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Fair Tonight and Wed
nesday; Cooler Tonight.
Last Edition
PRICE ONE OETJPT.
OTJMBER 7428.
Yesterday's Circulation, 5$,418.
WASHINGTON, TUESDAY EVENING, APRIL 23, 1912
Sixteen Pages.
9
-v
-
!BQTH FACTIONS
WORK HARD IN
NEW HAMPSHIRE
MRS. MARY CAGE
IS FREED AFTER
'Taft Forces Anxious to Win
for Moral .Effect on
Country.
FAIRBANKS DECLINES
TO OPPOSE COLONEL
Senator Bourne, in Statement,
Blames Defeat to Misrepresentation.
IE
Wealthy Widow Pleads
Guilty to Making Threats
of Violence.
ASSESSORS TELL
WHY TAX RATES
E
W N R
S
PEACE BAIL GIVEN
BY ONE OF COUNSEL
Sensational Case Comes to an End
With the Woman
Victorious.
Estimates of Previous Years
Too Low, Board Mem
bers Say.
ATTEMPT MADE TO
RECTIFY MISTAKES
HEARERS WEEP AS TITANIC
OFFICER TELLS STORY OF
NEEDLESS LOSS OF LIFE
Explanation of Higher Valuations
Given at the
Hearing.
By JUDSON C. WELLIVER.
Now Hampablro Republicans oc-
qupy tbe centor of the political stage
today. They are holding their cau
cuses, selecting delegates to the
State convenUon that will meet one
', week from today to choose tho dele
gates to the national convention.
New Hampshire has only eight
delegates, and therefore ltB deter-
1 mlnatlon Is rather of sentimental
Importance. Tho Taft managers
would be Immensely ploased to save
it, because they would be able to
magnify it into the proportions of a
fireal victory, and claim that they
' had at last stemmed the Roosevelt
' tide.
On the other hand, the Roosevelt
people want to capture it, because
' it would strengthen the impression
that they have everything surround
ed, and that there aren't going to
be any more Taft delegates from
anywhere.
Looks Like Taft's Doom.
That Is really tho general view of the
Roosevelt headquarters. Everything
thaj has., been happening of 'lute Indi
cates thc-swamping of the TaftTmoye.
ment. Tho people, convinced by tho re
r suits in Illinois and Pennsylvania that
v there la; a chanco to win, are tdrnmg
out, and the officeholders and machines
are not having things their own way
any longer.
Illustrations of tho effect of this pop
ular uprising came from Missouri and
Indiana. Tho Sixth Missouri Congres
sional district held Its convention and
(selected two delegates to tho national
conventjpn. The Twelfth Indiana did the
same.
There was no Taft bolt In cither con
,. ventlon, and the reason was highly sug
S gestlve.
There wasn't a Taft delegate in either
gathering to bolt!
' North Carolina sent along another
bunch of county convention reports, of
the same monotonous character that has
been coming from that 'State. All In
structed forKooseveltby unanimousvoto.
. As matters now stand, Roosovelt had
something over 400 delegates In that
State, about a dozen are unlnstructed,
and eight and three-tenths votes are
for Taft.
Davis Explains.
"How about the three-tenths of a
delegate that Taft gets?" somebody
asked O. K. DavU publicity manager.
"Oh," replied Davis. "I guess that's
the case where a man with a wooden
leg waa elected delegate. Taft got
the wooden leg and we got the re3t of
im."
The disposition of everything to Join
In the nlump away from Taft got fur
ther illumination when word came to
day tflat Charles "W. Fairbanks had de
clined to bo a delcgate-at-lurge from
Indiana. He had been put on by tho
Taft convention, which controlled by
dint of Heatinn tho contested Indiana
polls delegation, and permitting it to
vote on its own credentials. Tho for
mer Vice President explained that he
had bepn a insmbur of the Roosevelt
Administration. thAt he entertained a
very high regard for Roosevelt, and did
not caro to servo aa a Taft delegate.
J3ut this Is accepted as only part of
the explanation, Indiana is all ripped
open over the matho-ls of the Taft mi
ehlnn in rrrnlihlnir the Stato convention.
and astute persona with consideration
for their political future are not din
posed to b&conio. partisans, defenders,
and beneficiaries of the proceeding.
Mr. Fairbanks' atitude has given the
Taft people a bad blow, for it greatly
weakens their case In tho contest for the
State's credentials before the national
committee. Mr. Fairbanks is the ac
knowledged head of the old organiza
tion in Indiana, and when things get
too raw for him they are calculated
to Impress very favorably tho comm.lt
teemen who must decide which conven
tion was the real one.
