VOLUME LXXVIII.-NO. 91.
RESIDENTS MUST NOT EXPECT MUCH RELIEF.
Little Chance of the
Wright Act Being
Upheld.
JUDGE FULLER'S VIEW.
An Interesting Open Letter by
the President of an Irri
gation District.
ACTION OP THE SUPREME COURT.
Reasons for Anticipating the Ruling
of the Highest Tribunal of
the Land.
SAN DIEGO, Cal., Aug. 29.— Jndge
George Fuller, president of the Linda
Vista irrigation district, has sent an open
letter to residents and property-owners of
the district in answer to inquiries as to the
probable outcome of litigation concerning
the Wright act and the duty of the dis
trict in the meantime.
'Since the announcement of the de
cision of the United States Circuit Court
at LO3 Angeles in the Falbrook case, ad
verse to the constitutionality of the
Wright act," says Judge Fuller, "I have
been many times a^ked by residents and
property-owners in Linda Vista district
what I thought would be the fate of the
act when it should come before the United
States Supreme Court. Up to this time I
had been content to assume that the act !
was valid on the strength of decisions of J
the Supreme Court of this State, all of I
which have been favorable to the constitu- !
tionality of the act and its validity from
all points of view. But for this recent ad
verse ruling I should probably have been
content to await the decision of the United
States Supreme Court in the Modesto case,
pending on appeal before it, without at
tempting to form an opinion in advanc»*s
to its probable action.
"The result of close examination is to
make it appear to me that there is much
ground for apprehension that the Supreme
Court of the United States will decide that
the taxing power of the State cannot be
used by local assessments in aid of pro
viding water for irrigation. The act at
tempts to extend the right to assess for
local improvements to a kind of improve
ment for which assessments were never
before made, and the right to so assess is
attempted to be grounded on the theory I
that, although irrigation may primarily
and directly benefit the owner or occupier
of land irrigated and only incidentally and
fndlPccUj benefit the community, yet that
benefit* to the community generally from
irrigation of large tracts of land, which
without it would be arid and unproduc
tive, are so extensive and far reaching
thkt improvement may be considered a
public one, or public use to such an extent,
at least, as rightfully to call for the exer
cise of taxing power in aid of it.
"Indeed the view adopted by our State
Supreme Court is that the act is for the
benefit of the public, and that the advan
tage to owners and occupiers of land using
water provided is only incidental. This is '
a matter of ot)inion which may be affected j
by environment; and possibly if the \
Judges of the Supreme Court of the United
States were all residents of California, and '
the arid region were something more to !
them than a thing to read about or hur
riedly passed through on cars, and the
need of that region for irrigation, difficulty
of providing it and the change in product
iveness and habitableness wrought when
water is brought on the land were all j
Known to them as known to the Judges of
our own State tribunal, the Federal Su- j
preme Court would coincide with the views i
The San Francisco Call.
of the former. But noire of these prom
ises being true (gave that Judge Field, one
out of nine members of the court, is an old
Californian and tamiliar with the whole
subject) these peculiar conditions are not
likely to exert such influence upcn their
decision.
"The precedents most relied on in sup
port of the act are the reclamation dis
trict cases, of which there have been sev
eral in the Supreme Court of the United
States, coining there from different States,
decisions in all of them having been favor
able to the right to tax for drainage pur
poses or for the prevention of overflows by
levees. Consideration of public health lias
been one element in upholding drainage
acts as measures for public benefit and this
would be sufficient in itself to uphold
them. But this would hardly be consid
ered a sufficient reason to sustain the irri
gation act. The arid region is very healthy
without water, though it may be uncom
fortable. lam not speaking of deserts, to
which the Wright act could not be made
practicable, but drainage acts that have
been upheld, independent of the considera
tion of public health, as an exercise of
power of the Legislature to regulate the
use of adjoining property held in severally
by different owners, but which cannot be
improved or enjoyed without the concur
rence o f all.
"In these drainage acts owners of several
tracts are treated for purposes of the acts
as owners of common property. Can any
principle be extracted from the ground for
upholding drainage acts which will sup
port the irrigation act? Can several own
ers in one irrigation district be regarded in
any view as owners of a common property?
They have one thing in common, that
their lands are arid. But so far as phys
ical conditions are concerned any one of
the tracts in a district may be watered
without watering any others. It can only
be said that none of the lands in the dis
trict can be provided with water for irriga
tion without providing it for all of the
lands in the sense of finance, or, in other
words, that it is practically impossible to
raise funds necessary for providing a water
system unless all the land-owners in the
district contribute.
