The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, January 6, 1906, Page 1

THE WEATHER. | January 6: 3. MeADIE, Forecaster. il PAPER PUBLISHED IN SN mmnml ALCAZAR—“A Stranger in a Strange Lo ALHAMBRA—"The Heart of Mary- land.*" i AIERTIC— l the Sword.” ‘The American Lord." o TIVOLI—“‘Orpteus in Hades." 'When We Were Twenty- NEW CENTRAL — LYRIC HALL—Antonie Stolle lecture (Matinees at All Theaters To-day.) W UG manurs o — “An Honest Poll- “By Right of PRICE FIVF CEN T§ :RUEL PLOT'OF WIFE AGAINST HER DEMENTED HUSBAND IS CHARGED. If the story be true that was told in court yesterday, John B. Elliott, now confined | an- Jowa insane asylum, was despoiled of his property and divorced by his wife that she es N. McMahon, who had been employed as his attendant. Charl arry to have aided her in the plot. McMahon Charles N. McMahon, Who Attended Insane Man and Is Now 'llmi-,u/ 10 II oman, Said to Have Aided in the Scheme. — W RBITES TO FMOTHERINLAMW FONDLY OF MUSEAND "HARGEL X ORDER H z B — MC.MARON TC TAKE ELL/OTT EAST O\ TELLS COURT USBAND "WAS CRUEL. Hahill- T RY EEN UNSEEMLY HASTE. e Ellis Hotel st rea anothe marry + ndary attacks that bit- t . ed can invent are be- £ and left and per- where they will hurt where A. G he reg- embez- dollars, which F the Police Court = f a few hundred ge he asserts is the resuit of spite, 8 s shifted to the Superior « where Rockell is fast evening up asks, as guardian € Rockell t 1 B. Elliott, that the de granted to his for de on the ground tk e btained. Elliott kholder in tha reg now an inmate i of lum, whither he was by Charles N. Mc- at the Gardner iott was taken East “lorence, secured a the ground of nted an interlocu- decree vorce McMahon; the attendant, wedded her. asking for letters of guardianship he person and estate of Elliott divorce from Elliott clessly insane, aided nspiracy by McMahon. Rockell that while en route to the East McMahon all of his prop- liott, although El- s0 far as his disor- mit him to grasp , that she was no and had divorced him d the bars of an asy- defend himself against e laid against him. OUTLINES (ONSPIRACY. Ing statement Attorney d thaf he would prove as divorced and siripped when insane and that plight is the result of a entered into by the then iott and McMahon, who had met ided to wed so soon as the in- cumbrance in. the shape of the insane Elliott, could be removed. The attor- ney declared that he would prove that lott, while suffering from dementia, £ removed from .the sanitarium at Belmiont and brought to this city by McMahon and.while on Kearny . street was, pointed out .to a summons server named Donovan by. Attorney . Archie Campbell, who represented the then Mrs. Elliott, and he was served ‘with summons in the divorce case. He was | then taken back to the sanitarium and | confined until he was removed to the | home of his mother, Mrs.. George T. Saum, in Towa. | Rockell then began the presentation of his case and created a sensation by producing an affidavit signed, by Dr. | M. R. Hammer of the insane depart- ment of the County Home of Jasper County, Towa, where Elliott is now con- fined, in which the physician states that in his opinion when Elliott was de- livered at the institution by McMahon ! y of 1905 the patient was “suf- | ng from the effects of some dele- | terious drug administerd to him with | evil intent.” ““The action of the drug was evident,” sald the physician, “and a few days after McMahon left him he recovered from its effects, which de- pressed him physically and mentally.” AFFLICTED WITH PARESIS. In another affidai.t Dr. C. F. Apple- gate testifies that Elliott is suffering from general paresis and was so af- flicted when he was delivered at the institution. Mrs. Saum, mother of Eiliott, also stated that her son was insane when he arrived East.and that in the opinion of physicians attending him he had long been lnsane and would never recover. Dr. A. M. Gardner of the sanitarium where Elliott was confined at Belmont was called as a witness. He testified that at the time Elliott was removed from the sanitarium for the trip to this city, when the service of summons in the divorce suit was filed upon him, he was insane and in no condition to understand the purport of the proceed- ings against him. *“There was no ques- tion but that he was unable to properly comprehend a matter of this kind,” said the physician. Mrs. McMahon, former wife of Elliott, a small, dark-eyed woman, was next called to the stand and passed an ex- tremely unpleasant hour under examfi- nation, which Judge Hunt took up even after counsel had wearied of the baiting. Letters were presented, which she admitted she wrote’to her mother- in-law in which she told how “Poor, dear e e ZD A FRAUDULENT