Michigan's situation is similar. Both
factions held conventions and named
(Continued on Sixth Pago.)
Court proceedings agalnBt Mrs.
Mary B. Gage ended today when this
wealthy widow, living in Dupont
circle, pleaded guilty to making
threats of personal violonco against
a prominent banker.
Following tho plea of guilty Judge
A. R. Mullowny imposed sentence
that the defendant shall furnish $300
bonds to keep tho peaco, with alter
nate sentence of sixty days in Occo
quan. Attorney Belva Lockwood,
one of tho defendant's counsel, Im
mediately furnished tho required
real estate bond and Mrs. Gage left
the court room accompanied by her
daughter. Miss Margaret C. Gage,
who has stood so loyally by hor
mother through the arcst for threats,
tho lunacy proceedings and the other
troubles growing out of this case.
- Proceedings Are Short.
Mrs. Gage came into Police Court to
day and entered her plea of guilty af
ter a Jury In Justice Barnard's court
had pronounced her to bo of sound mind.
Tho defendant was placed in the cus
tody of Attorney Belva Lockwood to
appear in the Police Court today to
answer to the throats chargo that has
been held in abeyance slnco March 11,
pending .the result of tho lunacy pro
ceedings. Tho disposal of tho case occupied but
a fow minutes in Police Court today.
Mrs. Gage entered the court room ac
companied by her daughter and Attor
ney Belva Lockwood and Attorneys
Evans and I. R. Hltt. Jr.
Tho charge was read and in a voice
that trembled and was scarcely audi
ble Mrs. Gage pronounced the word
"guilty." Attorney Lockwood repeated
the plea, and asked that bonds of $300
be fixed. Assistant United States At
torney Ralph Given agreed und Judge
Mullowny mado tho order.
Women Not Present.
The many prominent figures In Wash
ington society circles who have closely
followed the lunacy proceedings against
Mrs. Gage wero not present In court
today.
The sensation caused by the arrest on
March 11 of this prominent woman for
alleged threats that she would horse
whip a banker, did not in the least sub
side until tho Jury yesterday afternoon
brought In the verdict of sanity.
That Mrs. Gage's friends knew that
the plea of guilty would bo entered to
day. It Is believed, Is the reason why
they weie not present In court.
"UNCLE JOE" SEEKS
TAX OFFICE CZAR
Went
to Pay Wheel Assessment
and Gets Into the
Wrong Place.
WEATHER REPORT.
3
FORECAST FOR THK DISTRICT.
Fair tonight and Wednesday; cooler
tonight, probably light frost In exposed
places.
TEMPERATURE.
V. S. BURUAI' I AFFLECK'S.
E a. m 50
8 a. m 49
10 a. m 51
11 a, m 61
12 noun f3
1 p. m &5
2 p. m M
8 a. m.
9 a. m.
10 a. m..
11 a. m..
12 noon..
1 p. in..
2 p. m..
"Uncle Joe" Cannon stopped at the
District building on his way to the
Capitol today to pay his automobile
wheel tax. The tax has boen generally
opposed by automoblllsts, and thcro is
not a motorist in the District who has
paid It with good grace. "Undo Joe"
was no exception to the rule. The anplo
of his cigar and the tilt of his hat
showed Just how he felt.
"Who's the czar around hero?" asked
the former Speaker, as he walked into
the general tax office.
"I'm not tho czar," replied one of tho
clerks, "but I can wait on you."
"All right, I'll pay this then."
"I'm sorry, Mr. Cannon," the clerk
answered, "but you'ro In the wrong
place. It's right around "
"The h . I guess I won't pay it
then."
He started out the building, then
changed his mind, went to the special
wheel tax office where he paid his bill
and got a receipt.
LAUNDRYMANSHOTIN
CHINESE TONG WAR
Louis Chow Dying As Result of
Wound Inflicted by
Rival.
Questions involving the increased
assessment of tho larger buildings
in tho business district of Washing
ton marked tho hearing on taxation
conducted today by the subcommit
tee of tho House District Committee
at tho District Building.
District Assessor Richards and tho
members of tho Board of Assistant
Assessors of tho District acknowl
edged in answer to questions put to
them by Chairman Honry George, jr.,
of tho committee, that many build
ings In the business district had
been assessed to a much greater ox
tent at the last assessment than at
tho preceding assessment. When
asked why this Increase had been
mado members of tho Board of As
sessors said that the board had
made mistakes In previous assess
ments, and sought to rectify them.
McKenzie Explains.
