The Sunday Oregonian., November 22, 1908, SECTION TWO, Page 12, Image 24

12
MURDER CHARGE
HEIST THEORIES
Warrant Issued, Accusing Sea
' Captain of Killing M. C.
Rasmussen.
SUSPECT HAS DISAPPEARED
"Clews Point "Strongly to Former
Master of Sloop Condor, for
Whom Officers Are Now
Searching City.
Charred with the murder of M. C.
SUnmusKfn, who waa shot and robbed
while employed aa watchman on the
team schooner Washington. at the
iJrydock. Wednesday, a warrant was
issued yerterday for the arrest of Cap
tAln TP. Thnrlrn. recently master of
the irasollne sloop Condor and ex-mate
Of the steamer Sue H. Elmore.
Thorien has completely disappeared
Ince the tragedy, though the search
Inff officers believe he may be endeav
torl-is to secure passage on a sea-going
Vessel, either at a local or down-river
Jort- It la possible that he may have
'mbarked on one of tbe vessels that
iave tjepartea since the discovery of
the murder, but every port which these
vessels win make has been notified by
the officers. His arrest Is expected
hourly, for It Is believed that all pos
sible means of escape have been clrsed.
Seaman Guilty or Crime.
An accumulation of evidence pointing
fo the guilt of the- sea captain has
Meen gathered by Sheriff Stevens and
: its deputies. Acting upon the theory
that the watchman must have met his
leath at the hands of a seaman or an
other thoroughly familiar, not only
with Rasmussen's habits and personal
(fairs, but with the various parts of
;the vessel as well, the officers made a
thorough search of the Washington
' and of the murdered man's belongings.
Certain bits of evidence. It is said, were
tound among the dead man's effects
which pointed to Theorlen as the mur
derer. The position of the body when found
waa regarded as the strongest proof
that the deed had been done by a sea
man. The body had been hidden In
the engine-room In a place rarely vlslt
d and one that probably would not
have been selected by other than a
aeaman. The discovery that Rasmus-
n had been shot In the back of the
head while descending the ladder also
indicated, according to the officers, the
deed of a seaman. A sailor on board
a. vessel in port. It Is said, always de
scends a ladder or steps face-forward,
while at sea. It is said, he descends
backwards, holding to the railings.
Except while descending the steps with
his back toward the murderer, the
watchman would not have given the
other a chance to fire at his back, the
eff leers argue.
Officers Trace Down Clews.
Convinced that a seaman was respon
sible for the brutal murder of the
watchman, the officers had little diffi
culty In discovering clews that are al
leged to connect Theorien with the
crime. For weeks he has been out
Of work and has made dally vlnlts
not only to the Couch-street dock, but
Iso to F. P. Daumgartner, local agent
for the Washington.
Theorlen made dally requests for a
position on the Washington as soon as
the repairs were completed, and also
solicited the place as watchman. Since
the murder he has been seen at neither
of these places nor at any of his old
haunts along the river front. On Wed
" xiesday morning, the day of the mur
der, he announced to Mr. Baumgartner
his Intention of visiting the Washing
ton for the purpose of "seeing how
things were getting on.
Theorlen. It Is said, was seen aboard
the vessel at 10 o'clock Wednesday
morning and at noon of the same day.
The description of the stranger seen
cn board the Washington by the crew
of the Iyland Brothers Is said to
correspond remarkably with that of
Theorien. and the description of the
stranger seen by the launchman who
delivered various articles to the Wash
ington that day also tallies, it Is said,
with that of the sea captain. The
foreman of the drydock asserts he saw
Thorlen on the Washington Wednes
day. Theorien was seen In the city aa late
s Thursday morning. lie appeared
on the Couch-street dock that morn
ing, the date on which the first an
nouncement of the discovery of the
murder was made. Since that time
he has not been seen, so far aa can
tie learned by the officers.
Theorlen is an ex-convict. having
erved four years at the State Peniten
tiary at Salem for forgery. Soon after
his release, he. secured the position of
mate on the steamer Sue H. Elmore,
which plies between Astoria and Til
lamook. His next Job was as captain
of the gasoline sloop Condor, plying
between this city and Alsea Bay.
Several vessels have departed since
the tragedy, but Sheriff Stevens has
notified the officers of every port where
these vessels will stop to apprehend
Theorien if he Is aboard. There are also
a number of other vessels preparing
to depart from Portland and various
down-river ports, but his escape on
these, it is said, will be Impossible.
Advices received late last night by
Sheriff Stevens from the Chief of Po
lice at Astoria were to the effect that
the suspected murderer has passed out
to sea on board the Nome City, bound
for San Francisco.
MR. C. E. S. WOOD'S OPINION
Sut, a Democrat, lie Takes a
Democrat's View of It.
