DailjL Weather . Report
" Fair Tonight and Tuesday.1
Highest tenip. yesterday i..... 58
Lowest tonip. last night 31
vol. vn.
KOSBI1LRG, DOUGLAS COUNTY, ORKGOX. JIONDAV, FEBRUARY 88, 1016.
No. BO
'V
PLAMAN CASE
OW IN COURT
Sewing Machine Agent Ac
cused of Burning Dwelling."
MANY WITNESSES ABE EXAMINED
Man's Actions Are Traced and Used
As Evidence Many of Tlio
State's Claims Are
Admitted.
The court room was well filled this
morning with the many citizens who
vrere desirous of hearing the testl-'
mony Introduced In the case of the
State vs. Plaman, accused of arson, i
The Jury was chosen shortly after 10 I
o'clock and the attorneys stated
their case to the jury. According to
the statements of Dlsrict Attorney 1
Jv'euner, the state will endeavor to
prove tha'v on tiie n:g'a of December
31, a fire was discovered In the
house owned by Mrs. E. R. Hanan,
situated on the corner of Douglas and
Fowler streets and which was occu
pied by the defendant, Wm. F. Pla
man. That shortly after the fire was
discovered by two girls, Audrey Wal
lace and Doris Miller, a man came
from the shadow cast by the trees in
front of the property and started
down Douglas street towards town.
That the girls called to him, telling
him that the house was on fire and
that he asked for the location of a
telephone and that upon being told
there was one, at Harry Kenny's
...nil. nil .A tUr,
1 l . . rr . i '
utsneu mr. ivtauiiey.. iu ..mm in an
alarm.
Two days before the fire occur
ded, Mr. Plaman took out an In
surance policy oi $i,GGG, t,utuiius
his furniture and sewing machines
for which he was an agent. That he
represented to the insurance agent
that there were eight machines in
the house and when an examination
was made only five of an old, design
could be found. Upon leaving the ,
house in the evening it is claimed i
by the state that he went to the!
Methodist church where a celebra-1
tlon was being given by the W. C. j
T. U., accompanying his wife and a !
neighbor lady. Upon reaching the
church he stated that he desired to!
mall at letter and left them, going to
the postoffice. . They claim that in
regard to his movements after this
time the defendant has made con
flicting statements, one being that he
deturned home to o'btain an umbrella I
and tho other that he had left the'
kitchen door unlocked.
The state will also try to prove
that on the night of the 31st Mr.!
Plaman purchased kerosene at ono
of the local stores and that follow-!
ing the fire partially burned blan
kets which had been saturated with ,
kerosene were found In the burned
building.
Mr. Herman, who apepars for Mr.
Plaman, In presenting the defend
ent's case, stated that his client came
to this country about five years ago
and settled In the Swedish colony.
ziu iubi uig ittiiu itieio iinoiigii H, hub-
fortune and then came to Roseburg
where he engaged as a Bewing ma
chine gent. He rented a house
from Mrs. Hunan known as the Lon-
lon property, situated on the corner!
of Fowler and Douglas streets, the j
house being known as one of the old- j
est in the city.' The defense admit-.
ted nearly every claim made by j
the state nd expects to account fori
everv one of them. It Is admitted
t
that Mr. Plaman took out an lnsur-l
ance policy two days before the fire
occudred and the shortage In sewing
machines is -accounted for by the
fact that two had been sold, while
several more were out on approval.
In regard to the statements which
the state claims are damaging to Mr. 1
Plaman, both are accredited. It be
ing claimed by Mr. Plaman that he
returned not only on account of hav-j
log an umbrella, but also because he
was certain he had left the door un
locked. Upon reaching the house he
says that he found it aflame and that
upon entrance fell over some article
of furniture and was then forced from
the room by the flames.'
ft Is claimed that a dozed condi
RUMOUEl WATER AX1
: LIGHT MAST SOU)
It is rumored on the streets
today that A. Welch, owner of
the Douglas County Water &
Light Company, . has sold his
Interests to Mr. Pullman, of
Portland. Although not con-
flrmatlon of the report can be
obtained, the rumor is. persist-
ent and the final papers will
probably be taken out in a few
days.
tion, as the effects of the severe
fall and the sudden shock of find
ing the house atlre accounted for
the lack of haste displayed by Mr.
Plaman in summoning aid. In re
gard to the kerosene purchased, the
house was lighted by korosene lamps
and this was necessary to provide
lights. The blankets found were used
by Mr. Plaman as lap robes when
driving jabout , the i. country and
when found were under a stairway
which was still intact. In case the
state endeavored to prove that the
fire on the two succeeding nights
were started by the defendant, Mr.
