The evening world. Newspaper, February 17, 1915, Page 1

! y E | f j 7 ; | i of Jan. € when, owing to the eiroutting of feed wires, the | that: his “¥ecess had convinced him that Col. by ’ PRICE ONE CENT. Coprright, Be ls, Te ‘FATAL BLAZE IN SUBWAY LAID AT ThE DOOR OF PUBLIC SERVIGE BOARD | Pema Bored Into Conduit} MADE KISS WAGER ‘and Caused Short Circuit, Says Hayward. "saga BY WILLIAMS. ace as to Real Cause of Jan, 6 Smudge Made at Hearing. _ The Public Service Comnileston “wan thial afternoon charged with fult| | for the subway acci- “tbe wae filled with poisonous farnes, | one | wan killed and » great, dher rendered unconsetous and in- duréa, ‘The disaster wae directly laid at al n'a door by Col, Will- fam Hayward, counsel to the Joint Committee which is in- the work of the Commis- . at Me made the statement, backing It ‘with written and signed rm, .4 of jorkmen, that the accident was ¢aused by workmen employed in the béw subway section in West Forty- bécond Street drilling into a duct bank of the existing subway, short elireuiting the current and causing the burning out in the splicing cham- ber at Fifty-third Street. The disclosure came during the ques- “Aloning of Public Service Commis- stoner George V. 8. Williams. It, was made at the morning ses- sign. When the afternoon session opened, Commissioner Williams said investigation during the Hayward's charge was not true. At the close of the grilling to which Mr, Williams was subjected Col. Hay- ward asked ‘him why if was that the people of the city had not been told of the real cause of the accident, de- manding if it hadnot been kept quiet becaued It was “passing the buck from the Interborough to the Public Ser- vice Commission.” ‘The Commissioner replied that he «#hould not be asked such a question. Col. Hayward led up to his sensa- tonal disclosures by asking Mr. Will- 4ams a number of questions about the ‘gare the commission exercised in its “wapervision of subway work. Mr. ~WMilltams told him that not a stake \\ “ares :driven except where the inspec- ‘ie of the commission were present supervise it; that the greatest care given where subways came to- jether. | Col. Heyward—Di4 you know that on the morning of the accident, work- men in building the new sub- i way in West Forty-second contract of Holbrook, Cur- tis @ Robbing, drilled down through ene of the main condults of the sub- ‘wayt Did you know that the fame end ‘heat generated by this were so ‘Breat that the man had to flee and that the head of the drill was burned Did you know that one hundred feet of the burned cable were taken from | the conduit after the drill penetrated the duct-baak? Commimsioner Wiltame—No. That fo all news to me. Col. Hayward—Well, 11 tell you * more ebout it. A manhole was being put down in front of No. 136 West Strest. There wore ii i 1 WITH BASEBALL STAR, HER HUSBAND SAYS. MRS. VANDERBILT FIGHTS FOR $30,000,000 ESTATE Attorneys for Her and Mrs. Oelrichs Filed New Motions in Fair Case. Three motions were made before Supreme Court Justice Gavegan, to- day, by Bowers and Sands, attorneys for Mrs, Herman Oelrichs and Mrs, William K. Vanderbilt, in an attempt to set aside the efforts of George and Theodore W. Lefler of Newark, N. J., and Mabel E. Towle of Concord, N. H., all children of Sarah Lefler, de- ceased sister of the late Caroline D, Fair, to get a share of the $30,000,000 estate which was left by Mrs. Fair and her husband, Cha: L, Fair, in 1902, They were killed in an automo- bile accident in France. Mrs. Ociriohs and Mrs. Vanderbilt are sisters of the late Mr, Fair, The settlement of the estate hinged largely upon the question whether husband or wife had died first. It is contended the estate would have gone to the hetrs of Mra, Fair had the matter of the will been adjudicated in this State and the courts found her husband died first. As it was, the will was probated in California, and this the plainttt claims to have been an illegal move. There are forty-two heirs “but settlements are said to have been ef- fected with practically all of them ex- cept the three who as plaintifts.” ES SAILING TO-DAY. are now Aguring York World). WIFE GAVE HEWES [FOOD SUPPLY FACTS [DAUGHTER TEACHES JUSTICE HE CANNOT Were for a 64-Year-Old Woman Friend. “Honorably Wronged,” She Asserts—Husband Charges She Made Kiss Wager. Well dressed women by the dozen and young men wearing large tortoise shelled spectacles crowded Jusitce Blanchard’s part of the Supreme Court to-day and heard