i
VOL. XL VI NO 14,553.
PORTLAND, OREGON, WEDNESDAY, JULY 31, 1907.
PRICE FIVE CENTS.
T
ADDS TO MYSTERY
Male Friend of Miss
Matthews Dying.
MILLIONAIRES ARE TREMBLING
Many In Eastern Cities In
volved in Scandal.
BROKEN SUICIDE PACT?
Major Rumbaugh Fatally Shoots
Himself Through Love of Dead
Girl Witnesses Say She
Committed Suicide.
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo.. July SO.
Impenetrable mystery seems to hang
about the death yesterday on a lonely
mountain side of Miss Laura Matthews, a
beautiful young actress, who came here
from Chicago recently, accompanied by
iher nurse, Miss Tlllle Green. Further
mystery was injected into the case today,
when Amos R. Rumbaugh, an Army offi
cer, who had posed as the avenger of
Miss Matthews, attempted to blow out
his brains just before he was asked to
testify at the inquest.
In Chicago, Charles A. Coey, million
aire automobile manufacturer, vehem
ently denies that he was betrothed to
Miss Matthews. He was positive in his
declaration that Miss Matthews did not
commit suicide and said he did not know
Rumbaugh and had never heard of him.
Broken Suicide Pact Suspected.
The belief is gaining ground that there
was another death pact. In which the
girl alone kept faith, or that she was
done to death. How she was lured to the
mountain and how she met death prom
ises to prove an engrossing mystery that
will create a tremendous sensation in at
least three big Eastern cities. If it is
ever explained.
Suspicious circumstance is the fact
that the nurse sent out. or had pre
pared in advance of the finding of Miss
Matthew's body notices to her friends
that she had committed sucide. She
explained this today by the statement
that she knew the girl was riding to
her death when she left the hotel. An
other point which the authorities deem
auspicious is that there are no powder
marks on the girl's temple. Had she
fired the shot herself, it is almost cer
tain these would have shown.
Letters Involve Prominent Men.
The mother of the girl is hastening
from Kansas City to Chicago to learn
what she can of the girl's relations
with certain rich men there. She de
nies that she and Laura had been es
tranged and threatens to bring to pun
ishment all connected with the death
of her child.
The authorities have discovered
highly sensational letters Involving
men prominent in New York, Chicago
and Denver with the girl's death, but
no names will be given out, pending
the Inquest and arrests, if the testi
mony warrants.
Dr. Harold Thomas, whose name has
been mentioned as one of the admirers
of the girl, says he was merely an ac
quaintance. His friends insist he was
In no sense her suitor.
Insist Girl Was Murdered.
Telegrams from Eastern friends, who
may be possessed 'of inside facts, to
night1 Insist that Miss Matthews was
murdered and urge the authorities to
reject the suicide theory as totally out
of the question.
DIES RATHER THAN TESTIFY
Rumbaugh Shoots Himself and In
creases Matthews Mystery.
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo., July 30.
Amos R. Rumbaugh, of Washington, D.
C, a close friend of Miss Laura Mat
thews, the young actress who committed
suicide near Broadmoor Sunday night,
added horror and mystery to the grue
some case by shooting himself through
the head this afternoon in the manner
adopted by Miss Matthews. Rumbaugh
committed the act in his room at the Alta
Vista Hotel.
The hour when the fatal shot was fired
Is not known, as it was not heard by any
one in the hotel, and the deed was dis
covered only when officers went to his
room to ascertain why he had not re
sponded to the subpena to attend the
Coroner's Inquest over Miss Matthews'
body today.
When the officers appeared at the hotel
a bellboy was sent to Rumbaugh's room
to see what was the matter. The boy
found the door locked and could get no
response. The officers asked that the
door be opened, but the key was in the
inside and another could not be Inserted
into the lock. An officer was boosted up
to the transom and looked in,' and the
spectacle he saw was horrifying. Rum
baugh was reclining on the edge of the
bed and hls brains had oozed out onto the
floor. He was naked. A hasty exam
ination showed that the man was still
alive, and he was taken to a hospital, but
all efforts to save him will be fruitless.
He is still living but cannot recover.
