The San Francisco call. [volume], May 11, 1896, Image 1

About The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913

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VOLUME LXXIX.-NO. 163.
OLNEY'S THREAT
BEARING FRUIT
Execution of the American
Captives in Cuba Is
Delayed.
TO BE TRIED IN SPAIN.
Supreme Council of Army and
Navy Will Pass Upon
the Evidence.
GENERAL WEYLER'S PROTEST.
Will Resign if the Prisoners Are Not
Put to Death— Another Expe
dition Starts, i
HAVANA, Cuba., May j 10.— repor
reaches here from the United States that
Captain-General Weyler has notified Sec
retary of State Olney that the Americans
captured on the schooner Competitor will
be executed in. accordance with the sen
tence of the . court-martial which tried
them, despite the protest of Olney. . It is
not known here that the Captain-General
has done anything of the kind. The only
thing that he has said about the case is
that Consul-General" Williams had pre
sented a claim that the Americans should
be tried by a "civil tribunal, as they were
not bearing arms 'when captured. It is
believed the matter will be decided at a
Cabinet meeting to be held in Madrid.
The British Consul has presented a
claim in favor of Kildea, the Englishman
who was captured on the Competitor.
Great secrecy has been observed regard
ing the proceedings in the ca>e, and the
fact that the men were sentenced to death
has not been made generally public here.
A'i that is said is mere hearsay.
On Friday last rebel bands invaded the
town of Hoyo, Colorado, eighteen miles
from Havana, and burned 158 houses, in
cluding the town hall.
. Cornelio Alvarez will be shot at Colon,
province of Matanzas, to-morrow, morn- ,
ing, aud at the same time sentence of
death will be executed on Jose Blanco Al
fonso in the Cabanas fortress here. Bath
men were convicted of the. crime , of re
bellion. ■ ..
. . Nine political prisoners were deported to
Spain U'-day. General Pando sailed on
the same earner. . . . -
RAGE OF THE BUTCHER
Weyler Will lietign if th- American*
Are Rot Fx'cttted.
MADRID, Sp.ux, May 10.— It is under
stood that the Cabinet has decided to place
the case of tbe men captured on board the |
filibustering American schooner Competi- ;
tor before the Supreme Council of the
Army and Navy for a revision of the pro
ceedines of the court-martial held in Ha
vana.
A dispatch from Havana says that Cap
tain-General Weyler is angry because of
the attitude, of tl;e United States, and that
he will resign unle&s the sentences are cxc- ,
cuted. The dispatch adds that the con- i
duct of the American ('onsul-Generai is
very irritating to local Srauiards. He j
shows h.niseli everywhere, and his talk is
menacing.
The Iraparcial's Havana correspondent
Bays that a man who was tried by court
martial on the charge of piracy, admitted ;
to the court that the American police j
made it a point to vanish when a filibus
tering expedition was departing from Key
West.
Prime Minister Canovas del Castillo in
formed a meeting of Conservative Depu
ties and Senators last evening that it would
be impossible for the Government to in
troduce reform in Cuba until the situation
in the island resumed its natural condi
tion.
Tbe British Consul at Havana has
cabled to Queen Regent Christina asking
her to pardon William Kildea, the Eng-
The San Francisco Call.
lishman, who was mate on the schooner
Competitor. : . . .
- . .. — ■ — •
WILL NOT BE EXECUTED.
Fate of the Americans to Be Decided at
Madrid. •
WASHINGTON, D. C, May 10.-When
Secretary Olney was asked to-day if any
news had been received during the day re
specting the action of the Cuban or Span
ish authorities upon the cases of the
Americans condemned to death for parti
cipatinc in the Competitor filibustering
expedition, he briefly responded in the
negative. „.,., , -
The best opinion In Washington coin
cides with the information telegraphed
from Havana, that the fate of the Ameri
cans concerned will be decided by the
Spanish Cabinet at Madrid. The impres
sion prevails that they will not be exe
cuted. '
'••.■■ m ' -■ ■ ♦ v . .
DENOUNCE THE UNITED STATES.
Anti- American Feeling in Spain Revived
by Cleveland* Action.
