The Topeka state journal. [volume], January 26, 1904, LAST EDITION, Image 1

About The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980

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-jtC V9.ks "ttk. ' LARGEST DAILY ;
LARGEST DAILY
10 PAGES
IN KANSAS.
LAST EDITION.
TUESDAY EVENLY,
TOPEKA. KANSAS, JANUARY 26, 1904.
TUESDAY EVENING.
TWO CENTS.
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BURTON'S HOPE.
Told W. P. Hackney Jt Was In
t Political Revolution.
Ilia Season for Not Endorsing
Judge Pollock.
STAND BY FRIENDS.
Said That Those Left Were
Against Judge.
All Friends of Burton and Iloch
Try to Drop Senator.
The only hone I have of getting- into :
power again is a political revolution
out in Kansas. Senator J. R. Burton s :
statement to W. P. Hackney.
It seems quite probable that Senator
Burton a few we: ks ago did not favor
an open fight on Governor Bailey far
reuommation, as Burton's friends are
now claiming. Burton was doubtless
much afraid of the effect such a fight
would have upon his friend, T. T. Kelly
and the latter's occupancy of the state
treasury. Neither is it probable that
Mr. Burton is giving the contest in
Kansas any considerable thought just
at present. He is busy with other mat
ters at St. Louis. Senator Burton is
smart enough to realize, too, that his
open approval of anything in Kansas
would be sufficient to bring condemna
tion unon it from the majority of the
people of the state.
but it cannot be denied that Senator
Burton who in the long run be the
chief beneficiary of the present fight on
Governor Bailey in Kansas politics.
The only hope Burton has in Kansa3
is a political revolution. He has noth
ing to lose and everything to gain.
And the Hoch movement is his chance.
To be sure, his personality is so odious
that even his appointees and those who
have been lined up with him hereto
fore are hastening to get away from
him, but it is nevertheless true, and
it cannot be denied, that what is known
as the Burton faction in Kansas is all
on the side of the Hoch movement.
While some of them may have been
afraid of a fight a few weeks ago, now
that the fight has been started every
friend of Burton is anxious to see it
win and is helping with all his might
and main. And wherever there is a
contest between the factions over the
nomination of a state senator, the can
didate of Burton will be found lined
up with the Hoch movement and will
receive the votes of those who are
fighting Bailey. That is why Burton
will be the beneficiary of the Hoch
movement. It Is hoped to get Burton
men nominated for state senators on
the strength of Mr. Hoch's personal
popularity.
That Burton himself realizes that his
only hope in Kansas politics Is in a
political revolution is shown by state
ments which he made to W. P. Hack
ney of Winfield during the contest for
the federal Judgeship in Washington.
Hackney told of the conversation to
Cyrus Iceland and others, and Mr. Le-lan-i
today obtained Mr. Hackney's con
sent by wire to repeat it publicly.
"Before he went to Washington,"
said Mr. Leland, "Mr. Hackney went
to Burton and asked him to support
Judge Pollock for federal judge, and
got a partial promise from him to do so !
later. Afterwards he got a positive i
promise from Burton to sunnort Pol-
lock. When the contest had reached !
a crisis in Washington and lust a few i
d- j before the appointment in Wash
lngton. Hackney went to Burton and
aked him to declare for Pollock as he
liad nromised to do.
" 'Bill,' said Burton, "I can't it.
My friends in Kansas object to it, and
I can't afford to go against them. You
know I don't stand very well at the
White House, and you know I haven't
much prestige in Kansas. Th e only hope
I have of getting back into power again
Is to have a political revolution out in
Kansas, and I can't afford to go against
the few friends I have left in this
judgeship matter.' "
A recent dispatch from Washington
states that the president once said he
did not want to appoint a man recom
mended by Burton, so it would seem to
have been a fortunate circumstance for
Pollock that Burton refused to endorse
him.
TEN BELOW ZERO.
That Is the Cold Weather Record
Today.
The government thermometer in To
reka reeistered 10 degrees below zero
for over two hours this morning, which
was the coldest temperature record of
the winter.
The mercury was 3 degrees below
zero at 7 o'clock Monday night and was
10 cteKrees below zero at 7 o'clock this
morning. The temperature remained
at 10 below until 8 o'clock and then
began a steady rise. The wind has
been south, blowing: six miles an hour,
and even with the temDerature much
lower than on Monday morning the cold
was not so severe on people who were
on the streets as Monday morning,
when the wind was blowing 18 miles
an hour.
