Russia .Will Reject Any Attempt by V ST.' PETERSBURG, April, 2 5.— The Associated : Press ~ is ) enabled [ . to : "an nounce -authoritatively.: that .the - talk the i Powers • to Mediate. ENDS TALK OF PEACE. FLOATING CONTACT MIXES. Peril in the Path of Vessels Traversing : Waters of Orient. 'TOKIO, April 25.— Japanese com panies which operate steamships to the Yellow Sea and the Gulf of Pe chili are canceling their engagements to call at points beyond -. Chemulpo, Korea, because of the mechanical contact mines which are known to be adrift on the hieh seas. These mines drifted away from Port Arthur and Port Dalny and constitute a* se rious menace to navigation. The Jap anese cruiser Adsuma discovered one such" mine iloating- forty miles from the Shantung promontory . and ¦ ex ploded-it with a shot. It, is known that many mines have been \ detached from their : moorings by i storms and currents and several* have been . dis covered and destroyed, but it is feared thatlmany >re' still? floating about at sea r and the | currents are \ carrying thenv.to the southward. ¦ Even naviga tion, during daylight is dangerous, be cause'some of th.ese /mines* float slight ly below, the surface of the water. . •: Various expedients,-. most of which are impracticable, ' have been , suggest ed for. freeing . the sea*, of :< these , men aces., -They, -^ include, -among mother things, : a, proposal, that neutral' war ships $ search • for, these mines • outside the zone -of operations - and ! destroy them. .:.':'. '.'; . . '.'-;•. '••¦':¦¦' .¦;.'• ¦•. .- - : ' - BERLIN. April 26.— The Tokio cor respondent of the Tageblatt announces the i mobilization of a third Japanese army. He says it is, now disclosed that a; reserve brigade corresponding to each division of the army has been mobilized therewith and consequent ly each army embraces nearly 100, 000 men" instead _ of being of the strength previously' assumed. Japan Mobilizing Third Army. PARIS,. April 26.— The St. Peters burg correspondent of the Journal says jit- is now. certain- that the. pow ers will acquiesce in the Russian note declaring that ! the use of wireless telegraphy .by private ¦< persons . con stitutes espionage. The. United .States alone, the ' correspondent ; says, - Is ex pected to make certain reservations. Will Accept Russian View. NEW YORK, April 25. — The cen tral cable office of the>Western Union Telegraph Company is advised by the Shanghai Railway agent at 'Tientsin that telegrams to Newchwarig are not accepted dri~ code. ; AH telegrams are subject to delay and censorship when in- plain language. : Cannot Accept Code Cablegrams. SAN RAFAEL, April 25.— As a result of being caught in the act of placing obstructions on the track of the North Shore Railroad Manuel Morris, a thir teen-year-old'boy of this city. Is in Jail charged with attempting to wreck a passenger train on or about Saturday. April 23. iY/' Several similar attempts have been made in the city limits of San Rafael and detectives have been on the qul vive for some time to apprehend the culprit. To little Miss Newman, how ever, is due the credit of catching Man uel Morris. Last Saturday evening, ac cording to the little girl's story, young Morrl3 placed a large stone, between the "third" rail and the guard of the North Shore track,* at the corner of Second and C streets. She told him to take it out. He refused and threatened to whip her if she told. any one. She told .her father, H. C. Newman, and he reported" to the authorities. Manuel Morris is a brother of Maggie Morris and Morris, who were arrested about a year ago for alleged complicity in committing arson twelve times In San RafaeL. Maria County Youngster Accused of Attemptlns to Cause a' North Shore Wreck. CHILD IS IN JAIIj V. FOR IMPERILING A TRAIN" BOCXD BY AX OATH * NEVER TO BE ¦' DIVORCED CLEVELAND, April 25.: — Charles R. ,-Hoda, well-to-do civil # englneer, with Miss Julia Korton,' requested Jus tice Ginley to-day to draft a promise, to which they would swear, that after marriage they would never ; seek ". di vorce, v Justice Ginley, complied * with the /request and the marriage cere mony was ' ¦ performed Immediately. The promise and bath were recorded in the .county 'record* - _ Cleveland Man and Fiancee Appear • .Before Justice and Record Their Pledge. ; War News Continued on Page 4, J. Davis, one of the men held up in the clubroom, told his story of the rob bery. Policeman Frank Langford, who was in at the capture of Thorndike, testified that he had fired five shots at the man while he was under the porch of C. W. Quilty's house. It developed that Thorndike was 29 years of age and a native of Califor nia. He was a son of the late Dr. Thorndike of Stockton and reared in that city, where his mother still lives. The case was given to the jury, which was composed as follows: G. C. Far ley, George McCarthy, G. C. Russell, J. A. Provines, Frank Bohar, A. C. Banta, W. G. Mayer, Thomas Bethell, J. T. Halford and James Smith. They rendered a verdict as stated -above. and Eaid Thorndike had told him that he suffered greatly with, his head ana spine. Thorndike also told witness he believed he was growing daft. Mrs. G. M. Bruce, mother-in-law of Thorndike, testified she believed he was of unsound mind. She had noticed a great change in him since the middle of March. He had been very jovial, but lately had been morose. He had invested some of his wife's money in the printing business, and regretted it. Thorndike had told her that he be lieved there was a hoodoo on the Bruce money and was sorry he had used any of it. ¦ It is the intention of Mrs. Oelrichs to proceed as fast as possible with the construction of the Fairmont Hotel. She also intends to invest a consider able jjorticm of the money she will re ceive from her father's estate in im provements in the properties which she pill acquire. In fact, it was stated yes terday by one of her most Intimate friends who Js well acquainted with her purposes that Mrs. Oelrichs has great confidence in the future of San Francisco and has been deeply im pressed with the idea that her. money cannot be better Invested elsewhere. Deeds transferring these properties in the manner mentioned have already been prepared and will be filed in this city as soon as the decree of distribu tion in the estate of Mrs. Caroline Fair baa been issued. Under this agreement Mrs. Oelrichs Trill take the Lick House property, the .I3cl!a Vista Hotel site and certain ?mailer properties in this city. Mrs. Vanderbilt will take as her principal j-hare of her lalher's estate the five- Etory stone office Vbuilding at 230 Mont gomery street, the old Fair residence property at 1120 Pine street, the flats on the corner of Jones and Pine streets and smaller properties throughout the city. The sisters agreed that it would not be advisable to divide the larger outside lands, including the big ranch at Knights Landing, but will try to dispose of them as a -whole to the high est bidder. The Nelsons, kin of Mrs. Charies Fair, have fought a distribution, contending that Mrs. Fair died after tier husband, but it developed yesterday that %vithin the last three weeks the Nelsons have accepted a compromise, and tightly locked In the vaults or the attorneys of Mrs. Oelriehs is an agreement re cently signed by the opposing relatives tif the late Mrs. Charles Fair which precludes all possibility of any future contest over the millions that are to go to Mrs. Vanderbilt and Mrs. Oel richs. This settlement was quietly made, and the fact that it had been effected did not become public until yesterday. It is also authoritatively announced that the proposed contest cf a mysterious heir of Charles Fair lias been abandoned. Anticipating the removal of these *' :tacles. Mrs. Van derbilt and Mrs. Oelrichs, before the latter left New Tork two weeks ago, arranged between themselves for a di vision of the entire Fair estate. DIVrDE THE ESTATE. NFLSOX'S COMPROMISE. pi the late Charles Fair, of whose es tate her property is an asset, will have been handed down and tnen the final division of the property of the Senator ¦Kill be made between the surviving daughters. A distribution of the estate r'f Senator Fair woulfl have been made l<>ng ago but for the untimely death of Charles Fair, which was