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Chicago Beauty is Eclipsed by several fair Californians --- See Page 12 Legends of Easter flowers were never gathered more fully or more interest ingly than in the article to appear in the -Easter number next Sunday of THE SUNDAY CALL VOLUME CL— NO. 115. Graft Prosecutors Are After the Millionaire Bribe Givers Brutal Murder of Aged Woman Is Followed by Arrest of Her Son RISING WATERS SWIRL THROUGH SLOUGH CITY Stockton Again Struggling in the Throes of a Serious Flood STREAMS IN STREETS Channels Are Broken and Sections of the City In undated WORST STILL AHEAD Fear That Island Levees Will Break and Steamers Take Persons Away SPECIAL, DISPATCH TO THE CALL STOCKTON, March 24.— For the second time within the period of a week Stockton is struggling in the throes of a flood. Shortly after 3 o'clock this morning Miner channel, one of the tribu taries of the Calaveras River, overflowed its banks and inside of an hour the entire residential section of the city was covered with water in depths varying from three to eighteen inches. The extreme \u25a0western portion of the city suffered heavily on all sides. The condition In this district, built?; up by the rich and well to do. is seri- ; ous. The San Joaquln River has reached such a stage that Jt is impossible for any water to flow off the land. Stock ton channel, the main waterway reach- Ing the city, has broken through its j banks, an unusual occurrence, and its ( water Is circulating slowly throughout the Western Addition. The water here t has no outlet and Its steady accumu- j latlon from various sources has com bined to make the situation alarming, j STREAMS IN THE STREETS The business district along Main street was free from water tills even ing. Weber avenue and other impor tant business streets \u25a0were carrying streams of Calaveras water. At no place in this city, has the water yet. reached a point as high as during the flood of test. Tuesday. All streets are passable with the possible excep tion of Miner avenue, where the water breaks over the channel and enters the city in a ewift torrent. The outlook is uncertain, tor a large body of water Is due and with no possible outlet. The damage done by the last flood was so great that the merchants feel that th« present high water will not Injure them In any great degree. Stag nation marks all phases of Stockton life. MORE HIGH WATER FEARED The rains were heavy late this after noon and reports from the mountains were that the amount of water there was sufficient to keep the river at flood stage for some time. ' More high water Is expected here by tomorrow. Th-3 southern portion of the city is only partly CQvexjjd. Backwater is working havoc in this section. The telephone service Is more crip pled than over before. The majority of the homes are furnished with natu ral gas. and the mains have become co clogged with water that many are without heat and light.* The train ser vice Is yet greatly Impaired. In order to set large bodies of water free, Santa Fe roadbeds have been cut by the residents. It Is. feared the Island levees, which liave withstood former freshets of mag nitude, will go through. AH day boats of the transportation companies have been, plying to and from the island, bringing cattle to Stockton and rescu ing those whoso lives were in Immedi ate danger. SITUATION DESPERATE Levees Breaking and Residents on Islands Appeal for Help SACRAME^ T TO. March 24.— Reports Irorai the down-river- islands tonight were not of . rainbow color. The eltua- Continued «\u25a0 rase 3, Colons a The San Francisco Call. INDEX OF THE SAN FRANCISCO CALL'S NEWS TODAY TELEPnoXB TEMPOaARV 86 MONDAY, MAItCH 25. 