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About Morning Oregonian. (Portland, Or.) 1861-1937 | View Entire Issue (March 31, 1916)
VOL. LV1.-XO. 17,272. PORTLAND, OREGON, FRIDAY, 3IARCII "'31, 1916. PRICE FIVE CENTS. PFAHLER ADMITS CAR MEN MAY FORM MILITIA COMPANIES CORPORATION GIVES ACTIVE BACKING TO SCHEME. VILLA SLAYS 172 MEM OF GARRISON DR. OWEN CALLED BY WHITE TEMPLE OIG GUNS POUND AT VERDUN FORTS CO-ED TALKS OUT 2 BAD BANK ROBBERS GIANT SHIPBUILDING PLANT IS PLANNED DESTROYING CHURCH UNANIMOUSLY VOTES 1'OR BItOOKLYXITE. CONVERSATION" FLOW NEARLY EXSNARES HOLDUP MEX. BOOKS Clerk Says Late Bishop Directed Him. OFFICIALS CONTRADICT CLAIM Prelate's Aim Was to Have Clear Record, They Say. DEFENDANT IS BOUND OVER Uiliop Snnincr Reads Speeches of ,. Predecessor, Asserting Books i Were Always Open, to In- tpection of Churchmen. ' Charles B. Ffahlcr. confidential sec retary to the late Bishop Scudding, ad mitted the destruction of tho records of the Episcopal diocese of Oregon aft er the death of the bishop, but pleaded that he was justified In so doing be cause he was carrying out the wishes of the late churchman, when he ap peared before District Judge Jones yes terday. He was bound over to the Brand jury, on the charge of destroy ing the books of a corporation. Combatting the contention of attor neys for Mr. Pfahler, men who had been close to Bishop Scadding in his lifetime testified that it had been his intention to leave his affairs in or derly form for his successor, and to this end Mr. Pfahler had been engaged as bookkeeper. Fear of Criticism Denied. Intimations that Bishop Scadding did rot desire to make public his handling of the sums intrusted to his care, for fear of criticism, were answered by Bishop Walter Taylor Sumner, In read ing from convention reports of speeches by the late Bishop, and by Rodney L. Glisan. chancellor of the diocese under Bishop Scadding. "Bishop Scadding said to me, very positively, over and over again, that the records were for the benefit of his successor." said Mr. Glisan. "1 do rol believe Bishop Scadding was afraid of any criticism of parish ioners of his handling of the funds. I think only his death prevented his making a complete report to the dio cese," asserted Bishop Sumner. ' Sleepless Nights Described. Mr. Pfahler did not take the stand in hid own behalf, but rested his -case to a large extent on a letter introduced by the prosecution and written to Bishop Sumner by Mr. Pfahler from San Diego March 15, 1915. This commu nication admitted the destruction oi the books "in an unguarded and irre sponsible moment." He further said in this letter that he believed he was car rying out the desires of his late em ployer, but said that if he had it to do over lie would not have destroyed the records. "God knows I have not had a natural night's rest since," he confesses in this letter, referring to the moment of de struction, which he endeavors to Justify in another portion of the communica tion. Alleged Boast Is necalled. The letter also refers to an alleged boast of the president of the standing commute of the church. Dean H. "W. Ramsey, that he was "going to the bot tom of things and find out what Scad ding was doing with the income of the fund." The writer did not hear such an assertion, but alleged that he Tas told that it was made. Rodney L. Glisan was the first wit ness to be called. As chancellor of the diocese he was a member of the ad visory committee to Bishop Scadding. composed of five others: Dr. S. E. .Tosephi. Horace D. Ramsdell, Rev. John H. Simpsor Dean Ramsey and r.ev. Barr G. Lee. He testified that Bishop Scadding. with the aid of his secretary, Mr. Pfahler. in whom he had every confi dence, kept a full set of book for the diocese showing the funds in his con trol and receipts and disbursements. In the interim between the death of Bishop Scadding, in May. 1914, and the qualification of Bishop Sumner in January. 