Herman stated that he would prove
a complete alibi for those nights.
Mrs. Hanan was the first witness
called anj testified as to her owner
ship of the house, giving the age of
the premises as 63 years. Upon
cross examination she drew a map
of the house, showing location of
rooms, stairway, stove, etc.
Martin Ridell,. who was boarding
at the house was called and testified
as to Mr. Plaman's going to the
church and leaving to go to the post
office. ' The matter of Mr. Rldoll's
trunk which was examined by the
sheriff was also Inquired into, Mr.
Ridell stating that everything was
intact, nothing having been taken. 1
Miss Audrey Wallec stated that
she was standing across the street
and noticed a red glare on the
snow. At the same time she saw a
man coming from the building, and
whom she believed to be Mr. Plaman.
The claims of the state In regard to
the man's movements were supported
by her testimony. The reason for" her
being at the place at the time the
time the fire occurred was accounted
for by the fact that her companion,
Doris Miller left the Palace theatre
where she was employed at 9:30 and
went to her home to change her
shoes and obtain rubbers before go
ing to the New Years ball at the
Armory.
Miss Miller substantiated the tes
timony of Miss Wallace. Neither
were closely cross-oxamined.
Other witnesses were called by the
state who morcly substantiated the
testimony formerly Introduced or sus
tained the claims made by the dis
trict attorney in opening. Among
the witnesses called were W. H.
Kenney, Ella Stewart, John Long.
Jessie M. Campleton, Geo. K. Qulne,
13. C. Benson, Mra. G. W. Prior and
T. A. Raffety.
Attorney Herman, for the defense,
admitted the greater part of the
claims of the state, merely attempt
ing to account for the actions of his
client He first called a number of
of character witnesses, among them
being C. M. Hermann, John Blom
berg, V. S. Powell, Oscar Hansan.
A. J. Llngren and J. B. King. On
Mr. King's testimony the defense
based their theory of the blankets
bearing traces of kerosene which
were found b the sheriff. The
blankets contained only a faint trace
of oil on them, and It was thought
by tho orflcera that they had been
saturated. Mr. King, however, testi
fied that he had often placed a can
of oil In the wagon driven by Mr.
Plaman and had covered It with the
blanket which was used for a lap
robe. In the bumping of the vehicle
It Is probable that some of the fluid
was spilled on the blankets, which
would give It the smell noticed by
the officers.
The case will probably go to the
Jury before noon tomorrow.
HEVKRAL INJUIlKK I1Y
NIGHT Flit?; I ItiRTIAXI!
PORTLAND, Feb. 25. Two were
injured, and six rescued In their
night clothes, In a fire that burned
a frame building on Fourth street
this morning early. A fireman foil
from a nearby building and was seri
ously Injured, and a woman attempt
ing to escape, fell down a stairway.
L!SM
INTHE CHANNEL
Sinks Quickly With
Loss of Lives.
Heavy
RESCUER IS ALSO SUNK BY MINE
Seventh Victim of Mines In Two
lays Latest List of Dead
Hcuchos 171 hip Sinks
(lose to Dover.
LONDON, Feb. 28. The Times
estimatos the Haloja dead at 147, of
whom 117 were Lascars.
DOVER, Feb. 27. The steamship
Maloja, a 12,431-ton vessel belong
ing to tho Peninsular & Oriental
line, struck i mine and sank withlu
a half hour, two miles from Dover
today. More than 140 persons were
drowned or killed as a result of the
accident.
Tihe British fanker Empress of
Fort "William, going to the rescue,
struck another mine and sank near
by. One man of the crew of the
Empress of Fort William was drown
ed. Up to midnight the bodies of vic
tims landed include 18 mon, 11 wo
men and four children, in addition
to 11 Lascars. Among the dead Is
Mrs. McLeod, wife of General Mc
Leod. Attempt to Hoacli Vessel Falls.
The! Maloja left Tllburyonly yes
terday for Bombay with malls, 11!)
passengers of all classes aboard, and
a crew numbering about 200, most
of them Lascars. Other passengers
were to join tho ship at Marseilles.
The steamer had Just passed Ad
miralty pier at Dover and was oppo
site Shakespeare Cliff when an ex
plosion shook her from end to end.
She listed immediately to port.
High seas were running and tho
captain, realizing- that great damage
had been done to the after part of
his vessel, tried to run her aground,
but the engine room was swamped
and tho ship became unmanagable.
Dozens of Craft lo Itcscue.
