The San Francisco call. [volume], December 12, 1910, Page 1, Image 1

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

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{"HOT* Chief Lees Applied the "Thir7\
Degree** to a Prisoner Will Be Told in
« The Sunday Call Next Sunday in the
j^ Series of Articles Concerning the Great
\y Detective. : : : : :i : /-: :ji
VOLUME CIX.—NO. 12,
Alaska Steamer, With 106 Persons, Wrecked
FOUR JAILED
FOR HAVING
STOLEN GOLD
Secret Service Men Recover
$7,000 of $59,000 Bullion
Taken From Steamer
Humboldt Was Robbed While
Bringing Treasure From
Alaska Last September
E. L. Smith and Wife and Two
Men Captured in Raid on
Lodging House
DUE to the vigilance of Chief
Secret Service Operative Harry
MofTatt and the local police de
partment, three men and a woman
were landed in the city prison last
night and nearly $7,000 worth of bul
lion, supposed to be' a part of the
$59,000 worth of sold stolen from
ihe steamer Humboldt last September
«n route from the Tanana gold fields
to Seattle, is" now in the possession of
Moffatt. • •
For almost a month the secret
service men have been working on the
case. They gained their first informa
tion accidental^*. After that they
began to ferret out the gang that had
perpetrated one of the most mystifying
r rimes that has developed on this coast
in year?.
They found that a couple known as
>". L. Smith and wife had several
Thousan-Is dollars worth of bullion in a
f^afe depopiti vault and were employing
Tiro brothers, G. M. and J. T» Woodson,
both opium fiends, to dispose of the
jroM after it had been reduced to fil
ings by Smith, who is also an opium
Send.
Sold $3,093 of Gold
Wh^n th* local operations of the
p^ns W«r« discovered, Moffatt thought
th<» gold was being stolen from the
federal assay office or th«» mint, or was
b^ir.g secured from the debasing ,of
ooins. It did not take long, however,
to unrover the fa<t that the Smiths
WW* making trips to the safe deposit
vaults in the Bank of Italy brinch in
Market street, whence tliey took bars
of bulJion, one at a time, to their
rooms in tlip Haystnn apartments at
-1i Sixth street. With rasp?, Smith
reduced the liars to filings and. then
had the Woodson* sell tiie loose goM.
Pr> far xs «"ousd bf learned, gold of
th» value of $1,0r>3 was sold by the
brothers.
As sf>on as Moffatt discovered that
it was not a .federal, rasp, lie tele
graphed to the officials at Washington
and was advlsod to turn the informa
tion he had gather over to the police
and co-operate whenever possible.
Pla^s had been laid for the capture
of the -entire gang;. It was proposed
to arrest the local members, subject
them to a thorough examination, thus
fc+t confessions, if possible, from the
chief offenders here and then arrest
the ringleaders.
Gang Was Warned
The information leaked out and the
rest of the Rang received their warn
ing. The police are still endeavoring
to run down those who were Impli
cated with Smith and his wife.
The Smiths and their tools, the Wood
ton^, were arrested Friday night. Two
other opium fiends were taken into
custody at the time, but they were
released yesterday, the purpose having
been to hold them, so that they could
not spread the information of the ar
rest of the leaders of the gang.
Mrs. Smith was the first taken Into
custody. Late in the afternoon a squad
of detectives proceeded to her apart
ments. She was alone at the time and
<jui«tly submitted to arrest. In the
rooms were found a vice and the rasps
used for filing the gold. Mrs. Smith
xras taken to police headquarters and
searched by the matron, who found
$1,500 In currency on her...
Prisoners Were Separated
Then followed the arrest of J. T.
Woodson. known as "Little Tex," at
the Palm hotel, northeast corner of
S'xth and Howard streets. The place
is run by Mrs. McGee, motherinlaw of
Sheriff Thomas Finn, who chanced to
be in the place at the time. G. M.
Woodson! who is known as "Bis Tex,"
was found in a GhacE at the rear of
2114 Point Lobos avenue. Smith was
arrested at Fifth and Market streets.