1915. the business of the church was transacted by the standing committee. Books Not Obtained. "We felt the necessity of having the reports to date." said Mr. Glisan. "in s-hape for the successor to Bishop Scad ding. and in a number of meetings the committee called on Mr. Pfahler to give us a full report. We failed to secure a report after repeated requests and promises, and then we called on Mr. Pfahler to give us the books that we might have them audited. He prom ised, failed to keep his promise, and. at last, ignored our requests and intimat ed that the books would be turned over to Bishop Sumner and to no one else.' Mr. Pfahler did give the standing committee a trial balance, it developed from the testimony of Mr. Glisan and W. Whitfield, an accountant, who is at i present financial agent for the bishop's fund. This trial balance was taken from ledgers Mr. Pfahler refused to submit, and there were no means of checking up its correctness. VHM.OOO la Received. "rne standing committee did re ceive all of the fund, did it not?" in torrogated Attorney E. E. Heckbert, who, with Robert Upton, represented the defendant. ". presume it did," responded Mr. Glisan, "but there was nothing to guide i, Concluded uu i iifcd 1. Colli ma 2.). Rights or Employes Arc Assured and Time Will Be Allowed for Military Drill and Camps. Outlining a general policy In com plete accord with the doctrine of mili tary training as the surest means of preparedness for National defense, of ficials of the Portland Railway, Light & Power Company announced plans, last. night, which probably will lead to the formation of a company of National Guardsmen and a division of Naval Militia made up exclusively of this cor poration's employes. "Preparedness" was indorsed in vig orous terms not only by President Franklin T. Griffith, but by General Superintendent O. B. Coldwell. who led the discussion at the mass meeting of the officials and employes at the Haw thorne building. The local traction company is one of the first great industrial concerns in the country to come out actively in favor of universal military training for its employes. The 5U0 or more employes present received the various addresses with prolonged applause. "Our company wilj do everything in its power to encourage the enlistment of our men in the state military organ izations," declared General Superin tendent Coldwell. "Our officials desire to assure all our employes who desire to join the Naval Militia or the National Guard that they will be allowed to take whatever prescribed courses of train ing are necessary, and to engage in the Summer training-camp work or naval cruises without in any way being in danger of losing their positions or jeopardizing their rights of seniority. "A definite and clearly stated policy is now being formulated and will soon be announced." ELEVATOR RUNS AMUCK City Hall Car Dashes to Top of Shaft and Back, hut None Is Hurt. A runaway elevator in the City Hall yesterday destroyed a cage of stuffed parrots in the city museum and cut a big hole in the floor of the building. James Backenstos, the operator of the car, was badly frightened but other wise unhurt. The car stopped at the second floor to let off passengers. As Mr. Backen stos shut the door behind the last pas senger something broke and the car shot upward. It went to the top of the shaft with a crash that broke off a big wheel. This fell out of the ele vator shaft, crashed through a show case of stuffed parrots and struck the tile floor. The elevator then settled back to the fourth floor of the building and stopped and Mr. Backenstos climbed out. WOMAN EDITOR IS FINED Miss Prelim Assessed $5 at Klamath 1 alls for Attack on Rival. KLAMATH FALLS, Or.. March 30. (Special.) Miss Catherine Prehm, ed itor of the Merrill Record, who was ar rested Monday afternoon here after at tempting to horsewhip George E. Brad nack, editor of the Merrill Times, was fined $3 by Police Judge Leavitt Tues day for disturbing the peace. The charge was preferred by Patrolman McCarter, who made the arrest, and Mr. Bradnack was subpenaed as a witness. The trouble arose over a denial of some news published in Miss Prehm's paper by her competitor. FOES OF DEFENSE MAULED Students Resent Fellow-Classmen's Interruption of General Wood. NEW YORK, March 30. The appear ance of Major-General Wood today to speak at a meeting of students of the College of the City of New York on "Preparedness" was the occasion of an attempted demonstration of "anti militarists" among the students and the rough handling of several who interrupted him. A student who attempted to rally those opposed . to preparedness was hustled from the hall and another who attempted to address the students on the campus had to be rescued by the police. NEW LIQUOR ATTACK MADE Sale to Sick Persons Is Called Class legislation. TACOMA. Wash., March 30. (Spe cial.) The