"Wagon Freighting in the West/*
READ THIS ARTICLE OF AN,
r\DERESTI3IATKD EMSMKNT IN
THE MAKING OF CALIFORNIA,
in The Sunday Call — —
VOLUME CVIL— NO. 170.
FLANNERY'S
EVIDENCE
ALL IN
Arguments Will Begin This
Morning and Jury Should
Get Case Today
DEFENDANT DENIES
JOE ABBOTT'S TALE
Declares Telegraphic Promise
Was Only to Help Him Get
l Poker Club
CONSPIRACY CHARGE
EASILY PUNCTURED
THE case of Harry P. Flanncry.i
charged with grand larceny, will
be in the hands of the jury sworn
'\u25a0\u25a0'-.• -fo determine his guilt or innocence
: ' before tonight. The taking of testi
: \u25a0: raony was completed yesterday after
.: noon and the closing arguments to
-:: the jury will begin at 10 o'clock this
\u25a0 morning in Judge Lennon's court in \
: San Rafael.
\u25a0 Yesterday was a day of interesting
development?. The defcifdant himself
;: : took the witness stand in the morn
'\u25a0\u25a0: inz to testify in his own behalf, and
.-,;. after one and a half hours' examina
; ; ; lion by. his own attorneys was \u25a0 sub
•...\;jected to a grilling cross examination
•by District Attorney Boyd. that con
tinued well along into the afternoon.
Version of Telegram
.\u25a0';\u25a0•'• For the nrst«time under oath Flan
'•yrery gave his version of the meaning
!• , of his famous telegram to Joseph Ab
-'.bott at Seattle on November 3 of last
•= j'ear. in which occurred the significant
. - phrase, "Joe, my promise is right."
Hjs explanation, involving an account
' of an alleged promise to Abbott to
h**lp him In opening 1 a saloon or in
corporated poker club in Kan Francisco,
."•\u25a0R'a.? directly contradictory of his former
"A srstempnts concerning the meaning of
: mossagp.
Several times, in the course of the
-.' cross examination. Flannery was led
• into contradictions which be failed to
explain. The whole trend of Boyd's
:.attack was to impeach the credibility
' of the defendant, and a number of wit
nesses were called who gave testimony
in direct conflict to Flannery's regard
ing: salient features of the case.
Conspiracy Refuted
In rebuttal. Boyd practically shat
: >.rrd the announced theory of the de
• ...fense that Flannery had been made
': '..the victim of a conspiracy on the part
::-"'..of Fremont Older and Sheriff Taylor
. .-^,of Marin county to "railroad" him to
•;; ? the penitentiary, and thoroughly dis
.'.credited the testimony of William Mac
-.;' Sherry, the convict burikoraan, who
.]:.}; swore Tuesday that such a conspiracy
• •;'"• actually existed. Both Taylor and
/\u25a0; Older were called to the stand, and the
>;;= latter made the startling statement
yt.that Flannery had sent emissaries to
: \u25a0 him personally with offers to diviJe
'••'..the spoils of illicit dealings. This dec
..';: laration was not attacked by the de
:'\u25a0.'\u25a0 fense, and was left in the record as an
\u25a0 ' undisputed bit of testimony.
\u25a0;.. -For the fir^t time since the begin
-:nlng of the Flannerj' trial, general pub
,.-.*.lfc interest in the proceedings became
;.; : manifest in the size of the crowd- that
»wS^c:ked itself into Judge Lennon's
: < ourtroom. On previous days the court
. . has been well filled, but yesterday
; standing room in the aisles was at a
••": premium, and in the throng were many
. well known society women of San Ra
i-fael. Several times. the sallies of the
'attorneys conducting the cross cxara-
V- Jnations and the answers of witnesses
under fire sent a thrill of laughter
\u25a0'\u25a0 through the courtroom, but there was
; no serious demonstration.
''* Arguments This Alorning
\u0084; District Attorney Boyd will begin
• . his opening argument to the jury at
.-" JO o'clock this morning and will also
•_ : make the rebuttaL State Senator E.
\u25a0 V|B.- Martinelli will make the first ad
dress for the defense and will be fol
'•"; lowed by Attorney George A. Knight,
'"chief counsel for Flannery. While no
\u25a0 definite limitations has been set upon
• the time to be allowed for argument,
•'.each side has stated that the speeches
'will be comparatively brief, and there
is little doubt that the case will go
' to the jury before night.