Mrs. Eltea- beth Benson Meinken, handsome wife of Harry Melhken. wealthy shoe man, Ufacturer, defend herself against the charge that she bad acted indiscreetly with Harry P. Hewos, a young real estate ma: Mrs. Meinken brought suit against her husband for a separation and he retaliated by bflnging an action for divorce. For more than threo hours Mra. Meinken was under cross examina- tion and it developed that these ques- tlons would be the ones that Justice Blanchard would have to answer tn deciding the case: Did Mrs. Meinken ever bet Andy Coakley, noted baseball player, a kiss that he could not win a game of soll- taire, and did she lose the bet? Did Mr. Hewes, who waa in court, ever scamper agound in Mra, Mein- ken’s apartments in his B. V. D.'s? Did she ever buy Mr, Hewes atlk pajamas and costly neckties and have them charged up to her husband's account? Did she ever tell her former friend Mrs, Carolyn Hazard of Trenton, N. J., that no one could blame her for falling in love with Mr, Hewos's big black eyes, and did she then and there kiss him in the presence of her Trenton friend? Mrs. Meinken, who was asked all these questions, deniod them with all the emphasis in her musical voice. She stamped her feet and said to the Judge: “My husband misjudged me © was honorably wronged and the rea- son why I didn't tell Mr. Meinken that I had met Mr. Hewes and dined with him was because I wanted to protect Mr. Hewes. He is the young- er boy and the world protects the older but not*the younger boys. Hewes who was sitting in the rear, smiled approvingly. Then his six- foot form arose and he offered his chair to Mrs. Meinken, who took it while he retired to a table, Attorney Huth, for ‘the husband, dwelt at length upon the pink silk pajama incident with such an artis- tically humorous touch that even Jus- tice Blanchard smiled. Mrs. Meinken had just denied that Hewes had cavorted around her apartment in his B, V, D.’s when Mr, Huth hurled this question at her: “Did you ever hug and kiss Mr. Hewes on a couch?” ” she replied, “When is Mr, Hewes's birthday?” she was asked. “I don't know,” she replied. “Didn't you give him a pair of silk pajamas on his last birihday?" the lawyer inquired. “Silk pajamas!" Mrs. Meinken re- peated in amazement. “Why, the very idea! I never did!” “Well, didn't you buy Stern Brothers?" “Yes, I did—that is my friend, Mra. Horner and Mra. Booth, pucnenet some for themselves, and I per- (Continued om Second Page.) some at MISJUDGED, SHE SAYS.|WIDE SILK PAIAMAS AND ) FROM WILSON 10 KISS,SAYSMEINKEN) REASSURE NATION But She Says Pretty Things|President Tells Mayor Mitchel] Supreme! Court Judge's Man-| > He Will Remove Erroneous Impressions. INQUIRY MADE. Agricultural Department Will Give StatemeMt of Exact Conditions in Short Time. WASHINGTON, Feb. 17.—President Wilson declared to-day he believed an erroneous impression had grown up concerning the food supply in the ‘United States. In @ letter to Mayor Mitchel of New York, replying to « suggestion tat an pmbatgo be piseed by the Federal Gevernitieit on exports of wheat, the President wrote that in the near future the Administration will give out a statement showing the exact situation, The President thanked Mayor Mitchet for his letter and for the report of the food committee, headed by Georgo W. Perkins, in which It was suggested that the amount of wheat in the United States at the present time, as compared with the amount on hand a year ago, be made public. “The matter is one to which the Administration has, of course, from the first given the most thoughtful and careful attention,” wrote the President, “The Agricultural Depart- ment is in possession of all the facta. About these facts some very errone- ous impressions obtain, and it is our purpose in the immediate future to remove these misunderstandings by a very full and clear statement of all the facts. They will, I think, reas- sure the country.” Mayor Mitchel’s letter has been re- ferred to Secretary Houston and a thorough investigation now is being made. It is understood to be tite po- sition of the President that be has no authority to declare an embargo on the exportation of foodstuffs, even though such a step were oc sred wise. _——— MAGISTRATE FRESCHI PROMOTED BY MAYOR Appointed to Vacancy on Special Sessions Bench Caused by Zeller Resignation. Mayor Mitchel to-day appointed Magistrate John J. Freschi to the place on the Special Sessions bench made vacant by the resignation of Justice