LONDON, Eng., May 10.— The Daily
News will to-morrow say that it regraus
the Competitor case as being of the most
serious nature, recalling as it does the
Vireinius horror. The paper advises thr
Spaniards to mistrust their own national
ferocity in cases of this sort and adds that
by prompt and timely intervention Queen
Regent Christina may find a solution of
the difficulty.
The Madrid correspondent of the Stand
ard telegraphs that the anti- American feel
ing among the Spaniards has been bitterly
revived by the action of the United State*
Government in the case of the fillibusters
who are now under sentence of death at
Havana.
The Prime Minister has announced
publicly that the United States do not
protest against the right of Spain to
punish the filibusters but against their
summary trial by a military court, claim
ing that American citizens are entitled to
be tried by the civil courts under the
treaties of 1795 and 1877. Spain, he added,
was willing to consider the demand of the
United States and had telegraphed Cap
tain-General Weyler to delay the execu
tions. Great Britain had also protested
against the execution of Kildea.
The Epoca recommends prudence and
intimates that the Government will seek
again to conciliate President Cleveland.
The paper confirms the statement that
the case has been transferred to the Su
preme Council of the Army and Navy at
Madrid. The execution of the sentences
is thus virtually shelved.
All the Madrid papers, with the excep
tion of tbe Epoca, denounce the United
States in their comments on the case. The
Standard will say:
"The position of the Spanish Govern
ment must attract s3-mpathy. If it
quashes the sentences it will lose the ser
vices of the only man in Cuba upon whose
firmness and generalship it can rely, and
will, besides, have to face the invectives of
its countrymen at home. On the other
hand, if the justice of the sentences is
maintained Spain must face a probable
war, to which the Cuban insurrection will
be mere child's P-ay. The present crisis
is produced by conditions which, ordi
narily, good will would have rendered im
possible."
The Chronicle will say: President Cleve
land has an admirable opportunity to
emancipate Cuba. He will not reeret it if
he uses it to the full, for there is no longer
any doubt that Spanish rule in Cuba is
abominable.
SPANIARDS CLEVERLY TRICKED.
Arms ' Loaded Onto a Filibuster in the
Midst of Spirg.
NEW YORK, N. V., May 10.— If the
British 1 steamer Laurada took arm's and
ammunition for the Cuban insurgents last
night, the persons who engineered the ex
pedition cleverly outwitted the Spanish
authorities who watched her down the
bay from a tug. .y i
The Laurada arrived here from Philadel
phia yesterday afternoon and dropped
anchor off Liberty Island at 8 o'clock. At
8:30 o'clock the Dalzell tug Raymond took
Captain John O'Brien from the Battery
landing and put him aboard the alleged
filibuster. Captain Dick man of the lat
ter craft came ashore on the Raymond and
went to his home in Brooklyn. At 7
o'clock another Dalzell tug, the F. B. Dal
zell, tied up at the Battery landing. She
had orders to wait until Captain Dickman
came back with a party,' then, to proceed
to the Laurada.
A half hour later, Captain Bam Hughes,
Captain Dickman, a Sandy Hook pilot,
and an engineer came down to the little
dock. With them was John D. Hart, a
tall, slim, well-dressed Cuban, about 60
SAX FRANCISCO, MONDAY MORNING, MAY 11, 1896.
UNCLE SAM— Well, you have done it.
years of age. The latter carried a satchel,
and was accompanied by a 15-year-old boy,
who might have been his son. The Dal
zell then steamed out to the Laurada, and
the party climbed aboard.
On board the steamer all was quiet. A
few sailors paced the deck, but there was
little sign of ' activity on ' board. At that
time, it is believed, there could have been
no. arms on the vessel, as she was only
drawing twelve feet of water. ' Finally
Hart and his clerk climbed down the
Laurnda's side and got aboard the Dalzell,
which took them to the city.
All this time; there was an interesting
hunt for the Laurada's arms going on. A
steam lighter had been \ lying at pier 11
East River, during the early afternoon.
On the Spanish line, pier 10, a party of
Spanish spies watched the lighter, while a
tug with steam up lay down at pier 3
ready to give chase in case the lighter
loaded and started down the bay.