followed by much litigation. The coming, here to-day of William K. Varderbilt Jr. has been preceded by the announcement that the way has bef-n cleared for the distribution of the estate of the !at» Senator James G. Fair and that his daughters. Mrs. Van derhilt and Mrs. Hermann Oelrichs, will receive their shares within the next ten or fifteen days, if not earlier! Mrs. Vanderbilt has been here several days awaiting the arrival of her husband and it was totaled by the lady yester day that Mrs. Oelrichs will soon start from New York for this city. By that time a decree of distribution of the r&tate of the late Caroline Fair, wife NEW YORK, April 25.--SeeIng no hope for .his Presidential boom so far as the State of New York Is concerned, William R. Hearst has closed his head quarters in the Hoffman House. His campaign managers and clerical force have moved out and have been sent to State's where Hearst believes he has a chance to -get delegates. Three large rooms on ¦• the first floor" of the -hotel had been rented. From these headquarters literature "was sent to all points | east "of Chicago. .They were actually Hearst's Eastern ' head-, quarters. Since the State convention adopted; the . unit rule and instructed delegates for - Judge Parker, 8 He'axs't has , decided ; that to 'continue head quarters in- New Ybrk would -be a waste; of money. He : has little expec tation of ~ getting any more delegates In any. of i the > Eastern* States. . There " are; several "Hearst . Clubs ' still in existence; in the"_cityjof JNew ; York and throughout thefstate and, it is .un derstood that these will ;'now be al lowed to go out of existence quietly. ¦ HEARST'S NEW YORK HEADQUARTERS CLOSED CHICAGO. April 25.— John K. Cow on, former president of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, died to-night at the residence of his eister. Mrs. A. H. Seeley, In this city. Cowen had been ill for four months with heart trouble. W«*ll Known Railroad 3Ian Dies. Goodrich had noticed a big change in Thorndike in the last few months, Captain W. W. Goodrich, one of the three survivors of the crew of the Moni tor in her fight with the Merrlniac, testified he had known Thorndike for seventeen years. While, Goodrich was a teacher at the' California Military Academy in Oakland in 1SS6-87. Thorn dike, who was a pupil there, fell over a precipice forty-three feet, 1 striking on his head and back. ¦ *'V- Mrs. Thorndike is prostrated and Is under the care of a physician. It* is said that Bruce Thorndike, the 8-year old son of the deceased, two weeks ago dreamed that his father had turned robber and had been killed. The boy told his mother of his prophetic dream, and she and her husband had talked of the matter, little believing that the dream would come true. Great Interest Is taken in the case, as was attested by the crowd present at the inquest to-day.. The body is at an undertaking par lor. It will be shipped to the mother, at Stockton, to-morrow morning for in? terment there. Attorney A. H. Jarman testified he had known Thorndike for years. The last three months the deceased had had a perfect mania for gambling. Jarman said Thorndike had a friend who followed the races in Oakland, and from hJm he had received tips- on horses. These tips always proved to be winners, and Thorndike had won considerable money on them. He would then gamble his money ' off. Jarman declared he believed Thorndike to be crazy, and that his condition for the last two weeks had shown it. He toid of Thornflike's trouble in the A. C. Eaton Prlntlrig Company. So bad had his mania for gambling become that his partner could stand him no longer. Jarman said that on Thursday Thorn dike had been in his office and had given him his papers showing his in terest in the firm. Thorndike had broken down and cried and said he knew he was crazy. A. C. Eaton testi fied Thorndike had not attended to his business since January 1. A great change had come over his partner, and he believed him insane. "Albert P. Thorndike came to his death from a gunshot wound inflicted by parties unknown." No motive could be found that would cause Thorndike to commit the crime of robbery. He had acted strangely for some time, and his friends all de clared he was insane. SAN JOSE, April 25.