That the act of Rumbaugh was the
direct result of the death of Miss Mat
thews is not doubted. He was to have
aopeared this afternoon as a witness at
bEGQND
RAGEDY
the Coroner's inquest to tell what he
knew of his friend's tragic ending. Rum
baugh professed to be but a chance ac
quaintance of the girl, but It' develops
that he knew her in Chicago, and also
knew C. A. Coey, the wealthy Chicagoan,
and Dr. H. A. Thomas, of the "101"
ranch. He was frequently a member of
parties of which Miss Matthews and the
other men referred to were members.
Rumbaugh was the one who accompa
nied Miss Green, the nurse, to the livery
stable about 6 o'clock Monday morning
to see if the actress' horse had returned.
It was he who sent the telegram to Coey
demanding that he "do the right thing by
the girl," and it was with him that Miss
Matthews left the letter in which she
enclosed another letter to Coey.
Sent Telegram to Coey.
The officers have not yet had time to
examine Rumbaugh's papers and effects
and the Coroner has had his room locked.
If Rumbaugh did not destroy the letter
left him by Miss Matthews, together with
the letter to Coey, it is believed they will
w 1 e $ ,
i 4 " , - s
United States Senator Henry A.
Dupont, of Delaware, Head of the
Powder Trust, Which the Govern
ment Is Trying to Break Cp.
show startling facts that may entangle
mnv Tnnle of oromlnence. The telegram
sent by Rumbaugh to Coey Monday morn
ing, taken in the light of his suicide, nas
more meaning than before. It was as
follows:
"Laura committed suicide on account of
you'. Letters left behind. Send 300 at
once for expenses." ,
The public officers say the letter snows
that Rumbaugh knew Coey well enough
to speak to him of "Laura" and threaten
him. Rumbaugh is about 28 years old and
the son of a wealthy Washington, D. C.
family. A Bervice medal shows that he
served with distinction with the Tenta
Pennsylvania Infantry in the Philippines.
Left Him Two Brief Notes.
Rumbaugh's death is expected hourly.
Two hHf notes are all that explain the
young man's act. One note is addressed:
"To whom it may concern, and reads
as follows:
"Ship my body to Mrs. J. H. Rumbaugh,
Mount Pleasant, Pa. Notify the Travelers'
Insurance Company of , Hartford, Conn.,
and tha Fraternal Order of Eagles of
Soottdale, Pa. Amos Richard Rum
baugh." The second note was addressed to his
mother, Mrs. J. H. Rumbaugh, at the
above address. The note says:
"Dear mother There is nothing for me
to say why I did this awful deed, so
lay my body away to rest. I have about
$360 on my person. Ton and Charlie
settle things up.
"Tour son,
"RICHARD A. RUMBAUGH."
WAS INFATUATED WITH GIRL
i
Miss Green Explains Rumbaugh's
Suicide and Telegram to Coey.
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo.. July 30.
Late tonight it was learned through a
guest of the hotel where Miss Matthews
was! registered that she feared' Rum
baugh, who was Infatuated with her. She
Is said to have told acquaintances that
she was afraid to go back late at night
to the hotel, for fear her admirer would
blow her brains out as she passed North
Park. "
Miss Tillie Green, who came here with
Miss Matthews and who has acted in the
capacity of nurse, is under police sur
veillance pending the result of the in
quest.'
Miss Green declares she knew nothing
of Coey's relations with Miss Matthews.
With regard to Rumbaugh's attempted
suicide this afternoon, Miss Green had
the following to say:
"Rumbaugh was desperately .in love
with Laura. He had previously told me
that he was engaged to marry her, that
they would go East on their honeymoon,
etc. He did not know Coey, but seemed
to take a boyish ' delight in describing
how he would go to Chicago and parade
his bride in front of the millionaire
manufacturer.
"When I told Rumbaugh that Laura
had committed suicide, he seemed like
one possessed. H8 swore that he would
go to Chicago and kill Coey, and his en
tire motive from that time until his buI
clde seemed to be that of revenge on
Coey. He killed himself through love of
the girl."
SUPPORT THEORY OF SUICIDE
Witnesses Tell of Preparations.
Coey Believed Responsible.
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo., July SO.
At the Coroner's inquest held over tha
remains of Miss Laura Matthews, whose
dead body was found lying in a lane near
Broadmoor yesterday with a bullet hole
In her head, several sensational facts
were developed today.