The weather has moderated over the
entire state. A dispatch from Kansas
f City this morning: was as follows:
"The cold wave that prevailed in this
part of the southwest yesterday is mov
ing southeast. At Springfield, Mo., the
temperature this morning registered 6
degrees below zero, a fall of 36 degrees
In the past 24 hours. While at Kansas
City it was 3 degrees colder than yes
terday, the government thermometer
registered 8 below at 9 o'clock. At Con
cordia. Kan., near the Nebraska line it
was 2 below this morining and at Dodge
City, Kan., zro. At Oklahoma City it
was 4 degrees above zero this morning
and moderating. Moderating weather is
predicted today for northwestern Mis-.st-iurt.
Kansas and Oklahoma and Indian
Territory."
The government forecast for Kansas
sent out this morning was "partly
cloudy tonight and Wednesday. Warm
er tonight." The hourly temperatures
recorded by the government thermom
eter today were as follows:
7 o'clock 10 below zero.
8 o'clock 10 below zero.
9 o'clock 6 below zero.
10 o'clock 1 above zero.
11 o'clock 6 above zero.
12 o'clock 10 above zero.
1 o'clock 15 above zero.
2 o'clock 20 above zero.
The wind at two o'clock was south
west blowing 10 miles an hour. The
minimum temperatures reported from
Kansas for the 24 hours ending this
morning- at seven o'clock were as fol
lows: Concordia 10 degrees below zero,
Dodge City 2 below, Wichita 6 below,
Kansas City 8 below. The minimum
temperature on January 27, 1902, was
10.1 degrees below zero. The minimum
this morning was 10.5 degrees below
and today was the coldest since Feb
ruary 12, 1899, when the government
thermometer registered 25 degrees be
low zero.
FELLT50TFEET.
Fifteen Men Killed in Mine
Accident at Yictor,
Cage
Containing Them
Down the Shaft.
Fell
Victor, Colo., Jan. 26. As a result of
an accident which occurred about 3
o'clock this morning in the Stratton In-
dependence mine, located near tne cen
ter of this city, 14 men are dead and
one other severely injured. The list of
dead and injuied is as follows; ,
DEAD.
W. R. FRAZER.
JOHN SEBKCK.
JOE SMITHERUM.
EDWARD TWIGGEN.
I, A. WAGONER.
H. A. YEOMAN.
EDWARD SMITH.
JOE OVERY.
H. F. BROWN.
W. B. COLLINS.
J. L. STEWARD.
FRANK COCHRAN.
L. P. JACKSON.
HARRY COGENE.
C. C. STATEN.
INJURED.
James Bullbek, body bruised and
scalp wounds.
In the main shaft of the mine six
teen men were being hoisted in the
cage from the sixth, seventh and eighth.
levels.
When the cage got to the surface in
the shaft house the engineer for some
reason unexplained was unable to stop
the engine and the cage with its load
of human freight was drawn up into
the gallow's frame, where it became
lodged temporarily. The strain on the
cable caused it to part, releasing the
cage which went down the shaft at ter
rific momentum. Two of the occupants
of the cage however had become en
tangled with the timber rods near th
top of the gallow's, frame and one of
them, L. P. Jackson, was crushed to
death by the sheave wheel falling upon
him. The other, James Bullbek, had a
marvelous escape from death but re
ceived painful injuries. He was res
cued from his perilous position by men
in the shafthouse. The shaft boas and
a number of miners later went down
into the mine through another com
partment of the shaft and found that
all the 14 men who started with the
cage on its wild flight of 1,500 feet to
the bottom of the shaft were dead,
their bodies being scattered at the sta
tions and different points. Their nrni3
and bodies were torn.their heads crush
ed and their clothing stripped fiom
their bodies. From the 700 foot level
to the bottom Jhe shaft is spattered
with blood, with here and thero pieces
of flesh clinging to projections. At the
bottom of the shaft stands 25 feet of
water and into this the cage plunged.
Some of the men were carried Into the
water with it.
Nearly all of the men killed leave
children. Harry E. Goeg-
gin had a wife and three children, who
are in Michigan. W. B. Collins was a
Baptist minister, and preached Sundays
at Goldfleld. He was 38 years old and
came from Cornwall, England, a few
mnntns asro
rnntrpp Thomas Cornish was pros
trated by the news of the accident, and
is unable as yet to offer any explana
tion of the affair.