Coincident with the resumption of
court this morning, the Marin county
gTand Jury will meet to begin its in
vestigations into the incidents of al
. leged Jury tampering that have been
brought to light since the beginning of
the trlaL District Attorney Boyd bim
- self will not be in attendance and the
"witnesses called V e *ore the inquisito
rial body will be examined by the grand
Jurors themselves. Among the wit
rio.sses under subpena are Jerome Bas
iftty, whose name has been brought into
tw ca?« through testimony taken at
the trial to the effect that he was in
conference with Flannery and Attorney
J. W. Cochrane; ' William Genazzi,
Continued on rage 5, Column 1
The San Francisco Call.
INDEX OF THE
SAN FRANCISCO CALL'S
NEWS TODAY
TELEPHOXE KEARX'V S6
THURSDAY. MAY ID, 1910
EDITORIAL
Some novel aspects of economy. - Pace S
I'rawiDc the teeth of a good bill. , Pace S
T»r. n«<JJpy's plan of goTcrntnent. PageS
When Balllnsrr would not «n*wcr. Page S
Interior ritles oppressed by fish trust. Pace 8
A municipal censorship of the drama. Page S
POLITICAL *
Worts may be asked to withdraw .from sena
torial fight. , ' l'agc'e
CITY
Doctor MoEneTy, Burlinfiame clubman," sued
for livery bill. Page 4
Box office receipts of theater* fall off with
j comet's arrive!. Page 4
Subscriptions in small mmi pour into exposi
tion committee. \u25a0 Page 5
Receiver Symmes to pay 10 per cent dividend
to l'p.nk depositor!:. Page :t
Girl wife demands divorce instantly, but can't
be bettered by suit. '. Pace 5
Joseph Griffin, Ontario millionaire, killed in
Palace hotel elevator. • '• Page 9
California pharmaceutical ; association hears
papers en drug business. Page 18
Fi*h trtiut reduces prices to the wholesale
trade and retailers follow. Page 3
H. M. Wright will take office as United States
'\u25a0 master In chancery July 1. Page IS
Iniverplty student of '78 given degree with
members of class of 1910. Page IS
Coronado band at Idora park gives special
program from Italian ..composers. Page it
; University of California graduates receive de
grees at ceremonies In Greek theater. Page IS
SUBURBAN
Luncheon to be given in honor of Miss Edith
EmUrh. . Page io
East Fruitvale residents demand better fire
protection. Page 11
Cat killed and wired as hare cited as evidence
of insanity. Page 11
Centervine school children to dance and drill
at May festival.. Page 11
i Berkeley debater wins official appointment in
city of Spokane. Page IO
Trashy reading inspires holdup who gets San
Quentin sentence. Page 10
Alameda butcher places his head on rail arid,
is killed by train. Page II
James H. Maolaffcrty, businessman and poet,
leaves family home. Page 1
Polta, Delta Delta sorority wi!l sltc 'an. in
formal dance tonight. Page 11
Clever amateurs added to cast of "As You Like
It" in Clsremont hills. Page 10
Street paving firm asks that plan of Broad
way work be. changed. Page 10
Second Bach festival to be given in Greek
Ojcater Saturday afternoon.- Page 10
Child's welfare league suggests uniform cur
few law for Alameda county. Page 10
COAST
Cojooel Uobert F. Atnes faces court martial in
connection with Lieutenant C. 51. Janney'g ' mi
cide. Page 3
EASTERN
Bailinsrer case report may be ready before
eocgreM adjourns. Pauce 2
President Taft to welcome dclegatfs to world's
Sunday school convention. •' Page 5
FOREIGN •*
SPORTS
Johnson boxes nine fast rounds after a hard
grind on road. Page 13
Raleigh turns the tables on Chester Krum in
handicap feature. Page 12
Tex Cickard officially announces that Wg fight
will be held here. Page 13
\u25a0Wolverton's lnckles« Oaks lose tough game
but 'file' a pjrote«t. Page 12
Crark athletes are entered in Knights "of the
Bed Branch games. Page 12
Jimmy I^wis* sensational base running wins
hard game for Seals. r Page 12
Test case will decide whether bettor may
record his own wager. - Page 13
Torer pitches fine game and Los Angeles de
feats Hogan's villagers. 5l a»u,i
Sacred Heart looms op as possible Academic
league pennant winners. Page 13
Jeff and Graney in consultation; Jeff goes
