesi- tion of United States naval vessels which have becéme obsolete. The British vessels sold are not as old a# the American cruiser Chicago (1883) and are but little older than the Philadelphia, the San Francisco and the Baltimore, which are of about the same displacement (1888). The Chicago is now the flagship of the Pa- cific squadron, Having recently been thoroughly repaired. while the Bal- timore is in commission and the San Francisco is now undergoing exten- sive repalrs. The Navy Department, whatever it may have had in mind, has not yet announced , its determination to put entirely out of service these active contemporaries of the ships which the British admiralty had consigned to the junk pile. The same may be said of the gun- boat Topeka (1881) and the dispatch boat Dolphin (1883). Submarine Boats for Harbor Defense. NEWPORT, R. L, April 3.—The third committee of the fortification board, of which Admiral Charles N. Thomas, U. S. N,, is chairman, is de- voting special attention to the dangers incident ‘to the use of submarine mines, and it is learned that emphasis will be placed on the advai of substituting submarine boats for mines in harbor defense WANTS T4FT 70 BE NEAT PRESIDENT fr. Roosevelt Fager for Secretary’s Promotion. ——— Sets His Heart Upon Assar- ing Continuation ¢f Pres- | ent Policies. Ohioan ‘Is Jocularly Referred to in Washington as the Trinity of the Administration. i —_— Special Dispatch to The Call CALL BUREAU, POST BUILDING. | WASHINGTON, April 8—"William H. | Taft, now Secretary of War., will be (“ t President of the United States. TR SR - P This was the positive statement made b6 FLEETS WL FlGHT 10 4 FINSH iRussia’s One Hope ' Is to Cripple . Foe's Navy. If This Be Done, Czar Will : Send Fresh Squadron to the Far East. 8t Pefershurg Naval Board Counts on Crush ng Japan's Sea Forces by Piecemeal. Special Dispatch to The Call LONDON, April 10.—The newspapers continge to speculate on the forthcom- ing naval engagement,#which is not ex- pected to occur until the end of the The St. Petersburg correspondent of to-day by a man who is prominent in | the Telegraph says that sober, calcu- the councils of the administration and J lating minds among the naval officers who is known to enjoy the confidence | do not expect a decisive victory for the of the President. | Russian fleet. All ¢hey expect is that “President Roosevelt,” he continued.| Admiral Rojestvensky will withstand “4s just as firm to-day in his intention | the Japanese onslaught stubbornly and not to accept a renomination as he was | successfully, destroying or disabling a when he made the announcement on |sufficient of the enemy’s ships to en- the night of the election. ven if there| :.ble Vt‘cel r\d“;"mt Neb(-gls::,rl{;‘s ('lnn; | tingent, In conjunction w e las were 10 be a general demand, regard- | poSCe (0RO Gk (he dia- less of party, that he succeed humsell | ,q¢cheq tn June, to turn the scales in the President, iike Washinkton. would | gy, ‘geryggie for naval supremaey. adhere to his resvlution and give mei The same correspondent says that the country some good advice about Not| mijitary committee has at last reported keeping one mun in omce for too long | jts conclusion that it would be a grave a period. mistake to abandon the struggle before “paving decided to lay down the| puggia's resources are manifestly ex- burdens of office at the end of hiS|phaysted and that Russia still has ef- term, President Roosevelt 1s deeply | gectjve means of continuing the war concerned over the question of the SUC- | with the hope of such success as will cessorship. He wants the next President | jnfiuence the character of the peace to be a man who will carry out his| policies, especially as they affect the| trusts and the railroads; a man who | will be President for the whole peobie. who will punish dishonest office hold- ers and eliminate the principle of | ‘graft’ from the administration of the| affairs of the Government. The Presi- | dent feels that, while he can and will accomplish much toward this end. his, efforts will have been partially wasted if his successor fail to carry on the work and permit a lapse to conditions | such as have prevailed in the past. | “Secretary Taft is a man after the President's own heart and thoroughly | in accord with the chief executive in his efforts tos effect great reforms for | the benefit of the masses. For this| reason