A squad of -military has taken charge
of the property and citizens will not be
allowed to enter the mine or shaft
house until after a thorough examina
tion of the machinery has been made
bv competent engineers.
Frank Gellese. the engineer in charge
of the machinery when the accident
occurred, surrendered himself to the
military and was locked up in the bull
pen. He would not express any opinion
as to how the cage got beyond control.
Gellese is a newcomer in the district,
but is said to have been strongly rec
ommended as a competent engineer.
Most of the victims of the accident
were strangers in the district, having
come from the Cceur D'Alene, the Lake
Superior mines and other districts to
take the places of strikers in Cripple
Crook
The bodies buried under the cage at
the bottom of the sump have not yet
been recovered.
The accident is believed to have been
due to a defect in the hoisting engine
brake connections, which are controlled
by !r.
The engine is a first motion double
reel, and the two cages work as coun
terbalances. The cages each weigh
nearly two tons. In starting the cage
from the 600 foot level this morning
with the 16 miners aboard steam was
used, but after the cage had gone up
a certain distance under steam pres
sure the steam was shut off by Ensi
neer Frank Gellese and the weight of
the counterbalancing descending cage
in the other shaft compartment was
allowed to bring the load of miners
to the surface as is the custom.
When the cage with the 16 miners
arrived at the surface in the shaft
house, Engineer Gelse, to his horror
discovered that the air brakes would
not work.
Similar accidents, in which no lives
were lost, have occurred twice before
at the Independence with the same en
gine now in use there. Expert engi
neers will be secured to examine the
engine and determine the actual cause,
if possible for its failure to do its
work.
MLR DOCK ON THE WAY.
Will Be the Only Congressman at
Kansas Day Banquet
Washington. Jan. 26. Victor Murrtrmir
left for Kansas tonight to attend an
nual banquet Kansas Day club. He is
only member of delegation who will at
tend. Scott expected to go but has
given up the idea.
Lafe Young of Des Moines will
be the foreign speaker at the banquet.
He placed Roosevelt in nomination at
Philadelphia. It is at the personal re
quest of the president that he goes to
Kansas. The president took the mat
ter up with him by telegraph on Sat
urday and made it a personal matter.
Temperatures of Largs Cities.
Chicago, Jan. 26.-7 a. m. tempera
tures: New York, 24; Boston, 14; Phil
adelphia, 26; Washington, 28; Chicago,
4; Minneapolis, 18; Cincinnati, 26; St.
Louis, 4.
ALL 110PEG0NE.
It Is Mow Certain That 184
Miners Perished
As the Result of the Explosion
in the Ilarwick Mine.
ONE RESCUED ALIVE.
Man Who Brought Hi in Out
Lost His Own Life. .
Was Selwyn Taylor," a Well
Known 31ining Engineer.
Pittsburg, Pa., Jan. 26. The last hope
for the lives of anv of the 184 men en
tombed in the Harwick mine of the
Allegheny Coal company, two miles
from Cheswick, Pa., was given up to
day when George W. Sheets, manager
of the mine, admitted that he believed
that none of them will be brought up
alive. Now the cry is for more men
to come to the work of rescue. Volun
teers are needed to work back through
the debris to where the miners are im
prisoned, and where possibly some may
have managed .to survive.
Already four- men are known to be
dead, among them Selwyn H. Taylor, of
this citv. who was the first of the
rescue party to reach the bottom of the
shaft. His body was brought to the
top of the shaft this morning. Taylor,
who was one of the best known mining
engineers in western Pennsylvania, lost
his life in an effort to save the liyes
of the entombed men. He had planned
and platted the mine, and was called
by the Allegheny Coal company as the
man best fitted to lead the forlorn hope.
He went down into the mine bravely,
and with him went four other men.
One of them. George Harvath. was
brought from the pit but a short time
before Taylor's lifeless body came to
the surface. Another of the rescue
party, Tom Wood, tried desperately to
save his companions, but felt the dead
ly nausea coming on and was forced to
leave tiiem to their fate. Then others
took ud the work, two at a time. All
night thev went up and down in the
temporarily rigged bucket. The main
hoists were both blown out by the force
of the explosion, but there were no liv
ing ones to save. Adolph Gunis, the
only one of the miners in the pit when
the explosion occurred to be brought
to tha surface alive, was rescued by
Selwyn Tavlor. But if there were no
lives to save there were dead to be
found and all night long the volunteers
toiled, gaining headway here and there
until they were forced by exhaustion to
quit their labors.
