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VOLUME XCn-KO. 53. SAN FRANCISCO, WEDNESDAY, JULY 23, 1902. PRICE FIVE CENTS. Bogus Baron Otto von Meyer of New Jersey Cuts Wide Swath in Society Circles and Finally Lands in San Francisco Jail as Re sult of Penchant for Spending Money Dishonestly Obtained KAISER'S REALM ADDS GEM TO SWINDLER COLLECTION FORMER GERMAN ARMY OFFICER WHOSE PENCHANT FOR BOR ROWING MONEY HAS LANDED HIM BEHIND PRISON BARS. AND THE MANAGER OF HOTEL DEL MONTE, WHO CAUSED ARREST Mann is the son of a prominent banker in; Baltimore. s The family ,came" to this country from -England with Lord Balti more's party 'and •¦ settled in Maryland, where they have lived eversince^ They are extremely wealthy/ and very, proml- "I do not know how long they remained friendly. She is at present living in Iho tenderloin district. / When we separated Ehe made no "objections . to letting mo have the baby. The child is about 2 years old and is at present in my cus tody. I Wish to have the suit settled as quietly as possible. In fact, everything Was fixed to have her get a divorce some time ago. I was not going to contest the suit, but her escapades ¦ upset our origi nal plans." '. . . • ' Vv/>«-' troduced her to a young South American, the scion of a noted statesman. They became very friendly, and .she finally left the merchant's son to associate with the South American. . • - "Finally she met a young man whose father Is one of the most prominent dry goods merchants in the city. She asso ciated with him for a while, and he in- "While In -Washington, D. C, she fell in with a fast set and associated with several* well-known sporting men, includ ing ¦ Tommy Burns/ the Jockey.,' I heard of her. behavior through friends, and It grieved me . ext^»mely. ; "She return^/ soon afterward ' and did not seem to care any more for me or the comforts of a quiet home. She was al ways inclined to " be intemperate, and about ' three - months - ago fell into bad company again. She would stay out with her companions all night and never seemed to think of me or her home. . "We are both descendants of illustrious families, and when we were married in the East more 'than three years ago the match was £ considered a brilliant one. My health was : poor, and about a year after our marriage we came to Califor nia. We lived happily until about a year ago, j when my wife went East. ; "I feel most keenly the notoriety which the .suit has brought upon me. I have little to say -concerning, the case and wish to avoid publicity, as much as possible. ¦• My wife and I were of dif ferent . temperaments, . and that has brought about all the trouble. -She liked a gay life with gay companions, while I preferred a quiet home existence. Mann, in discussing his suit, said: FEELS NOTORIETY. HOTEL MAN PURSUES HIM. Von Meyer caught the train to San Francisco, but Schoenwald , was equally prompt, following the German like a hound on the trail. As soon as he met an officer he pointed him out and Detective Harry Reynolds placed the "Baron" in. custody. When Lieutenant Wilhelm Valentine LIONIZED AT DEL MONTE. According to Von Meyer's story ha comes from, a prominent Hanovarian family, poor though honest, and stress of circumstances drove him to this coun try, five years ago. He became a school teacher in New Jersey and followed this occupation until about a month ago, when falling health made him seek Cali fornia. On- the train he met Valentino and his fellow commissioners, and being well educated, at once commended hlm eelf to them. Arriving at San Francisco he became the leading member of the party, and as such scintillated until the torch gave its last flicker, when he was put into the City Prison. Among the many things he did in'hia month of greatness was to go to Monte rey, where as a "Baron" he was the lion of the Hotel Del Monte. So strongly did he Impress George Schoenwald, the pro prietor, that he was allowed to give din ners costing $400, the bill of which was charged with the usual gleefulness of an innkeeper who thinks he has a good thing in a foreign way. It was not until Von Meyer borrowed $700 in cash and failed to make repayment that Shoenwald became suspicious. Von Meyer gave him a check for the amount on Wells, Fargo & Co.'b Bank of this city and a telegram to the bank disclosed the fact that there were no funds to meet the order. of Saa Francisco. This was after the "Baron" had Bent to him to borrow enough money to square his delinquencies. He became so prominent in this capacity that outside tuft-hunters became con vinced that he was the whole show from the Kaiser's realm. He was feted and toasted as no other man has ever been on such a small showing. Hermann Oel richs became his friend because the "Baron" knew him in Berlin, and the talk was so strong that Hermann's memory became a' live, thing to him. On second thought yesterday Oelrichs concluded that tM h&d never seen the "Baron" outside If the word of the commissioners can be believed Von Meyer merely Joined the party on the train. He was an agreeable fellow and a countryman and he gave such excellent references from the old country that he was welcomed with open arms. On reaching this city Von Meyer assumed the duty of