fishing at Monterey bay. Page 13
Oakland wheelmen granted a permit to bold
10 round boxing contests. Pngc 13
Athletics win thirteenth successive victory;
Vernon gets Pitcher Carson. Page 12
yachtsmen disappointed by selection of the
Ruby to defend challenge cnn. - Page 12
Wrestling promoters propose to hold Gotch-
Zybsyxko match despite mayor. Page 12
MARINE
Sew tanker J. A. Cuanslor encounters mys
terious Oerellct In North. Atlantic. Page 17
LABOR
Harry L. White elected president of typo
graphical union, defeating Tracy. Page 9
HOE ESTATE RESISTS
MARGARET JOHNS' CLAIM
Surrogate Dismisses Petition
for Payment
[Special Dispatch to The Call]
NEW YORK, May 18. — The petition
in the surrogate's court of Margaret
Johnson Johns, who says that she has
a claim of about $145,500 against the
estate of Robert Hoe, was denied today
by Surrogate Thomas. Mrs.- Johns de
clared that the printing press manu
facturer bound his estate' July 9, 1908.
to pay her £50,000 in exchange for Met
ropolitan trust company stocks which
she. owned " and which, she says, she
turned over to Hoe. She asked the
court to order Frederick W,- Crane and
Phineas P. k Chew to appear and show
cause why they should not pay the
amount of her claim.
Surrogate Thomas dismissed the pe
tition without prejudice to any action
which may be brought to recover the
claim or for an accounting. \u25ba
Edward J. Pringle,' counsel, for the
Hoe estate, told the surrogate when
the motion for the granting of the or
der was argued that there was no fund
provided with which .to meet the claim
even if declared valid. . :•" "
MINES IN EUROPE
TO BE INVESTIGATED
Californian to Study Safety Ap
":\u25a0\u25a0',. pliances Used ;
[Special Dispatch to The Call]
LOS ANGELES, May 18.— Dr. 1 John R.
Haynes of Los Angeles departed for
Europe today, to search for.-. the reason
why 1 tbe - United - States has ? four. 4 mine
accidents for , every one In England
and five for every one. in- France.
He " goes under", special appointment
from Governor GUlett, and -' wi»l spend
six months . at . his task.
\u0084-\u25a0 Doctor _ Haynes will learn what the
foreign mmmg 'commissions are doing;
what powers 'they^ have.: and. i'what
safety, devices and. life saying. methods
they- nave- introduced^ the mines*-./:
SA^^FI^CISCO^
COBURN FORCED
TO FIGHT FOR
HIS MILLIONS
Nephews Renew Legal Battle to
Have Aged Multimillionaire
Declared Incompetent
Relatives Attempt tol Prove Pio«
neer Is Surrounded by Per=
sons Seeking His Gold
[Special Dispatch to The Call]
REDWOOD CITY, May .IS.— Once
more Loren Coburn, multimillionaire
pioneer, S4 years of age, who recently j
married the sister of his first wife, is
fighting in the courts to keep the f con
tror of his vast iTrial i of
the petition" to have; him declared; le
gally incompetent, initiated by his
nephews, Azro and Carl Coburn, ; to
whom the octogenarian' usually refers
as '"vultures,"' was begun today before
Superior Judge ;Maurice,T. Dooling of
San Benito county, sitting in place of
Judge Buck.
All his life. Loren Coburn has been
entangled in litigation involving pos
session of v the immensely" valuable
Spanish grants, totaling about 35,000
acres and situated in San Mateo, Mer
ced, Monterey and Fresno counties.
This is the second attempt to have him
declared incompetent to manage his
own affairs. Two years ago Judge
Buck, on the petition o.f Carl Coburn,
pronounced him mentally,- unsound. For
the time being control of his millions
passed out of the hands of the pioneer^
but the supreme court l reversed" the
ruling and Coburn won -back his
estate. -
Attack Is Renewed
The renewal of the attack on his
capacity followed almost immediately
Coburn's marriage with hi! s sister in
la,w, Miss Sitara S. Upton, which took
place February 2S last. The petition
taken up by the court today was that
of Azro Coburn, who is> a wealthy
banker and manufacturer of' Holyokc,
Mass. The opening day of the litiga
tion proved that the petition will be
fought out in the most bitter manner.