— Temporary in sanity, as the result of gambling, is what led Albert P. Thorndike to rob the Del Monte Social Club and resulted in his killing at the hands of the police. Considerable testimony was introduced at the inquest showing that his mind was diseased, and that a great change had come over him during the last few months. The Coroner's jury rendered the following verdict: SAN' JOSE SOCIETY BANDIT AND THE POLICEMAN. WHO KILLED HIM. PORT ARTHURS DEFENSES. Russian Stronghold Now Regarded as Absolutely Impregnable. PORT ARTHUR, Sunday, April 24. All weak points on both the land and sea sides here have been so strength ened in the last two months that the impregnability of Port. Arthur is now regarded as absolutely assured. The garrison has been considerably strengthened and the forts are pro vided with all necessities for more than a year. Complete' confidence pre vails with the troops, sailors and in habitants in the ability of the Rus sians to defeat any Japanese attack. Remarkable indifference to the pos sibility of attack is shown by the peo ple. In fact, by day there is little to indicate that the town is in a state of siege. The band plays on the boule vard, on which parades are held, finely dressed people" stroll about and groups of children play. Restaurants and shops are well patronized all day long. At night, however, the city is in pro found darkness, which • is emphasized by the searchlights flashing across the roadstead. The entrance of the har bor, although studded with nine Jap anese wrecks, remains perfectly free. The foundering of the Petropavlovsk is regarded as a tragic mischance, without influence on the course of the campaign, or preventing the Russian fleet from still achieving brilliant re sults. At each successive bombardment, which experience shows recurs ap proximately fortnightly, the Japanese fire, becomes less vigorous. Their ships remain out of range of the batteries and evidently they do not intend to be drawn into a battle. The-- Chicago Daily News dispatch boat, flying the British flag, which was boarded and detained by Russian offi cers "off Port Arthur on Friday last, has been liberated on the condition that she will not again approach these, coasts. VIENNA, April 25.— The Hungarian situation is regarded as alarming. The Socialists threaten to proclaim a gen eral strike, and in such an event, it is said in political circles. Count Tisza, the Hungarian Premier, will put the whole kingdom under martial law. . Following- the. tragic event at the town of Elesd. near Grosswardein, yes terday, in which a" Socialfst 'killed the commander of the gendarmerie, fal lowed .by. the killing of twenty- three rioters and the wounding of forty by the gendarmes, a general strike has broken out at Grosswardein. To-day the shops, cafes and restaurants there and even the schools were closed and the business life of the town was en tirely suspended. ' Five thousand teamsters at Buda pest, 16,009 workmen at Debrecsein, the chief town of the Haiduck district, and a large number at Szegedtn, the capi tal of the county of Czongrad, are now on strike. Trouble is feared in other towns. Eight of the persons wounded in ths disorders at Elesd yesterday have died. Rioting, plundering and incendiarism were begun in some of the neighboring villages to-night, but the military was called out and speedily suppressed the disturbances. BUDAPEST, April 25. — The strike committee has issued a proclamation to the strikers on the State railroads, instructing them to resume work im mediately, and so avert further and more stringent action by the Govern ment against them. The- Diet was closed to-day by royal decree. The sudden end of the session is attributed to a desire to avoid dis cussions of the railroad strike and rioting. Mrs. Oelrichs Will Take the Lick House and Bella Vista Hotel as Part of Eer Share. Death List at Elesd Is Increased to Thirty-One by Demise of Eight of the Wounded. With a negative? vote that is almost beyond the necessity of