Miss Green, the nurse who has been
Miss Matthews' companion while in Colo
rado Springs, was the principal witness.
She admitted having written several let
ters to friends of Miss Matthews in Chi
cago and elsewhere stating that Laura
had taken her life after making "a hard
battle." It developed that these letters
XConcluded on Page 3.)
OCEAN VESSELS
DISREGARD FOGS
Scorching Caused the
Wreck of Columbia.
SAN PEDRO DIDN'T SLOW DOWN
Serious Admissions by Offi
cers of Schooner.
HAWSE'S CHARGE NOT TRUE
Hansen Denies He Refused to Re
ceive Survivors Considered Boats
Safer Columbia's Boats Could
Have Saved Many More.
SAN FRANCISCO, July, 30. The testi
mony of the officers of the steam schoon
er San Pedro, before Captain John Ber
mlngham today, demonstrated clearly
that the habit of Coast skippers, said to
be practically universal, of running their
vessels at full speed regardless of the
fog, was mainly responsible for the wreck
of the Columbia and its terrible conse
quences. Chief Mate B. Hendrlcksen, who was
in charge of the San Pedro at the time
of the collision, testified that, when he
first heard the fog Bignals of the Colum
bia, he did not slow down and that, when
the passenger vessel loomed out of the
fog, it was too late to do anything but
try to make tha collision as slight as
possible.
He appears to have acted with dispatch
and good judgment when he1 sighted the
Columbia; but at that time, according to
bis testimony, the ships were not more
than a boat's length apart, and not much
was possible. There was no time to go
to starboard. He therefore blew the dan
ger signal, four short blasts, ordered the
engines stopped and threw the helm hard
aport. He did not order the engines re
versed, he explained, because he hoped
to throw the San Pedro around so as to
strike only a glancing blow, and in order
to do this It wasnecessary to keep suffi
cient way on her. The San Pedro had
been making about eight knots, and was
probably making five when she struck tha
Columbia Far Away.
The mate 6aid, in answer to a question,
that when the fog signals were heard
close by. It was the custom to slow down,
but that the Columbia's signals seemed
far away.
The question of passing signals seemed
very uncertain in the chief mate's mind.
Close cross-examination by George
Knight brought out only one thing clearly
that the mate did not know whether the
last signal he blew, preceding the Colum
bia's starboard passing signal, was a fog
signal or a single blast to go to port.
Captain Berm Ingham was most interest
ed In the mate's explanation of his failure
- " Clfa 4 GUBklfLTSl!. IBKE 1 VV-l
H CtNBKMItuni. CAM XAjj. I y- v
V-glr " '
1 Cam Jonathnn Present These to Rooaevelt Next YearT
S This la What Jnde Benson la Satd to Tulnlc of Food
Cemmlaslomer Bailey's Visit to Klamath.
to ' slow down when he first heard the
Columbia.
"Why didn't you slow down when you
heard the fog signal?" he asked, over and
over again, and the answer each time was
"because she seemed so far away."
The witness testified that he had been
a seaman on the Coast for 24 years, and
that he held a master's license for two
years.
Rescued AH Possible.
The tesjimony of Captain Hansen and
Second Mate A. L. Shaube corroborated
that of the chief mats as to the direction
from which the Columbia's first whistles
sounded, but as they were below at the
time, they could throw little light on the
events leading up to the collision.
Captain Hansen arrived In San Fran
cisco today aboard the steam schooner
Ravalli, and hastened, to attend the in
vestigation. The skipper defended him
self against the charges brought against
him by Third Officer Hawse, of the Co
lumbia, and declared that he had done
everything in his power to reecue the
............... i
Caleb Powers, Whose Fourth Trial for
Murder of Governor Gocbel Will
Boon Begin.
GEORGETOWN, Ky.. July 30. Ar
guments to have Special Judg-e Rob
bin vacate the bench In the Caleb
Powers trial were completed this af
ternoon and the court took the matter
under advisement, adjourning court
until 10 o'clock tomorrow morning-.
victims of the wreck, took aboard all that
his little craft would hold and, while he
admitted that he had warned off one of
the lifeboats, he did so for fear that it
would be staved in by floating lumber if
it approached nearer.