Mr. Roosevelt would like to see | Taft succeed to the Presidency. and in | a quiet way he will do what he can to bring about such a desirable result. | The President’s faith in Taft is illus- trated at the present moment by the fact that the Secretary of War is act- ing President and Secretary of State| as well; in fact, when there is any work for which the President wants a man whom he can trust implicitly, | Taft is chosen. By the time Mr. Roose- velt's term draws to a close, Taft will | be well fitted to step into the Presi- dency and to carry out the policles to which the present chief executive is| committed heart and soul.” Secretary Taft is now jocularly re- ferred to as the “trinity” of the admin- istration. He is acting as President of the United States, is Secretary of State during the absence of Hay and is Sec- retary of War in his own right. Some of his friends are “‘poking fun” at the Secretary and broadly intimate that he is_the whole Government. H Wayne MacVeagh, Attorney General: of the Cleveland administration. called ! up Taft over the telephone and inauired | when the Secretary of War would begin | to discharge the dutles of Secretary | of the Treasury and Secretary of the Interior. as he had some business with these officials, and, as Taft was so good natured, he liked to transact business ‘with him. ficers. Secretary Taft replied that he had his hands full now, “sitting on the 11d.” and would not undertake to perform the work of any other Cabinet officers. ————— BRITISH ROYAL COUPLE WELCOMED AT MINORCA Arrive on the Yacht Victoria and Al- | bert and Continue Their Cruise. PORT MAHON, Island of Minorca, April 9.—King Edward and Queen! Alexandra, who sailed from Marseilles on Saturday on board the British royal yacht Victoria and Albert, . ar- rived here to-day. When they landed they were given a demonstrative wel- come. tinued on their cruise this evening. Of course this was not a re- | flection on the other two Cabinet of- | The British sovereigns con-‘ conditions. The officials in St. Petersburg declare that Rojestvensky has gained a strate- gical advantage by not waiting for the third squadron, as he will take the Jap- anese by surprise. The main Japanese naval forces are believed to be in Northern Chinese wa~ s. ter: FLEET IS NOT INTACT. Most Powerful of the Russian War- ships Cannot Be Located. SINGAPORE, April 9. — Fifty-one ships. of Vice Admiral Rojestvensky's second Pacific squadron passed here yesterday. ' The most important fight- ing vessels of the squadronm, including the battleships Kniaz Souvaroff, Alex- ander II, Borodino and Orel, with their complement of cruisers, to: boat destroyers, etc., did not arrive and their whereabouts is unknown. The vessels which passed Singapore were the following: The battleships Sissoi Veliky and Oleg: cruisers Ad- miral Nakhimoff, Dmitri, Donskoi, Aurora, Izumrud, Jemtchug, Almaaz, Russ, Anadyr, Fuerst Bismarek, Kais- erin Maria Theresa, Kaiserin Augusta Victoria, Kalser Fredrich, Rien and seven torpedo-boat destroyers, all sail- ing under the naval flag. Under the comercial flag were the volunteer | steamships Vorenez, Kief, Yaroslav, Tamboff, Viadimir and Orel; the Rus- sian Navigation Company’s steamships Meteor, Jupiter and Mercury; the East Asiatic Company’'s steamships Korea an Kaitai, the North Baltic Company’'s steamship Kniaz Gortchakoff, one sal- vage ship and sixteen colliers. A French steamship arrived here to- day with a sallor belonging to the Ad- miral Nakhimoff, who fell overboard and was picked up in the Straits of Malacea after having been twelve hours in the water. TR, T NIPPONESE ARE CONFIDENT. Have Faith in the Prowess of Admiral Togo's Gunners. TOKIO, April 10.—Vice Admiral Ro- jestvensky's second Pacific squadron has not been reported here since it passed Singapore. Its whereabouts and the plans of Vice Admiral Rojest- vensky are subjects of the keenest gereral speculation. o It is quite generally assumed that Vice Admiral Rojestvensky does not desire an immediate battle and that he will attempt to reach Viadivestok, where there are decks and shops, or to seize a base. The latter course Iis deemed unsatisfactory, on account of the poor facilities and the danger of political complications. Many believe that the Russian naval commander has a second rendezvous in the Pacific | Ocean and that he will speedily quit NG - Continued dn Page 2, Column &