mention, the men who are running the street cars on thp United Railroads of San Fran cifco determined yesterday that the terms offered thenivby the company were unacceptable. V, The- result of the ballot was 2031 against accept ance and 141 in favor. : The result was easily forecasted in the afternoon from the remarks of the voters as they filed into line. Still, even the most hopeful of the radicals did not look for such an overwhelming major ity in favor of a rejection of the offers of their employers. - : - . This vote does not necessarily mean that a strike of the street car employes is inevitable. International President Mahon said, after the result had been announced, that,: he '.-.and other repre sentatives of the union would go into conference with the officers of the United Railroads,, and 'try ;- to some; concession on tbe disputed " f • He. ; ,<*^claretL it. > aa' n«;^4he tn't eiitlon of fhe union to .forcea ¦trike J and;that every effort" wo"jild be made by himself and the local representatives of the organization to obtain a p apparent that a particularly heavy vote had been polled. At ithat hour,- according to the talllers, .more than 2100 out of 2350 employes had" cast their ballots. • During the night, most I of 1 the voters came in citizens', clothes. Almost with-; out t exception they were intelligent looking men who/ dressed well / and would be presentable in any walk' of ufe. ¦. ' /¦ .' ¦ :'¦".'.',' GO' r TRTH • BRAVELY. j No. soldier eyer| went < into battle in better,; spirit than these; street car men , went Up * polls;; They .were entirely willing to j abide the; issue, .whatever it might.bV/andrgiye a laugh in the face of, defeat or./vtctory.^Vv : . As' fart as; could j be i judged i publicly no | effort \ was ~i ''made / by;, any -of -the officers': of .*the| ? uhi6n^t'o i influence j' the result. > International -President s Mahon spent 7 most '•; of the 'afternoon and^eveh-' TOKIO, April 25.— The cruisers Ros siay and Gromoboi of the Vladivostok squadron participated in an attack on Gensan to-day. They were accompa nied by a third cruiser, not yet identi fied, and by two torpedo-boats. Later they entered the harbor, ordered the crew of the Japanese merchantman Goyo Maru ashore and then sank her. A detachment of marines was landed, but was recalled, and the warships steamed outside of the" harbor. The Japanese and many Koreans fled when the Russians approached. Late tele grams say that the Russian squadron remains off the harbor of Gensan. It is believed in Tokio that this Rus sian naval movement was made in the hope of intercepting some unprotected Japanese troopships. It is not believed that the Fquadron will remain at Gen san long. ; Gensan -is about 250 miles southwest of Vladivostok. . , : , ' Gensan .is 'an important Japanese base '• on .- the .¦ northeastern coast' of Ko j->'ai. r . It jxbs jhcre. jthat .>" 'Japanese 1 landed a large army, wjhich is proceed ing. westward to operate with the main force, . which- advanced through West ern Korea. As transports ; bearing troops and supplies are constantly ply ing between Japanese ports -and Gen san the sudden activity of the Vladi vostok squadron Is likely to cause the Tbkio war board much concern. Un doubtedly it willresult in the hurrying of a fleet of.' warships northward to drive the Russians back to : their strong hold. ' . . SEOUL, April 25, 8 p. m.— The. latest reports from Gensan state that the Vladivostok squadron t has disappeared. The steamship Goyo Maru, which was sunk in the harbor at Gensan this morning by the Russian Vladivostok squadron, was an old coasting vessel of 576 tons and was owned in Chemulpo by a Korean company, which chartered her Ito the Japanese. The Japanese community at Gensan. numbers 2500* and owns much property there. The Japanese garrison refrained from firing on the enemy during the sjnking of the steamship because it did not de sire to" draw ' a retaliatory bombard ment. LONDON, April 25.