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About Morning Oregonian. (Portland, Or.) 1861-1937 | View Entire Issue (April 17, 1907)
4:00 A. 1)1 VOL,. XLVI.-NO. 14,464. PORTLAND, OREGON, WEDNESDAY, APRIL. 17, 1907. PRICE FIVE CENTS. SECOND EDITION BOMBSHELL FULLS SPOKANE 1 Portland Jobbers Inter vene in Case. ASK READJUSTMENT OF RATES Eastern Washington Men Are Placed in Tight Box. FACE ANOTHER CONFLICT Victory in Present Case Means That City May Be Forced to Relin quish Favors Now Grant ed to Shippers. , PKVELOPMENT8 II SPOKANE RATE HEARING. Supplemental petition In Interven tion fllfyl by Coast jobbers may lead to complete revision of rates to Coast from Eastern terminals and back to Interior. Portland .cores point In weourins' ad mission from Commissioner ProirtT that he Is satisfied as to the effect of water competition on rates from East to Coast terminal.. f&pokane will have Inning today and will dispute portion of testimony offered by expert witnesses. Hearing will probably be conchldfcd tonight. Consternation was aroused in the Spokane camp yesterday in the ter minal rate hearing before Commission er Prouty, when an amended and sup plemental petition In intervention was filed by J. N. Teal, attorney for Port land Jobbing Interests, which appear as Intervenors In the action. The peti tion prays for a radical readjustment of all rates from the Coast centers to the Interior, In the event the rate westward to Spokane Is changed, and alleges the present charges by the ' Norlhwestcrn railroads are exorbitant and unjust. 8pokane attorneys were on their feet In a moment and objected to the pres entation of such a document at this stage of the caso. It was a case of fighting the devil with ore, for up to now Spokane has been the out-and-out champion of the consumer and against the mercenary Jobber. In standing against a sweeping reduction of freight rates throughout the North west, Spokane comes out as the Job bers' champion, and shows that lower rates, unless they will benefit her own merchants by discrimination, are not wanted. Commissioner Prouty feared that the petition would Introduce a new Issue Into the hearing, and preferred not to go Into a general rate revision at this time. At the same time, he allowed the petition to be filed with the de fendants, who are three transconti nental railroads entering Spokane. Two Foes to Fight. These unhappy transportation lines now have two foes to fight. Joining hands with them In opposing the Spo kane terminal rates are the Jobbers of Portland and the other Coast centers. But should Spokane win her case, then the former allies of the railroads will turn against them and fight for reduc tions eastward as well as westward. The supplemental petition In inter vention is signed by Colonel H. D. Loveland. president of the Pacific Coast Jobbers' and Manufacturers' Associa tion, and Kdmond.C Giltner, acting for the Portland Chamber of Commerce. It recites that any Investigation of rates at Spokane necessarily involves the country lying between Spokane and Portland, as well as territory tributary to other Pacific Coast cities. The peti tion states that present eastbound rates from the Pacific Coast centers to the Interior are unjustly high and unrea sonable. As instances of this actual figures are given, and it is shown that rates from the Coast to Spokane and other interior points are from 3. to 115 per cent higher on a per-ton-mlle basis than are westbound rates under substantially similar conditions from the Missouri River points to Spokane and common Washington cities. Unjust Discrimination Charged. The petition charges unjust discrim ination in violation of the act of Con gress of February 11, 1887, to regulate commerce, and asks that the present rates be annulled and just tariffs sub stituted. in support of this petition J. If. T-ial. . who Introduced it. said in part: "So far from the Coast cities being pampered pets of the transportation com panies, I assert the contrary la true. From the earliest days, the policy of the transcontinental railroads has been to build up traffic and cities in the Inte rior, for by so doing they create and en courage a business at rates f re. from natural competition. "I further assert that this process of gradually cutting off the territory of Coast Jobbing points reached its culmi nation in the creation of the 'Spokane Eonc.1 Here we find a wealthy and popu lous community, with Spokane as its center, surrounded by a wall of tariffs that thoroughly protect Spokane Jobbers, regardless of the consumer. Railroad faop can extend no further, No other city on the lines of the defendant roads has thus been favorad. "We are as willing as Spokane to have the existing rates tested by any rule or any law but we do object to having any ruling made that will not comprehend and adjust all rates and interests affected. Communities and vast business interests that represent the toll and savings o years are not to be brushed aside, particu larly when it la shown by the records of this Commission that the complaining city has been growing by leaps and bounds and Its business expanding to an extent almost without parallel. 