, Hawse's Brain Collapses.
Hawse Is lying In so precarious a stata
of mind at the Marine Hospital that tha
house physicians say that. If he does not
Improve within a day or two, they will
call in tha Federal Insanity Commission.
Dr. Lelthead, who examined Hawse this
morning, stated that his nervous disease
has in no way been brought on by the use
of drugs. He lays Hawse's mental state
entirely to the strain brought on by the
wreck.
Captain Hansen told In detail every
thing that transpired after he reached
the deck of the San Pedro, and while the
Columbia was sinking. .He was asleep in
his cabin when the catastrophe occurred,
and, roused by the shock, hurried to tha
deck. There he found the Columbia wal
lowing to her last plunge, and the San
Pedro so badly crippled that she was kept
afloat only by the load of lumber sha
carried. Captain Hansen said:
We launched our deckload in about two and
(Concluded on Page 3.)
MID-SUMMER POLITICS IN OREGON
MERCURY
CLIMBS
TO
Portland Swelters in
102 Degrees Heat
ENTIRE NORTHWEST SUFFERS
Bridges Lodge and Asphalt
Melts in Streets.
NO PROSTRATIONS RESULT
Low Pressure Area Causes Hot
AVinds to Blow From Interior
Instead of Coast Relief
Promised for Today.
Portand tied its hottest day record
yesterday, the mercury reaching 102 de
grees at 4 P. M. The highest previous
temperature ever recorded here was 102
degrees on Juy 23, 1891. Because of the
rather high humidity of the atmosphere
yesterday, it Is beleved to have been the
most oppressivey hot day Portand has
ever known.
The mercury climtred up early yester
day and hovered around the 100 mark
all the afternoon. Everybody sweltered
in the heat. Pedestrians clung tenacious
ly to the shady side of the street. Elec
tric fans worked overtime, many busi
ness men quit their offices and sought a
cool corner at their club or on their
porch and the "Is it hot enough for
you?" fiend added to the general dis
comfort. Not only Portland but the Willamette
Valley and the whole Pacific Northwest
had one of the worst days In their his
tory. Salem had the hottest day It has
ever known. Albany experienced the
hottest weather of the Summer, as did
The Dalles. Grays Harbor reported the
hottest day in the memory of the oldest
Inhabitant.
Women Faint From Heat.
The figures given by the weather bu
reau do not describe the conditions down
town for the official thermometer is on
top of the Custom House, nearly 100 feet
above the street. In the shade. There is
always a breeze striking up there but on
the downtown streets the heat was very
oppressive. The asphalt melted and pe
destrians sank their heels deep into it
Horses suffered from the sun, but so far
as reported there were no prostrations.
Several women, however, fainted In var
ious parts of the city because of tha
heat.
Out of a possible 14 hours and 65 min
utes of sunshine yesterday, Portland
basked In the sun's rays exactly that
long. There was not a cloud. Tha heat
poured down mercilessly all day long.
Beer "Jerkers," soda water clerks and
Ice cream purveyors were the hardest
worked people in the city yesterday.
Many a barkeeper grew dizzy mixing
gin rtckeys and handing out lemonades.
0
MARK
8 Klamath JTewa Item "Senator Fnltoa nd Ex
Senator Mnlkey have been meeting the people
and viewlna; the superb resources of this grand
resrton.
A Cuorua "Neither Cake for Us. -
Proprietors of Ice cream stores were the
most contented men in Portland.
The usual unusual weather, I sup
pose." grinned a tourist to a native yes
terday and the latter had no reply to
make.
Of course there is a scientific explana
tion of yesterday's heat. The unfortu
nate position of high and low pressure
areas, with the wind blowing from the
interior Instead of from the ocean, as Is
usual at this time of the year, is blamed
by the scientific Mr. Beals for yester
day's discomfort. But thia does not help
any when one is sweltering In such
weather as that experienced yesterday.
Just how it happened is not vital with
the mercury at 102.
Mercury 122 In the Sun.
People about town bent on investigation
carelessly left their thermometers out In
the Bun Just to see how high the mercury
column would climb. In some cases it
reached 122 and in others 117 degrees.
Then these fiends ran to tell their friends
and everybody suffered worse than befora.