(To the Editor. Referring to this
Statement No. 1 question. It seems to
me Judge Williams" Illustration, that
the Legislators are In much the same
position as a Judge who should promise
to decide a case a certain way before
his election, but might afterwards And
he could not in conscience do so, is not
sound. The Judge sits to decide the
yigVis of .other parties. His own dis
cretion and Judgment are not arbitrary
and he cannot sacrifice the rights of
third parties to his personal ambitions,
but the man who seeks the votes of
the lectors has a perfeot right to sur
render to those electors his right of
action on any subject. He Is. after all.
only their representative; and he may as a
condition of election day. say. 'I will vote
for this bill, or that bill, or I will not ap
prove this measure or that measure.
3Ko one pretends that a law compelling
C legislator to surrender his right of
ctioo Is constitutional, but as I view
it, no amount of argument can excuse
the man who has sought office under a
pledge from keeping that pledge. It Is
said that the Chamberlain Democrats
helped nominate Cake. That has not
been proved and cannot be proved. It
is then said by The Oregonian that the
difference between the men it repro
bated for violating their pledges to
vote for Dolph and the men who have
promised to vote for the people's choice
is that the men who promised to vote
for Dolph and broke their pledge were
at least loyal to their party, but Cham
berlain could not have been nominated
by the people over Cake without an
overwhelming Republican vote. The
Democrats In this state are in a minor
ity, and when Republicans chose to
vote for Chamberlain instead of Cake
they knew that they were deliberately
forsaking party: it Is they who are re
sponsible for a Democrat being selected
and the men who gave the pledges
knew these facts. I. for one, cannot see
that the man who breaks his contract
to vote for Mr. Dolph. but votes for a
party man. Is so much more honorable
than the man who violates his volun
tary solemn pledge to me wnuic
ple.
C. E. S. WOOD.
AGED MAN GETS OUT IN RAIN
J. F. EGGLESTOX HAS DEIXSIOX
BI RGLAUS ARE IX HOUSE.
Leaves Bed and Wanders Around
Streets In Xlghtclothes Police
man Called, but Xo Thieves.
Seized with hallucinations at 3:30
o'clock yesterday morning. J. F. Eg
gleston. more than 70 years old, who
resides at 70 East Ninth street, arose
from his bed and In scanty attire and
with bare feet trudged out into the
rain and mud. Trembling from the ex
posure and wrth eyes staring, the aged
man was met at -the corner of Grand
avenue and East Ankeny street by
Nightwatchman Andrews. He ran to
the watchman and In bated breath told
him that burglars were ransacking his
house.
His story was so Impressive that An
drews telephoned to Captain Slover at
the police station. Sergeants Keller
and Kienlen and Patrolmen Epps and
Wanless were sent to the scene In a
hurry. They met Andrews and the
shivering old man, who recounted a
thrilling story of how he had awakened
to And masked, armed burglars rum
maging through his house, and how he
had escaped without their having seen
him. On their arrival at Mr. Eggles
ton's house the watchman and the two
patrolmen stood guard at the front.
Sergeant Klenlen took up his station In
the rear and Sergeant Keller entered
the front door to look for the robbers.
After a search had been made
through the lower part of the house,
without any trace of the thugs, Mrs.
Eggleston. who was still sleeping and
had not missed her husband, waa found
In a rear upstairs room. She awoke
to hear the astonishing tale of burglary
from the police and Informed then that
Mr. Eggleston was occasionally af
flicted with temporary dementia. The
burglars had been merely a delusion.
Mr. Eggleston was left In the charge of
his wife, who assured the officers that
he would not get out Into the wet
again.
ROAD BILL TO BE CHANGED
4
Arned me n ts Considered at Meeting
or Good Roads Workers.
Changes in the Johnson road bill
were considered yesterday by cornmtf
tees representing the good roads work
ers in this state. The sessions were
held In the Commercial Club convention-room,
one in the morning and an
other last night. Changes decided
upon In the bill were of a minor char
acter, and it appears likely that the
measure fathered by Senator A. A.
Johnson will be practically as orig
inally drafted when it is submitted to
the coming session of the Legislature.
Perhaps the most important modifi
cation made by the committees rep
resenting the different organizations
of the state interested In good roads
was the proposition to do away with
the road engineer provided for in the
bill, and the foreman of the State Road
Commlslson will, it Is expected, carry
on the work proposed to be done by
the State Engineer.
Those In attendance were a number
of the best-known workers in the
good roads movement in the state.
They were: Senator A. A. Johnson,
chairman; Judge T. F. Ryan, secretary;
Judge L. A. Webster. Judge J. H.
Scott, J. D. Lee. I. A. Mason, Eugene
Palmer. Benton Bowers, F. M. Gill,
H. M. Lounsden and W. H. Fitzgerald.
They form the Joint committees on
good roads of the Oregon State
Grange, the Oregon Good Roads As
sociation, the Oregon Good Roads Con
ference and the Oregon Federation of
Labor.
A. ROUTLEDGE RETURNED
Oysters. Still His Hobby.
Mr. A. Routledge who, the past few
months, has been giving other depart
ments of the oyster business his at
tention, has again Joined with M.
Griffith In the management of the
Portland Oyster Co., a place he has
occupied since 1S90. He desires to as
sure his friends and patrons of
the past that none of that attention to
details or their wants, which charac
terized his management in the past,
will be lacking In the future. It will,
no doubt, be a source of satisfaction
to the public in general to learn that
he has arranged for oysters to come
forward dally, specially selected to
meet the requirements of the best en
tertainers and oyster-loving people of
Portland, whose wants Mr. Routledge
thoroughly appreciates.