waiving aside the newspaper reporters and other inquiring persons that might by any chance dis turb the commission. The trouble with the "Baron" seems to be that he has lived faster than his Income. Originally he burst upon Ban Francisco as a member of a party of German officials who were supposed to represent the Prussian Government in the matter of examining Into the public school system of this country. The head of the commission was Wllhelm Valtn tlne, whose card declares he is a lieu tenant ln the employ of the Kaiser. In the train of the distinguished visitors •were a number of notable figures from Berlin, among whom was Marcus Val entine, a brother of the head of the com xnlsilon. and "Baron" von Meyer. / / ET ARON" OTTO H. VON W 9 ff Jr ME^ ER » the Glass of mf "CT fashion and the mold ff JP of fdrm. Is In Jail. He *™""^^^ was arrested yesterday by Detective Harry Reynolds on Kearny etreet because George Echoenwald. man- Ler of the Del Monte Hotel at Mon terey, told the police that the "Baron tad bunkoed him out of $700. When the "Baron" was brought to the C'ty Prison he -presented a most unfash ionable figure. The police took his Jew elry away from him and what little money he bad ln his possession, and with the Ioes of that Von Meyer became an abject wreck. He wept copiously and <*-ent through a long list of hysterical complaint.. Hardened Jailers put him ln a cell exactly as they would a. common man. EL PASO, Tex.. July 22.— The Galves ton, Houston 'and. San Antonio east-bound passenger train was ditched' by a wash out eight miles east of Sierra Blanca to day. The engine and mall cars were over turned. Gus Emery, colored porter, was killed and ¦ Fireman Evans was seriously hurt. A number of • passengers sustained slight injuries. Train Is Ditched in Texas. DETROIT, Mich., July 22.— Suspicion of foul play has been raised in connection with the death of Private Joseph Des mond of the Fourteenth United States In fantry, whose remains were found ter ribly mangled on the Pere Marquelto tracks at Brighton to-day .near the rifle practice encampment. Desmond's' home is at Leavenworth, Kans. Two privates are under arrest at Fort Wayne, charged with absenting themselves from Brighton camp yesterday without leave. Soldier May Have Been Murdered. was asked concerning his quondam friend he would have none of him. He ex plained that the acquaintance of the "Baron" had cost him $1700 in borrowed money, and while his sympathy for a "landsmann," was great, it could not go to the extent of depleting the Prussian treasury to cater ' to the extravagant tastes of the Hanovarian. Various messages were sent out from the City Prison by the bogus Baron to prominent people in the city, but they re mained unanswered. It was very evident that he had cut a wide swath during his eojeurn, but the men whom he cited tdther did not remember him or else had only the vaguest recollection of his ac quaintance. Behind this reticence theie may be other touches, the wounds cf which will not bear the smart of public- The "Baron" is young and blonde, ana rather attractive . in appearance. Continued oh Page . Two. KEOKUK, la., July 22.— The crest of the Mississippi River flood is now at Quincy and by morning will be still further south. The river reached the maximum at Quincy at noon to-day and is receding. A sta tionary stage at Hannibal is expected to morrow morning. The Lima Lake levee, extending north from Meyer, 111., twenty miles north of Quincy, developed danger to-day and a large force of men was em ployed to patrol it and tools were scat tered along its length. The Lima Lako and the Hunt levees protect corn fields valued at several million dollars. The levees" on the Illinois side* of the river below Quincy are standing and saved most of the country there. The Mississippi River fell nine inches here during the last twenty-four hours and there are n6 signs in Iowa rivers of any more flood , approaching. A gradual fall 'of a couple of weeks will end the flood in the vast domain south of here. Several hundred "tenant farmers are absolutely penniless and with no chance of an in come this year. Each community, seems to be taking care of its own refugees. The same conditions^ obtain along; 'the' seventy- five miles t>f the Mississippi River on the Missouri side and a hun dred miles of the IJes Molnes River low lands. The population of the village of SV'FranciBvllle.^Mo., has been nearly doubled by refugees of the flood district , who lost everything. and It Is Thought Danger Is Over. MISSISSIPPI WATERS } ARE SLOWLY RECEDING Levees Protect the Valuable Crops Mrs. Mann could not be seen yesterday at the Palmerlee, where, her husband alleges, she has for- the last two; weeks occupied apartments under trie : name , of Grace" Lee. It~was given out at the hotel '¦ Maim alleges 1 that his spouse drinks to excess, frequents back rooms of saloons and D«naves otherwisa - in a manner that causes him great misery. In the complaint filed yesterday Mann alleges that his wife • soon . developed a love for a gay and fast life. In fact her fondness for life in the under .world caused her to forget her wifely, vows and her. love for, her husband and the child born of their union. The wedding ceremony took place In 1S99 and was a notable, affair. . All Balti more attended. and the prospects of the newly wedded ' ' couple seemed bright. Mann and his bride remained In the Ori ole City for a little more than a year after their marriage. They were then compelled. to leave on account of the fall ing health of the young husband.. They came to San ; Francisco and, according to the husband's complaint, their - troubles then commenced.