DIVORCE FROM HER HUSBAND WHILE HE WAS HIS KEEPER, WHICH PROGRAMME WAS CARRIED OUT WITH SEANE John” had gone insane and how she would spend every dollar she owned trying to restore him to health, for, she said, “he has been a good husband to me.” “How do you account for the fact that you wrote to your husband's mother that. your husband had been g00d to you and then testified in the divorce proceedings in this court that he had abused you?” asked Judge Hunt. Mrs. McMahon ‘could not explain, ex- cept to say that her pride was such that she did not want her husband's mother to knéw that he mistreated her. ELLIOTT TAKEN EAST, Again and again the then Mrs. Elliott wrote to her husband's mother telling her how much she was doing for the sufferer, but on each occasion she was drawing nearer what finally proved to be her object—to get his mother to take the insane man back to,Iowa. Finally Mrs. Saum consented to this plan and McMahon took him East, after his wife had divorced him, and then hurriedly returned to marry Mrs. Ellis. McMahon testified that at the time the divorce was granted ENiott was of sound mind, notwithstanding the fact that he was confined in a sanitarium, “and,” he continued, “on the trip East .he ex- pressed delight at the fact that he was divorced, ‘because,’ he said, ‘now I can marry Mrs. Dr. Means, my sweet- heart.’ ” Mrs. Hattie Murphy, a sister of Mrs, McMahon, testified that she had long known Elliott and belleved that at the time the divorce was granted he was of sound mind, but under cross-examina- tion she became'confused and was com- pelled to admit that he frequently had “spells.” The case, which promises more dis- closures, will go on again next Wednes- day. WINS THE WAGER BUT LOSES HIS LIFE Kentucky Farmer Kills Him- self Eating Oranges and Apples. Spectal D-DI‘ itch to The Call. McHENRY, Ky., Jan. 5.—James Coni- way, a farmer, who lived five miles east of here, is dead as the result of eating a dozen large oranges and two dozen apples. The attempted gastronomic feat was the result of a $10 wager Coniway his wife until next April. It made with & friend. l !BIPLUMATS G. S. BROWER PRESIDENT OF STATE FEDERATION FEAR A BoW o OF S S IMMINENT View With Alarm Unrest Among Chinese. Movements of the War Department Are Significant. Troops and Field Artillery Being Hurried to the Philippines. Special Dispatch to The Call. WASHINGTON, Jan. 4—Dispatches from Manila, stating that there is much activity among the troops there, and that three regiments are under field orders, “in view of possible eventualities in China,” seem to confirm the appre- hension felt in diplomatic circles eoncern- ing the situation in the Orlent. While the officials of the War Depart- ment say they know nothing of any regi- ments being placed under field orders, they do not deny that orders have been issued to several regiments to go out to Manila in the near future. Some of these are to take the places of returning regi- ments, but it is stated that the net result of these orders will be an increase of the American force in the islands by at least 2000 men. Coming as this does, just when the force in the islands has been reduced to 10,000, which Secretary Taft had declared was suthicient for the needs of the Philippines, this increase is regarded as highly signifi- cant of preparations for possible trouble in some quarters. Especially does this theory find color from the fact those who have been f that thers ie an anusislly tior: of “fleld artfilery %fl& to flw islands, where artillery needed heretofore. The coincidence of this strengthening of the military force, com- ing at the same time as the announece- ment that the cruisers Galveston and Chattanooga, are to leave Admiral Sigs- bee's fleet at Gibraltar and proceed through the Suez canal to Manila, is noted. It is said that there is a probabil- ity of the Asiatic fleet being further strengthened. In diplomatic circles there has been much talk of unrest in China as a result of the anti-American boycott, this taking the form of opposition to all foreigners. This is attributed largely to the agita- tion on the part of young Chinese edu- cated abroad, who are seeking to bring about political upheavals at home, and are seizing upon the anti-foreign feeling for their purpose. Their propaganda is one of China for the Chinese. TOO MANY WOMEN IN THE SCHOOLS So Declares Male Educator Before Audience Composed of Lady Teachers. SEATTLE, Jan. 5—Dr. M. V. O'Shea of Wisconsin University caused a sensa- tion before the King County Teachers' Institute to-day by declaring that the preponderance ‘of women teachers in the public schools was & menace to the entire educational system. He said to an au- dience composed almost entirely of wo- men: There ought to be just as many men as women in the schools. How much more would the children be benefited did they come in con- tact more with strong, vigorous men? I think this is the crying need of education to-day. The profession is too much monopolized by women. O'Shea declared that the Sunday- schools if they were to be of any benefit must be reorganized. He declared them to be ‘“formal, artificial and trivial” “WITCHES” GARROTED FOR KILLING BABY Put to Death in Cuba After Slaying Child to Use Heart for Poultice. - HAVANA, Jan. 5.