CARD OF THANKS.
L. Boire and family wish to thank
their friends for the sympathy and
flowers sent them at the death of their
sop and brother. Kmile Boire.
TO ENJOY
POSTUM
BEST
make sure it is boiled at least
15 minutes. That brings
forth flavor and food value.
There's a Reason"
APPEALS TO COURT
Advertising Concern Contests
Assessment of Privilege.
OTHERS WATCHING RESULT
Suit Is Test Case in Effect, and Va
lidity of Assessments Hinges on
Result Equalization
Board's Views.
Question as to the right of the county
to assess corporations and Arms accord
ing to the value of privileges enjoyed
by them, rather than upon tangible as
sets, has been raised and, after having
been passed upon by Assessor B. D. Slg
ler and the Board of Equalization, Is to
be taken on appeal to the State Circuit
Court. Notice to this effect was filed
with County Clerk Fields yesterday.
Although the point Is raised by but
one firm, the Pacific Railway Advertis
ing Company, yet it Is known that a
score or more of small firms are di
rectly interested and thousands of dol
lars are Involved in the litigation. The
contesting firm Insists that it can be
assessed only on the value of its office
fixtures. It places the value on the fix
tures as being only 207. But the
county's assessment is $16,000, and the
County Board of Equalization has de
clared that the advertising concern
must pay the amount.
Assessor Sigler, in fixing the value of
the company! assets, learned that the
privilege of putting advertising signs
in streetcars was recently purchased
by the Pacific Railway Advertising
Company, the consideration being $20,
000. Making lis assessment on the
regular ratio, he laid aside the com
pany's own confession that It had $-07
worth of property and negotiable as
sets and moved the amount ahead to
$16,000 When the company was advised
of this change there was a protest, but
Mr. Sigler refused to relent.
When the matter was presented be
fore the Board of Equalization last
Wednesday representatives of the ad
vertising company Insisted that the
rights enjoyed by the concern are not
of such value and that at any event
the assessment could not be made an
nually on the purchase price, for the
company might have paid out $20,000
hoping to make Its asset worth that
amount for future operations. Further
more, the privilege might be worth
such an amount for an indefinite num
ber of years and yet represent lirtl
value for a single year.
But the Board contended that such
privileges were exactly similar in na
ture as the franchise given a corpora
tion. The signs are posted In public
service conveyances and are based on a
frifnchlse given the streetcar company
in the operation of Its cars. So the
Board affirmed Mr. Sigler's action and
refused to reduce the assessment of
$16,000.
Five days In which to appeal to the
Circuit Court was allowed by the Board.
The notice of appeal was presented
yesterday forenoon. Thus far this Is
the only appeal "from the findings of the
Board. In the event the court finds
favorably to the advertising company it
is believed likely that much other sim
ilar litigation will ensue. .Those famil
iar with laws relating to assessments
aver that reversal of the Board's ac
tion Is more than likely to occur when
the issue is presented In court. Several
county officials share this view.
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WHEN YOU SEE IT IN OUR AD IT'S SO
A FrVyr"I?"D Third and Oak
.Vlw I JtlrXV First and Yamhill
, Letters of Administration Filed.
Letters of administration for the es
tate of James P. McGlinehy were filed
with the County Court yesterday by
H. W. Barrett, a creditor of the de
ceased. McGlinehy, a bachelor, died in
testate November 19. He is thought
to have a distant relative living at
Eagle River. Wis., the petition says.
The estate is worth $15,000. Of this
sum $14,000 Is in real property and
$1000 personal property. Barrett holds
a claim of $50 and set up that this is
the largest unpaid bill resting against
the estate, so far as he knows.
MARVELOUS INSTRUMENT
Recently Installed.
Several days ago a $5000 Oichestrion
was installed In Fritz's Theater, on Sec
ond and BurnBide streets. This instru
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A grand opera overture is as easily
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This wonderful Instrument was pur
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Tomorrow Is Washday, Avoid Its Troubles by
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A. P. Armstrong. LL.B.. Principal.
Largest Practice in Portland
1
Over 20,000 People In
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Patients Now Come
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THOMPSON
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SECOND FLOOR CORDETT BUILDING, FIFTH AXD MORRISON STS.
HAMBURGER'S
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ALL OUR HANDSOME
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$50.00 Hats $15.00; $40.00 Hats $12.00;
$35.00 Hats $10.00; $25.00 Hats $7.50
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See them on display in window.
BEAUTIFUL FLOWERS, VALUE TO $2.00, AT 50 BUNCH
As a running mate to our great Pattern Hat sale we shall offer 1000
bunches of finest quality Winter Flowers and Foliage, absolute value to
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OUR LADIES' FURNISHING- GOODS DEPT. WILL SOON BE READY
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SOL. GARDE, Proprietor
69-71 THIRD ST., BETWEEN OAK AND PINE STS.
Adjoining United States National Bank