'Ordinarily. It Is not the rate per se that is the cause of complaint, but the differential. "We do not claim there should be a readjustment of rates, but we do claim that any readjustment must bear some relation to the whole traffic and to all the traffic, intrastate as well as interstate. Of what benefit would be a lowering of the through class rates from the Bast If the result would prevent lower distributive rates throughout the Coast or other states on both Intrastate and Interstate traffic? Vest Wants Protection. "The great interests of the West are looking for protection Through this Com- Captain of Polios Stover. Whose Face Was Cut While Overpowering "Pink Domino' Burglar. mission as well as are the jobbers of the East and those of the Interior. "We on the Coast claim that the tariffs already in evidence, and the testimony we shall present will show beyond ques tion that the rates needing revision and reduction are the distributive rates from Coast . points rather than the carload rates on merchandise to the Coast or in terior from the East. "The Interest of the -great mass of the people of this Coast is to get their pro ducts to market, east or west, as cheaply as possible, not primarily to get Eastern goods into the hands of the interior Jobbers at a lower rate. The interest of the great mass of people oi mis t.oasi is to set what they consume to them as cheaply as possible, through low distribu tive rates from their natural tjoasi mar ket and thus share in the benefits of rates made .oossible by God s highway, . wnicn no nation owns arid 'no corporation can control." Mr. Teal arraigned the present rates to the interior and said they are the Highest, with perhaps a single exception, in tne United States for similar service. He said they are absolutely-indefensible. Commissioner Prouty Speaks. Commissioner Prouty said he did not see how the question could be passed UDon at this hearing. "You may put in the rates from the roast to the interior and you may put in your evidence of water competition, that is what we came out here to listen to. said he. I do not think you should in troduce the unreasonableness of the Coast rate to the interior." "1 do not see how we can avoid con siderine the rate to the Interior," said Attorney Seth Mann, who appears for the Coast Jobbers, 16 per cent of tne trainc moving West comes under the combina tion rate to the Coast and back to the Interior." "Do you expect the Commission to hold that the rate to the Coast and back Is too high and hold that the same rate to Spokane only Is not too high?" demanded Commissioner Prouty. Summer Suits In Winter. W. W. Cotton took a hand in the dis cussion, "if intervention is made in the rate to Spokane because we are making too much money," he said, "the reduction should be spread out for the benefit of all. In other words, if patches are to be cut out of our coat for the benefit of some favored ones, would it not be better if all should share in the reduction and that we be made to wear a Summer suit all Winter. We should be allowed to introduce other evidence in this case if the petition of Interven tion Is admitted. W. A. Mears was the star witness for the Portland Jobbers. He was called early yesterday afternoon. In reply to questions by Mr. Teal, he said the present plan of distribution of goods from Portland to the interior is as old as the first settlement of the city, when there- were do railroads and the interior uraa Served by boats and teams. He said traffic by boats to this coast from the East is largely on the increase. He said the railways favor the interior points and that Portland receives no discrimination from them her a-eographlcai position does not warrant. The witness bounded Portland's dis tributlvo territory today, showing it has been circumscribed somewhat with the favorltsm. shown fcpokane and in terlor points. At present, Mr. Mears Indicated the California line on the south, half way to Tacoma on -the north, the state line to the east and up the O. R. N. to Snake River on the northeast "Have there been efforts by the rail roads to build up any particular cities in this territory by favorable rate mak ing?" Mr. Teal asked. Spokane and Boise Favored. Yes. the most- -notorious - Instances are Spokane and Boise." was the an swer. "What has been the tendency of rates from Portland to the interior?" "I know "of no advance on trans continental interior rates west but I do know of -a- number - of raises on t s -w-afc wv, X id (Concluded on Pars 11 if PI DOM NO BURGLAR CAUGHT Terror of City at Last Landed in Jail. PUTS UP DESPERATE FIGHT Gives Name Frank Davis and Is Only 19 Years Old. CRIMES MAKE LONG LIST Police Believe He Is Man Who At tacked Mrs Rountree and Among Others Robbed Sher lock Home and Henry Hahn. Frank Da via aged 19 years, the notori ous "pln'x domino" burglar, who has cre ated a reign of terror in Portland for two months, was captured In his room at the Cosmos house, Third and Morrison streets, at 2 o'clock this morning