The prisoners were all taken to Mof
fatfs rooms in the post office build
ing and kept in different rooms so
that they could not communicate with
each other. They were taken'out one
st. a time for their meals in the res
taurant at 62 Seventh street and al
lowed to sleep at night on couches in
the post office building.
The detectives subjected their pris
oners to rigid examinations in an effort
t^ S ain information that would lead
t'tae apprehension of the rest of the
gang. The Woodsons admitted that
Continued on Pnge S s Column 6
The San Francisco Call.
Millions in Rubber
Trust Stock Owned
By Senator Aldrich
[Special Dispatch to The Call]
NEW YORK, Dec. 11.— The
World says: Last July Nelson W.
Aldrich, erstwhile boss of the
United States senate that helped
enact the present Payne-Aldrich
tariff law, denied the charge of
Joseph L. Bristow, a progressive
republican senator from Kansas,
in the following letter to Con
gressman McKlnley of Illinois,
chairman of the republican con
gressional committee:
"Neither I nor any member of
my family has ever had any pe
cuniary interest as to whether
the rates on manufactures of
rubber were 30, 35 or 300 per
cent, or whether crude rubber
was on the free or dutiable list. 1 *
Inspection by a representative
of the World of the stock register
of the United States rubber com
pany — the $75,000,000 manufac
turing rubber trust— shows that
Senator Aldrlch has a very sub
stantial pecuniary Interest in the
Increase in the tariff on manu
factured rubber male by Aldrich's
company.
In Nelson *W. Aldrich's name
stand 340 shares of the first pre
ferred stock, worth $37,400 at last
Saturday's closing price on the
New York exchange.
Four other Aldriches appear
also on the stock register of the
rubber trust.
The Aldrich holdings, so far as
known, in the Intercontinental
<crude> rubber company are:
Senator Nelson W. Aldrich di
rector, 25,000 shares, common,
par value $2,500,000; about 5,250
shares of preferred, par value
J525.000.
Edward^J3. Aldrich, the sen
ator's "Son, director, vice presi
dent and general manager of the
Intercontinental. 6.200 shares, par
value $6:0,000.
BANKER PERISHES
PURSUING AN ELK
Bert E. Corbin of Boise Is Found
Dead in Snow Near His
Horse's Body
BOISE, Idaho, Dec. 11. — Four weeks
from the date on which he was last
seen, the body of Bert E. # Corbin, a
prominent Boise man. and vice presi
dent of the. Union savings and trust
company, was found Friday 12 miles
from Big Springs, Idaho, the point
where Corbin's party had made camp
a monlli ago, according to news
brought here today.
The condltio nof the body showed
that death had occurred several days
ago, probably from exposure. His
horse was found dead near Corbin's
body, and it is the belief of the woods
men of the country that Corbin was
wandering aimlessly about the moun
tains until the snow became too deep
to travel further, when his horse fell
and died.
Corbin was last seen November 19,
when he left Harry Lamberton, a fel
low hunter, near Rea's pass, telling
Lamberton that he purposed to'rSmain
out throughout the night hoping to
pet an elk.
OGDEN MILLS COMES
TO CITY ON BUSINESS
Believes Conditions Justify Pre-
diction of Prosperity
Ogden Mills, son of the late Darius
O. Mills, arrived from the east last
evening and is staying at the Fair
mont. Mills said that he was in the
west purely on business.' Business
conditions, he added, were good, and
there was no reason why the coming
year should not be a banner one In the
prosperity of the nation. He said that
he planned to spend much of the win
ter In and about San Francisco In the
interests of the. Mills estate.
LARGE CROWD EXPECTED
TO GREET TET RAZZINI
Advance Safe of Tickets En-
couraging to Management
Tetrazzini's opening performance
wil lbe the scene of a large gathering
of music lovers at the Dreamland 'rink
tonight. The advance sale of tickets
has been large. ' Until 7 o'clock this
evening they will be on sale in the
O'Farrell street store of Kobler &
Chase and after that at the Dreamland
box office.