An ; array of lawyers - sunh as is seldom
seen in a case tried here faced the
judge as he took his "seat .upon the
bench. For tile petitioner, * "ftlatt I.
Sullivan. Theodore J. Roche of San
Francisco and Ross &~ Ross., appeared.,'
Loren Coburn is represented; by "A. J.r
Treat, Early J. Craig and A. Kincaid.
The feature of today's proceedings
was an attack made by the attorneys
for the petitioners on C. L.' Littlefield,
who is employed by Loren Coburn as
book keeper and general- business as
sistant. Littlefield .was called to the
witness stand by Attorney Sullivan, and
it was apparent in a few minutes that
the lawyer was" possessed of some in
formation that puzzled Littlefield
greatly. It was admitted subsequently
that Messrs. Sullivan and Roche some
time ago sent to Pescadero two in
vestigators, H. Wilson and J. McCarthy,
who had- ingratiated 'themselves with
Littlefield and gained his confidence.
Accuses Littlefield
"We charge that' Littlefield is one" of
the designing persons by whom Loren
Coburn is in danger of being fleeced,"
stated Attorney Roche to the court in
explaining why Littlefleld was called
as a witness.
From the questions propounded to
Littletield it developed that the "in
vestigators" had so Improved their op
portunities that they entered into ; a
contract 'with Littlefleld whereby the
King City ranch in Monterey county
was to be obtained from Loren Coburn
for $250,000 and sold for not less than
$400,000. Littlefleld, McCarthy and Wil
son ot share the profits. This, Attorney
Roche contended, showed the designing
nature of Littlefield and the 'danger to
which Coburn in. his ineorripetency is
subjected. \ •
Contract Introduced
The contract was introduced in evi
dence. It read: '. \u25a0 :
"Pescadero, Ap^il 1, lDlO.r-For* serv
ices rendered by C. L. Littlefield we 'vio
hereby agree to divide the; commission
of 2% per cent, as well as all moneys
realized over; $250,000, and not less
than $400,000, on the sale of King City*
ranch, belonging to L. f Coburn, in three
equal parts — i. c., of, such /sums— to
each of the, undersigned,- such 'devision
to be made immediately upon delivery
of the deeds. H. Wilson, j. McCarthy,
aL^Littlefield." "
In the ttii'Jst of his examination; by
Attorney Sullivan, Littlefield suddenly
exclaimed: '• \u25a0\u25a0'"7,' : . \u25a0*;\u25a0
"I know who you got your'informa
tion from. You, got it from those two
spies yu sent from your camp." - ;
"How do you know they were spies?"
asked Sullivan. . - - ' » ;/ ,v *
"Because Mrs. Coburn told mo .they
were,". Littlefield repield.v. In reply, to
further.; questions, Littlefield "laid rhe
wrote'; certain letters to ' McCarthy/ and
Wilson simply t§. string the'malong'. ;.
Wife/Is Calletl
At. this stage Sullivan .temporarily
withdrew., Littlefield 'from the !: witness
stand and called Mrs. , .Loren Coburn fto
testify. Mrs. .Coburn had- .'not ; ;heard
•Littlefleld's testimony." ' She '/directly
.contradicted; the~ assertion : of "Little
fleld: that^sh had' told; him McCarthy
and Wilson . : .were '' "spies!" , ... "
Littlefield \was_, replaced^ on the> ? Trit^
'I -Continue d . on Page 5, r Colnmn 4 4 -V \
BRITONS TAKE
FINAL VIEW OF
THE LITE KING
Line Waiting Outside : Westmi
nster Seven Miles Long
When Door Opens^
Royalty Arrives to Attend the
Funeral and Emperor Will
Land Today ;
_ LONDON. May IS.— Thousands of
persons, marching in double file on
either side of the catafalque on VWhich
rests the coffin of Edward VII, passed
through; \u25a0\yestminster hall today, and
.when the doors closed- atlO o'clock to
night there were miles of them still
in line. , . :
'Throughout tBe afternoon Victoria :
station was the scene" of. a constant
stream of foreign representatives ar
riving for the funeral. King Albert of /
Belgium and King Manuel' of Portugal ,
were met by .King' ..George and his
eldest son, the duke of Cornwall! 'Other
arrivals included '.- the^, duke; of Aosta,
representing King VictqrvEmmanuel;
M. Pichon, the French: minister of for
eign affairs, representing,!'; President
Falliercs and King' Ferdinand \ot "Bul-i
garia; the crown prince of Roumania;
the cro\yn prince of ", Sorvia; Prince
; Henry of The Netherlands;, Prince j
Charles of Sweden; -two-Chinese mis- i
sions, headed ; by Prince]^Tsai i Tao, ;
The ! medalist off the class of; 1 909 at the University of California. ,: Conrad^
and Miss Phillips are engaged Ho]: be married. :-:.\?