A little after 3 o'clock the lighter began
to load cases and boxes :at pier 11. Tne
spies made , a dash j for pier 3, got aboard
their tug and waited. Slowly the lighter
moved out into the river. Her head was
turned and she ;• started at a fast rate of
speed up the stream until she was oppo
site Corlears Hook. Then she tied up at a
pier there" and took on more cases and
boxes. The tug with the spies on board
followed, and steaming up the river a
short distance stopped and waited.
It was getting dark when the lighter
again steamed out into midstream. She
turned and when she got straightened her
screw began to churn the water into a
white wake. The tug with the employes
of the Spanish Government on board took
no chances. The tu^'s engine was "hooked
up" and the chase began. Lighter and
tug sped down the » river, dodging the
ferry-boats and other i craft. The former
took the Brooklyn shore and going across
Buttermilk channel rounded Governors
Island. The tue was right in her wake
and was just about to turn back and call
for the United States revenue cutters
Chandler and Hudson, which lay. at the
Barge Office with steam up, when i the
lighter 'suddenly disappeared. She had
gone around Governors Island instead of
across the bay to the waiting Laurada.
. . The • tug followed and saw the quarry
glide through the gap into the Atlantic
Basin and tie up. A' few men disembarked'
and in a few minutes her lights were put
out and the basin. was in silence. . , .
The spies on board the tug were thrown
entirely off their guard by this maneuver
and steamed about the bay, around the
Laurada and back to the barge office,'
where, it is said, they reported to the
Spanish . Consul, ; Signor Baldasano, who
was awaiting the tu:j in company with
United States Marshal] McCarthy and sev
eral assistants. They were ordered back
to Atlantic Basin. . , . . , .
. When they cot there, a 5 sight met their
gaze that dumfounded them. There was
the lighter still tied up, but her decks were
innocent of a single box or case. They
had been removed while the spies were
chasing about the bay on another errand.
.. It is alleged that the Excelsior made
three mysterious trips from the vicinity of
the basin to the Laurada before 8:30
o'clock, when she lifted anchor and
steamed out through the Narrows. It was
announced about the Battery that four
Gardiner guns, 400 cases of ammunition,
and twelve long cases, supposed to contain
Winchester rifle*, composed the Laurada's
cargo, but this could not \be verified. It
could not be learned . for what port the
Laurada had cleared. Wcri :>
*
LOADED OFF ASTORIA
The Laurada Carrie* a Full Cargo of
Munition* of War.
PHILADELPHIA, i»A., May 10.—Frora
information received here to-night it is
likely that the alleged filibustering steam
ship Laurada took a cargo of arms and
ammunition and a party aboard off
Astoria, L. I. After outwitting the Span
ish spies in New York Bay last night the
Laurada slipped up Long Island and hove
too off Astoria. Here, it is said, three tugs
Continued on Second Page.
RACING FOR THE
WHITE HOUSE.
Claims of the Managers of
the Several Republican
Aspirants.
FIGURES AT VARIANCE.
Why Ex-Senator Platt Believes
McKinley Will Not Be
the Man.
GROSVENOR SURE OF SUCCEBS.
Aldrich Says That Coo\ Sober Judg.
ment Will Norn nate the Man
From Mime.
NEW YORK, N. V., May 10.—Ex-Sena
tor Platt maintains that the nominee of
the Republican Convention will not be
McKinley, and to-night he made a state
ment of the grounds of his opinion and
the reason why, in his opinion, another
man would win.
"The convention." said Mr. Platt, "will
contain 918 delegates. It will require 460
to nominate. According to the figures
printed in the Tribune this morning, which
are in all respects in accord with the facts,
the delegates instructed for McKinley
number 510. This is 145 votes short and
of these eighty-eight votes remain to be
chosen. Wnen it comes to a vote in the
convention McKinley's support will be lit
tle in excess of the number who consider
themselves bound by instructions.
"My opposition to McKinley proceeds
almost entirely from my belief that he
will get the party into turmoil and trouble.