"But is this a reason, in law, for com
pelling nn owner to contribute? Men's
necessities or their linancial difficulties in
establishing any business or enterprise
which might benefit a community as well
as themselves have never been recognized
as a basis for levying taxes. Wherever
such an attempt has been made it has
failed. The United States Supreme
Court may discover no essential
difference between illegal taxation
to aid in the establishment of
manufactories and taxation to aid in the
establishment of orchards, vineyards or
farms. The presumption is prima facie
that an act of the Legislature is within the
scope of its powers. If an attack is made
upon it it must demonstrate that it con
travenes some particni«i- provision of the
constitution. If it is a. matter of doubt
the act will stand. It will not be set aside
unless it palpably conflicts with some con
stitutional limitation.
"Premising these principles, our State
Supreme Court holds that the hastening of
irrigation development is a matter in
which the public has such an interest as to
justify the levying of assessments upon
property -owners in districts for the pur
pose. This is what may be called an ex
treme liberal view of the general-welfare
clause. If the United States Supreme
Court shall adopt it it will be a step aside
from the beaten path of that conservative
tribunal. I think it would be wise to do no
act not absolutely necessary for saving
rights and to cut off all possible expendi
tures consistent with this until the de
cision of tne United states Supreme Court
shall be announced."
fireat Sewing- Machine Fight.
CONCORD, N. H., Aug. 29.— J. F. Wil
belm of the Excelsior Fur and Glove
Sewing Machine Company, while here
yesterday discovered at a clothing-store
a sewing-machine made by a rival cor
1. J. Truman* ISathan Crocker. Charles P. Nathan. W. K. .Dempster. Ij. Gregoire. T. W. Seiberlich.
Warren Dutton. David Brooks. S. M. i-uttou. J. H. Babbitt. H. J. Smyth. F. F. Hooper.
THE TWELVE GOOD MEN AND TRUE IN WHOSE HANDS RESTS THE FATE OF W. H. T. DURRANT.
SAX FRANCISCO, FRIDAY MORNING, AUGUST 30, 1895.
THS RAILROAD COMMISSION CALLIOPE ON WHICH HUNTINQTON 13 FLAYING THE SAME OLD TUNES.
[Suggested 61/ a cartoon in the Chicago Liter Ocean.]
poration, and the result will be, in all
probabilities, that Concord will become
the center of one of the greatest sewing
machine fights ever witnessed in this
country. The company represented by
•Wilhelm claims that the machine in
possession of the local concern is a direct
infringement on its patent, and will test
the question before the United States
courts in New Hampshire.
ROW OVER HCHOOLBOOKS.
It J.i Said a Contract Una Been Made
With a Trust.
TOPEKA, Kan., Aug. 29.— There is a
row in the Topeka School Board over the
purchase of new books. The American
Book Trust has an agent here who has
won over a majority of the board and is
about to get a contract for the books de
sired. The minority, however, olaim that
the books can be purchased elsewhere, and
if the contract be made the matter will get
into the courts.
The Kansas law is strict against trusts
and combines and agents may be held
criminally liable. The scheme is, how
ever, to proceed against the trust by in
junction. There have already been two
successful prosecutions against trusts in
Kansas. One broke up the undertakers'
combine in Topeka; the other, instituted
by the Attorney-General, broke up the pa
per trust.
RED FLAGS BARItKii.
They Will Xot Be Tolerated in an Open-
Air Demonstration.
CHICAGO, 111., Aug. 29. -Red flags will
not be allowed to be publicly displayed by
the socialistic labor agitators at the open
air demonstration and picnic, whioh is to
be addressed Sunday next by Keir Hardie
and John Swinton, or in the parade of tha
socialists Monday, which is Labor day.
An order to this effect was given the police
department to-day by Mayor Swift. One
of the eonnnittee in charge of the picnic is
Oscar Neebe, one of the pardoned Hay
market anarchists. In his saloon there is
displayed a big blood-red banner, which it
is proposed to present to the socialistic
party at the picnic and used in the meet
ings of that body. The police may even
prevent this much display of the lawless
emblem.
Kilted by Lightning.
MADISON. Wis., Aug. 29.-While a
wagon containing nine persons was being
driven near Deerrield from a picnic this
afternoon, a thunderstorm broke out and
lightning struck the party. August Sel
now and a 14-year-old girl named Holtz
huler were instantly killed. A 12-year-qld
sister of the latter received fatal injuries
from the shock and from falling from the
wagon. The other six, except one, were
all seriously injured.
TO RETARD PROGRESS
Southern Pacific People
After Valley Road
Officials.
SIGNALS AT CROSSINGS.
The New Line May Be Forced
to Expend Considerable
Money on Them.
PLAN OF THE OPPOSITION.
Good Progress Is Being Made, How
ever, on Both of the New
Roads.