1907 WEATHER CONDITIONS YESTERDAY — lUtn: mtiiimjia temperature S2, minimum ternprramrp 43, FORECAST FOB. TODAY— Showers; fresh to brif k southerly wind*. Peje 7 j EDITORIAL j We mtj accept In tb* rnHrst wiw District j Attorney LunjrdrmV assurance that there In «>tJ drnce ami le and sufficient to convict the in- I di.-ted boodlers. Page 6 Boodlrr Sam Darls' dearbtrap must he closed. Pa*e 6 There Is notting In the world bo difficult as the wise and lionent administration of charity. i Pare 6 A* to Railroad Commissioner Wilson! Pa.cc- 8 GRAFT SCAXDAL Bit) Industrial captains will be Indicted by the Grand Jury. Fig* 1 To'edo officers unable to find PetwlJpr. the Home Telephone Company brlbe-giTer, who Is bellered to Lie In Egypt. Pfcgs 1 Ixiuls Clam*. Inditted manager of Pacific States- Telephone Company, not yet located. P. 2 District Attorney Ijßnc<ion promises further •ensational development* in lnreKtlgatlon. P&pe 2 Boodle Board of Supervisor* to resume Ipjjls latlon for city today. Pace 2 / j t-'ITV Six tl-.ups hold up Helcht street restaurant at 3 a. :n. and after seenrins $56.50 make their escape from district without being causrht by the police. Pa*a 12 Three companies of First Itejriment, N. G. C, will be reviewed this week by the State In spector. P«*e 7 United Irish Socletlea appoint committee jto confer with Gf rman Amertjan League oa fonn inr an antl-En?llsh alliance. Pace 12 Bomance that opened in the Xorseland enfia in the detention ward of the Receiving Hospital. Par* 8 sininßA.v ,c*.Xi^; Murder of ased widow in Oakland !• f«l-" lon-ed by nrrest of her ima 6layer. Pa«e 1 Professor Clarke of State University issues bulletin flvlng methods of eradicating hop aphis. Pare 4 Obnrolies of Oakland observe Palm Sunday with anthetn* end sermons. Pag« 4 Oakland real estate business Is helped creatly by the forthcoming outlay by the city of $1,000. 000 on parks and Kewera. \u25a0 Ptfe 4 Eugene Sheffield and Mis* Florence Ward of the University of California are married. They will leave for several years' stay In tlie Alaklcan mining regions. Pare 4 Captain Brothers, his wire and five danghtrrs believed to hare twHshed on scow schor>nfr Mjßier*. Pare 3 COAST For the Rpcond time within a week Stockton j streets are flnod^l by the overflow of Min-r j Channel. It !s feared that island levee* «SU ! 1.r.-sk. Page 1 Engineer charged with responsibility for Santa re wrevk in l»* Angeles says lie did not bare time to read his ojxlerß. Pare 6 ! Eight miners bai ird by avalapcbe of know oa j Ilmve Mound and four killed. Pase 1 Portland citizens ptadf* |3fM>oo .for i: f.n't j Investigation and tsk Ileney and Burns to con- I duet H. Plje 1 QtUtfU irinerj esH rasssnieptlac for the' j formation of a union independent of the Indjs j trial Workers «>f the World. Pug* 4 <:illett pockets h!l! which tended to shut San Fmncls<-o out of a dcelred wnter supply. In the Tuoiumne River. Par* 3 United States watches with anxiety threatened uprising In China due to spread of famine? P". 3 Unwritten law Is pleaded In Missouri rust and slayer is acquitted. Page 4 Harry Thaw issues statement denying tlicrn- I mor of diKsenttlon among his couutrL Fare 3 Atitomohlle of a i);iUe and Mii^; The>Nl<»»-ii Shouts held up by Glen Echo Constable, who fire* upon them for refusing to stop. Page 3 FOREIGN President Bonilla of Honduras flees after the defeat cf his a-%oy by Mcaragruans. Pare 5 SPORTS ' Manager Nolan, represetnlng Battling Nel- j •on, refuses to confer with. Joe Gens' manager.. \ Pare 5 Walter Miller will ride Grazlallo. the favorite. In tbe Besnings handicap today. Pare 5 Veteran greyhound. Friendless Boy. wins from some speedy ooorsera at Ingleslde Park. Fare S Gebhard . handicap for two-year-olds i will I>e run at Emeryville on Saturday. Pare 5 San Francisco baseball team does brilliant work In a practice game. Page 6 High scores made by riflemen at Shell Mound In spite of tbc stunn. Page b MARI.MS Vessels engaged In . salmon trade In northern waters prepare to doparC^loA^^ Par* 7 Mi.M^r; Contracts are awarded ' for construction of electric power plants to be tißid in- developing copper mines in Shasta County. *'« Pare 6 Important meeting of hydraulic miners of Cali fornia will be held this eprlnjr. Pare 8 (THE CALL'S BRANCH OFFICES Subscriptions and Advertise- ments will be received in San Francisco at following offices: ICSI FIIiLMORK STREET Open -until 10 ' o'clock ;«very night.' 