WAS PRESIDENT OF A COMPANY.
Pittsburg, Pa., Jan. 2. Selwyn M.
Taylor, who lost his life while in rescue
work in the Cheswick mine, while en-
eavoring to save othr Mves, ranked
among the first of the mining engineers
of the country. He vjaspiesident of
the Midland Coal company, but the
greater part of his work was as chief
engineer and consulting engineer for
concerns in which he had no personal
financial interest. He is survived by
a widow and a stepson.
U. G. Hatch of Cleveland, one of the
principal owners of the mine, together
with a number of other Cleveland men
associated with him, arrived here this
morning. Mr. Hatch said he could not
talk about the terrible disaster until he
learned the facts on the grounds. He
said he believed they had as safe a
mine as any in which gas is found. They
had taken every precaution known to
mining and engineering but, he said,
"Something unforeseen fired the gas and
the lives of the men were snuffed out."
On reaching the mine Mr. Hatch
added to the urgent appeals for the aid
of skilled men to penetrate the mine
to rescue the living and to recover the
dead bodies. This is, indeed, the crying
need of the hour. Doctors and oxygen
are on the ground ready for the fan
ning to a flame any feeble spark of
life that may be found in any of the
bodies. But they are almost hopeless.
They say the death of Mr. Taylor, who
was overcome before he reached the
main body of men, proves that it will
be almost impossible for the imprisoned
men to keep alive. Some of the older
miners say there is only one chance in
thousand that there is a life in the
mine beyond that in the rescuing party.
Up to 10 o clock no further attempt
had been made to enter tne mine, ana
no bodies have been recovered since
that of Taylor, which was brought up
last night.
There was this morning only a dozen
experienced men who might do relief
work, and they were exhausted.
In the temporary hospital which has
been made of the school house neasby
are two men, Adolph Gonia, the only
miner of those caught in the explosion
who has been rescued. His face and
the upper part of his head is badly
burned, Gonia says that at the time
of the explosion he was between the
sixth and seventh headings on the
south side and managed to get to the
bottom of the shaft. He does not know
the fate of the others.
A committee from the mine workers
is at the mine to represent the organi
zation. After a survey of the ground and the
conditions following the explosion, all
of the committee agreed that there was
little hope of any men in the mine be
ing found alive.
The call for aid in clearing the
wreckage of the mine issued this morn
ing bore results. But at 1 o'clock this
afternoon no word had been receivel
from any one of the men entombed.
Volunteers pressed about the ropes
from mining towns in the neighborhood
and as fast as the little bucket could
take them down they went with willing
but determined faces. In all the group
of experienced miners who gathered
there today, not one could be found
who would say that he believed that
one more living man would be brought
from the darkness beyond the bottom
otthe main shaft. There is little ap
parent excitement in the hamlet about
the mine, although nearly every hus
band and father in the place has not
been heard from for 36 hours. But to
the men who heard the wailing in the
early hours Just before dawn, when the
wives and mothers believed that some
news would come the grief that has
now become more intense is better un
derstood. Now and then a group of
women with shawls about their head
would gather silent at the mouth of "the
shaft and watch the work there. It
was always "men going down" and
their eyes were looking for the upward
load of the dreaded. Two or three trips
seemed to satisfy them the time had
not yet come and with strange words
in strange tongues, they would turn
away.
There were stalwart followers there,
black and white, both who went down
to do the work of bratticing up the
mine or any other work that came to
them to do and then about 11 o'clock
some of the best miners in the district
started down the shaft, two at a time.
Peter Wise, a former member of the
district executive committee got into
the bucket and disappeared. So did M.
J. McQuade, the veteran mine foreman
of Freeoort and two of his men. So
did W. J. BelU So did Bob North, who
did his best last night. So did half
a score of other men and the first real
exploration of the mine was begun.
There was no hurrah or hand clap or
cheers, but with the heartfelt and si
lent "God bless you" of every man,
woman and child about the pit mouth,
the men went down to their grim
work.