The plight of tho vessel was ob
served and .dozens of craft went at
full speed to her rescue. It was ono
of theflo, the Empress of Fort Will
lam, of 2181 tons that sank.
Aboard tho Maloja everything pos
sible was done to get the passengers
and crew off. All the boats had al
ready been swung out before she
struck, as a precaution against acci
dent, and all those aboard had suffi
cient time to put on life holts, in
struction In the uso of which had
KING OF MONTENEGRO AND ENTIRE ROYAL
Seated, King and Queen of Montenegro. Standing, left to right: Princess Vera; Princess Zenlc; Princess
Melilza; wife of I'rince Danilo; M. Miouchikovitch, president of the consul; Prince Danilo.
The King of Montenegro and his entire family have fled their country and are now in exile at Lyons, France.
the meanwhile, the conquered Montenegrin are getting along as beat they can. Thia photo was taken in Ly
ons this month, and just reached this country.
been given the previous evening,
bodies Are Washed Ashore.
Euat after boat and saven rafts
v.-uio sent away, but several persons
leaned into tho water and were pick
ed up by the surrounding, craft. It
was at first thought that all had
been caved, but later bodies were
washed ashore and their number was
gradually added to during the day.
Owing to the fact that Dover Is
under strict military law, it was pos
s'b'.o to obtain only meager detMls
f' thosa rescued. Tho captain said
t'ut both passengers and crew be
aded splendidly.
British Officials on Hoard.
The passengers were for the most
part British officials In the Indian
service, the most prominent being
Judge Oldfield, of the Indian high
court. They were returning to ser
vice In the east.
)enth Loss on Liner Raised.
LONDON, Feb. 28. A revised re
port today stated that 171 personB
perished when the linor Meloja, a
sister ship of the Persia, was mined
off Dover yesterday. Forty seven of
the doad have been identified at the
Dover morgue.
The Russian liner Petshenga
which was sunk today, makes the
seventh victime of mines In two days.
Fifteen of her crew have been land-
ed. The other ships destroyed were;
the British liner, Empress of Fort I
William, going to tho rescue of the
crew of the Maloja, and the BritlBh
vessel Trignac, and the Dutch!
vessel Trlghac, and I he Dutcht
steamer Mocklenburg. An investl-j
gation to determine how the Meloja j
was mined, is now proceeding. She!
sank within view fo Dover. A baby j
girl, wrapped In blankets and mi-'
harmed, was picked up an hour after
the Meloja sank. The bodies of the
captain and eight members of the
crew of the liner Dido which was!
Bunk on Saturday, washed ashore in
Lincolnshire today.
L
TWO NAVAL BASES
WASHINGTON, Feb. 28. Naval
bases on tho Pacific and Carrlhoan
aro needed, Admiral Knight, presi
dent of tho navy nnd war collog' ,
told the house naval committee. He
declared that we cannot now defend
tho Philippines, and askod two mil
lions for the Carribeau base aB an
Immediate necessity. Ho criticised
tho lack of men and fust ciulsers,
nnd said thnt tho navy wiib unable
to put forth more than half of its
strength. Ho suggested that we do
not build any more dreadnaughts
thl3 year, but construct battle cruis-
"1 nn nf1
GEMS HOLD
FOWUAMONT
Frencn Fail to Capture After
Five Heavy Assaults.
HEAVY TOLL IN DEAD AND PRISONERS
PortreKN is In FniKinenta Now
&tol ami Concrete Walls
Could Not Witlistnnd
Awful Shell Flno.
LONDON, Feb. 28. Tho Rotter
dam correspondent of the Dally Mull,
telegraphing under yesterday's date,
says:
"A German correspondent Bays
that the front of Fort Douaniont was
entirely destroyed by the concentrat
ed fire of the 17-inch and 12-inch
guns, which blew the steel and con
crete cupolas to fragments. One fort
nearby was blown up by a high ex
plosive shell, which penetrated the
magazine.
"Before the attack hundreds of
German engineers had been making
roadB for conveyance of the 17-Inch
guns. French prisoners, "dazed, said,
according to the German correspond
ent, that the terrific fire quickly
made Douamont untenable.
'Vs the geat bnttlo at Verdun
reaches its climax, sympathetic ac
tivity is spreading ovor the entire
front. Guns in Plandors are heard
on the Dutch frontlor. The BritlBh
made local attacks In the region of
Armentleres, but the fighting Is
mainly confined to heavy artillery.
"Enemy flying machinos are out
in great numbers. A very large bat
tleplane mountalng two guns was
seen leaving Zecbrugge.