—Domingo Bocurt, an old negro, and Victor Molina, a mulatto, were garroted at the prison here to-day. Both men were regarded as ‘“‘witches” by their associates. Their crime was the hideous murder of a white baby, Zoila Diaz, for the purpose of procuring the heart of a white female child, which the “witches” prescribed as a poultice for a woman'’s cure for barrenness. The c body was found smoked and salted, weeks after the crime. The executions passed off promptly. There were no witnesses excepting those officlally designated to be present. A dozen other men and women are in prison in connection with the crime. —_———— AGED MILLIONAIRE WEDS ~ PRETTY YOUNG MILLINER Couple Hurriedly Leave for California to Escape the Censure of Groom’s Relatives. PITTSBURG, Pa., Jan. 5.—Alexander Helms, 68 years old, one of the wealthiest men in Steubenville, Ohio, and Miss Louise Wonder, aged 25, a Pittsburg milliner, were married yest ay -and hurriedly left for California to avoid Helms' children who had stopped their marriage four times. Miss Wonder worked in Steubenville. Helms had been a widower thirteen years. He telegraphed his sons that he would not be home with said he nvot\ubrflhlfl.«b present. NOTED WOMN T0 END DAYS IN HADHOLSE Widow of Judge Bissell Is Committed to Sanitarium. Special Dispatch to The Call. DENVER, Jln. E—Mrs Sarah Bissell, widow of Judge Amos Bissell, a Colorado pioneer, has been adjudged insane and committed to the Mount Airey Sanitarium by Judge Lindsey. Her life is interest- ing. She is worth §100,000, which her hus- band l€ft her.' General Grant gave Mrs. Bissell the name of “The Heroine of Dinwiddie Courthouse,” after she rode bareback for thirty miles on a rainy night to give the alarm of the approach of the Confederates to the Northérn troops, and during the flerce engagement that fol- lowed, although she had been in the sad- dle all night before, she cared for many of the wounded, among whom was Theo- dore Wilson, the famous correspondent of the New York Herald, who was reporting the campaign for that journal and who afterward said it was due to this gra- cious, great-] helrted woman his life was saved. She was married three times. Her first husband was Captain Orton of the British navy; her second, General Willlam Sack- ett of the Union army. She was Miss Sarah A. Benton of Salem, N. J., where she was born sixty-five years ago, and in her young days was belle of Washing- ton, Philadelphia and other cities. Mrs. Bissell is a descendant directly of Wil- liam Penn, and her ancestors at one time owned 200 square miles -in the State of Pennsylvania. Her son is Thomas Orton, a wealthy land owner In Cape Charles, Va., and ner daughter is the wife of Tall- madge Van Rensselaer, descendant of Ste- phen Rensselater, the Dutch aristocrat, who once owned more than a hunured miles of farms along the Hudson River. Tallmadge Van Rensselaer was United States District Attorney for the State of New York and obtained a wide reputation as a lawyer before his death. Mrs. Van Rensselaer now lives at Porth ,Ambo!. N. J. KANSAS CITY VISITED BY DISASTROUS FIRE Loss Estimated at Three Hundred and Fifty Thou- sand Dollars. KANSAS CITY, Mo., Jan. 5.—The entire downtown retail district of this city was threatened to-night by a fire, which start- ed in the rear of the three-story brick of the Columbus Buggy Com- pany, on Walnut street, near Tenth, de- stroying this building and the -djolnh:g b\lflflln" occupled by the Kimball Piano onm and the Hettinger Bros. Manu- Company, and badly damaging m National Bank Commerce, entire loss is estimated at $350,000, @Jmm NEWLY ELECTED HEAD OF. THE STA' —_— The convention of the State Federation of Labor agaim failed yesterday to dispose of the anti-political amendment. A measure to subject it to referendum was lost through a ruling requiring it to have a two-thirds majority. The vote was close and a recount upset the results first an- nounced. Honors About Even in Contest for Offices of Body. proceedings of the the fifth day were as The prineipal Federation of Labor on of its convention yesterday follows: Officers were elected, honors belug shared by the respective factions. For the first time in the history of the fed- TE. ERATION _OF R__AND FED LABO YOUNG WOMAN WHO.WON RECOGNITION BY HER ENERGETIC WORK IN BEHALF OF THOSE WHO TOIL. WOMAN'S DEATH DUE TO VERY RARE MALADY Bones Become Brittle and Break When- She Moves. B i s N Spectal Dispatch to The Call, BROOKLYN, Jan. 5.