If it is once settled beyond doubt that
all the men in the mine are dead, the
work of ventilating the mine can pro
ceed more rapidly, but that is the
trouble and has been since the work
of rescue began. To work the fan in
a way to quickly clear the mine of the
foul air would drive the after damn in
onto the men who may have found a
temporary place of refuge, and it would
mean almost instant death. The only
hopeful persons about the mines are
the women and children, and they will
never be convinced that their hus
bands or their fathers have perished
until the corpse is brought from the
opening. Their hopefulness is sublime
but it is none the less pathetic and
doomed it is feared to the direst disap
pointment. Contributions to aid the families of
the entombed miners are already com
ing in. There are more than 100 widows
and probably 400 or 500 orphans, who
have been living on the scanty waies
of the average coal miner. The cor
oner's jury was brought to the scene
this morning.
BOLT ATJOLTOfi
Curtis-Walker Delegates Walt
Out of Convention.
Organize One of Their Own and
Elect Delegates.
Holton, Kas., Jan. 26. There was a
bolt in the Jackson county Republican
convention here today, the Curtis
Walker faction walking out of the con
vention, because the friends of Gov
ernor Bailey, Judge Broderick and W.
A. Thompson organized it.
The convention was called to orrir
this morning by C. D. Logan, chairman
of the county central committee, -who
is a Curtis man. J. E. Hogueland was
nominated for chairman by the Curtis
Walker side and A. E. Crane by the
Broderick-Thompson delegates. The
vote stood 76 for Crane and 47 for
Kogueland.
Logan then stated that--contests had
been filed against t?ome -of the Broderick-
Walker delegates but he did not
state how many. He said they would
not be entitled to vote. Contests had
also been filed against all of the Curtis-
Walker' delegations, but Logan said
nothing about these,
Both Crane and Hogueland started for
the chairman's desk, when. John Q.
Myers moved that Crane be made chair
man, and he was duly elected. Then it
was that the Walker men walked out Of
the convention.
The convention then got down to busi
ness and elected ten delegates to the
state convention and ten to the con
gressional convention. Resolutions were
adopted endorsing President Roosevelt
and Governor Bailey, and instructing
the delegation to the state convention
to" vote for Bailey for renomination and
for W. A. Thompson for railroad com
missioner, and also instructing the con
gressional delegation to vote for Judge
Case Broderick. Jackson county's candi
date, for congressman from the First
congressional district.
The delegations to the two conven
tions are as follows:
Congressional John Q. Myers, Dr. S.
S. Reed, Adam Amon, Joseph Hill,
DavidIagar, A. E. Crane, David Rice,
H. F. Graham, Dr. Ed Love, Albert
Smith.
State C. E. Friend, W. R. Fisher,
Frank Pomeroy, J. W. Atwater, F. L.
Abel, A. McAllister, M. M. Beck, F. L.
TJkele. Fred Brown, Henry Daniels.
The floor manager of the Curtis
Walker crowd in trying to organize the
convention was Judge J. H. Lowell.who
was on the Curtis-Walker delegation
from the Third ward. He has always
been a life-long Democrat and was a
candidate for the Democratic member
of the board of railroad commissioners
when Walker was elected.
The bolters went to the City hotel
and called their convention together
there. Then they adjourned until after
dinner to map out their plan of action.
This afternoon they will elect contest
ing delegations to both state and con
gressional conventions.
It seems to be the plan of the Curtis
people to get up a contesting delega
tion wherever they find they are not
strong enough to carry the primaries,
and wherever they can find an excuse
to do so. This evidently means that
there will be contested delegations
from Jackson, and Atchison counties
and the Soldiers' home.
ARMY BILL PASSED.
Carries an Appropriation of
75,000,000 for Military.
Washington, Jan. 26. The house has
passed the army appropriation bill,
carrying approximately J75,000,000, after
adopting a number of amendments.
The provisions for the consolidation
of the adjutant general's department
and record and pension office of the
war department into one bureau, to be
known as the military secretary's office,
was stricken from the bill on a point
of order raised by Mr. Grosvenor of
Ohio.
The item of $400,000 for the construc
tion of an army general hospital at
Washington also w-ent out on a point
of order, as did the paragraph provid
ing for the construction of a submarine
cable from Sitka to Fort Liscum.
A resolution calling on the secretary
of state for information as to the num
ber of carriages maintained by the
government for the state department
was adopted.
Weather Indications.
Chicago, Jan. 26. Forecast for Kan
sas: Partly cloudy tonight and Wed
nesday; warmer tonight; variable
winds.
WBIGHTJS DEAD.
Promoter of the London & Globe
Collapses
Immediately After Being Sen
tenced by the Court.
GUILTY ON ALL COUNTS
Condemned to Seven Tears
Penal Servitude.
