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.