Lorenz Zeller, Freschi is a Democrat who has been identified with Tammany Hall The salary of Bpecial Sessions Justice is $9,000, which is an increase of $2,000 over that which Fresch! received as a Ma- sistrate. ‘The Zeller term which the newly ap- pointed Justice fills expires July 1 of this year. On that date it Is believed Mayor Mitche? will reappoint Freschi to the full term of ten years. It im understood that the Mayor made the appointment of Frescht out of consideration for the Italian elemont of Manhattan and the Bronx; which contended that it did not have proper representation in the city courts. Magistrate Daniel Murphy, Demo- crat, and Robert Appleton, Republi- can, were active candidates for the place. | ENJOIN DAN CUPID date to Wait Has No Effect on Him. SHE WEDS IN SECRET. Miss Eugenie Philbin Becomes Mrs. Wetmore Without Her Parents’ Knowledge. Supreme Court Justice Eugene A. Philbin was able to state authorita- tively to-day that it is foolish for any dtern parent to try to tle up Cupid over Lant—eepecialiy when Dan Is in one ‘gf tle determined moods. Justice Philbin knows, for he and Mrs. Philbin’ tried it with daughter, Bugente, who, {t developed to-day, had Been engaged to Louis H. Wetmore, a writer, for some time be- fore she. slipped quietly away with him yesterday and was married, in spite of the wishes of her parents; that the couple wait until efter Lent At the Vanderbilt Hotel, to-day, the happy couple told their side of the story to an Evening World re- porter just before they left for a two weeks’ wedding trip in Canada. Over his coffee at the Philbin home, at No. @ West Fifty-second Street, Justice Philbin told the parental side of the case—and both siden agreed it wae foolish to ask the impetuous Dan to exercise his patience over the forty days of Lent, “Mrs, Philbin and I knew right along that the couple had intended to be married, although no formal announcement had been made,” sald Justice Phitbin. “Only a few of their friends knew about it. All we asked them to do was to walt until after Lent. No, we did not know tho cere- mony had been performed until It ‘was over.” In the bridal suite at the Vander- bilt Mr, Wetmore was anxious to cor- rect the impression it was an out- ut elope...ont, ‘ell, you, it im true we didn’t no- tify the Judge and Mrs, Philbin be- fore we went to Father John Burke of the Church of St. Paul the Apostle for the ceremony yesterday, but they approved of our marriage, They wanted us to wait until efter Lent, It was all done on « sudden impulse. We had intended to announce our en- gagement formally in a few daye and had decided to set April 22 as the wedding day. With this idea we got our marriage license three weeks ago. “When the eye of Lent came around, though, we thought of the long \ and yesterday decided to call up Mr. and Mrs. Lorimer Worden, friends of ours, and have the knot tied at once. They were our only friends who knew about the ceremony yesterday. On our return from our trip we will live in the city." Wetmore recently returned from London, where he established himself asa literary agent. He is managing the lecture tours in this country of Cecil Chesterton, who is bere now, and Hillaire Belloc, who is due hero within a week. The former Mise Philbin has been prominent in society since her debut in 1918. In November of that year her Speagemany, to Arthur RK, Jones, son of Mr. and Mrs. W. Strother Jones of No, 89 East Thirty-ninth Street, was announced, but it was broken off by mutual consent last June, Wetmore is a atepson of Dr, Jamea W. Markoe, pathological surgeon of tthe Lying-In Hospital and formerly private phyalclan to J. P. Morgan, BE baie NEW YORK, WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 17, ERMAN SUBMARINES TO LAY MINES : _ATENTRANCE TO EVERY BRITISH HARBOR their} * | | | showed Capt. Hunter bis vessel would WEATHER—Patr to-night ond Thuredap. , FINA EDITION 19165. 16 PAGES —p} BRITISH MERGHANTMEN GUARDED BY WARSHIPS AGANST RAIDERS DAUGHTER OF JUDGE WHO BROKE INJUNCTION |SCandinavian-American Liner Oscar BY WEDDING SECRETLY, =‘ 17. Which Sailed From New York With 400 Passengers, Held Up by BritishCruiserand Then Released MORE GAIN§ IN POLAND REPORTED, FROM BERLIN. BERLIN, via Amsterdam, Feb. 17 (United Press).