Was Dead Within an Hour
After Sentence Was Passed.
London, Jan. 26. The trial" of Whit
aker Wright ended in a tragedy today.
Within an hour of being found guilty
and sentenced to seven years penal
servitude, the most severe sentence ' the
law allows for the fraud of which he
was convicted, the financier whose colos
sal dealings have created a sensation on
Whitaker Wright, the Promoter, Who Died Today After Receiving
Sentence to Seven Tears' Penal Servitude,
both sides of the Atlantic, lay dead In
the anteroom of the. court room. 4"
. Whether Wright's death was due to
heart disease, following the excitement
of the trial as announced by the doctor.
or by poison, as -grimly hinted by his
friends, is still undecided and possibly
will not be ascertained until the coro
ner's verdict. Standing with his hands
in his pockets, and looking very pale,
but not so anxious as during the judge's
severe summing up, Wright heard the
judge's condemnation and sentence
without apparent excitement. He quiet
ly protested his innocence in a firm
voice, audible throughout the room, left
the court in company with his solicitor
and was arranging for the future of his
wife and family, when he suddenly fell
and expired without another word. His
solicitor, George Lews, jr., who was
with him at the time, said to a repre
sentative of the Associated Press:
Wright seemed to be stunned by the
sentence, but he did not give the slight
est indication either before - or after
his sentence of any intention to take
his own life.
','Of course," added Mr. Lews, "no
one can really tell the cause of death
until the post mortem examination."
The general opinion tonight is that
while Wright fully deserved the ver
dict of guilty, the judge's whole con
duct of the case was most partial and
that while none of his co-directors
was punished, Wright alone had to
bear the entire punishment.
Mrs. Wright, the widow, is in Eng
land. . After twelve days' trial the jury
in the king's bench division of
the high court of justice today
found Wrhitaker WTright guilty of fraud
on all the counts, and he was sentenced
to seven vears' penal servitude.
Justice Bingham in passing sentence
said he could see nothing to excuse
the crime of which Wright had been
convicted and he could not conceive
a worse case. He must therefore allot
the most severe punishment the law
permitted.
Wright, who had stood up to receive
his sentence, said in a firm voice:
"All I can say is that I am as inno
cent of any intention, to deceive as any
one in this court."
Wright was then removed in custody.
In summing up Justice Bigham said
he would ask the jury to find a general
verdict of guilty or not guilty. If they
were satisfied that Wright was guilty
of one or more of these charges they
must not be deterred from finding a
verdict of guilty by the suggestion that
such a verdict would cast a slur on the
memories of Lords Dufferin and Loch.
It would not do anything of the kind.
Their conduct was consistent in their
having honestly made mistakes.
Dealing wath the evidence Justice
Bigham described as singular the way
in which thousands of pounds sterling
became millions on paper, so far as the
Lake View shares were concerned.
The London & Globe and Standard
were gambling concerns which excited
his indignation. In the course of ris
long experience Justice Bigham said he
had never before heard of anything le
the transactions which preceded the
hopeless bankruptcy of the London &
Globe financial concern. Justice Big
ham concluded his reference to Wright's
career by referring to the position
which, the defendant claimed to have
occupied in New York and Philadelphia
and said Wright had built up a fine
position for himself in two or three
years and if it was necessary to secure
a motive for his actions it would be
found in his desire to maintain this
position. At the same time it was said
after the crash of the London &
Globe financial corporation he found
himself with $1,500,000 to $2,000,000 in
worthless shares. The sentence was
followed bv a commotion in a distant
part of the court pnd the faint cry of
a woman in aistrA was nearu. rjne
man shook hands with Wright as the
latter left the court by the private exit,
accompanied' by his counsel. Almost
immediately afterwards Wright was ta
ken suddenly ill and collapsed in the J
anteroom of the court. He grew rap
idly worse and in less than an hour
after his sentence, the financier was
dead.
The tragic end of the case created a
tremendous sensation.
According to a court attendant who
was in the ante-room when Wright was
stricken, the latter was talking to So
licitor Lewis about his family and giv
ing instructions regarding their future,
while jailers weTe waiting outside to
take him to Brixton prison, when
Wright suddenly stumbled and fell for
ward. Mr. Lewis and the court attend
ant caught him and put him in a chair,
placing his foot on another chair. They
then summoned a doctor. Wright almost
immediately became unconscious and
never spoke again. The doctor when he
arrived said nothing could be done and
by 3:55 p. m. the financier was dead. Hit
body was covered with a sheet and laid
on the floor. It will remain there dur
ing the night and until the coroner and
legal authorities decide on its disposi
tion. The corpse retains its normal ap
pearance, the face being little changed.
