The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, December 28, 1905, Page 1

Forecast for December 25: vicinity—Cloudy San Francisce and Thursday; light north winds. G McADIE, Distriot Forecaster. 3 L - IN THE Pauper.. ALHAMBRA— CALIFORNTA Girls.” LUMBIA SAN FRAN ALCAZAR—“The €Ol CHUTES— Vaudeville. GRAND—""Monna Vai ORPHEUM—Vaudevill TIVOLL—‘Orpheus in Hades." MAJESTIC—"If I Wers King."" nee. NEW CENTRAL—‘The Eye Witness.” CISCO el THEATERS. Prince and the ‘A Fight for Love." “Broadway Galety ‘The American Lord.” Matines. Mati- - THURSDAY, DECEMBER 28, 1905. PRIC s ITCHELL’S CREDITORS SELECT ‘A COMMITTEE TO INVESTIGATE LT IV | With doors carefully closed and with all approaches guarded, some of the creditors of R. Brent Mitchell and their attorneys yester- day agreed not to bri'g the matter of Mitchell’s operations before the Grand Jury. A committee was appointed to look ir.to Mitchell’s affairs. Secur Prr»ceedingsiCondlicted Behind Closed Doors Include De- cisive Acts. AGREE NOT TO LAY CASE BEFORE THE GRAND JURY Percy Declares Rich Friends Will Come to Rescue of Stock Brorker. ATTENDANTS AT MEETING ARE PLEDGED TO SECREGCY x editors and represen of creditors of R. Brent » k broker, gathered s office shortly after 2 o’clock er irpose of discussing ways and means by which they ght g noney intrus 10 the broker. After a heated s rs not to put the matter' before the d Mitchell's personal representative, ntained regarding the meeting. When the credit- ked and all representatives of the taken each creditor and representa- councll and every one solemmly de- the press., ion of a lot of injured men and women force a settlement at once, hut before the creditors had. been calmed and decided to what the prime movers had to say. ed to order by John A. Percy. Some one made a mo- -hairman, but at once a dissenting volce @éciinea the honor, =aymE Ne~Was -Mitenelr s bility at any cost, as he did not feel he deal in the matter. all declimed. At last James Whiteley was named He tried to dodge the issue, but as he is known by be & man of milllons and a cool-headed individual in business 1 to accept. He finally did, reluctantly, with the provision ed should confer with him at all times and keep he course would be. Whiteley "did not want to himself and was looking for protection in the investigate the affairs and report to was first appointgd. Then Captain 3 stick, attorney, was agreed upon. charge of the books of the insolvent take v mail concerning the date of the next meet- take place wit alled to order by the next five days. ng was first Percy. In a brief speech to the cred- v be reached at an early date. 3 hing. I believe he has Chicago, but I do not know what Mr. Mitchell is confined to his bed, New York not very m * g s kdown, and no one can talk to him regarding this Percy Afraia of Effect of Discord. g for you crediiors to do, and that Is to agree upon son € matter systematically there is any discord or vering any money are slim indeed. I think the g g settle upon last night's New York closing quo- g . e in this matter? yelled an excited creditor. omey is coming from? Is Mr. Mitchell going k s + steamship line or something else that will net him I's plans are,” sald Percy. *“As I have al- and we shall have to attend to this matter a resolution was adopted agreeing Some of the more excited credit I body, with & view to having cause might be given to the But the majorit argued that if the case were Mitchell's personal friends would-come m ; s and in the midst of this ot 0 Go Before Grand Jury. Mitchell has four or five wealthy friends, wh would surely come to his ald with the nege':aln;ym:;ngs This seemed to assure the dublous creditors, and they L i thate power to keep the case cut of the hands of the ce and try to induce others who w e gigpiesindh © were not represented at juncture John N. Ross, attorney, collection -a, ber of smaller creditors, spoke up. “Gentlemen." said Hors” socntative keep this matter out of the hands of the Grand Jury if such a ti I know by experience that it would be disastrous for us. “I know of such an instance in the Eppinger case. I re; e creditors then, and they would have fared far better financiaily hey gty i ington, the District Attorney, taken it upon himself to probe into the mattat s get the Grand Jury so deeply Involved in it. We must guar this time et all cof R s con “Therefore, before this resolution goes to a vote I make an the utmost secrecy prevall. I want each creditor present to pledge ¢ a single word to any reporter. There are a lot of yeuo’:v Jfirnzll::::l}nHOthlgo are only too willing and ready to start a scandal. They will hint ot Lo hey are told anything, and this is liable to get some of the creditors and then they will balk at our methods and upset our plans.” o suggestion seemed to meet with the approval of the majorit to keep the matter as quiet as possible, and all pledged themselves against all energetic reporters ir search of news. The plan to Keep i1, irely from the public is supposed to be in force still and wil bep role ¢ unless some hitch occurs. 