—The Nord i Deutsche Allgemeine Zeitung, continuing its policy of outlining the Gene man Government's position ‘in connection the blockade, declares to» day that every possible precaution’ will be to protect neutrats from, submarine But it again points out that many vessels are’ Certil to fall victims to mines which the‘German submarines will lay with aa hand. ‘ |, “We shall place mines before every British harbor cntraoen?” the tee f | port says, “something we are legally entitled to do, Inasmuch 9s all Brita \ ports have been declared war ports. Our under seas boats have contriy- ances for mine laying and they will make lavish use of them. “Our submarine captains have been told to carefully. guard neutral: shipping, and there is not a'single one who cannot discern between # neutral and an enemy’s mérchantman. But mines are bilnd and strike anything, and because of this grave danger we cannot too urge all neutral shipping to keep away from English and Prench ports.” British Submarines Out to Fight Germans in the New War LONDON, Feb. 17 (United Press)- Sngland’s savy és ready to the German submarine blockade whih goes imto effect at Details of the plan are kept secret, but it 1s kmown that escorts are te'te provided for the British merchant feet. “A few vessels may be held ta Seu but the majority of the sailings, it 1s stated om authority, will take pinee on schedule, The destroyer and torpedo flotilias have been assigned to patrol along the steamship Janes. British submarines are also ‘active, as it ts realized that the Germans will try to very outset im order to terrify timid ship owners and keep their vessels in their home porte, All of the neutral veasela reaching british ports navian points had their national colors painted all works. In addition all of them had their names very ¢ SUBMARINE SINKS BRITISH COLLIER HERCREWESCPE Torpedo Strikes Below the Water Line and Vessel Goes Under in 20 Minutes, HAVRE (vin Paris), Feb. 17.—The British steam coliler Dulwich, bound from Hull to Rouen, waa torpedoed by @ German submarine twenty miles northwest of Cape de la Heve at 6 o'clock last night. The torpedo struck the middle starboard side, As the crew took to the boats the submarine that torpedoed the ship was seen speeding away. The Dul- wich sank in twenty minutes, Twenty-two members of the crew of thirty-one mon were pitked up by the Frénch destroyer Arquebuse and brought to Havre. Seven others rowed to Fecamp. The fate of the other two is unknown, ‘The weather was clear, but a heavy sea was running when the Dulwich was blown up. The torpedo struck under the waterline and the explosion that followed was terrific, The ship began to settle immedi- ately, and a hasty examination forming the letters in order that there could be no mistaking thetr’ AMSTERDAM, Feb. 17—Accotding to the Telegraaf, the; sailings of the Royal Dutoh Lioyd Steamship Company will sot Be by the German war sone order and {ts steamers will sail as usual passing through the prohibited sone without any convoy. % SOFIA, Feb, 17.-+Following-the departure of the Greek Minister from Constantinople, news was received here today that the Turkish Minister ~~ at Athens has left that city. This ts looked on here as indicating « rupture of diplomatic relations between the two countries. © ROME, Feb, 17.—Despatches from Athens say that Greece has werent for eventualities by assembling 20,000 troops st Salonica, British Cruiser Holds Up Oscar II., . -But She Is Later Allowed to Sail The Danish steamship Oscar II., taken into Kirkwall tm the Islands last Sunday by a British cruiser, was released om Monday presumably proceeded to Copenhagen, according to despatches here to-day from London. Despatches from Copenhagen bapyi anxiety had been felt there as to the vegsel’s safety, The Oscar IJ, sailed trom New York Feb. 4 with almost 409: and a heavy cargo of general merchandise. She was spoken off tee He | coust of Scotland last Friday. keop afloat only a few minutes. ordered the boats launched, and the sailors tumbled in without taking |» rennet: dpeokean Wat Ne, eee eae i hg the Oscar 11. time to wave thelr personal belong: | pany" Copeshagen. releas out@ of neutral ship had been dismantled as soon aa she was overhauled by British crujser and word of her capture reached Copemhagen only roundabout channels. “There is not @ pound of contraband abeard,” « ings. While pulling toward the French coast seeking @ ship which might rescue them, the crew of the Dulwich saw the submarine rise to the eurfa rel times, as if wi toning them, a 4 then disappear My ne renee’ pays Ro Bol ico Was given to ie before the Sanngee: was understand it. The carge ‘We cannot understend why the ship