He is not a well-balanced man of affairs,
as Governor Morton is. He is not a great
man, as Senator Allison is. He is not
an astute political leader, as Senator
Quay is. He is simply a clever
gentleman, much too amiable and much
too impressionable to be safely intrusted
with a great executive office whose quest
for honor happens to have the accidental
advantage of the association of his name
with the last Republican protective tariff.
"Mr. McKinley, as I think the Tribune
recently remarked, had really less to do
with the industrial law than had either
Governor Dingley or Senator Aldridge.
But simply because of his position an
chairman of the Ways and Means Com
mittee of the Fifty-first Congress it
has borne bis name, and there seem
to be a good many people who
labor under the impression that he wrote
it, line for line, and that the theory that it
embodies originated in his colo^sai intel
lect. I would not deny him one jot or tittle of
the credit that really belongs to him, but
it is most unnaudsome to defraud others
of the credit that belongs to them."
Mr. Platt roes on to say that there are
two great questions to be settled — the
tariff question «nd tho currency question.
The people do not want a radical tariff in
any direction, bnt a safe, healthy and ra
tional bill, and Mr. McKinley represents
the most radical and extreme views of pro
tection.
On the silver question he says Mr. Mc-
Kinley's convictions are not revealed by
his votes or his speeches, and the Repub
lican candidate for President must be a
man who stands out firmly as an advocate
of sound currency, with gold as the stand
ard of value— such a man as Governor
Morton.
"When the delegates at St. Louis come
to consider these things," he says, "their
choice for PVesident will not be William
McKinley," and he concludes: "They will
realize that their candidate should be a
wise, temperate, conservative, educated
statesman, with definite policies, taxed
opinions and a safe record."
ALDRICH IS ROPSTEL
Believe* Sober Judgment Will Reault in
Heed* \otnination.
WASHINGTON, D. C, May 10.—Con
gressman Aldrich made the following
statement to-nigh.t:
"The friends of Speaker Reed, fully con
scious of the gains made by Governor Mc-
Kinley in the pending National contest
during the past week, but with full infor
mation concerning the position and stand
ing of the delegates thus far elected, are
yet hopeful if not confident of the ultimate
success of their candidate Before the con
vention.
"Up to date there have been elected 832
out of a total of 918 delegates, of which
number it is reasonable to say that Gover
nor McKinley has, excluding the contested
cases, 361 votes. Concerning the latter,
we will not prejudge the action of the con
vention. The number of delegates yet to
be elected is eighty-six. Should he succeed
in capturing them all, and he will not get
one-half of them, he will still fall short of
the necessary majority, and must then
rely noon the contested cases to give him
the nomination.
"All Republicans favor protection, but it
is quite evident that the tariff will not be
the sole issue of the campaign, for a new
and more important element now com
mands public attention — the money ques
tion. The straddling platform will never
do, nor can any candidate who was ever
on it gain the full confidence of the people.
It is for this reason and because we believe
that sentiment is undergoing a rapid and
radical change in that particular that we
are convinced the candid sober judgment
of the delegates after deliberation, which
will be had between now and the 16th of
June, will nominate Mr. Reed, because he
best represents the great business Interests
of the financial world and the American
people."
GROSPANOR`S BULLETIN.
Say* So Earthly I'otcer Can Prevent
McKinley'* Somination.
WASHINGTON, D. C, May 10.-General
Grosvenor, in his weekly bulletin relating
to the Republican Presidential nomina
tion, issued to-night, insists that it is all
over but the shouting.
"I do not deem it vitally important," he
says, "to issue this bulletin. Everybody
who has knowledge enough to be signifi
cant and candor enough to be manly
knows that this contest is over and that
no earthly power can prevent the nomina
tion of McKinley on the first ballot.
"I still insist in placing in my table the
men who have been elected beyond all
reasonable doubt, and who are either in
structed, pledged or known to be sup
porters of McKinley. If I should doubt
the integrity of men who had accepted
elections as National delegates with in
structions attached to their elections, the
public would infer either that I had
knowledge that there were scoundrels
elected as delegates or that long contact
with vicious men in politics had polluted
my mind to such an extent that I believed
that other men were dishonest.