80 far as known none of the cre.scors gave tion to reporters. .« Clark, bookkeeper for the bankrupt broker and the ma: ¢ inside workings of the business, was appointed aecreun-not':l:ekgzx t his protest. He was instructed to write out the minutes fully Ife ames of all the creditors and their representatives and sald he would m by mail when the next meeting was to be held, and promised. to sformed In the meantime of what was going on, and again pledged taker the e with N his res ga gree Perc he creditors would be enti A ed that r over. amendment that #a) They to be Percy s ted that he had the books of Mitchell in his possession and WO ver to Whiteley immediately. He also agregd to give the commlt‘::: turn them a comp) st of the creditors, so far as he was able. The committee will begin its work once and make an effort to straighten things out so iuat some kind of a statement may be given the creditors within the next few days. The creditors who attended the meeting, with the exception of the lawyers, appeared to be men in the moye humble walks of life, those who are not in a po. sition to stand heavy losses. All wore anxious expressions, and the pale and hag- gard faces of some showed only too plainly what their emotions were. Many of them seemed desperate and ready to act on any impulse that would tend to bring about some kind of a settlement. »One Woman Creditor Asks Duestions. In the throng was one woman of mature years. She entered the office in a very excited frame of mind and was taken in hand first by Bookkeeger Clark, _c--u--;c on Page 2, Co;;-u 2 and 3 ities bought for Mitchell’s patrons are in four city banks. Mitchell promised last evening to pay 100 cents on the dollar. ! | | | ch | [ | | | | | B | | | | | | ;‘ H WHO, AS RAISED A TING WITH i . | { her to a lee shore on and and the #a!mgrn_n‘e(her with othér wredkage. OVER SCORE - SHIPWRECK ish Off Vancou- ver Island. British Melfort Goes to Pieces. Vessel Victim of Storm and the Entire Crew Perishes. — VICTORIA, B. C., Dec ish bark Pass of Melfort, ptain Cou- gal from Ancon for Puget Sound, drove ashore on the rocks of Vancouv- er Island a ocuarter of a mile east of Ampitrite Point Tuesday night and all on board were lost. The vessel was making for the entrance to the straits when the terrific southwest galy drove Vancouver Isl- doomed ship drove with terrific force onto the rocks, breaking up soon afterward. Bodies of the lost caming ashore. The first body recovered was that of a seaman dressed in oilskins and ov- The Brit- seamen are now eralle. Two more were soon after- ward seen roiling in the heavy surf, | but could not be recovered. A num- ber of ship's buckets, all marked ‘tPass of Melfort” were found on the beach, and not far away in a small bay at the extreme end of Ampi- trite, which marks the westerly en- trance to Barclay Sound, the ship's barometer, broken boats, oars and the figure-head of the wrecked bark came 'wo spars were visible to watchers from shore washing about as though held by other submerged wreckage. A torn plece of paper which seems like I Bark Pass of | part of the logbook of Captain Cougal iwas found on the beach with the | name “John Houston” on ‘it and mnot | far away a water-soaked photograph | of fitteen seamen and apprentices of | the Pass of Melfort taken at the break of the bark's poop, was found on the | beach. | AL midnight last night Captain James | Gauden, agent of Marine and Fisherles, | recefved @ dispatch from Uclulet that | everything possible was being done to re- cover mere bodies and to identify if pos- | sible the bodies that had come ashore. | The Pass of Melfort is a British four- | masted steel bark of 234§ tons, built in | 1391 at Glasgow for Gibson & Clark. She | was last seen by the British ship Brod- N LAMORING OF THE CROWD. NTATIVE 0¥ BROKER R. B. MITCHELL, FAGED 3 BEHIND CLOSED) DOORS YESTERDAY. e THE STORM THE | THE SCENE IN THE MEET- | BROKER PROMISES FULL PAYMENT OF CLAIMS. Says Offers of Aid From Friends Cover All Indebtedness, Dollar for Dollar. | Last evening R. Brent Mitchell tele- phoned the following from his resi- dence on Pacific avenue to The Call: “I am telephoning from my sick bed, but 1 will be downtown to-morrow and make a full statement for the nmews- papers. I am in no physical condition !to do wo mow. I wish to say that I bave received unexpected offers of ssistance from friemds, which I have accepted, and that I