brother of .the prince regent, and rep
resentatives of various German princl-.
palities. . ' - •-"\u25a0'.
VIEW THE REMAINS
Most of these visitors went to ' Wes- '
minster hall 1 after" 10 1 o'clock l at -night
when the • hall was: closed to I the pub
lic, to witness the lying Jn. state,' Queen
Mary accompanying, the guests.
The German .imperial yacht Hoheh-V
zollern arri-ttedat'Sheerness this -even
ing, but at; the' emperor's .request* no
salutes were fired. \u25a0.;'*'.\u25a0
Trie emperor, .will land J tomorrow
morning, and ; , proceed, to London. .
The official .program, of Friday's
ceremonial, which was issued tonight,
is a lengthy document, occupying five
or six columns < In the. 'newspapers. ;
Roosevelt, as ; special t envoy rof the
United States, with- M. : Plechon, ' will
ride in the eighth carriage in, the-pro
cession. \u25a0 "• ||j|Pi f-
The line of- waiting six .and
eig^ht abreast,- extended - nearly., seven
miles • from the f entrance ~'\>t<) the hall
at 4' o'clock this * morning. s and was
being, ; continually >-lengthened. .
"The sun shone; brightly, after, a; night
of rain, and with -little air; stirring the
heat -"was excessive. '\u0084-. . '.* '
FAINT FROM EXHAUSTION .
Many, persons,* men; as well: as women;
fainted if roxxr exhaustion and j ambulance
attendants *: were V busy f all • along--'; the
stream of humanity. „ I:* •' ' \u25a0 ', i .;
hall, were -opened; at
6\u25a06 \u25a0 o'clock." Many " thousands were already
in line *a'nd vb y.- noon', the ? total , : number
who' r had: passed- the bier, including
those : secured \u25a0; entrance "> yesterday,
had "exceeded " 1 OO'OOO. • Some ' S^OOO moved
silently through the, hall; every > hour,'
but the; waiting lines- grew 'rapidly.
SCORE HURT -IN J WRECK— Dcwltt; ;Mo:f* May
";> !«. — Wabasb *-' fust --'train \u25a0; iN0.";>12, . : oastbound
: \u25a0> passenger,"; pulled 1 by I two englnes,"iwas';wrecked
.?, five * m iles * we«t • of ; here j todaj-^.One \u25a0* man iwaa
p, fatnlly 1 Injured i and j three i serionsly « hnr tAj-'A'
*\u25a0>*' score of ' passengers \u25a0 suffered' slight injuries, v -
CUPID CONDUCTS PRIVATE
CLASSES FOR UNIVERSITY
MEDALISTS OF '09 AND '10
CLINTON C. CONRAD
The c medalist of the class of: 1 9 1 0 at the University of California.*
SUPERVISORS TO
HOLD CONVENTION
Members of * State Organization
to Meet for Three Days
in Stockton
[Special 'DispatchUo* The: Call] ||
..-\u25a0\u25a0-,-•- - .-.. - \u25a0• V • \u25a0 \u0084 \u25a0 . \u25a0\u25a0 :. \u25a0\u25a0'\u25a0'\u25a0-« \u25a0\u25a0 •-, • . ;.