When some people talk we are re
minded of a dictionary with the defini
tions missing.
Always tell the truth — but it is some
times advisable to use a long; distance
phone. V-- U -" '\u25a0- \u25a0 ,
SAN FRANCISCO, MONDAY, DECEiCBER; 12^ -191&
T STEAMER 6LYMPIA, WHICH IS WREGKED^ONBLIGH ISLAND: WITH JIO6 PERSONS
| -; : ABOARD :t ;5; 5 . .
BRAZILIAN REVOLT
COSTS 400 LIVES
200 Citizens Are Killed While
Watching Bombardment;
Mutiny Is Subdued
RIO JANEIRO. Dec. 11.— Government
troops are again in control of the gar
rison on Cobra Island, and the second
mutiny of the naval forces has ended
with a heavy casualty list.
The mutineers, who composed a bat
talion of the marine corps, numbered
about 600 men. Of these 200 were
killed or wounded. The others were
taken prisoners by the destroyers
while attempting to escape from the
island In the night.
Two hundred citizens \u25a0were either
killed or wounded while watching the
bombardment. Many government build-
Ings were damaged,", including the
treasury, the foreign office and the;de
partments of' public works and tele
graphs. .";; ; { ,
• Two land .batteries, two ..warships
and several '"destroyers took part l in
the bombardment, and twice in the en
gagement an armistice wa» allowed for
the removal of the dead and wounded.
Firing ceased entirely late in the even
ing. -but no actual surrender of the
rebels occurred. . . , .•
Toward midnight several boats put
out;from the island and'men could be
seen swimming toward the mainland.
The: destroyers on watch made them
all prisoners.
\u25a0Martial '. law has been - declared for
SO 'Jays in the federal district and
Nictheroy. *
The chamber of deputies met today
to discuss a special session. A strict
censorship is being maintained, but
conditions are entirely normal. The
scout ship Rio Grande do Sul -.fired the
first shot in the revolt, turning its guns
on the city. The heavy bombardment
by both -land batteries and: warships
caused a panic in Rio Janeiro early
yesterday, and frightened and wounded
people fled in all directions. .
According to the newspapers, the
causes leading'to the second revolt are
trivial, most of the demands made by
the men in the • last .mutiny having
been granted by 1 -the government.
SAN JOSE WOMEN TO
WAGE WAR ON WEEDS
"Hustlers' Union" Plans Cam-
paign to Clean Streets
[Special Dispatch to The Call]
: SAN. JOSE, Dec. 11.— The "hustlers'
union," composed of clubwomen of this
city, has declared war, on \u25a0• weeds,, in'
the streets. Owners who fall to clean
up their "premises will ibe' waited upon
Monday by a delegation of women aiid
politely requested to get busy.
• Mrs. E. C. 1 Hurff, .• chairman of the
central committee, is the generalissimo
of • the anti-week forces. - The aid .of
the school children of the city has
been enlisted. > " , . \u25a0:
The following committee is planning
a mass meeting > to be held 'next; week:
Mrs. A. A. Fowler, Mrs. E. E.'Blodgett,
Mrs. W. F.- Li Hick, Mrs.; J.V. Haley,
airs. G.- S. Wells, Mrs. E. IJ. L. Pellier
and Miss \u25a0\u25a0 Margaret Hale.
ELECTRIC SHOCK KILLS
MAN IN BATHTUB
Eckley Hall Victim of Short
Circuit
: STOCKTON, Dec. 11.— Eckley Hall, a
contractor of /this -city,, received an
electric shock while' taking \u25a0 a bath at
his {home .'this', evening- which caused
his. death.
Hall was standing in the bathtub,
and, endeavored ;to turn* on * the '.water
with one hand "while he turned the
switch of the, electric globe ; with the
other. The . water; pipe sort circuited
the\ current, -.and; his body recelved,the
full charge. ';.'- The force or the' charge
threw him out of the^tub -and against
the wall. Death was instantaneous. "
- JTall wasi 27 -years- old,, arid-left ta"
wife, . father- and two/brothers. ,. fc - .: -. .