818 VAX .NESS AVENUE Parent's Stationery Store. I SIXTEENTH AXD MARKET STS. Jackson's Branch.. CSS HAIGUT STREET Christian's Branch. 1096, VALENCIA STREET ."" Rothschild's Branch.: . 1531 CHURCH STHEKT George ' Prewltt't Branch. »200 KILLMOHI2 STREET Woodward's Branch. SAN : 3rRANCISCO^vMONI)A:Y; ; ]MAHCH 25, 1907. A MURDER rivaling in horror, and ghastliness '.the grewsome tales of Edgar Allan Poe was uncovered in Oakland yesterday by the- finding of the mangled corpse of an aged widow in a closet in her home- and the subsequent arrest of her son as the slayer. Find Bloodstains on Young Man Jailed as Slayer or Mother Woman who Trn» >ln!n, her ion, who U accused . of x murderlnc her, and a diacram MhoTrlne the flat la T»h ich the pair lived and the manner In which tbe body vraM .hidden. -\u25a0• ' '. ,' ' ','.... ']\u25a0_ .' ",' EIGHT MINERS BURIED BY SNOW AVALANCHE Four Are Taken Out Dead Vand- the Remainder Found Alive ;^7! EELLINGHAJI." Wash.. March 2t. — Eight minors were buried alive in -an avalanche -off-snow- at tlift' -.Britannia mine on Howe Sound, forty miles north of Vancouver, yesterday. morning. Four wore taken out dead, and four were rescued. Two Japanese : were in Jthe group, and "one was --kil I cd. ", The' sur names of. the" dead Britishers are Mc- Bridgr,- Wilson 'and McPhcrson.. ".;- The ' men; had been working :ln itlie logging, camp owned by . tho Cooper Company, securing material"; to timber the mine. About 9 o'clock a; storm broke over tho mountain, - and' the workmen started down the, incline: to tho inine. They had not proceeded far when' a huge mass of snowv swept ' the *sid«.of the hiU," burying the s mcn In its path.' "."; " \u25a0' \u25a0\u25a0, \u25a0\u25a0' ' \u25a0\u25a0" : .". '•_\u25a0: \u25a0' '\u25a0 Fcllpw- workmen rushed instantly to the-sccne and. began diggirig-*6ut their CITIZENS OF PORTLAND PLAN WAR UPON GRAFT Pledge^^so,ooo "Fund and Ask ; Heney and Burns to Take Hold PORTLAND,: March ,-24. — The : ' Ore gonhin \u25a0 pays;_that. : 550,000- Ms \u25a0.-.being raised as arftinvestigatlon"fund;to bring Francis.. JrvHeney". and .' Special . Agent Burns. to Portland.to?probe,into;munic ipai \ graft. *;'A Transactions Tr= for years back " will ', be "examined under .the searchlight^of Hhetinvcstlgation. - •; It is understood that a. small coterie of ! citizens," allTor.whom'are, large tax payers, 1 has .pledged' $5000.' as ,a i nucleus for the - 150,000. ".Theso/citizenß* believo that the moneylcan ; be « raised' within a f ew; days.Tand - they, assert J^that .« lf more than : $50.000 ; is necessary;. for ; a . thor-J ough"' lnvestigation "it will be"obtalh abie:- ' : v: /; ; "^ , ; " : .'.,':..;\u25a0. .-; \ >The* exact nature ! of ;,the:transactions which ; tho< investigators "want 'brought to^ltghtMs'nbt'specined.r;-* * ; \\ "\u25a0\u25a0' : • : comrades.' , ,Tha ; flfst out "was aHvc'-butiunconscious.^, t < .: 'vN6no/6f'.the;reBcued*2men^ it y is, be lieved, will fdie as' a I.result/of;the;acci dent.. , "\u25a0''. . " -'* ""•'' ' ."\u25a0\u25a0 :"\u25a0\u25a0;. "< Body Mangled and Then Hidden in Locked Closet OAKLAND, March 24.