"The Gorman newspapers recoived
here today express the greuiest con
fidence in the result at Verdun and
are enthusiastic over the bravery of
the German troops.
"The Koollsche Zeltung says:
" 'The renowned Branduuburg reg
iment has added a bloody laurol to
the wreathflTon its colors. Its sons
have Bhown themselves worthy of
tholr fathers. ' "
HKRL1N, Feb; 27. Five determ
ined attempts made by French troops
to recapture from the Germans fort
Douamont, one of tho outlying Ver
dun fortifications, wore repulsed yes
terday with sanguinary losses, ac
cording to tho official statement Is
sued by tho Gorman headquarters
staff. German troops, It was uBflort
cd, had stormed tho fortified works
of Hnrdaumont, as well ns tho town
of Champneuvlllo and the Cole do
Talou. Tho number of unwoundod
FAMILY IN EXILE
is' ,,'
Frenchmen takon prjsuners, it was
added, totaled 15, OOt). The toitt of
the German 'official . statement fol
lows: ; si t .' J, xv?:
"On various portions of the front
there wore Intense artillery and mluo
battles. . . , i . .
"South of Ypros a British attack
was repulsed.
Flvo Atencks Ily French Fail.
"On the heights to the right of the
Meuse the French attemntert bv u
tracks, repeated five times with fresh.
troops, to recapture the armored
fortress of Douamont. They wore
replsed with sanguinary losses.
"To tile west of the fort our troops
have taken Champneuville the Cni
de Talou, and have advanced as far "
as Nave on the southern border of
the wood northwest of Bras.
"To the east of the fort wa toolr
by storm the extended fortified
works 'of Hardaumon.
'In the Woevre plain vigorous
fighting is taking place on tho Ger
man frontier, the battles extending
as far as the Cotes Lorralno,
According to Information at uroa-
ent at hand, the number of unwound
ed prisoners amounts to nearly 5,-
000.
Aeroplane Squadrons Active.
"In Flandors our aeroplane squad
rons repeated their attacks on tho
camp of the enemy troops.
'A bomb attack on Mots by enemy
aviators resulted In tho Injury or
death of eight civilians and seven
soldiers. Several houseB were dam
aged. In the neighborhood of tho
fortress a French aoroplane was
brought down In the aerial battle nad
by the bombardment of anti-aircraft
guns. The occupants of the machine
includod two captains, who were cap
tured." ( ,
Verdun 'Drive Halted.
LONDON, Fob. 28 The French re
inforcements chocked the Gorman
drive on Verdun, but it has sproad
to Champagno, 40 miles west of the
Verdun woods. The Borlln statement
today virtually confirmed the French
claim that the Verdun offensive had
hnltod tomporarily. Tho Germans
reported the capture of 1600 yards
ot trenches at the iNivvarlu urm, lh
scene of tho desperate conflict dur
ing tho September offensive, and a
thousand pfisonots wore captured.
'arls admitted tho Champagne loss,
ttrlbutlng it to a surprise attack.
Borlln did not claim any Imnortnnt
gains in tho Verdun region, although
the Mouso peninsula, a strip of land
flvo niilea from Vordun was cleared
of French, who wore exhausted from
attncklng Douamont and Hardemont.
Tho Germans have progressed fur-
thor in tho dlroctlon toward Vachor-
nuvlllo and Bras, four miles "iforh, of
Verdun, and gainod tho t-jot ot Cote
Lorraine nnd Woovro. The Teutons
must storm Poppor heights, before
they can take Bras.
ALL BIDS ARE
Although soveral bids were sub
mitted by local and outside contrac
tors for tho erection of the Catholic
church building nono woro satisfac
tory end unless an agreement can
be reached, tho members of the
church will employ a foreman and
supcrvlso tho work themsolves. Fath
er Walsh slated this morning that
tho bids received were a great deal
above the estimate and that they
would not be "onsldered.
The building, It Is estimated will
cost about $11,000 und will bo a very
beautiful structure. It will be lo
cated on the present site, the pros
ent basement being used as the foun
dation for the additional structure.
It will bo oxtunded several feet in
the rear, giving much moro room
In this direction.
The plans and specifications call
for a building two stories In height.
The first floor will be constructed
whoTly of concrete with a number of
concrota steps leading up to the en
trance and has largo gallery over
tho roar and sides of tho lower audi
torium. The walls of the upper floor
will lie constructed of nietul lath and
concrete and tho Interior will be di
vided Into small rooms,
The entire building will be sur
mounted by a tower beirlux the
usual wooden cross. Tho design
hows a very beautiful building,
which wlii he a credjl to the city.
s