state dry law was attacked from a new angle in a Justice Court today by Charles R. Reeves, attorney for J. W. Pettigrew, charged with selling intoxicants. Mr. Reeves asserted that the law is class legislation, as' it grants special privileges to physicians, pharmacists and clergymen. He points to the fact that druggists are allowed to sell liquor to sick per sons as one instance in which his con tention is borne out. GRAND FORKS FEARS FLOOD Merchants and Residents From Low Lands. Move? GRAND FORKS, N. D.. March 30. Flood conditions along the Red River have been made worse by a fall of snow In the last 24 hours and it is feared the floods of the Spring of 1904 may be repeated. A number of Grand Forks business houses and residence owners who have property on the low grounds are re moving to high ground. The backing of water in sewers is feared more than anything else, Bandit Moving North From Guerrero. BATTLE IS EXPECTED SOON F'mston Credits Report That Troops Are Closing In. LEADER MAY BE WOUNDED Story That Villa lias Been Shot iu JjCg Reaches Mexican General at Border Torture or Family of Eivc Described. SAN ANTONIO, Tex.. March 30. After killing overy one of the 172 men in the garrison at Guerrero, Francisco Villa moved . northward yesterday and now is somewhere near the headwaters of the Santa Maria River, according to unofficial information secured by Gen eral Funston tonight. At the head of a considerable force Villa was reported to be on the San Geronimo ranch or the Quemada ranch, and troops of both the United States and Mexico were believed to be closing in on him. Funston Credits I n format io. This information was regarded by General Funston and his staff as prob ably correct. If correct, it appeared probable that soon- Villa either will have to face his pursuers in fight or make another break through the tight ening line of troops. Whether his assault on the garrison at Guerrero was the same engagement reported by General Pershing was not known, but it was considered likely, since the action reported by General Pershing occurred March 27 somewhere in that region. General Pershing has been advised of the report as to Villa's whereabouts, and it is known that the disposition of hi3 troops and that of the Mexican government are such that Villa cannot easily escape without a fight. American Columns Converging;. American troops are converging in columns from the north, and it was in dicated that a part of them had gone so far south that they would be able to join with the Carrania forces In preventing his escape in that direction. EL PASO, March 30 General Ga- vira, Carranza commander at Juarez, said tonight that he had received a message from Madera, Mexico,- which says that Villa had been shot in the leg. General Gavira said the mes sage came from what he considered a reliable source, but that he had tele graphed General BertanI at Madera for confirmation. FIELD HEADQUARTERS. American Expedition forces, Colonia Dublan, Chi huahua. March 26. (By motor truck to Columbus, March 30.) It has been learned here that Francisco Villa nearly lost his life a few days ago Concluded on Pane Column 1.) LOST, STRAYED OR if tarsal 'lW Airs. fliT fessss yxjz a ow cyy Portland Baptists Expecting to llaic Difficulty as East Makes ETfort to Retain Pastor. By a unanimous vote the congrega tion of the White Temple voted last night to call Dr. William . Russell Owen, of Brooklyn. N. Y., to the pas torate of that church. The call was telegraphed to Dr. Owen last night. The original vote for calling Dr. Owen, which was by ballot, stood 146 votes for, three against and one blank. A motion, however, to make tho vote unanimous was then carried. The question of salary and traveling expenses to be offered Dr. Owen was referred to the advisory board of the church with power to act. i Every effort is being made by Dr. Owen's church in Brooklyn to retain him. Telegraxrs will be sent to Dr. Owen, urging his acceptance of the call, by the Ladies' society, the Young People's society, the Sabbath School of the White Temple, aryi by promi nent Portland men. including Mayor Albee. Dr. Owen Is pastor of the Hanson Place Baptist Church in Brooklyn, N. Y., and is considered one of the most successful ministers in the -East. He has held pastorates in Atlanta, Ga., and Baltimore, Md. He is a graduate of Richmond College and a native of Portsmouth. Va. MORE WATER DRUNK NOW