—Se curely'locked in a closet, the key of which was missing, the corpse of Mrs. Martha E. Soderberg, a widow, 64 years of age, was found with her throat cut and body shacked 'about 9 o'clock this morning in her home at 463 B street in North Oakland, and tonight Erland H. Soderberg, her sonra steye dorcj employed; in San Francisco, is confined in- the city prison as the mur derer of his'mother. . Evidence in the hands of tho police points strongly to ; the guilt of the prisoner. Every, circumstance surround ing the case marks the crime as one of cold-blooded ' atrocity, _ the - slayer, ' after haying concealed the body, of the victim in the closet, having spent some time in attempting to - carefully ". remove every trace of the crime. *: The- body of Mrs. Soderberg .was dis covered by Olgen H. Valentine,. -who lives In the house adjoining that ; oc cupied by Soderberg and - his mother. Valentine , had . his - curiosity aroused this morning, by the fact . that Mrs. Soderberg, . contrary ;• to" her c usual cus tom/ had not been outside ; the house since about *4 o'clock, yesterday iaf terr noon, ; and . entered the house to find out whether or not ehe was ill.; After going through the residence .and, find ing: no .trace of the aged -woman, Val entine.tried the door, of a closetin.the parl6r, which hefound locked. FIND BODY OF VICTI3I \ \u25a0 . \u0084 • ..•',•\u25a0 v- \u25a0'\u25a0\u25a0\u25a0\u25a0 \ \u25a0 \u25a0: . r \-\u25a0 ' - Belng/a close'friend ;of Soder bergs. Valentine knew -that this .was \, never locked' -under, ordinary* cir cumstances, and as he had been unable to find- any trace of Mrs.; Soderiberg In the'; house "he feared ; thkt she;. might iiavc locked herself >in the closet. and "taken her; own life.' Hastening' from the house, he went" to' the' home , of Mrs. C.-M. Chiriatlanson. who owns the. house ocupled; by the Soderbergs, at ;465 B street.fto' secure a; key. With \u25a0which:jto open :the "closet. Accompanied, by* Mrs.' Christianson, he re-entered .the house and* unlocked the" closet _'door; when; tho discovery* wUs made ; that Mrs. " Soder berg, instead .of. having committed sui cide, "had been the ; victim of ;a' most brutal murder. \, \u25a0' ; •\u25a0> ..The ; body, Jwith-.throat rCiit . fromj ear, to oaf.andailong.gash across;the.ab domen, .was ,'. found" wedged "in van-? up- % right* position; in a corner, of .tho closet/ Around '.• the-' head 3 and body; had »been Continued on I'age S f Col unin 1 At one place in the world the Feast of the Passover is still celebrated ex actly as in Biblical times. Read the illustrated article about it in THE SUNDAY CALL Big Industrial Captains Will Be Indicted by the Grand Jury Graft prosecutors will indict all officials of corporations xoho in any way aided or encouraged bribery of the Supervisors. * * * * * * * * y ... Louis Class and Abram Detxviler, telephone magnates, indicted by the Grand Jury, not yet located by the authorities. * * * * * * * * Ruef's lawyers carry a dismal message from the captive at the St. Francis to the home of his partner. Mayor Schmitz. *.V*«* * * * * Supervisor Rea given the short end of the boodle because of ani mosity existing between him and Gallagher. Toledo Officials Are Unable to Find Detwiler SPECIAL DISPATCH TO THE CALL TOLEDO, Ohio, March 24. That A. K. Detwiler, in^ dieted in San : Francisco for complicity in the telephone bribery cases, is in this coun try is x now, firmly established unless when he left Friday night he left the country a second time. The Toledo police have been instructed by the California authorities to be on the lookout for Det wiler, and if he can be found to hold him for them. Efforts to locate the son of Special Agent Burns, whom rumor has had in To ledo for some days, proved futile, and even the state ment that the San Fran cisc authorities had ordered Detwiler ? s arrests was hush ed up. for many hours. But that Detwiler came to To ledo is stamped with cer tainty from the statement of Mrs. -Detwiler givenout to night. 