by Cap tain of Police Blover, Headquarters De tective Hellyer and Tom Hammersley, for merly a member of the police force, but now proprietor of the house in which the prisoner was taken. Davis was trapped in his room Just as he was entering It. and when confronted by -the three officers drew a -revolver and would have fired, but bJs hand was stayed and the weapon wrested from him. He was handcuffed, but in desperation reached toward his hip pocket and whipped out a second revolver, which was taken from him. With two pairs of handcuffs on him, the prisoner tried to get a third weapon Into play, but was defeat ed in bis plans and was unable to in jure any one, as he evidently wished to. Clubbed Into Submission. Davis, not yet willing to surrender, put up one of the most desperate fights In the history of the police department. He smashed Captain Stover's glasses, cut ting the officer's nose, and made such a struggle for liberty that it was neces sary for the policemen to club him Into submission before he would submit to go to headquarters. The police have no hesitation in brand ing Davis, the youthful prisoner, as the celebrated "pink domino" burglar, and they declare that evidence Is at hand to prove that he Is the man who, on March- 2S, entered the home of N. "W. Rountree, 60 Ella street, and eo brutally beat and choked Mrs. Nellie Rountree, after she gave him her valu able diamonds, to save herself from bodily harm at his hands. A reward of $1000 Is out for his arrest, that sum having been posted by Mr. Rountree. Davis Is also declared by the police to be the man who has continued to ter rorize the residents of the Nob Hill dis trict as no other burglar has for years I .T7TT i "succeeded In doing, and they declare him to be the. person, who -visited the home of P. C. Patterson, 771 Everett street, April 2. at which time E. C. Giltner fired sev eral shots at him.- Long 1,1st of Sensational Crimes. ' Another sensational crime charged against him was the daring' robbery of Henry Hahn, at the latter1 s residence at the head of Lovejoy street, two. weeks ago, when Mr. Hahn, after submitting to the affair, turned his weapon upon the I highwayman and emptied the contents at the fleeing criminal. Numerous crimes, the complete num ber and particulars as yet unknown, are counted against the youth, but the latest and most sensational of the en tire series was the binding, gagging and robbing of J. Z. Dufresne in the Ex-Senator W. IS. Chandler, Who Defends President From Charge That He Was Influenced by Campaign Contributions. latter1 s apartment in Moore's photo graph gallery at an early hour yes terday ' morning; " He tied the victim hand and foot with strings, quickly manufactured from lace curtains, which he tore from the windows. He escaped from a cordon of police by a hair's breadth. Stolen Goods In His Room. Davis Is also the man, it is declared by the police, who entered the home of William Sherlock, Twenty-third and Washington streets, the night of April S, and who was confronted by Miss Sherlock at the door of her room, and frightened away by her piercing screams. The . intruder in that in stance wore the pink domino mask. Numerous small crimes In the burglary line are said to Vie at Davis' door.. He had Jewelry from- a Front-street store that was burglarized several nights ago, and a watch that is evidently stolen prop erty. The revolvers are thought to be stolen ' property also. ' There were two rifles in his room that were taken from the Portland Hardware Store recently. Police Effect Clever Capture. Davis was captured through the clever detective instinct of Tom Hammersley, formerly a patrolman on the police force and last year chief of The Oaks police. He kept watch on the youth, -w-ho had rooms at the Cosmos, of which Hammers ley is proprietor. Hammersley called at police headquarters yesterday and con tided his suspicions to the police. The (Concluded on Page 4.) SAD CASE OF THE PUNY SPOKANE BIG CORPORATIONS ILL FIGHT HENEY BandTogether,Headed by Harriman. HEREIN ISHENEY'S CHIEF MARK Unlimited Capital Will Fight Graft Prosecutor. LAWYER TIPS OFF HIS HAND Southern Pacific Joins Hands With Bribing Corporations in San Francisco Governor's Ax Sus pended Over Wilson's Head. SAN FRANCISCO, April 16. (Special.) A conspiracy which puts Into the shade the $5,000,000 affair that recently aroused the inmates of the White House has evolved from the graft proceedings in San Francisco, and, like the conspiracy in Washington, It has Its headquarters In Washington. Moreover, one of the lead ers of the $5,000,000 conspiracy Is one of the chief actors in this latest plot. In short, the big corporations, which have sighted the specter of Indictment, have banded together against the common foe. Combined, they represent one of the most powerful forces that America has known, and they are prepared to expend a large share of the unlimited capital they control. The United Railroads, an $80, 000,000 corporation; the Pacific States Tele phone & Telegraph Company, the Home Telephone Company, and lastly the Southern Pacific