Seattle Hotels Complain of Demand Since Prohibition. SEATTLE. Wash., March 30. (Spe cial.) Operation of the prohibition law since January 1 has increased the water bills of the various Seattle hotels from 15 to 35 per cent, according to hotel men, and much of this increase in con sumption is due to service furnished to the public without profit to the hotels. Three hotel men appeared before the city utilities committee of the Coun cil today and asked that hotels re ceive a rate of 4 cents per 100 cubic feet instead of 6 cents. WARSHIPS TO HAVE PLANES Ways and Storage Room to Be Built on Cruiser West Virginia. SEATTLE Wash., March , 30. The Puget Sound Navy-yard has been in formed that all large war vessels will carry aeroplanes and a place for launching them. - Orders have been received to build launching ways on the deck of the cruiser West Virginia,, including a large crane for handling aeroplanes, and also storage, room for five aeroplanes on the deck of the cruiser. 350 ITALIANS CAPTURED Violent Battle With Austrians Re ported Near Gorizia. . BERLIN, March 30. (By wireless to Tuckerton, N. J.) A violent battle is in progress at the Gorizia bridgehead on the Italian front. large force being engaged on both sides. The official Austrian report of today announced the capture of 350 Italians. In the Doberdo sector there is spir ited artillery fighting. STOLEN ONE THOUSAND CORDS Suburbs Said to Be Al ready Burning. GERMAN - or'' . Cu'- . y French Cleared From Most of West Bank of Meuse. ARTILLERY FIRE INTENSE French Gunners Declared to Be Per forming Task Well, Though. Exigencies Require Fire to Be More Scattered. HEADQUARTERS OF THE ARMT OF THE CROWN PRINCE BEFORE VERDUN. March 80. via London and Berlin, March 30. German artillery Is Playing heavily on the north front of Verdun. Vast clouds of smoke mark the' site of the burning suburb behind Forts Belleville and Froideeterre. set afire by the bombardment of these two forts, which bar ingress to the city along tho east bank of the Meuse. Eight miles westward, across the river, a mass of smoke columns, float ing like a hazy forest of cypress above Bethincourt. Malancourt and Hill No. 304. testifies to the hail of high calibred shells which is falling on this northwestern outpost of the French po sitions. Next Move Kept In Doubt. Which of these two points will be the scene of the next phase of the Ger man offensive is a question which doubtless is puzzling the minds of Gen eral Joffre and General Petaln. . The Associated Press correspondent has made an inspection of the ground gained by the Germans on the Verdun front in the fortnight since his last visit. On the previous occasion the Germans had advanced their lines east of the river to the outer girdle of forts and had carried Douaumont and the adjoining redoubts. The French then retained the west bank of the river for a distance of three miles north of the line of Douamont and were maintaining heavy artillery fire from the heights on this bank against the German flank and rear. . French Under Heavy Fire. It was necessary to clear the French from this region before the German attack against the fortress could pro-' ceed. This has been accomplished. Of the old positions the French now hold only a narrow tongue of land between Dead Man's Hill and Avocourt Wood. This position naturally is strong, with Hill No. 304 as the backbone and the two fortified villages of Malancourt and Bethincourt at the end. But from the intense artillery fire falling upon it today from three sides it appeared that the French retain it only by grace of the ' Germans and must abandon it whenever an earnest attack is de livered. French guns are no less active than the German, although their fire is more (Concluded on Pago 3, Column 1.) OF STOVE WOOD. Girl Tells How She Refused to Put Up Her Hands While Cashier's Aide Summoned Police. ' SEATTLE, Wash.. March 30. (Spe ial.) How two bold bank robbers, fined with automatic pistols, failed to frighten Miss Faith Cleland, a Univer sity of Washington freshman. with their determination to do her "great bodily harm" when they flourished their weapons during the unsuccessful attempt to loot the King County State Bank early yesterday afternoon, was described by her today. Assistant; Cashier William Nordquist was the "hero of the hour" when he dropped behind a counter 'and pressed an alarm buzzer that summoned the police, but Miss