1 'We arrived in Toledo on Friday last, " said ; Mrs. Detwiler. "and we went Immediately to the^ home :of George DetwUer. . That same night A. K. Detwiler left Toledo for the, coast. -We . landed from our trip abroad only a week ago. and.' l wanted to remain In New York, but Mr.' Detwiler insisted "on , coming to Toledo and then proceeding to San Francisco. I am in no way intimate with Mr. Detwiler's "business deals and could. throw, no light on them, even if ', I . cared \u25a0to do • so. The story' that Mr.t -Detwiler \u25a0 is ?in Antwerp or \u25a0 Cuba or Belgium 'or Egypt waiting. for an interview . with his attorney As alto gether false. As George stated yestcr day''and last night, Mr. Detwiler is on his way to the coast, to f aco whatever charges there are to/ face. , "At the time he left Friday-night I am sure ho did not know that he had been indicted. ;Or course, he imd heard of the other Indictments, and had read of them in the papers. -It is likely that he ; may have - expected just what ' has happened, but I- do not think he knew he' had -been indicted when \u25a0he left here on (Friday, last. We went abroad pure ly for, health and pleasure. At the time we sailed; neitner. of us .had any Inti mation of the affair nor were we try ing to evade any action that has since developed. The first we knew of ; , the rumors to connect Mr. Detwiler with the '\u25a0 telephone \u25a0 matters which "-.were pub lished some , weeks ago, was , when received copies of ? the Toledo , papers sent by George ; to us. That, is, all I \u25a0 know i of the affair. , But you can: rest Continued oa Fate S, Middle Column 1 PRICE FIVE CENTS. Evidence Secured Is Complete in All Details Men who control San Francisco's public service corporations and who coun tenanced the theft of fran chises from the city by the bribery of Ru'ef, Schmitz, Gallagher and the Super visors are to be the special subject of investigation by the J&rand Jury when it re convenes today. Langdon and Heney, cer tain of the conviction of the middlemen who passed the bribes to Ruef and Gal lagher, are ready to turn their attention to the men who made the giving of those bribes possible. Both Langdon and Heney declare that the ultimate ob ject of the investigation is the conviction of these men. What is much more siff nificent is the authorized declaration, that evidence has been secured by Special Agent William Burns which makes the conviction of these men just as certain as th« conviction of their retainers who passed the boodle that debauched the Supervisor*. EVTDEXCE IS COXCI.TJSIYE Night visions of more than one bl? Industrial chief in San Francisco wouM be troubled if he knew the conclusive nature of the evidence In the posses-* sion of Burns. It Is evidence which proves that the officials of all the public service corpo rations knew that the'special privileges ; they were seeking were obtained by the* Irregular use of money and makes them amenable to I section 31 of the penal code of California. This section will figure prominently in tho points to be raised In court by Langdon and Heney. It reads: "AH persons concerned In the com mission of a crime, whether it be fel^ ony or misdemeanor, and whether th«y directly commit the act constituting' tho offense or aid or abet in its commission, or, not being: present, have advised and encouraged its commission • • • are principals in any crime so committed.** corvvicriox is ckrtai:v Langdon and Heney are naturally ad verse to giving: publicity to the exact nature of the evidence in their posses sion, but this much can be announced at this time: The conTiction of both Ruef -and Schmitz is assured. . Four of the biggest Industrial chiefs in San Francisco nill be indicted as bribe- glTers. ( .^Sufficient eridencft. is in possession of the prosecutors to send the middle men who passed the" bribes to the penlteutlar y. Gallagher and his fellow JSojmx^