Assistant Assessor McKenzie in ex
plaining tlio reason for the lncreasod
assessments on property improvements
ub'.'I that It was occasioned In a great
moasupi by a change in the Judgment
of tho mcr-'bfcrs of tho board of asses
ors, "Am I to -understand then that tU
board of axscchsors think that the
buildings in tho business section of the
city Increase In valuo with ngd," in
quired Chairman George.
Thereupon the members of the board
nought to emphasise tho fact that mis
takes had be.in made nt the initial as
sessments of certain buildings, and de
fended their action in increasing the
assessments.
"Should we tln-i today that we made
mistakes in tho past assessments," said
Dtstllit Assessor Richards, "we would
In turn reasess tho building involved
until In our iudgment the piopcr tax
had been levied according to law."
"The values of the building lining Four
teenth street northwest from Pennsyl
vania avenue to New York avenue was
thoroughly gono over by the commit
tee, as was the property vales in tho
Immediate vlclrlty.
Assessor Richards told the committee
that ho thought tho value of the prop
erty on tho east sldo of the Fourteenth
street, as far as G street, waa more
valablo than tho property on tho west
side of the thoroughfare, because the
traffic on tho east sldo was greater.
The traffic changed to the west sldo of
the street at the Intersection of a street,
the assessor said.
Big Difference.
Just why the property occupied by
the Corcoran building waa assessed
at $15 per foot, while the property on
the northeast corner of Fifteenth
street and F street was assessed at
$40 per foot was also explained by
the board of assessors at the request
of the committee. Assessor Richards
said that the northeast corner of Fif
teenth and F streets,, which 1b occu
pied by a drug storo and the Na
tional Press Club's headquarters, was
appraised more highly than the Cor
coran building property because it
was a corner lot and was of Buch
small size.
Other questions taken up by the
committee Involved the increased val
uation of property on the north side
of Pennsylvania incident to the pro
posed improvement of tho south aide
of tho thoroughfare by the construc
tion of Government buildings.
Rumored Engineers
Will Win Their Fight
NEW YOniC. April 23.-That the rail
nay manager had decided to accept
the offer of Government mediation to
prevent a general strike of englneurs
waB considered certain at their head
quarters, at CO Church street, today.
One of the offlclls, who refused to per
mit the use of his name, said:
"Thero will be no strike We will ac
cept the offer, and there will eventually
bo an nmtcnblo agreement. "
The committee promised a definite an-
Gcr to Messrs.. Nelll and Knopp this
afternoon Both of tho Government
officials said they expected this answer
to be favorable,
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CIS OF AGONY
HEARD FOR
AN HOUR
Herbert J. Pitman Says Pas
sengers of His Lifeboat
Balked Rescues.
WOULD NOT GO BACK
TO PICK UP DYING
Witness Declares Ismay Acted in
Brave Manner Unnerved
by Recollection.
HERBERT J. PITMAN,
Third Officer ot the Titanic, Who Testified Before Senate Investigating Committee Today.
Government Transports No Better
Equipped Than Was the Titanic
NOT HALF WOULD BE
SAVED IN A
WRECK
Soldiers Called Upon
Face Needless Risks
of Life.
to
TIDE; TAULE.
Today nigh tide. 12:1C a. in. and VIM
D. m ; low tide. 6-32 a. m. and 7, 31
p. in.
Tomorrow High tide, 1:20 u. m. and
1:47 i m.: low tide. 7:48 a. m. and 8:40
p. n.
Bun rises.
StX TAnLK.
.. . 5.13 I Sun sot 6:C
'I
NEW YORK. April 2?. Louis Chow,
thirty years old, of 13 Pell street,
was shot by a rival tongr member,
while he was working In bis laundry
at 13 West l".3d street, early today,
and is in a dying condition at Harlem
Hospital. How I.eo Hlnff, twenty-ono
years old, a peddler, Is under arrest
charged with tho KhootlriK,
Before Chow waa taken to the hos-
filtal he made a statement to the po-l-e
in which he accused Sing; of the
shooting.
The deluded self-complacency which
made possible the Titanic horror was
sharply brought home to the United
States Government Itself today with tht
disclosure that In one of its most Im
"tint ntttles It Is equally, If not
more, reckless of life than were tht
ti- ai.u urilclulb, against whom is
charged the awful toll of moro than
1,600 sacilflced human beings.
Urged Into a fcur-qulckened Investi
gation by that greatest of marina ds-
nctara Ka f!AarnviAn( lino fnutil lii
rf1 . -... - x .. ' "Bv,Bi niw uutuinii.iiv uuu itu,l
vm f,.H r "nn I . V Y ' ' . t0 ' Us transport service, to which It con
Xolll and Knapp, expresiiing great con-, 1....011.. ..... .u n... i. .i.n
Lifeboats on Transports
Transport. . Capacity in passengers Lifeboat
and crew. Capacity.