—After having suf- fered for some time from one of the rarest afflictions known to the medical world, Mrs. Catharine O’Neill died yester- day in Kihgs County Hospital. The woman had.a peculiar form of loco- motor ataxia, which’ caused the bones through her’ entire body to become brit- tle and break as easily twig of wood. Several times she snapped them turning over in bed. Mrs. O'Nefll had suffered with the dis- ease for four or five years. About the first of October she was taken to Kings County Hospital. One day about four weeks ago she turned suddenly in bed while her husband was sitting near by. The nurse hastily summoned the physi- clan and latter he made the discovery that Mrs. O'Nelll had fractured. her right collar bone. About a week later Mrs. O’Nefll jumped up suddenly in bed and broke her left arm. The following day after tossing restlessly around for some time, it was found that her right leg was fractured. Mrs. O'Nelll was about 40 years old, and up to a few years ago was a strong, healthy woman. MINISTER BEATS HIS WIFE WITH A WHIP Special Dispatch to The Call. PORTLAND, Jan. 5—Mrs. Mahalia Holgate, wife of Rev. LeGrand Holgate, former pastor of the Nazarene church at Ashland, was granted a divorce in the Circuit Court here te-day. Mrs. Holgate accused her husband of beating her with a whip until she was paralyzed, remain- ing in that condition for four months. She also he threatened to kill her. He beat her because she told him he was not fit to be a minister. The court in granting the decree stated that Holgate should be sent to the whipping | post. eration a woman was elected to of- fice. Miss Anna Burkhardt of the Gar- ment Workers of San Francisco was elected te the sixth vice presidemey, the only uncontested office, by an im- posing total of 17,108 votes. A resolution In faver of woman suf- frage was passed. Protracted debate was emgaged im on a metion to submit the anti-polit- ical amendment to a referendum of the afiliated unions. After a close vote, mecessitating a recount, the motion was defented. It failed by 18% votes of the mecessary two-thirds vote. The delegutes listened to an cloguent address by President Benjamin Ide Wheeler of the University of California on the work of the State University md the educatiom of children. The election of officers resulted in a virtnal tie between the programme and anti-programme forces. The pro- gramme men captured the most important office, the presidency. The anti-programme men secured the next most important office, that of secretary-treasurer, and they also elected four of the vice presidents to three elected by the programme men. The officers elected are as follows: BROWER WINS PRESIDENCY. President, G. S. Brower of the San Francisco Carpenters. Secretary-treasurer, J. H. Bowling of the San Francisco Streetcar Men. First vice president, Thomas Gal- lagher of the Oakland Team Drivers; second vice president, S. D. Simmons of the San Francisco Theatrical Em- ployes; third vice president, Daniel D. Sullivan of the Sacramento Printing Pressmen; fourth vice president, C. F. Edmonds of the San Jose Carmen; fifth vice president, C. W. Holmquist of the Ban Diego Musiclans; sixth vice presi- dent, Miss Anna Burkhardt of the San Francisco Garment Workers; seventh vice president, M. A. Caldwell of the Santa Rosa Teamsters. These officers become also members of the executive council of the federa- tion. During the voting and counting of the votes the convention occupied itself main- Iy with a discussion of the anti-political amendment, which provides that no po- Htical office-holder shall be an officer of the federation. Thursday the supporters of the measure, after an all-day debate, had beaten the minority report of the committee on constitution and by-laws, which was for the rejection of it. But they had falled to poll the two-thirds vote necessary te the adoption of the amendment. Yesterday morning Francis Drake of Los Angeles presented the fol- lowing motion to subject the amendment to & referendum of the affiliated unions- REFERENDUM RESOLUTICN. “Resolved, That this convention take a roll call vote on the following proposition: “That the Incoming executive ecouneil be and hereby is instructed to submit the majority report on proposition § to a vota of all affiliated unions, the vote of each organization reperting to be based om the average per capita paid to the feders ‘Coutinued on Page 3 Columa &