STOCKTON, Cai.., Aug. 29— The Corral
Hollow road i 3 making rnpid progress with
its work of grading on Hunter street und
is now on the second block south of Taylor
street. This morning Hy Barber, the local
representative, was looking for more teams,
as the haul is longer now and more teams
can be used advantageously. He did not
have much trouble, as he has already
about forty applications for work from
men with horses.
There are now about 150 men at work
scraping, loading and hauling earth for the
Corral Hollow road. The company evi
dently means to carry out its expressed in
tention of having the road in operation in
time to bring coal here from the mines for
use this winter.
To-night the franchise for this road came
up before the Council and there was very
little opposition to the granting of it.
Some time ago Chief Engineer Storey of
the Valley road stated that no more oppo
sition would come from his company,
which was the chief objector when the
franchise came up to be passed to print for
the first time.
The pile-driver to Re used in construct-
I ing the trestle bridge over Mormon Chan
nel at Hunter street was finished to-day,
and the work of driving the piles will be
commenced as soon as the timbers and
piles arrive. They are due here by the
first of next week. This bridge will be
about 360 feet long when completed.
Great pains have been taken by Surveyor
AtherLon in placing the line of the bridge
in order that it may obstruct the channel
as little as possible and that the piling
may not catch debris brought down by
the stream. In order to accomplish this
object the bents of piles will be placed as
nearly as possible parallel with the
stream, and thus the bridge will not
obstruct the channel more than is abso
lutely necessary. It is claimed that the
trestle bridge further up the stream
erected by the Valley road will act as a
dam, but Chief Engineer Storey denies
this and says it will not obstruct the
channel any more than that planned by
the Corral Hollow people. The repre
sentatives of the latter claim that their
long bridge on a curve over the stream
will be more costly to them than if con
structed differently, but that they were
looking out for Stockton's interests when
they designed the bridge, and arranged to
have it erected according to the proposed
plans in order not to have it obstruct the
stream.
The object of tne Valley Railway Com
pany in laying short sections of track
across streets where the Corral Hollow
road will have to pass was probably a coup
d'etat to save considerable expense. It
has been rumored that the Valley railway
people broke faith with the Corral Hollow
Company in regard to the crossings, but
this rumor, according to Director Coleman
of Corral Hollow road, is not correct. Rep
resentatives of the two companies had a
consultation about the crossings, but the
Valley people would not enter into any
agreement at all, saying that the matter
would have to be referred to the board of
directors.
It is now said that the Southern Pacific
Company will compel the Valley company
to establish and maintain an interlocking
safety signal at every point where the lat
ter company's line crosses the former's.
The system, so they say, is quite expen
sive, the cost being about $2000 for every
crossing, so the Valley road wants to "play
even," as much as possible, at the expense
of the Corral Hollow road.
Marriage of a Diplomat.
NEW LONDON, Conn., Aug. 29.— The
TWELVE JURORS PREPARED TO TRY DURRANT
Duke d'Arcos, the Spanish Minister to
Mexico, and Miss Virginia Woodbury
Lowrey of Washington were married at
the Pequot House yesterday. Only im
mediate relatives were present, with the
exception of the Spanish Minister, Dupuy
de Lome, and his wife.
PRIVATE MOLTZ DESERTED.
Shots From the Sentry Failed to Check
Ilia Flight.
WILLETS POINT, L. 1., Aug. 29.-Pri
vate Fred Moltz, a prisoner, escaped from
this post yesterday. Moltz enlisted in tho
engineer battalion two weeks ago and was
identified by his description in the papers
sent to Washington as a deserter from the
First Cavalry. He was lodged in the
guardhouse on an order from the adjutant
general at Washington, and yesterday he
confessed to Major Koerper that he was
the First Cayalrv deserter. He was to
have been tried W court-martial in six
weeks.
While being taken with two other pris
oners from the guardhouse to the mesa
hall yesterday for dinner, in charge of
Private Herman Mari, the sentry. Moltz
broke away and ran. As quickly as possir
ble the sentry drew the blank cartridges
from his Krag-Jorgenson gun and placed
six ball cartridges in the magazine. He
shouted to the prisoner to stop, but he
continued running. The sentry then fired
the six shots at Moltz as he bounded over
the ditch and across the narrow strip of
meadow land to the woods just outside the
post.
None of the shots appeared to have taken
effect. The report of the rifle brought the
whole guard and many other sentries
hurrying to the scene, and a search was
made. Up to midnight no trace of Moltz
had been found. The sentry will probably
be punished for allowing the prisoner to
escape.
SEVERAL WERE TO BLAME
Verdict of the Coroner's Jury
in the Gumry Hotel Dis
aster.
Employers Censured for Keeping: a
Drunken Engineer and Working 1
Him Sixteen Hours a Day.