Company, have Joined hands to fight down the graft prosecution. Money Will Fight Law. The plot was hatched shortly after the arrival here of Patrick Calhoun, president of the United Railroads, with his attor ney, P. D. Atterbury. Mr. Atterbury has left for New York, and he will manage the defense from that point until his chief Is brought to court It is to be one of the most stupendous legal battles the country has known, and all that money ana influence can do will be employed to mscreait, intimidate and block Francis J. Heney and his co-workers. "Your leading citizens are your worst enemies," said Lincoln Steffens, the well-known writer on civic de gradation and reform, in addressing the students at Stanford University yesterday, and the people of San Fran cisco have begun to think that there was some truth in this statement. Heney Is After Harriman. The head and front of the plot are reputed to be Patrick Calhoun and E. H. Harriman. It is no secret that above all others It is the desire of Mr. Heney to direct the Are of the INFANT prosecution against Calhoun and the men .who occupy the' seats of the mighty in the councils of the Southern Pacific. Harrlman's representative on the Pacific, W. F. Herrln, Is one of the chief objects of Mr. Heney's investi gation. Mr. Herrln has always refused to come into the open and even now, with public attention centered upon him. he remains in the background. In a remarkable interview given out Just before he left for New York, Mr. Atterbury, the United Railroads at torney, tipped off his hand. Atterbury Shows Ills Hand. "This prosecution," he said, "is one of the most amazing things I have ever beheld. It is un-American and uncon stltu. onaL You are - exceeding the constitutional limits in these proceed ings. It is no longer prosecution. It is persecution. Your people are prejudiced. There Is evidently no chance here for a corporation to secure fair play." , . The utterances of Mr. Atterbury were almost Identical with those of Ruef. It was . regarded . here as most significant that ' the representatives of the United Railroads should show such a hostile spirit toward the prosecution before any sr Tom Hammersley. Who Unearthed the "Pink Domino" Burglar. one connected with the corporation had been Indicted. -. Gillett ' Holds Ax in Reserve. Governor Gillett dropped Into town to day from - Sacramento to be here for the merchants' banquet on April 18. the first anniversary of the big disaster. Mr. Gil lett refused to talk of the graft situation. He was asked what he intended to do in the case of Andrew Wilson, who is now a Railroad Commissioner, but who has con fessed that, while a member of the Board of Supervisors, be accepted bribes when ever they were offered. It has been learned from an authoritative source, however, that Wilson will be allowed to retain his place for a time. After he takes the witness stand, as he will be compelled to do, and testifies that Ruef paid him boodle money, he will be in stantly ousted by the Governor. Wilson is one of the Southern Pacific pets. CASS AFRAID OF GRAND JURY Home Telephone Man Cannot Be . Coaxed United Railroads Next. ' SAN FRANCISCO. April 16. For the second time within a week A. B. Cass, president of the Home Telephone Com pany, of Dos Angeles, and one of the five stockholders of the Empire Construction Company of California, today refused to be examined by the grand Jury as to his connection' or knowledge of the alleged bribing of the San Francisco Supervisors to award a franchise to the Home Tele phone Company, of this city. A few weeks ago Mr. Cass, under- sub pena, appeared before the grand Jury and allowed ' himself to : be Interrogated by Assistant District Attorney Heney.. The latter, to get certain intimate fapts. if possible, through the medium of the Los Angeles capitalist, had him again sum monad a few-days ago. In the-meantime Mr. Cass, together with his associates in the Empire Construction Company, en gaged the legal services of George A. Knight, who advised Messrs, Cass, Tor rance and Phillips to refuse to give any further- testimony, on the ground that they were Informed the grand Jury "meant to indict them anyhow, and to testify might render them liable to prose cution." Today Mr. Heney called up Mr. Knight and told him that he (Knight) had been misinformed as to the Inten tion of the grand Jury to indict his clients with or without cause, and he again "extended to Mr. Casa the privi lege of going before the inquisitorial body" and "explaining certain suspi cious circumstances, if he could ex plain them and desired to do so. The result was that Mr. Cass ap neared in the Brand jury ante-room this afternoon, but, when invited to take the stand, he refused on the ground that he might incriminate him self. The witnesses examined at today's cession -were ex-Police Commissioners H. Hutton, John Drlnkhouse, T. F. Reagan and Joslah Howell. They were questioned as to their knowledge of the nickel-ln-the-slot machine petty grafting alleged by the prosecution against Mayor Schmltz and some of his administration