Judge E. 'Ei\Cushman, ivho^Tvitfcdthet members' of third. distfict\c6urU is
> : .:. . vy> . ' ;: ;\u25a0•. on; wrecked^ s learner ,y; : , >iv. Y. ;
CALIFORNIANS EXPECT TO
SECURE EXPOSITION VOTE
Congress -Will Be Asked 4o;Take Up Kaihh Resolution
And^Decide Matter This^Week After; Debate
[Special Dispatch io The' Call]-' vV ;•*
WASHINGTONTi ; Dec. ' 11.— An im
portant, conference of .' Calif ornians was
held , tonight C at v headquarters at.' the'
New Willard. I/The exposition'. commit-^,
tee was- present", as : well' as -.all mem
bers of . the -congressional .delegation
except McKiniay; • The cpnf erpes~ { dis
cussed 4 the" whole f situation ,' as it . has
unfolded, tip ;.to. date. < and decided, to
make a strenuous effort to bring^up
consideration pt the Kahn resolution
this week'in the house.
The plan is -to jask 'for a rule'calllng
up the Kahn resolution with leave, to
off er/an ''amendment \ substituting New
Orleans; fbr^'San .^Francisco. 'This will
bring, tho :\u25a0: whole ; matter -. before- -the
ouse for '. debate .\an'd^ final V vote. The
California {of 'congress have
polled- thec house" /'carefully, -and say
that, they San -Francisco
resolution,; will;, prevail 1 if ' it .- c»n*be*
brought 1 - to> a> vote., ,", ;].'. ... ,: .. _\u0084 ;_• "., ..\u25a0
j j The ...NewVOrieans, delegation now. in
TVashlngtoh'also^had'a' conference to
day with*. Louisiana .members of con :
gress. They KOt;-wind. of what the
Californians ; proposed to do and it -is
supposed "that * they \u25a0 are. preparing to
niake a fight for -delay." Some *ot 'the
stfongest/New'Orleans boosters' are ab
sent ahd'those.now here are anxious; to
wait" until they caY- marshal all , their
forces. "'.*:'*'-*•' i .*• .'\u25a0.-\u25a0'*
SENATE FAVORS THIS CITY
: . Senatorß/ Perkins .;?: and Flint A, have
canvassed the'- senate and . say . there \ is
Continued on ; Page \2, Column \ 1
CYCLONE AND FLOODS CAUSE DEATH
AND DEVASTATION IN WESTERN SPAIN
V -MADRID, Dec 11.— : Spain .was visited
today .by a cyclone, in which many per
sons were : killed ?'and injured,* and S the
low -.lying districts " "; :
-'. Lower. 'Seville « is- submerged and; it. is
feared ; theY entire 'city/ will*? be -under
water > soon.'.' -A railroad* bridge at > Al-'
cala; has ; been; destroyed' and numerous
villageetare in : a;. critical: situation,
r Railroads Miave , been :i washed'^ away
at.:Cacere^
leja, Vlllaeeca\;and : ''Malaga. '.'Several
bodies'\were'fFeen^'",flpating^t'down'Xthe
river, at"S Vailadolid.*:*-; Reports *vhaye
no-; doubt whatever that ; San Francisco
can sweep 'the upper^ house* whenever
the x question comes -sto a. vote.- They
want; the house to act.first.; however,
as any" action the; seriate' might take
now' Vduld be ineffective;' anyhow and
the senate is ha turally.reluctant J.o act
In. amatter already ; pending , in the
house. : \u25a0 '•- ' -
'-The California'nW . are" full.; of confi
dence and anxious to get ; a test vote
before;, the-'- holiday ' recess. \'~ Among
members .of congress .-generally It is
not 'jthought ; that - the • exposition ques
tion can be determined before the mid
dle -of | January, at the earliest. - ]
NEWORtEANS ADMITS f MISTAKE
J The Call f orniarts Vre elated ' over the
attitude of the New Orleans newspapers
which) ares beginn.ing;;toiadmits that a
mistake i was ; mad ce v wh>n' ! NeW;- Orleans
permitted , lierself to abe ..maneuvered
into^a position. 'of - disclaiming .any; in