. ' STOCKTON,; May 18.— The state con
yention" of •; supervisors 'will convene
tomorrow' at* the^ chamber of commerce
in this city. T andwili/ continue .^through
Friday • and. Saturday." "\ '
.LThe.Vchamber -'of 1 commerce." has ap
pointed F. B. > Nlms, \u25a0! John * M. ; Perry . and
'L.t S.^Wetmore' a. -committee>'on' recep
tion., ;; Tomorrow : the' dele
gates .will "be the' giiests onfa'trip up
the .river; to Disappointment . slough,
the. steamer* Leader having been< char-,
tered i from} the' California"; navigation
and' improvement conjpany for.lthe.'oc
casion. -They will return to Stockton
about- 6? o'clock; ln the; evening/ ;
. , % Frfday ; afternoon \u25a0\u25a0 the-yisitore" will be
given i an auto runi'over .the .highways
north^ of the. city, after*whiclvaUuhch
eon i wiir.be, served by.* the , Mokeluirine
club s of . Lodi. - : Saturday- the : delegates
,wili\.be {taken^through -the mills "and
manufacturing. plants. '..
>; >Th"eJ business - sessions will -be held 4
mbrningiarid evenings, -and' the .after
noons- will 'bej -devoted' to - pleasure. "\u25a0
FIREIpEStROYSiBUiLDINQS^
INITULARE COUNTY-TOWN
; EXETEB^'raiay;! IS.— Fire :-|here;., last
nightldestrq>:ed^severah ( business houses
and|damagedftlielNationalsbahk',b4ild7
ing.'; . .\u25a0\u25a0\u25a0: The" v damage ' is:,' estimated •$. at
?20,000. -
HIGH HONOR AND
FIANCEE ALL WON
"Brainiest". Students of Two
Years at ? Berkeley Engaged
to 3e Married
Erudite Cupid, -in leap and Cgown, sat
on the rostrum of the Gree:theater dur
ing:, the commencement, exercisjes of the
University of California' yesterday, bus
ily interweaving romance, with schol
arship. And 'so it came to -pass that
shortly after, the awarding of- the de
grees,- the :. secret was whispered over
the 'campus of the 'engagement? of Clin
ton C ".Conrad, winner of the coveted
gold * medal . for . the. best • student of
the, graduating 'class to ..Mary Louise
Phillips, who last year achieved the
same, distinction. '\u0084 . -
'\u25a0 -No formal announcement has been
made of , the' betrathal of the brilliant
young students, who, during their
tej-ms; at v " the university outdistanced
Yheir -classmates in the spirited race
for scholastic eminence, but Miss Phil
lips,last-'night confirmed the report of
the ; engagement, " and the campus is
a-buzz with the news, socially the most
interesting of the..coßege"year.
.• . onrad, ..who yesterday secured a gold
medal and a fiancee, of golden worth,
formerly, resided in this city, but now
lives in [Berkeley. He received his early
training at the Lowell high school
: Conrad has accomplished a remark
able feat during hia four years of un
dergraduate work. Primarily a student
in* the ' college of mechanical engineer
ing, he has -found time to pursue the
cjassics, and 'receives the highest hon
ours, therefore, not only in engineering,
ljutjin'lJatin'arid.: Greek, as well. It' is
a, unique '.'distinction and. brings him at
once. 'the degrees of bachelor of science
and bachelor of arts.
-;. The successful student .is somewhat
younger than most of his fellows, but
has displayed a maturity that- gained
him an assistant's position with the
\u25a0faculty* before graduation. He hsa
been attached -.t0.. -the .department of
physics and will continue .in that ca
pacity during the year.
'.In presenting* the 'young man with
the emblem, ' President .Wheeler said:
7 "I give you this medal.* In the-judg
ment* of those who are set'. to judge you
are >thV distinguished- student \u25a0- of this
•year. You haye 1 based your study of
an applied science— mechanics — upon
the- ancient classics, f- It "is 'a fine com
bination. \u0084 You assume a large burden
in .accepting; this medal.-* AVe' shall ex
pect a- ; greatr deal -of your I "congratu
late you and wish, you well." 5
!j/ Miss' Phillips, .^the daughter /of Judge
and^Mrs.;, Dixon L. 'Phillips of Han
ford,', received her degree f rom [the col
lege of \u25a0 letters last year, and. today was
"awarded the decree of master of letters
in; Latin. She. was. one of the -most
prominent^of. : her class: and; a: member
"of , the' English jj sNewman5 Newman clubs and
the Prj'tanean/societjv as 'well as the
Phipeta Kappa scholarship' society.
f^^\THE WEATHER
I^ESTcRD AY— -Cloudy; D/cst leind; maxi
mum 'temperature, 58; minimum, 50.