will pay 100 cents on the dollar. “I feel greatly emcouranged by this turn in affairs and am glad that my creditors are to recelve all that ix due | them. 1t unfortunate failure and T cannot express my WOFTOW oOver It is something, though, that might bappen to any of us in business, ai the only thing to do is to face it and do the best I can. That is all a man can do. “There is mo truth in the story pub- lished this evening that I am to be ar- rested. As I said, I will be downtown to-morrow. All my creditors treated me nicely at the meeting to-day and they will all get their money.” At his office Attorney George Mastick of the committee elected by the credi- tors of Mitohell made a brief statement as to the course to be taken. “I went to the meeting to-day,” he said, “ex- pecting that Some sort of a ehowing |cisco banks securities to th bow affairs stand would be made. Noth- | many thousands of dollars ing was presented for our enlighten- ment. I was employed as attorney by a client who has money. He wished me to see what could be done to get back the money that he Intrusted to Mitchell. 8o far as the proceedings to- day in the meeting of creditors is concerned ‘I have gained no facts for my guidance. Mr. Clark, the book- keeper for Mitchell. has nothing to sub- mit. The only course to be taken now is for the committee to employ com- petent accountants and find out what the liabilities are, what the assets are, if any, what is in bank and what real property there is for the benefit of the creditors. This will be done at once. The work will be done thoroughly and as soon as possible.” “What are the liabilitles and the assets?”’ was asked. T have no knowledge of either,” was the answer. Mr. Mastick was also asked what the legal situation was, considering the fact that Mitchell had not made an assignment and no step had been taken to have a receiver appointed. To this end he s that “Nothing 1is done; there is no situation.” » 50 4 SECURITIES IN BANKS. hile the creditors were talking yes- tefflay there reposed In four San Fran- | 'mount ot 9L 4 ~ been purchased in New York on the order of R. Brent Mitchell, and that, not having been pald for in cash, had drafts “or the purchase price attached, to be collected prior to delivery. The creditors may be pleased to know that some of the securities that they desired and that they ordered Mitchell to buy for them are in the city, but there is no way, seemingly, for t to get pos- session of the same. The bonds and stocks cannot be taken from the banks until the drafts repre- senting . the valuation placed upon them shall be paid. As no creditor will care to pay two prices for stocks and bonds there is a ckfice that the: lots sent to the ban here for collection‘wfll Be returned to New York to the brokers who bought them for Mitchell's order. The securi- ties in question have been received by the American National Bank, the Bank of California, the Anglo-Californian Bank and the Crocker-Woolworth Na- tional Bank. CASH ITEMS ARE MISSING. The great confusion attending Mitch- ell's accounts'is due to the fact that when Mitchell received money ‘he did not make entries in his books. As a result the creditors when they cou seled together had no completed Iist n- of rick Castle which passed by the wrecked bark and Captain Oleson of the Brod- rick Castle, who himself had anarrow es- cape when coming into the straits, nad expected to find the lost vessel in port before him. WRECKAGE COMING ASHORE AT CARMANAH VICTORIA, B. C., Dec. 21.—The light- Keeper at Carmanah Point reports finding considerable wreckage, indicating a disas- ter has befallen a schooner, if not an- other vessel also, on the rocks of Van- couver Island. Five miles east of Car- manah two sealing boats painted lead color outside and oak-stained inside were found, together with a schooner’s mast with ,part of the rigging attached, and part of a life-buoy painted with the let- ters “P. 0.,” followed by a space, wher there had evidently been three other let- | ters, and then the letters “I U.” Three miles west of Carmanah part of another life buoy was found, with the letters “P. 0.” and the words “of Newcastle.” Captain Grant. manager of the Victoria Sealing Company, states that the descrip- tion of the sealing boats washed on Van- couver Island coast is similar to that of the boats of the schoonmer Fawn, which left Bering Sea with 502 sealskins on October 4 and never reached port. ————— BERNHARDT WARS: UPON SINDICATE S gl Special Dispatch to The Call WASHINGTON, - Dec. 27. — Through her managers, S. M. and Lee Shubert, Sarah Bernhardt, the actress, who is on a farewell tour of this country, t day appealed to M. Jusserand, the French Embassador, to protest against what she terms a