tention sto5 to ask; congress j for- an ; appro
priation. Newj Orleans States of
December 9,. says editorially: ! ' '^OSmM
\u25a0: I "California* now .promises > that she
will : not ' seek national, •assistance^
Louisiana' has taken .the position -that
the whole burden, ought not.to be placed
on any • community': where .the "event
to -be celebrated -^is'" national and 'the
enterprise is to be furthered commercial
in '" character and of \u25a0 concern 8 to the
whole- country. This is the view' we
bell eve .'congress will take, 'it will con
sider/ fundamentally -whether the gov-
reached >here lof • shipwrecks along I the
coast:" • \u25a0;•/;•. ;-:'.,' ' \:
Italian Riviera^Suffersr
: ROME; Dec; 11.— The; Italian ' Riviera
has : \u25a0.suffered greatly / ; from .*\u25a0 recent
storms. \ 'Miles '} L of /Cultivated flowers
naye 1 .- been • .'devastated. - San,; Remo is
flooded • and \u25a0 many -residents " were com
pelled ;in'/the 'night -to /escape from
windows .-oh' ropey ladders,.jtheir r houses
being fwitii. water.. -Several
persons . have~^beeri : drowned."' The hill
on -Iwhich the >: villa"ge;.of . Pentenuoyo
stand's'^ is rapidly* undermined.
f THE WEATHER
YESTERDAY— Highest temperature. 60;
lo&est Saturday irighU 54.
FORECAST FOR TODAY— Fair; light
i northwest wind. j
Vessel Strikes Treacherous Bligh
' Island in Dead of Night and Grave
• Fears Are Felt for the Passengers
DISTRICT COURT MEMBERS ARE ABOARD
Aerograms Are Suddenly Interrupted as Oper
ator at Sea Tells of Seas Breaking Over Ship
Held in Perilous Position on Unlighted Shoal
CORDOVA, Alaska, Dec. 1 1. — The Alaska steamship company* s steamer
Olympia, ivith 1 06 persons aboard, is ashore on Bligh island. Prince Wil
liam sound. A furious storm is raging. No xoord has been received from
the rvireless operator on the Olympia since this morning, and grave fears are
entertained for the safety of those on the wrecked vessel.
There are 52 passengers aboard the Olympia, most of whom boarded
the vessel here last night. Among those who sailed from here for Valdez
and Seward are United States District Judge E. E. Cushman and wife,
and the following members of the third district court, who are on their
way to Valdez, where court convenes tomorrow:
United States District Judge E. E. Cushman and wife.
Secretary I. Hamberger, wife and two children.
District Attorney George %R.% R. Walker.
Assistant District Attorneys Guy Brubacker and J. L. Green.
Stenographer Don Stewart.
Clerk of Court L. M. Lakin.
Deputy Clerk Thomas S. Scott.
Stenographer J. Hamilton.
• Deputy Marshals J. H. D. Bouse and Brown.
All the above are members of Judge Cushman's court.
The .crew of the Olympia consists of 54 officers and men, Captain J. T.
Daniels being in command.
" -The "Olympfa "sailed from Cordova at 6 o'clock last night, having
arrived from Seattle earlier in the day. Although the night was clear and
a full Vmoon shed 'a bright light, navigation was made dangerous by aSO
mile galej which was blowing from the north.
Between 12 and 1 o'clock this morning the operator on duty at the
navy wireless station picked up the distress signal of the Olympia. He
answered at once. Operator Hayes, on the Olympia, then sent an urgent
appeal for help, saying that the Olympia had struck on Bligh Island and
—\u2666was in an exposed position. Heavy
seas were breaking over her, making
the position of those on board all the
more perilous.