- -¦ . . - SOCIETY EVENT. Before her marriage . Mrs. Mann wan Grace Lee Lewis. A native of Baltimore, a net of the."F; F. ¦Vs.," beautiful and accomplished, Grace Lee Lewis' .future seemed an assured one. " When 'it was announced that she was about to become the bride of W. F. Mann, the son of a leading banker., of . the Maryland capital, the bluest of the blue-bloods of the South country , hastened to ¦ extend their con gratulations. Mann traces his ancestry back to the days^of Lord Baltimore, and his expectations as to wealth are great. The matchTwas an ideal one in the eyes of the effete few, who decide upon such matters in the Sunny South. pealing to tHe" divorce courts. By doing so he is exposing the revered names of Washington and. Lee to obloquy and shame; His wife, Grace Mann, against ' whom he makes serious charges, is a descendant of the Washing ton and Lee families. She lays claim, to an inheritance of blood more : blue than that possessed by' many of the leaders in the American social set. - ' . W "W V F ' MANN « a clerk ln 19 JH| • j a : prominent commer f| /B / clal concern, is seeking \y relief, from his matri r r © monial. troubles by ap- By virtue of his office Captain j Edgar was placed in closer personal contact with the prisoners, en masse and individually, than any other officer, and while always prepared to enforce discipline and obedi ence from the refractory he was as kind and considerate of the unfortunate and misguided' as the circumstances of the cases would allow. Few men in his posi tion have made as many warm friends among those over whom they had charge. With the officers and employes also of the several administrations with which, J>* has served Captain Edgar has y^flwaya been most popular and hlghljyf Vepected . and not a few of those wbr6m he .now leaves behind him have thafdeepestiregrut at the severance of his fconnecUoa with I the prison man-xement. , . - , ~ ~a • ; • In his management and control of the thousands of men who have been under his charge during these many years Cap tain Edgar evinced courage, firmness and Judgment of the highest order and to him Is mainly due the excellent reputation that San Quentin has enjoyed as a com paratively quiet, orderly and well-man aged prison. Edgar was first appointed as captain of the yard, which gave him. the direct supervision of the convicts, by Warden Ames in 18S0, and so thorough was his comprehension of the requirements of the situation and so untiring his energy and zeal in meeting them that he became a necessary adjunct to the administrations that followed and was reappolnted in turn by Wardens Shirley, McComb, Hale and Aguirre. Captain John C. Edgar's period of ser vice in San Quentin has been a long one and second neither in length of time nor In efficiency to that of any other officer or employe at the prison. With the ex ception of one brief interval he has oc cupied'the very responsible and exacting? position of captain of the yard for twen ty-three years, serving under five different Wardens. The forcing out of Edgar and others of the prison attaches' is a conviction of Aguirre by himself, an admission that he fears the knowledge possessed by those who have been In a position to learn the inner workings of his regime; a confes sion that his own safety necessitates a complete reorganization of his official family. EDGAR'S SPLENDID BECOBD. Warden Aguirre has proclaimed that the resignation of Captain of the Yard Edgar was entirely voluntary, but tho subordinates in the prison have a differ ent story to tell. Edgar has met the fate of the others whom Aguirre suspected of possessing secrets whose revelation would add to the corrupt record of the San Quentin ring. What is the knowledge that these men possess, • and which Aguirre fears? Does Warden Aguirre suspect them of having given in formation damaging to the Aguirre reputation and endangering the position of the higher official whose creature the Warden Is? The charge that Captain Edgar assisted In the collection of evi dence by which The Call was enabled to lay bare the pernicious, workings of the prison ring in Its raids upon the State treasury Is utterly false. If there is nothing in his management of San Quen tin that Warden Aguirre would fear to have come before the public eye, why does he seek by persecution to dnve from the prison service veteran officials above reproach and surround himself with a coterie of his own creatures, having no knowledge of the past machinations of the San Quentin clique and likely to be none too curious about the future acts of the prison administration? The retirement of John C. Edgar ha3 been preceded by that of several others of the hitherto most trusted officers cf the prison. These men have been forced out by Warden Aguirre on the false alle