"In this connection it may be stated that
there is great interest being taken by the
masses of the Republicans of the country
in t he nomination of President this year —
more so than has ever been taken by the
people since I have known anything about
politics — and the power of public opinion
that has crushed combinations and humil
iated bosses and marched in triumph over
the great body of the States is abundantly
capable of realizing the fruition of the vic
tories it, has won."
General Grosvenor's table of votes by
States and Territories aggregate 548, in ad
dition to which be asserts that at least
twenty votes east of the Allenhanies are
not enumerated by him.
Included within his table are sixty con- 1
tested seats, some of which, he says, will ;
be surrendered to the McKinley delegates |
without further contest. But allowing |
that all should be decided against Mc-
Kinley, General Grosvenor figures out for
him 488 uncontested, instructed and
pledged votes on the first ballot. Of the
72 delegates to be elected he counts on 50,
which, added to the 488, makes 538 beyond
all controversy.
"Thus it will be seen," he continues,
"that allowing the politicians who are
superior to us in the management of all
these affairs to have their own way upon
every one of these contests and unseat
every one of the McKinley delegates, still,
then, McKinley will have a sweeping
majority."
Coming in conclusion to the question of
the committee on credentials, about
which there has been some anxiety mani
fested in certain quarters. General Grosve
nor says:
"McKinley nas either the entire delega
tion or the majority thereof in thirty
three States and Territories, so it may
well be understood that McKinley has a
sweeping majority of the States uncon
tested. He has a National committee,
honest and incorruptible, and will have
two-thirds of the States and Territories,
which will insure him a fair committee on
credentials, which is all he asks."
CLEVELAND'S CHANCE
May Secure the -Nomination by a Yiqor
oun Cuban Policy.
SPRINGFIELD, Ohio, May 10.-John
Bookwalter, wno has been mentioned as a
delegate-at-large from Ohio to the
Chicago Convention, representing the
silver element, said tnis afternoon
in talking of the probability of
President Cleveland's nomination, that he
is of the belief that Mr. Cleveland will
leceivethe nomination. He thought the
Cuban question would reach such a stage
that it would give the President an op
portunity to arouse the patriotism of the
people and the inevitable result would be
bis nomination at the hands of the con
vention.
QUIET AT NEW ORLEANS
Governor Foster** Inauguration May
Xot He Interrupted.
NEW ORLEANB, La., May 10.— A tele
gram from Baton Rouge says all the mem
ber? of the Legislature are on Land and
that all indications are that Governor
Foster will be inaugurated for his second
term with scarcely a ripple to disturb the
proceedings. Many sensational stories
have been sent abroad about what is going
to happen at the State capitol, but the
armed men who, it was said, would be
there to seat Captain Pharr, the Populist-
Republican candidate for Governor, who
claims he was elected, have failed to ma
terialize.
DELAWARE VOTES FOR QUAY
Hhat the Republican Leader Says After
the J-iftht for Delegate*.
PHILADELPHIA. Pa., May 10.— J. Ed
ward Adiiicks, the Delaware Republican
Jeaoer who yesterday defeated the forces
of ex-Senator llijgins in the tight for
delegates to the State Convention, in an
interview here to-day said that Delaware's
votes in tbe National Convention would
be cast for Quay.
SERIOUS RIOT IN HUNGARY.
- - .- , - - . .'. - - ;.;■• •>-.<■
Socialists Raise the Red Flag at a Uni
. .. versal Suffrage Demonstration.
Hundreds Wounded.
BUDA-PEST, Hungary, May ' 10.— A se
rtous riot : occurred in this city to-day.
The agitation in" favor of universal suffrage
led to the v holding of a procession, in
which, it is said, 15,000 men took part.
The demonstration was under the leader
ship :of Deputy Ugron. The procession
was orderly until the socialists in the
ranks raised a red banner.
Herr Ugron pleaded with them not to
spoil a good cause by displaying the em
blem of social disorder, but his words were
unheeded. Then the real workingmen at
tempted to seize the banner and a free
fight resulted, in which a great number of
the processionists took part. , The police in
quelling the disorder found it necessary to
use their swords and hundreds of the
rioters were wounded. A large number of
arrests were made.