F<SEgAST FOR TODAY— Fair: light
y^sou}h ' n;inJ, changing io west; fog in the
>SyOf\ernoon.
PRICE FIVE CENTS.
EARTH GOES
UNHARMED
THROUGH
COMET
Switched by Tail of Celestial
Vagrant With the Gentlest
Sort of Caress
EIGHT HOURS IN THE
TENUOUS COSMIC VAPOR
Fears of the Superstitious, Who
Looked for Dreadful Catas-
trophes, Prove Baseless
HUGt SPOTS FRECKLE
THE FACE OF THE SUN
[Special Dispatch to The Call]
LICK OBSERVATORY, Mount
Hamilton, May 18.— Three great
telescopes have swept the heav
ens unceasingly all day and all night,
searching among the planets, follow
ing the constellations in their journeys
through space, peering with their
pierciug eyes through the alleyways
of the universe for a trace of Halley^
comet, which swept across in its path
with the sweep of the sun, losing its
brilliancy in the dazzle of the greater
luminary. All day and night scientists
followed the wheeling of the cosmic
bodies, but for all their vigil nothin;
of the vagrait was seen.
What may be seen at 3 o'clock to-.
I morrow morning, . when the bright
moon, which has drowned whatever
of sweeping tail or luminous glow that
might otherwise have been seen, has
set, the astronomers hardly venture
to surmise. There may be but a faint
glow seen, or perhaps meteors and
celestial pyrotechnics, of a brilliant and
awe inspiring kind.
Dimmed by Sun
So dazzling has been -the alternate
brilliance of the sun and the moon that
tile astronomers have not been able to
point to any phenomena that showed
i the earth had passed through the
: comet's tail. This apendage is so light,
so tenuous, that Observer W. Vi. Camp
bell could not satisfy himself by any
means that we were actually passing
through the rear guard of the speed
burner. Eight hours were consumed in
this passage, however, and 1,000,00 D
miles of the tail were encountered by
the earth.
The tail is lagging behinil the comet
now, because of some unknewn phe~
nomena, and not following it closely
as of old.
Nothing Is Seen
All day and night Dr. W. W. Camp
bell, director of the observatory, with)
Dr. 11. B. Curtis, Dr. IT. B, Altkcn and
Dr. "W. H. Wright, examined the skies
at five minute intervals in sm endeavor
to discover the comet they knew was
between them and the sun. But their
efforts were vain, and they were not
ablo even to see a spot on the sun made
by the comet's body. Mariners every
where on the Pacific have been on tho
lookout for the comet all day, however,
anJ it is thought that some of the more
learned shipmasters will brlnsr' in
charts and reports of the mucqh sought
wanderer. Out on the Pacific the posi
tion for viewing the comet was -much;
better all day than from thl3 spot.
This morning at 3 o'clock an ob
servation was taken, and the tail of
the comet discovered to be 122 degrees,
or 19,000,000 miles, in length. But. as
the tail points away from the sun and
so we get more nearly a lengthwise
than a sldewise view of it. the ap
pendage Is undoubtedly in reality much
longer than the figure given.
Better Results Today
Dr: Campbell has high hopes of wit
nessing some interesting phenomena
at 3 o'clock tomorrow morning, when
the moon sets. , At this time, shortly
after midnight, tlie astronomers are
discussing the possibility of seeing th«
glow of the tall, when darkness la
granted by the moon's disappearance,
or perhaps the fall of meteors or tha
sweep of shooting stars.
VAGARIES OF THE BIG
COMETS TAIL NOTED
\u25a0 By Director W. W. CAMPBELL
Of the Lick " Observatory at Mount
Hamilton
' The tail of Halley'a comet -was ob-^
served Wednesday morning atthe Liclc
observatory to a length of 123 degrees.
It extended tlvough the constellation
Aqulla to the edge of the milky way.
The i milky way at this point is 'IS
degrees or more wide and brilliant, and
It Is 'quite possible that the tail waa
long \u25a0 enoagrh to', extend well *into or
across the milky way. V
Observed length corresponded tq