The message from the Olympia was
received with difficulty. The men in
charge of the naval wireless station
express the opinion that the grounding
of the vessel had in some way caused
a short circuit, which interfered with
the sending of the wireless messages
from the steamer.
In spite of this difficulty, communi
cation was maintained with the dis
abled ship until 4 o'clock this morn
ing, since which time no call has been
picked up from the ship. It is hoped
that the silence of the wireless means
nothing more serfous than the giving
out of the batteries or the breaking of
the dynamo, but on account of the
furious storm which is raging the
most conservative are compelled to- atl
mit that the Interruption of wireless
communication may mean that , the
steamer has succumbed to the pound
ing of the waves.
AUTO CRASH FATAL
TO LE NDAL M.GRAY
Steamship Agent Is Killed and
Wife and Chauffeur. Are
Slightly Bruised
" GONZALES, Dec. 11. — Hurled from
his machine as it skidded and turned
a complete somersault, Lendal Morton
Gray, agent. of the Kosmos steamship
company, was killed today on the road
two miles south of Gonzalcs. Gray's
wife and his. chauffeur, James Rooke,
who were with him in the machine,
escaped with slight Injuries, but Gray's
favorite dog met the fate of his mas
ter by being caught beneath the big
auto.
: .The Grays were returning from a
visit to Paso Robles. Gray sat at the
wheel and was sending the machine
along at a rate of 30 miles an hour
when he came on a sandy stretch. The
wheel was wrenched from his hands,
the machine skidded, turning com
pletely over, and Gray was pitched
headlong to the side. of the road. Mrs.
Gray, and Rooke. fell from the auto,
but sustained only a few brnises. When
they reached the injured man's side
he was unconscious, and he died within
a short time.'" His skull had been' frac-
Gray was 41 years" old. (He Is,sur
vived by his, widow and a son.
Trip Taken fforr r Health
REDTVOOD CITY. Dec. 11: — Lendal
Morton Gray, who was killed In an
automobile accident near Gonzales to
day, had been on a trip to Paso Robles
hot springs for his health and was
returning' to '.his' home here. He had
been: for a number of years general
agent of. the -Kosmos steamship com
pany, T7ith offices at 158 California
street, San Francisco.
'v : At-the family > home it was stated
that Mrs. Gray" would return here on
the first' train.
*-*.Gray* was' one of, the best known
shipping men In San Francisco. He
had charge of the Pacific coast business
of the Kosmos line, which operates a
line of -steamers between this coast
and (German ports.
PEICE FIVE CENTS.
Owing to the closing of the military
cabin offices at night, assistance could
not be summoned from Valder. only
20 miles distant from the scene of th«
wreck. No tugs were in the harbor
here and it was necessary to telephone
to Katalla. 50 miles east of here, to
get a boat thai^ could go to the assist
ance of the Olympiads people. The
launch Corsair left Katalla early this
morning. "Word was also sent to Sew
ard. to the westward, to disrvtch the
mall steamer Dora to the Olympiads
assistance. The Dora was due at Sew
ard early today and should already be
on the way to Bligh island.
Ready to Launch Boats
The rock on which the Olympia
struck is one of the numerous r«efa
that surround Bligh island and make
it the most dangerous spot in Prince
William sound. It is at the entrance
to Ellamar bay and is but 20 miles
from Valder. the port which the Olym
pia was seeking to make.
Owing to the difficulty with which
wireless communication with the Olym
pia was maintained. Operator Hayes
was unable to give any details con
cerning the grounding o? the vesseL
It Is believed, however, that its ma
chinery must have broken down, leav
ing .It at the mercy of the storm.
Operator Hayes said that the boats
were all ready for launching, but that
the fury of the storm made this too
dangerous an undertaking except as a
last resort. It is believed the people
will stay by the steamship until help
arrives, unless they are forced to take
to the boats before the sinking of the
ship.
Fate Pursues Passengers
SEATTLE, Dec. 11. — The Alaska
steamship company's steamship Otym
pia was wrecked on the Bligh island
reef. 40 miles from Cordova, Alaska,