The shirtwaist man, who has not been
seen here yet this Summer, made his
initial appearance yesterday. Ha had a
big family of brothers too. Many a man
went around in his shirt sleeves with his
coat on one arm.
The Intense heat caused some queer
things around town. The bridges were
all more or less affected by the heat and
tha Burnslda bridge could be closed only
after the fireboat had played a stream of
water on It for some time. The water
cooled the steel frame of the bridge and
contracted the expanded girders. The
draw was about four Inches too long to
close. Tha bridge was out of commission
from noon till after 8 o'clock.
Tha Steel bridge was In trouble early
in the afternoon. The sprinkling car
was kept busy running across it and the
water cooled the steel and the expansion
was reduced. The Madison bridge stuck
for an hour in the afternoon but again
the sprinkling car was brought Into action
and cooled the steel rails so the bridge
could be worked. The Morrison-street
bridge was the only one that had no
trouble yesterday.
Heat Sounds Fire Alarm.
The intense heat set off tha automatlo
fire-alarm box In the wholesale paper
house of Blake-McFall at 6:15 o'clock
yesterday afternoon, bringing several fire
companies on the run. The alarm proved
to be a falsa one caused solely by tha
sun's heat.
Tha relative humidity yesterday was 22
per cent at 3 P. M. The mean relative
humidity for the day was 52 per cent. On
Monday, when tha maximum temperature
was 90 degrees, the mean , relative
humidity' for the day was 60 per cent or
eight points higher than tha humidity
yesterday.
Weather conditions yesterday are given
as follows by District Forecaster Beals:
"The high temperature In Portland was
caused by the barometer being low over
the Willamette Valley and high over
Eastern British Columbia, and for this
reason the winds blow from the . interior
of the continent and not from the ocean
as 1b usual at this season of the year.
Winds from the Interior are always hot
In Midsummer. The barometer is ris
ing off the North California Coast and It
Is expected that tha pressure will con
tinue to Increase In ' that section and
cause the winds In Western Oregon and
Washington to again blow from the west,
when the temperatures will immediately
fall to normal.
"The forecast for Portland and West
ern Oregon for tomorrow Is fair and
cooler, with westerly winds."
Temperatures at other cities yesterday
were:
Boise, 94; Helena, 76; Kamloops, 98;
Roseburg, 100; Salt Lake, 94; Seattle, VI;
Spokane, 88; Walla Walla, 98.
HEAT PLEASES THE MAYOR
Visitors Do Not Pester Him When
Mercury Soars Skyward.
"Come In, for I am really lonesome
for the first time In several weeks,"
cordially remarked Mayor Lano yester
day afternoon when the reporter cama
In sight of the door leading to the
Mayor's private office. "This warm
weather is not at all pleasant, but it
has had the effect of reducing the num
ber of visitors to my office until I to
day find myself beooming lonesome.
Nobody has been here for nearly an
hour to request the laying of a water
pipe, to urga the Improving of a street,
to complain of an obstructed street, or
to discuss- any phase of tha municipal
administration.
"What's newt I can gva you an item
that Is unique in the history of Port
land," continued the Mayor. "Because
of the excessslve heat the steel work
on three of the bridges crossing the
Willamette River have expanded so as
to prevent the operation of the draws.
I have Just ordered the fireboat to the
rescue with Instructions to direct
water on the affected parts of the
structures until the trouble has been
remedied. This is probably the first
time in the history of the city that
(Concluded on Page 10.)
' l ' ' ' xZ' ' It
n vi - - li
wtorivWinr -fij-.-if,Wi-i?nMiniatvi--it mm -" --ir-in vfln t
I Secretary of War W. II. Taft. En- I
dorsed for lreftldeiit by Obio K-
publican Committee. I
OPENS FIRE UPON
POWDER
COMONE
GovernmentSaysTrust
Has Monopoly.
RECEIVER TO TAKE CHARGE
Senator Dupont Head of Hold
ing Company .
STORY OF CONSOLIDATION
Injunction Sought and Recelrer
Asked to Dissolve Trnet Capital
Stock In Subsidiary Com
panies to Be Annulled.
WASHINGTON, July 80. The Govern
ment today filed in the TJ. S. Circuit 'Cour
at Wilmington, Del., a petition against K.