Sheridan 1,897 " 736
Sherman ' 1,879 766
Logan 1,875 750
Thomas 1,889 756
Kilpatrick 1,156 463
Buford 1,156 463
Meade 1,300 500
Crook 1,053 420
app, expresiiing great con
lidrncp In them, and ns&oitlng that they
considered their Interests safe In the
hunds of the GoverriiiKiit representa
tives. They called their attention to the fact
that any award that might be made
date from today, and also Insisted that
the railroad presidents observe an ar
inistlc during the progress of the nego-
tlnually Intrusts the lives of its soldleis,
Is no better prepared to protect its pas
sengers than was the glint steamship
vvlilch found a last resting place two
miles under the surface of the sea.
Not a single one of these passenger
carrying craft of the army, which would
practically transmit the sinews of wnr
tlatlons. The engineers cited the action i in great emergencies, carry half enough
of the railroads In trying to hire strike- lifeboats to meet the demands of a full
nreaKers during me period or the recent ... , . J , . .u . . v.
negotiations, and said that such action PQenBr list, and In the event of such
would not be tolerated In the present a disaster as overtook the Titanic, the
instance. country would find Itself confronted
with n loss of life similar to that of a
week ago.
Committee Seeks Facts.
Coincident with this revelation caine
the additional dsclosure today that tho
Military Committee of the House has
secretly palled on David S. Stanley, th3
bead of the Transport Bervlce In tho
army, to furnish It with the fullest de
tails on the subject, presumably for the
purpose of Introducing legislation which
n 111 remove the danger.
The law under which tho urmv trans
ports of the United States are operated
Is the law which governs Its merchur.t
mnilne. Under the provisions of this
enact mcnl no vessel is required to carry
lifeboats to meet the demands of ts
passenger list. Ufeboatage In the Unit
ed States as In all other countries, is
(.Ululated on the basis of tonnago rather
than that of the number of persons on
beard.
Under this provision a vessel of C.ooo
tons, which Is approximately the regis
ter of the largest of the transports In
the army service, would only need to
carry a cubical lifeboat capacity of
3,870 feet, or, according to the uniform
estimate of ten cubical feet per per
son, enough to take care of but SS?
persons.
On the other hand. It is legally pei
mltted for the transports of this class
to carry as many as 1,000 persons, or a
number five times as great as tho num
ber for which thr department Is com
pelled to furnish lifeboats.
Department Realizes Danger.
Tho War Department, Instinctively
realizing these provisions to be inade
quate, has been equipping Its trans
ports with a greater number of lifeboats
than the law required, but despite even
this precaution tre life-saving appara
tus on all of these veBSOls Is at the very
best not sufficient to care for even one
third of the total number of passengers
permissible under the provisions of the
steamLoat Inspection law.
According to the data supplied by
Colonel Stanley to the Military Com-
(Continued on Sixth Pace.)
By JOHN SNURE.
That Death reaped a great
er harvest of lives than it was
entitled to, and that it would
have been possible, even with
the meager means of life-saving
at hand, to have cheated
him of the prey for which he
hunted so remorselessly, was
made all too plain today be
fore tha Senate-subcommittee
charged with the investiga
tion of the sinking of the
fated Titanic.
It was a somber and grue
some story told to the com
mittee, in which this was
made clear, and it moved lis
tening men and women to
tears as they heard it recited.
Herbert J. Pitman, third
officer of the Titanic, graphi
cally telling of his experi
ences when the vessel struck
and when she went down, ad
mitted he might have saved
more lives than he did save
through use of the lifeboat of
which he was in charge.
He was in command of the
second lifeboat that left the
ship. It was not filled to its
capacity. It contained moro
members of the crew than it
should have contained. It
rowed away to a safe distance
from the great liner and when
the Titanic went down did not
attempt to go to the rescue of
any of the drowning passen
gers or crew.
Moans and cries of distress
arose and swelled on the air
in their harrowing chorus,
For more than an hour, these
cries for help could be heard.
Pitman, according to his
story, wanted to row back to
the scene of the wreck, but he
declared the people in his
boat told him it would be
madness to do so.
Gave Orders to Back.
He actually gave orders to tbe
oarsmen to row back to the wreck,
he said, when tho protests of those
In his boat were stirred agalnBt it,
and ho allowed himself to be dis
suaded, though ho was in command
of the lifeboat.
Pitman told this part of his story
to the committee today with every
(Continued on Seventh Page.)