Cleland. who had Just entered the bank to cash a check, was the heroine. When Mies Cleland approached the paying teller's window she saw the larger of the robbers thrust a pistol in the face of the assistant cashier. She turned to confront a second bandit, who pointed a pistol at her. "Hands up!" demanded the robber of the girl. "But I don't belong here," expostu lated Miss Cleland. refusing to comply with the demand. "Makes no difference," came the re ply, "hands up." . But Miss Cleland lust kept up such a continuous flow of conversation that the robbers had to flee to escape cap ture. And she didn't hold up her hands. She is the daughter of the Rev. J. 1. Cleland, of Enumclaw. $92,559 TAXES PAID IN DAY Two Deputy Sheriffs Make 2 Trips to 2 Banks With Cash. Two thousand people paid J92.559.25 taxes to Sheriff Hurlburt Wednesday in cash and checks. Of the cash there was some J30.000. Nearly $10,000 was in gold. Of silver there was more than J5000. The balance was in currency. Two deputy sheriffs made two trips to two banks yesterday morning to deposit this money. Each trip he carried all he could well handle. It was carefully locked and sealed in bags used for transporting money through the streets. For the week the daily tax collections have been running on an average of J100.000. Beginning next week the amount will increase, because on April 6 the penalty of 1 cent on every dollar of taxes due for the first half of the year will run. HUMPHREY BOOM STARTED Virginia Vote Promised Washington Man for Vice-President. OREGONIAN NEWS BUREAU, Wash ington. March 30. Representative Bas com Slemp, the sole Republican in Con gress from Virginia, returning to Wash ington today from his state convention, launched a Vice-Presidential boom of Representative Humphrey, of Washing ton. Virginia's 15 delegates will go to- Chi cago unpledged, but Mr. Slemp says they will vote, for Hughes and Hum phrey. Humphrey made the keynote speech yesterday at the Virginia Re publican convention. INDEX OF TODAY'S NEWS Th Weather. YESTERDAY'S Maximum temperature, 68 degree; minimum. 42 degrees. TODAY'S Fair; easterly winds. War. German sea warfare policy no to be re stricted by Reichstag. Page 5. Big German guns pounding away at Verdun forts. Page 1. Mexico. Question of supplying troops In Mexico takes on air of mystery. Page Villa reported shot In leg. Page 1. National. Dr. Grayson. White House physician, and Mrs. Wilson's friend to wed. Page 4. Senate orders gasoline Inquiry. Page 2. Daniels adds to Naval programme. Page 4. Domestic. Railroads reply to men's demands. Page 3. Man, not machine failure, blamed tor New York Central wreck. Page 4. Johanna Oadskl's husband arrested on charge of German war plot. Page 4. German stowaway holds up British steamer off Delaware Coast. Page 5. Ercvbalmer In Peck poison case surrenders. Page 7. . ' Sport. Montreal Canadlens defeat Portland Uncle Sams and win world's hockey cham pionship. Page 14. Gulsco and Wille shine In game Beavers lose to negroes. Page 14. Many former Portland stars entered In Far Western meet. Page 15. Pacific Northwest. Co-ed talks out naughty bank robbers a.t Seattle. . Page 1. Eastern Oregon Democrats angry at entry of W. R- King Into race. Page 6. Willamette-Pacific ready for service. Page 6. Paper censured for misquoting Federal ex pert In flax case. Page lu. Commercial and Marine. First sales of new-clip mohair are reported. Page 19, Crop reports responsible for sharp rise In wheat at Chicago. Page 10. Coppera only firm stocks In Wall-street mar ket, page 19. Bank oka Maru is handled through bridges despite freshet. Page 18. Portland and Vicinity. C. B. Pfahler says late bishop wanted records destroyed. Page 1. Mammoth shipbuilding plant to be con structed at once In Portland. Page 1. Rose Festival to have King, selected by win ner of Queen contest. Page 8. Wood shortage baffles city officials. Page 8. Drv forces protest against mail order liquor "advertising. Page 8. Italian murder suspect does not like 'Ore gon "boot." Page 9. Taxi law approved ty Council and operators. Page 11. Two independent sewer fraud hearings are scheduled. Page 18. Y. M. C. A. directors to help in campaign. Page IS. Weather report, data and forecast. Page 11. Midweek bill of vaudeville and movies opens at Strand. Page ! Loan shs-rfc pa' Une and quits, race & Wooden Vessels to Be Made in Portland. START MAY BE IN 30 DAYS Millions