I. Dupont de Nemours & Co., the E. I.,
Dupont de Nemours Powder Co., of New
Jersey, and 24 other corporations and 17,
individuals connected with the 26 corpo-'
rations which are made defendants In the
petition. ,
Tha petition relates that all of the de
fendants are engaged In Interstate trade
and commerce in gun powder and other
high explosives and are violating the act
of July, 1890, known as the Sherman anti-trust
law. It seeks to prevent and re
strain the unlawful existing agreements,
contracts, combinations and conspiracies
In restraint of such trade and commerce,
to prevent and restrain the attempts upon
the part of the defendants to monopolize
such trade and commerce, and to dlssolva
the existing monopolies therein.
Asks for Receivers Also.
The court Is asked to determine whether
public Interests wonld be better subserved
by the appointment of receivers to taka
possession of the property of the alleged
trust with a view to bringing about con
ditions in trade and commerce that will
be harmonious with the law. The prayer
In this respect Is identical with that in
the so-called Tobacco TruBt petition.
It Is stated In the petition that in 1871
all except three of the concerns selling
high explosives In the United States or
ganized with tha object of regulating
prices at which such commodities should
be sold and of driving the other corpor
ations out of business by unfair competi
tive methods. This association enjoyed
an uninterrupted operation, it is said,
until 1881, when a new agreement was
entered into with the object of preventing
new manufacturers from engaging in tha
powder business. In the meantime tha
three "would-be" competitors are de
clared to have been compelled to Join tha
monopoly. It is shown that there were
succeeding associations in 1S86, 1891 and in
1896, each with the same general object
and composed of tha same members and
their successors. Tha 1896 association
continued until 1902, and during the whole
(Concluded on Pago 4.)
CONTENTS TODAY'S PAPER
The 'Weather.
TBSnORDATS Maximum temperature, 103
degreea; minimum, 64 degrees.
TODAY'S Fair and cooler; -westerly wlacX
Foreign. '
Cornerstone of Carnegie Peace Palace laid at
Tha Hague. Page 4.
Brltum delegates steal Viarch on Americans
at Hague conference. Page 2.
Mayor and prominent eltlsene of Mexican
town arrested for wholesale smuggling.
Page B.
National.
GoTemment bring suit to dissolve powder
trust and for appointment of receiver
Page 1.
Mint Director corrects estimate of Nation's
gold. Page 8.
Naval officials to took ror Navy-yard site oa
Paciflo Coast. Page 3.
rolltios. ,
Ohio Republican committee indorses Taft fot
President; Foraker still fighting. Page 2.
lomestlo.
Maud Fealy wants to annul marriage. Page S.
Chief witness at Matthews Inquest attempts
suicide; mystery grows and prominent men
are involved. Page 1.
Bteel trust's earnings break record. Page 2.
Farmers' Union leama tricks of wheat gam
blers to keep dollar wheat. Page 3.
Section of Erie Canal collapaea, flooding town.
Page 4.
Two women killed and mutilated by strangle!
In New York. Page 2.
Movement to settle iron ore strike; leader is
arrested. Page 4.
Sports.
Los Angeles defeats Portland, 5 to 8. Page T.
Multnomah Club will send Dan J. Kelly to
Jamestown. Page T.
Pacific Coast.
OfMoers of 8 an Pedro give Important evldencf
on Columbia wreck. Page 1.
Revised list of dead in Columbia disaster.
Page 1.
Mayor Schmltx appoint contesting Board of
Supervisors. Page 6.
Moyer gives bail and is released. Page 2.
At Ft. Helens, children take stand in murder
(ea against own father. Page 0.
lDugene assured of new depot. Psge 5.
Medals swarded in rifle range shoot at Roe
burg. Page 6.
Portland and Vicinity.
Mercury climbs to 102 degrees, equaling
record of hottest day. Page 1.
Senator Fulton denies political alliance with.
W. M. and H. M. Cake. Page 11.
Movement on foot to close Mllwaukla Club.
Page 10.
Supposed victim of hold-up arrested for
complicity in the crime. Page 10.
United States engineer Inaugurates crusade
against fish traps in Lower Columbia.
Page 11.
Child burned to death and mother fatally;!
burned in Reservoir Park fire. Page 11, j