Wright ate a fairly good lunch dur
ing the midday recess and said nothing
about feeling ill. None of the relatives
has thus far arrived.
Curious crowds are thronging the
court.
STORY OF HIS CAREER.
London, Jan. 26. Whitaker Wright
was arrested in New York, March 16,
1903. A warrant for his arrest had been
issued in London five days previously,
but Wright had already left for . the
United States. He was accused of ab
sconding with funds of the London &
Globe Finance corporation, by which the
stockholders lost more than $111,000,000.
The ostensible purpose of the London &
Globe company was to facilitate invest
ments by the shareholders in various
enterprises, ranging from mines de
veloped, to street railroads and water
works. Whitaker Wright formerly was a
broker in Philadelphia and in New
York. Wright was one of the biggest
plungers on the exchange. He aTso in
vested heavily in West Australian
mines. After making more than $1,500,
000 out of them, he "went broke." Then
he went to London where he floated
the London & Globe.
The financial crash of the companies
floated by Wright came in December,
1900. There were eleven of them, in
cluding the parent company, entitled
the London & Globe Finance corpora
tion, with a total capitalization of $60,
675,000. Wright was managing direc
tor. One of the victims of the crash was
the late Marquis of Dufferin and Ava,
formerly governor general of Canada,
and later British ambassador in Paris.
He consented to be chairman of the
London & Globe and had 25,000 shares
in the diffeietn companies. With Lord
Dufferin on the board of directors were
Lieutenant General Cough-Calthrop,
who was colonel of the Fifth Dragoon
guards and Lord Edward William Pel-pam-Clinton,master
of Queen Victoria's
household, son of the fifth duke of
Newcastle. When the crash came Lord
Dufferin was severely censured for his
connection with the Wright companies,
but in a frank speech to the stockhold
ers of the London & Globe he declared
his position and won the sympathy of
his country. Much American money
was lost in the failure of the Wright
companies. There was a great outcry
againts the attitude of the authorities
is not prosecuting Wright and his fel
low directors and a petition was circu
lated on the London stock exchange
signed by many influential men de
manding the prosecution 01 wngni.
Few millionaires lived in as princely
style as W'hitaker Wright.
SCALDED TO DEATH.
Elmer Graham Loses Life at
Agricultural College.
Manhattan, Kan., Jan. 26. Elmer
Gardner of Clifton, a student at the
State Agricultural college, lost his life
this morning by the caving in of the
pump pit connected with the college
heating plant. Gardner was standing
directly over the pit when the walls
crumbled and he went down into the
pit and the scalding water from the
heating plant rushed into the pit, scald
ing Gardner so badly that he died be
fore he could be taken out. He had
been in school only two week.
As a result of the accident the heating
plant could not be operated and all de
partments of the college were closed
pending its repair.
CURTIS IS COMING.
Changes His Mind About Re
turning to Kansas.
Washington, Jan. 26. Congressman Cur
tis left for Kansas this morning. Con
gressman Miller will leave tomorrow af
ternoon. Both will attend the Kansas
Day club banquet and Mr. Curtis will
incidentally lootc after nis political inter
ests in the First district.
UP TO GRAND JURY
Coroner Returns a Terdict in.
Iroquois Fire Case.
Holds Mayor Harrison and Sev
eral Others Responsible.
HOMICIDE IS IMPLIED.
City Administration Condemned
- In Severe Terms.
Officials Permitted to Give
Bond Without Arrest.
Chicago, Jan. 26. Although the cor
oner's Jury which has Just rendered a
verdict In connection with ths Iro
quois theater disaster did not make any
specific charge against the persons held.
the implied charge is homicide, as eacht
was held to be responsible In a meas
ure for the death of the Iroquois vic
tims, and the coroner had no authority
to fix a bond. If arrested, the defend
ants must remain in jail until released
on bonds fixed by some court.
There is a possibility that the present
grand Jury will hear the charges.
Mayor Harrison and Fire Chief Mus-
ham refused to be seen when called on
after tne verdict of the Jury had been
handed in. The others also declined
to discuss the case.