discrimination by the so-called theatrical syndicate again her as a citizen of France. g Charles W. Strine, general represen- tative of Mme. Bernhardt, who came to this city from New York to-day for the purpose, conferred with the Em- bassador. ~He represented that com- mercial interests were against the actress because of the opposition of her managers to the so-called’ syndicate and that the alleged discrimination, barring her from theaters in Texas and Louisiana, not only affected her, but a large number of French residents of | New Orleans. - - Strine alleged Y sul in-New York to take any age expedient, L THIST 15 NENGED - Oh SIS ——+|Twenty-Five Per-| Markets Are Closed to Independent | Producers. Railroads “Build Chi- ¢ nese Wall” Around the State. Excessive Rates Charged for Shipments Beyond the Boundary. CHANUTE, Kans., Dec. 27.—The legls- !lln\'e committeé of the Kansas Oll Pro- | ducers’ Association has issued an appeal | to the -people of neighboring States to | work for rate legislation like that which was enacted in Kansas last winter. Two of the new Kansas laws have proved ef- | fective against the Standard Ofl Com- {pany. These are the maximum rate and discrimination acts. The maximum-rate law had the effect of cutting. the rates oa oil fully 50 per cent. which means a sav- ing of more than 30 on every car of ofl | shipped. | Discrimination in favor of the Stand- | ard, according to the committee, has ab- | solutely disappeared in Kansas. But the | Standard and the railroads, while obeying | Kansas laws, nave, according to the com- mittee, “built a Chinese wall und Kansas. Within the State they give us | & square deal, because they have to, but whenever we cross the State line with our ofls wa are commercially dead.” As an illustration, it is said that the rate from Chanute to Kansas City, Kans., the State law is “Like prisen guards,” says the appeal, “the rallroads lurk at the bdorders of the | State, gun in hand, ready to call a halt on any refiner who has the temerity to try to ship oil outside the State. The fact that | control the Kansas has found a way to ation within the State ¥ can be found to com- and the people of the West are strongly urged to work for rate legisiation, both State and national, that | will bring the raliroads and the Stand- ard to terms throughout the country.” D, Ohio, Dec. 21.—A Deputy Sherift lay served subpenas on a number of prominent local business men to appear before Notary Public Frank Schwentner to testify on January 8 in connection with the action of the State of Missouri against the Standard Oil Com-~ pany. Among those subpenaed are the follow- Frank Rockefeller, a brother of Daniel Schumer, C. 'W. Schofield, B. W. Brown of the Great ‘Western Oil Company, W. T. McKee and W. E. Judd of the Republic Oil Company, | James Corrigan, J. G. Blegwald, John | Teagte and J. H. Llediger. It is sald that Attorney General Had- ley of Missouri probably will be present at the hearing. FIGURES SHOW - LOW CAS RATE 5 PISSILE Spectal Dispatch to The Cail. CHICAGO, Dec. 27.—Gas may be dis- tributed in Chicago at a less cost than 21.75 cents a thousand feet, acoording to figures presented to-day to the Coun- cil Committee on Gas, Oil and Electric Light by Professor E. W. Bemls, for- merly of the University of Chicago and now the head of the Cleveland Water Works system. Professor Bemis was the first of the expert witnesses to appear befors the Councilmen in the gas rate hearing and at the outset said that he desired time in which to seek and prepare data be- fore giving decisive testimony. In re- ply to a question relative to the cost of distribution fixed by the People's Gas, Light and Coke Company, FProfessor Bemis figured that a reasenable cost Would be 17.28 cents. He computed this from data he obtained in Investigating the plant at Toronto, Ontario, as he said the situation there compared favorably with that in this city. He sald the total cost in Toronto for manufacture and distribution was §1.93 cents and that the rate was 30 cents a thousand feet. In figuring from the reports of a group of twelve gas plants, known as the Emerson & McMillan Syadicate, made to the Commissioner of Labor in ‘Washington in 1889, Professor Bemis gave the cost of distribution for these concerns at 17.53 cents a thousand feet. Hi plained that the amount of taxes paid ‘should be considered in reaching definite conclusions. originally booked In syndicate tha- aters, but that the latter recently with- drew those bookings. He urged the French authorities to protest against this action. Embassador Jusserand asked for a complete record of the case and said that he would review it with a view to possibie instructions to the Fremch | trol 1t everywhe the. latter might deem