DENVER, Colo., Aug. 29.— The Coro
ner's jury sitting upon the twenty-two
bodies of persons killed in the Gumry
Hotel accident rendered a verdict to
night. In part the verdict reads:
"From the testimony submitted, which
was conflicting, we are unable to fix tne
responsibility for the disaster upon any
one person, but we believe the owners and
managers, Peter Gumry and Robert C.
Greincr, were blamatile for requiring of the
engineer sixteen hours' work out of
twenty-four — a request far beyond the
ability of any man to endure and perform
good work; also for employing an.jen
gineer whose habits vere dissipated and
unreliable, and whose experience did not
justify them in placing him in such a re
sponsible position, all of which were well
known to them.
"We find that the engineer, Helmuth
Loescher, had been drinKing on the night
of the disaster, and further, he had not ex
amined the safety valve to the boiler for
two months, proving him unfit to occupy
any position where security to life and
property depends upon the faithful per
formance of duty."
The verdict al?o reflects upon the
methods in vogue in the office of the City
Boiler Inspector, and close? with a sug
gestion for legislation on the subject.
The jury was composed of the following
prominent citizens: K. G. Cooper, F. B.
Croke, F. E. Edbrooke, Charles W. Bab
cock, Frank M. Demange and R. W. Speer.
Capture of a Desperado.
COUNCIL BLUFFS, lowa, Aug. 29.— Ed
Tierney, a desperado, was captured near
Vail, lowa, to-day by the Sheriff of Holt
County. He was taken to Denison and
lodged in jail, awaiting requisition papers.
Fbr additional Pacific Oxut news see Paget 3, ( and 5.
PRICE FIVE CENTS.
S. E. Dutton, Wholesale
Stationer, Completes
• the Panel.
DURRANT WILL TESTIFY.
His Attorneys Declare They
Will Place Him on the
Stand.
THE CASES FOR AND AGAINST.
Synopsis of the Evidence to Be Pre
sented by Prosecution and
Defense.
THE DURRANT CASE IN A MINUTE— THE
JURY COMPLETED.
Samuel E. Dutton, the twelfth juror in the
Durrant case, was secured yesterday morning,
making the complete list of jurors as follows:
I. J. Truman, 812 Twentieth street.
Thomas W. Seiberlich, 533 Ellis.
M. R. Dempster, 36 Glen Park avenue.
Nathan Crocker, 1912 Bush.
Charles P. Nathan, 1617 Van Ness avenue.
Horace Smyth. 2127 Broderick.
F. P. Hooper, 2741 California.
L. Gregoire, 816 Capp.
Warren Dutton, 1328 California.
David Brooks, 1311 California.
J. H. Babbitt, 1015 Market.
Samuel E. Dutton, 2511 Sacramento.
The court adjourned till Monday, when the
opening statement of the prosecuiion will ba
made.
The attorneys for Currant state that he will
go on the stand to testify in his own behalt.
The evidence which v.-ill be given by a number
of his witnesses has been learned, but their
names are still concealed.
A succinct presentation of the case for the
prosecution and that for the defense is printed
to-day.
The twenty-first day of the trial of "Wil
liam Henry Theodore Durrant, charged
with the murder of Blanche Lamont in
the Emmanuel Baptist Church on April 3,
1895, ended the long struggle for a jury in
the selection of Samuel E. Dutton, the
twelfth man, yesterday morning at 11:30
o'clock.
More than half of the venire of seventy
five citizens presented themselves to Judge
Murphy at the opening of court and
offered excuses of all kinds, both serious
1 and humorous. Some informed his Honor
i confidentially that they had made up their
| minds on the question of guilt or inno
i cence. There were two or three who sud
denly became unable to serve through an
attack of rheumatic gout, and they received
the solace that the courtroom of Depart
ment 3 was a great sanitarium for diseases
of that sort. But there were enough left
who were able and willing to do their duty.
E. L. Atkinson's was the trst name
called. He did not respond and was
allowed to pass without being dignified
with an attachment.
S. M. Bettman was subjected to a rigid
examination that indicated the determina
tion of counsel to gel that twelfth juror as
quickly as possible. But he passed down
the line on the ground of possessing a posi
tive opinion.
11. Palmer also passed through a series
of searching questions, but his mind was
also made up and ne was excused.
Samuel E. Dntton of 2511 Sacramento
street was the fourth man called and the
third examined. His questioners put him
through the same rigid course. Mr. Dut
ton is a member of the firm of Button &
Partridge, stationers, 212 and 214 California
street.
"Have you any conscientious scruples
against the infliction of the death penalty
in a proper case?" asked District Attorney
Barnes.
"Not in a proper case," replied Mr. Dut
ton, "and to my mind a proper case would
De a cold-blooded murder."
"Could you be satisfied as to the guilt