of Feet of Oregon Lumber to Be Used. 1500 WILL BE EMPLOYED Harry I. Spear Arranging Prelim inaries Backers Also to Tut Subsidiary Plant at Seat tic Big Future Seen. A mammoth shipbuilding plant to construct wooden vessels for river ser vice and for transoccmic trade piob the next 30 days. ably will be started in Portland -within Portland capitalists, together with Spokane. Seattle and Kastern cap italists, are back of the enterprise. They have virtually completed arrange ments for perfecting the organization of a corporation that shall engage in the business on a gigantic scale, em ploying hundreds of men, and utilizing millions of feet of Oregon lumber every year. Several Sites Offered. Several available sites for the plant have been offered. As the plant itself as well as the ships are to be built -argely of wood, the project will serve as a stimulus to the local lumber in dustry. Harry P. Spear, who inspected the construction of the battleship Ne braska, and other vessels for the Gov ernment, is arranging the preliminaries for the organization, and may have charge of construction work when the enterprise gets under way. Mr. Spear arrived in Portland yesterday. He is at the Benson Hotel. He has been negoti ating with the Chamber of Commerce and various Portland bankers and financiers for the last three months. After conference with some of these men today it is probable that final ar rangements 'will be consummated. Spokane Capital Aiding. One of the principal sources of out side interest is A. F Flewelling. of Spo kane, vice-president of the Milwaukee Land Company, a corporation closely connected with the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railroad. Others are George Turner, of Spo kane; Cyrus Bradley, of Spokane, and H. R. Harriman, of Seattle. It is understood that Mr. Flewelling also represents the Rockefeller interests in the enterprise. The same set of capitalists is plan ning to engage on a more or less ex tensive scale in the shipbuilding busi ness at Seattle. It is reported, how ever, that the principal plant will be in Portland. Mr. Flewelling and Mr. Turner are expected in Portland today. "We expect to go ahead in Portland on a big scale," said Mr. Spear last night. Great PosMlbllltiea Seen. "The . shipbuilding business now of fers wonderful possibilities for the in vestment of capital. It is apparent that the people of Portland appreciate this situation, for they have co-operated in every possible way In our ef forts to locate this enterprise in Port land. I am grateful to the Chamber of Commerce, and particularly to W. D. B. Dodson, of the trade and commerce bureau, who is keenly alive to the necessities of a ship-building plant here. "One attractive feature about this enterprise," explained Mr. Spear, "is the fact that our market is assured. It will be assured for many years to come. Demand to Be Kept Up. "We all know that the world's sup ply of ocean-going vessels is exceed ingly limited. So long as the war con tinues the available supply will con tinue to decrease and those vessels that remain in the service will be needed to carry war munitions. "For a long time after the war there will be a steady demand for all kinds of ocean carriers. While the world's preference may be for steel bottoms, it is our plan now to build nothing but wooden vessels. They are just as serviceable as steel for carrying bulky cargoes, but it is next to impossible to get steel. The shipping interests will take any kind of ships that they can get and some of them even prefer wood. "The superior advantages of build ing wooden instead of steel vessels in Portland are obvious. Each ship will take about 2,000,000 feet of lumber. The consumption of Oregon forest products therefore will 'be limited only by our capacity to build. 150O to 3000 Men to Be Employed. "If we engage in the business on the scale that approaches the proportions of tho demand for ships, we ought to employ no fewer than 1500 men most of them skilled mechanics at our plant. It is possible that we will em ploy as many as 3000 men." Mr. Spear says that the activities of the proposed enterprise need not be limited, in time, to the period required to replace the vessels destroyed by the war. After the world resumes its normal status, tho Portland plant can engage steadily in construction of both steel and wooden ships. The demand (.Concluded un rage i,, Culunm 1.)