— The Japanese legation to-day gave out the following dispatch received to-day from Tokio: "The Japanese Consul at Gensan, Korea, reports r der to-day's date that two Russian torpedo-boats* en tered that port and sank a small Jap anese steamer, the Goyo Maru. Her gros3 tonnage was .600 and she was built in 1881. The Russians immediate ly, left." This dispatch is taken at the lega tion here to mean that the -Vladivostok lleet is active. of mediation in the Russo-Japanese war was founded upon the personal desires of King Edward and King Christian of Denmark to avoid further bloodshed and end the conflict, but that the steps initiated have utterly failed. The Emperor, with the full con currence of the Imperial family and his advisers, has firmly decided not only to reject all proposals looking to intervention, but to prosecute the war with all the resources of the em pire until victory crowns the Russian arms, and then, when the time comes for peace, to make . terms directly with the enemy. The interference of outside cowers will not be tolerated. There is to be no repetition of the Berlin congress. Furthermore, the Associated Press is authorized to state that Russia will in no wise consider herself bound by the propositions made to Japan prior to the war. The/ hostilities have wiped out ; the engagements Russia offered to make with Japan* resardlnfr Korea and 3IandhurIai;^;.Russia_^ : iir consider herself' fr*»e*~*to Impose* sucli* term's'' as" (She desires. ¦ -; . f .'•? Ballot yTegtj Gives a Chancefifor Ex* press ion. Troops Called Out to Suppress In • cendiarism. Premier May Proclaim Mar tial Law Throughout Entire Kingdom. Special Cable to The Call and New York Herald. Copyright, 1904, by the New York Herald Publishing Company. SEOUL, April. 18, \ia Shanghai. April 23. — A mine laid by the retreating Russians in the mountain pass south of . AViju exploded while Japanese infantry was marching over it. Many Japanese sol diers were killed or wounded, nut details are unobtainable. The sec ond 'Japanese army corps, which landed at Shusan, consists of three divisions, which are proceeding immediately to Wiju. The Russians are actively engaged in constructing fortifications in the mountain passes north of; the Yalu. Vast Majority Say That 'Mey Jlre Wronged. HUNGARIAN CITIES HELD BY RIOTERS RUSSIA'S VLADIVOSTOK SQUADRON ATTACKS AN IMPORTANT JAPANESE ARMY BASE ON KOREAN COAST INSANITY THE ALLEGED CAUSE OF THE EXTRAORDINARY CRIME OF SOCIETY MAN IN SAN JOSE OPINION JlI>PEJHiS Weciswe FAIR HEIRS READY FOR SETTLEMENT Senator's Daughters Compromise With Nelsons. By an overwhelming vote the car operators on the system of the United I^ailr6dds voted yesterday that the final terms offered them by the company were not acceptable. This docs not necessarily mean that a strike is imminent] according to IV. D. Mahon, international president of the union. JRfter the result had been announced he said that the matters in dispute would be resubmitted to the company in the hope that a more favorable Ruling could be obtained from the United Railroads. In case all further overtures for industrial peace are refected, he says t the employes of the United Railroads will quit in a body ? When General Manager Chapman heard the result of the vote he declared that the United Railroads would always be glad to go into conference with the accredited representatives of its employes, though the terms offered them were unalterable. Mrs. Vanderbilt Arranges WitH Her Sister lor a Division. ALMOST UNANIMOUSLY THE OPERATORS ON CARS IN CITY VOTE TO REJECT THE COMPANY'S TERMS VOLUME XCV— NO. US. THE WEATHER. Forecast me.de r.t Saa Fran cisco for thirty hours esdinjr aidalirht, April S3: San rrancisco and vicinity — Cloudy, unsettled weather Tues day, with r towers; fresh south west winds, changing- to brisk northwest. A. G. Mc\DIE, District Forecaster. Continued on, Page '_ 2,^Column 5,^ THE THEATERS. Alcazar — "Tbe I7cw Clo-vra." Calif orala— "A" Girl Trom Dixie." Central — "The Still Alarm." ' - Chutes— Vaudeville. , Columbia — "Runntntr for once." ' Fischer's— "Chow-Chow." - Grand— "Fiddle-Dee-Dee." Majestic— "The Crisi«." (Orpheum — Vaudeville. Tivoli — "When Johnny Conies Marching 1 Some." ' • • ADD 9 «? ! 0 PRICE FIVE CENTS. SAN FRANCISCO, APRIL 26, 1904/ The San Francisco Call