gation that they have divulged prison, se crets to the San Francisco Call. They have been accused by the chief of the prison ring of giving Information that led to the expose of corruption, forgery and thievery In San Quentin. Driven frantic by The Call's exposure of San Quentin frauds, Aguirre has become suspicious of every one about him. One by one ha has singled out his subordinates— men who have grown old In the prison ser vice, whose honesty and capability had never before been questioned — and charged them with having exposed his villainy. The accusations have been met with Indignant protests and denials; then has followed systematic nagging until the sybordlnates who had Incurred the dis trust of Aguirre, weary of- the unjust persecution, have handed In their resig nations to the "Warden. AGUIRRE CONVICTS HIMSELF. SAN QUENTIN PRISON, July 22.—Af ter twenty-three years' service as cap tain of the yard In San Quentin prison, John C. Edgar has presented his resigna tion to Warden Aguirre. The veteranjofn cial. who has served continuously through a half-dozen State administrations and the regimes of as many wardens, and whose experience In prison routine and the handling of criminals had come to be looked upon as invaluable by the direc tors of this penal Institution, will quit the harness permanently on August 1. Who his successor will be 13 not yet announced. Special Dispatch to The Call. Aguirre Forcing Out His Veteran Sub" ordinates. Perhaps the most disgusted of all who have had any part In this incident are the police of New York. They refused to interest themselves in the affairs of Strong and Miss Yohe until a. complaint was made and Strong stood charged with grand larceny. Then they began a vig orous search for him, only to be called off just at a time when they felt certain of bringing about his arrest. Captain Titus was so confident of the success of his plans that he had arranged to re main at his office in police headquarters to-night until his detectives brought in Strong. . - POLICE ARE DISGTJSTEI*. Still insisting that she Is quit of Strong forever and that she will never forgive him for the wrong he has done her, May Yohe has withdrawn- the complaint against him made by her when she found that his last visit to her Jewel. casket had left it empty. Declaring that she hopes never to look again upon the face of Strong, who she believes has started for Yokohama, Miss Yohe announces her In tention of sailing for the Far East in the' near future. Expressing a desire to rid herself of everything that can remind her of the man she accuses of having robbed her, she keeps his picture In a miniature locket vwhich she wears * Just over her heart. His top coat remains where he hung it on the stand, and his stick Is in the hall corner of the cottage at Hastlngs-on-the-Hudson. WITHDRAWS COMPLAINT. Mrs. Strong, her health so shattered that she may never recover. Is happy In the thought that she has saved her son. Willingly she ad vanced^ti^tCi tWS wilkjh, was required to protect her" boy. - She re fused to permit counsel to wrangle over details and Insisted upon the acceptance of the terms offered by those who had charged him with felony and put the police upon his track. She was • In a tremor of fear and anxiety until she knew that the charges against her son had been withdrawn. Relatives of Strong have agreed to ad vance the $50,000 additional and this, to gether with incidental expenses, will bring the sum to save Strong close to $100,000. This action accounts for $75,000 worth of jewelry, and it is estimated that $80,000 worth more must be accounted . for, as it is conceded that May Yohe had over $150,000 In gems. MONEY TO SAVE SON. It has cost Mrs. William L. Strong, mother of the young man. a fortune to save her boy from possible arrest and imprisonment. Mrs. Strong to-day paid $16,100 for the redemption- of the Tone diamonds and about $80,000 more will be paid by her unless her son restores the jewels still unaccounted ' for. Of" the $16,100, $7100 was to redeem Jewels pawned in this city worth $50,000. In Yokohama $8000 will be used for the redemption of gems worth $20,000 and $1000 will at once redeem others pawned at Genoa. r NEW YORK, July -22.— May Yohe if> again .In possession, of a large part of her diamonds. She has been, or will be, amply reimbursed for the others, and Putnam Bradlee Strong, once captain in the United States army and soldier of fortune, with a tarnished past and ob scure future, Is safe from arrest. Special Dispatch to The Call. May Yohe Regains a Part of the Stolen Diamonds. Gives Way to War den's Reorganiza* tion Policy. Hundred Thousand Is the Cost of the Rescue. Captain of the Yard Edgar Quits San Quentin. Mother of Fugitive falces Gems Out of Pawn. LEAVES PRISON SERVICE CAPTAIN ESCAPES ARREST LEADS A GAY LIFE AND WRECKS HOME Former Baltimore Belle of Noted Lineage Is Sued for Divorce by W. F. Mann, Who Tells Sad Story of Wife's Transgression RELATIVES SPEND A FORTUNE TO SAVE PUTNAM BRADDLEE STRONG The San Francisco Call. PRETTY DESCENDANT^ OF A FA MOUS FAMILY WHO IS BEING SUED FOR DIVORCE. . . that JIIss Lee had "left ..town," and dili gent Inquiry failed to elicit any further information " as to her whereabouts.