♦ " '-'
TROOPS FOR SUAKIM
Two Native Infantry Regiments Under
: Urgent Orders. •
LONDON, Eng, May 10.— The Times will
to-morrow publish a dispatch from Simai,
stating that two native infantry regiments
will start for Suakim at * the earliest possi
ble moment. The dispatch does uot men
tion whether these troops are to take an
active part in the Soudan campaign or
whether they will be used for garrison
purposes at Suakini.
.The Cholera in Egypt.
The Cholera in Egypt.
CAIRO, Egypt, May 10.— There were
twenty-three cases of cholera and sixteen
deaths from the disease reported in Alex
andria to-day. Three cases were reported
in Cairo.
PRICE FIVE CENTS.
FUSION IS THE
SINGLE ISSUE.
A Question to Be Decided
at the Populist State
Convention.
SENTIMENT IS DIVIDED.
Wilkins of San Jose Leads the
Fight Against a Coalition
With Silverites.
GATHERING AT SACRAMENTO.
Scattering Delegations Put In an
Early Appearance — Views of
the Leaders.
SACRAMENTO, Cau, May 10.— With
one single exception the proceedings of the
1 Populist State Convention promise to be
! harmonious and quiet. But this one issue,
| at this early stage of the State gathering
jof the people's party representative*,
j promises to evolve oratory, debate, divis
; ions and heartburnings that would n>aka
j glad even those who saw to fit to criticize
the splendid work of the recent Republi
can Convention.
This momentous question is whether to
fuse or not to fuse with the silver party,"
who meet in National Convention at St.
Louis by invitation of the executive com
mittee of the Populist party on July 22.
the same day on which the convention ol
the latter is to be called to order.
On this issue the lines will be sharply
; drawn, and the most determined and vig
orous campaigning and wire-palling will
be dune within these lines until the thirty
nine National Convention delegates are
; officially instructed in reference to the
i matter. The situation is a peculiar one,
i though one easy of comprehension, even
! by one not a politician or even a political
economist.
The opposition to the fusion movement
will be led on the floor of the convention
by M. W. Wilkins of San Jose, editor of a
paper in that city called the New Charter.
Ever since the movement was launched
he has wielded pen and tongue against it
on every occasion and at every oppor
tunity. He declares that with men like
Senator Stewart of Nevada at the head of
i the silver party it is certain to be domi
nated by monopolists, corporations and
capitalists, the very elements that the
Populists are most strenuously seeking to
eliminate from the economic system of
the country.
Then he points to the fact that Stephen
Gage was very prominent in the first call
for the formation of a silver party in Cali
fornia and that George \V. Baker, the
chairman of the Silver party of California
is a railroad attorney, as be is employed to
I look after the Oakland railroad franchises.
From these facts, he argues to his own
satisfactory conclusion, and to that, it ia
; claimed, of many others that the silver
j party of California will be controlled by
! the monopoly element; and, reasoning
further, he declares that if this is the case
in California, with its known antagonism
to everything monopolistic, it is likely to
hold gooa of the National Silver Conven
tion as a whole.
Holding these views, which he has made
not the sligntest attempt to conceal, Edi
; tor Wilkins proposes to oppose a union of
the silver and Populist forces at St. Louis
under any and all conditions. His idea ia
| that the ally or allies of his party must be
| as devoid of suspicion as was declared to
be the wife of Caesar. As Mr. Wilkina
tersely expresses it, he is afraid that an
alliance with the silver men will give the
Populists the platform and the white
metaliists the nominee, and he cites past
I instances to prove his assertion that fusion
J has always proven disastrous to the Popu-
I lists and advantageous only to the ally.
En passant it may be remarked, that
owing to the generally unfortunate results
of these coalitions, the word "fusion" ia
stricken from the lexicon of the Populist.
He prefers union, consolidation, alliance,
federation, or any other synonym. Tq»j
mere use of the term "fusion" in connec
tion with any proposition is sufficient to
defeat it.
WiUins, who is evidently destined to be
| known as the great anti-fasionist, has al
ready achieved considerable prominence
in his efforts to establish what is known as