associates. The grand jury adjourned without returning any indictments, until next Saturday. In order to give the assist ant District Attorney time, it is un derstood, to prepare the case against the United Railroads, whose alleged bribing of Supervisors and others Is to be probed next week. An extraordinary Incident today was the appearance at Gough' and Geary streets of a man and an asred woman the latter carrying a huge placard rudely lettered with denunciations of Rudolph Spreckels. Mr. Heney, Dis trict Attorney. Langdon and the grand Jury. The man attracted a crowd by standing on the curb opposite Native Sons' Hall and loudly narangulng against those named. Members of the grand Jury came to the windows and listened with some show of amusement. A policeman finally arrived and chased the man and his aged comrade off. The trial of Ruef will be resumed in the Superior Court tomorrow morning. - vf r r "'f 3 MORE TOWNS ARE REDUCED TO RUIN Roll of Destruction in Mexico Grows. TOTAL OF DEAD IS INCREASING Great Waves From Ocean Flood Port of Acapulco. SHOCKS CONTINUE DAILY Interruption of Telegraph Wires Keeps Back Worst News Dead Bodies Seen Among Ruins. Fear for Tehuantepcc Isthmus. CITY OF MEXICO. April 16. Heavy earthquake shocks continued on the west coast until 4 o'clcck this morn ing. Date news of the earthquake shows that the devastation wrought was greater than at first supposed. Beside the destruction of Chilpancingo and Cnllapa, It Is now said that Tlxtla also was leveled. Messengers reach ing Chilpancingo say the townB of Ayutla and Ometepre have been wiped out " The population of Ayutla. Is small. and it is thought the loss of life there will be insignificant. Ometepre is a town of about 4000 inhabitants and the loss of life probably Is large. . Tlapa, neur the border line of the state of Oaxaca, is also reported to be wiped out A report from Chilpan cingo says the whole of the west coast from Acapulco south of Sallna Crus has been badly damaged. Cbalapa Totally Destroyed. The damaged places are remote, and news from the stricken district conse quently Is Incomplete. Only one wire is working : to Chilpancingo. Through -the courtesy of the- Federal Telegraph Company, the Associated Press was given this wire today at noon while It was working through to Chilpancingo. The operator at Chilpancingo declared that up to that time he knew nothing as to the number of dead beyond the fact that he had seen about a dozen dead bodies and knew of about 30 wounded. A dispatch to El Pals, the organ of the Catholic Church here, from the bishop of Chalapa, confirms the report of the total destruction wrought In that neighborhood. Fourteen are reported to have been killed In one house and the number of wounded Is given as 399. . In Tlxtla it Is reported that 12 dead (Concluded on Page 2. CONTENTS TODAY'S PAPER Foreign. More Mexican cities destroyed by earth quake, and death list grows. Page 1. Russian- Douma excludes unruly member. Page 5. National. Indictment of Borah attributed to miners' federation plot. Page 3. Bourne gets action on arrears of work In Oregon land offices. Page 3. Census office rejects Seattle population fig ures. Page 4. Politics. Bryan speaks . to Brooklyn Democracy. Page 6. Attack on Roosevelt repelled by ex-Senator Chandler. Page 2. More exposures In Chicago police graft. Page 4. Domestic Haskln on the King's Daughters. Page S. Harrlman's backers begin to desert him. Page 1. Hermann trial may end this week. Page 2. Alton road's sentence for rebating confirmed. Page 3. Evelyn Thaw's mother answers accusers. Page 2. Iowa girl files to mother in Portland. -Page 5. Many notable speeches at Peace Congress. Page 4. Van Cleff convicted of stealing In New York. Page 4. t St. Paul express clerk robbed of $25,000. Page S. Pacific Coast. Big corporations combine to defeat Heney, who alms to indict Harriman and Cal houn. Page L Cass refuses to go before grand Jury. Page 1. Joseph S. Bush, wanted In Kansas for hold ing up train and killing passenger, ar rested at Myrtle Point. Page Vice-President Fairbanks accepts invitation of Astoria Chamber of Commerce to at tend banquet in that city. Page 6. Seattle, lassies use gun to settle love affair. Page 6. Commercial and Marine. Another drop In local butter market. Page 17. Wheat declines about a cent at Chicago, Page 17. Boston wool market very dull. Page 17. New York stock market nearly stagnant. Page 17. Portland and Vicinity. Portland Jobbers intervene In Spokane rate case, demanding sweeping readjustment of tariffs. Hearing may end ' today. Page 1. C. G. H. McBrlde buys C. E. Loss Interests In United Railways. Page 10. State Railroad Commission calls upon O. R. Ac N. to improve Jocal passenger serv ice In Eastern Oregon. Page 10. Dr. C. E. Bobbins dies of meningitis and one new case of the disease develops. Page 30. ' Workmen on Rothchlld building injured by falling embankment. Page 10. Speakers review history of Calvary Presby terian Church. Page 12. Municipal Association Indorses candidates for Council. Page IS. Day's grist of cases In Municipal Court. Page 14.