The Jury, which for three weeks has
been listening to evidence relating to
the fire, returned a verdict by wnicti
the following persons are held to await
the action of the grand Jury:
Carter H. Harrison, Mayor of Chi
cago.
W ill J. Davis, proprietor in part, ana
manager of the thea.ter.
Geo. Williams, building commission
er of the city.
Edward Laughlin, building inspector
under Wiriams.
William Sailers, fireman in the the
ater. James E. Cummings, stage carpenter.
William McMullen, who had charge
of the lights that caused the fire.
William H. Musham, fire marshal.
The findings were as follows:
The cause of the fire was drapery
coming in contact with a flood or avo
light. City laws were not complied with
relating to building ordinances regulat
ing fire alarm boxes, fire apparatus,
damper or flues on and over the stage
and fly galleries, requiring firepoofing of
scenery and all wood work on and
about the stage. The asbestos curtain,
which was wholly inadequate, was en
tirely destroyed. The building ordi
nances were violated in that aisles were
enclosed on each side of the - lower
boxes, that fire apparatus was absent
from the orchestra floor, ana mat tnere
was no fire apparatus, in the. gallery or
in the balcony. v.Will J. Davis was held
resDonsibler-s As president and general
manager he was primarily responsible
for the observance of the laws end was
bound to see that his employes j were
properly instructed as to their duties in
case of fire.
In relation to Mayor Harrison, the
verdict reads as follows:
"We hold Carter H. Harrison, as
mayor of the city of Chicago, respon
sible as he has shown a lamentable lack
of force and for efforts to escape re
sponsibility, evidenced by the testi
mony. Building Commissioner Williams
and Fire Marshal Musham, as heads ot
departments under said Carter H. Har
rison, following his weak course hava
given Chicago ineffective service which
makes calamities such as the Iroquois
theater horror a menace until the pub
lic service be purged of Incompetence.
Building Commissioner Williams was
held "for gross neglect of his duty in
allowing the theater to open its doors
to the public when the said theater was
incomplete and did not comply with
the building ordinance of the city ot
Chicago."
Fire Marshal Musham was neia re
sponsible "for gross neglect of duty in
not enforcing the city ordinance and
failure to have his subordinate, Will
iam Sailers, fireman at the theater, re
port to him the lack of fire apparatus
n the theater. Bailers was neia ror
not reporting the lack of fire apparatus:
McMullen for carelessness in handling
the light that caused the Are; Cum
mings as stage carpenter, for not pro
viding the stage with proper fire pro
tection. After the members of the Jury naa
departed, it was decided by Coroner
Traeger that it would not be necessary
to arrest Mayor iarrison, nre
Marshal Musham and Building Com
missioner Williams and no officers
were sent for them. All three will be
given a chance to offer bonds for their
appearance when wanted. Mitimusses
were made out, however, for the arrest
of the other six men.
A special grand jury will convene
next week to reopen the Investigation
and decide what action shall be taken
on the report of the coroner's Jury. Tha
charges as far as the city officials are
concerned, which the grand Jury will
consider is malfeasance in omce. con
viction means their removal from oflica
in addition to other penalties.
ARRESTS ARE MADE
Phlrnen. Jan. 26. Bearing the eight
mittimi issued as the result of the in
quiry into the Iroquois theater disaster.
Coroner xraeger ana a, numor 01 ue
tectives today left the city hall with
authority to arrest Mayor Carter H.
Harrison, Manager Will J. Davis and
six lesser city oftlclala and the stage
employes who were ordered held to
await action of the grand Jury. The
first persons taken into custody were
William McMullen, operator of the flood
light from which the Iroquois fire ia
said to have started, and James E.
Cummings, stage carpenter at the Iro
quois, under whose direction it is al
leged the apparatus was constructed
which interfered with the descent of the
asbestos curtain. The mittimus for
Mayor Harrison was taken in charge
by Corbner Traeger irf person. The
coroner did not attempt to serve tha
mittimus at once on the city's chief
magistrate. Tha coroner said:
"Mayor Harrison's mittimus will be
served some time today. The mayor ia
ill and therefore will not be disturbed
unnecessarily." '
The coroner ordered thai? as the other
mittimi were served the accused should
be taken to the central police station
and held until all had been arrested.
The prisoners were then to be taken be
fore a Judge to furnish bonds.
Will J. Davis was arrested in bed at
his home. He was allowed to eat
breakfast. Meanwhile his attorney ar
rived and the party left on the ele
vated railroad for the business center.
(Continued on Page Six.)