13,
-i :
CASE OF CONVICTED
offered to a jury. There was no tet
SAFETY HEAD NAMED
NEW AND IMPROVED
timony that he went to the Wehrman
cabin; he had no revolver; he was;
and is a sound, sane, quiet and gentle
man. In all respects the opposite of
the fiend that killed the woman a'nd
then assaulted and mutilated her
body. All that could be aaid.agalnet
him wag aaid by the Judge who wrote
the opinion confirming the verdict of
the lower court as follows:
"He may have taken the Bates
Doubt of John Arthur Pen
der's Guilt Adduced. -
package and kept It until he obtained
George N. Aitken to Direct
the lows paper the next day" (re
ferring to the contents of the mall
box near his tent), and he may have
taken the package and the paper to
the 'Wehrman cabin on Monday nirht
as an excuse for making a call on
Mrs. Wehrman. and the murder may
National Council Work.
MURDER MOST ATROCIOUS
ACCIDENT CURB SOUGHT
PACIFIC COLLEGE TEACHER
JOINS Y. M. C. A.
Evidence In Fiendish Assault fn
AVoman Believed to Fasten
Crime on Another Man.
Ex-afety Engineer of Pacific
Lumber Company Is Chosen
Field Engineer.
FOR MEN AND WO M
THE SUNDAY OEEGOXI.IX, PORTLAND. SEPTEMBER 5, 1920
Ml
INVESTIGATED
0
OREGON
V . i XM,,s.B..sr S L-A V IrrlA LJ
f '
A summary of the John Arthur
Pender case, prepared by one who has
interested himself In an unofficial ln
vestigat'on, has been submitted to
The Ore son lan for publication.
Pender is now serving a life sen
tence for the murder of Mrs. Daisy
"Wehrman and her son Harold of Co
lumbia county. In September, 1111.
The summary of the case follows:
On September 6. 1911, the discovery
of the dead and mutilated bodies of a
woman and her 4-year-old child
clasped In lta mother's arms, in a
little hamlet five or six miles from
Scappoose, Columbia county. Or., re
vealed a crime of a most atrocious
character. The bodies were those of
Airs. Daisy Wehrman and her eon
Harold, both of whom had been shot
three times, each shot sufficient to
kill; all the wounds were burned
with powder from the revolver which
had been held close to the bodies.
The physicians testified that the
woman and child had been dead two
or three days, thus fixing the date
of the murders as September 3 or
4 Sunday and Labor day respec
tively.
Murderer Uses Hatchet.
The woman's head had been
smashed in with a hatchet, and these
details, as well as others which are
unprintable. Indicated that the crime
had been committed by a man sub
ject to a peculiar kind of mental
aberration known as sadism defined
by the Century dictionary as "a form
of sexual perversion marked by ex
treme cruelty." t
The ordinary murderer is generally
satisfied with the death of his vic
tim; in many cases he has a horror
of the body and the scene and has
tens to put as wide a distance as he
can between them and himself In
order to escape such poignant re
minders of his act. It is as a rule
only the sadist (or sadlo) who gloats
over the body and continues to shoot
and mutilate It after the purpose of
his crime has been accomplished.
Family In Deadly Pear.
In the near vicinity of the tragedy
lived a young man who possessed all
the characteristics of. this peculiar
form of dementia, one John G. H.
Sierks. He was at that time nearly
21 years old. feeble-minded and
vicious in his habits and showed such
marked homicidal tendencies that all
his family lived in daily fear of him.
He had on more than one occasion
attempted a criminal assault upon
his mother.
About two years later, on his
father's complaint, he was committed
to the asylum for the insane at Sa
lem, where he now is. For some
few months before the murder he was
working on a farm in Washington
county, about SO miles distant from
his home, to which, however, he re
turned for occasional visits. One of
these visits took place, according to
the testimony of his sister Lena, on
Sunday or Monday, September 3 or
4, but ho had disappeared before the
bodies were discovered and had re
turned to the residence of his em
ployer In Washington county,
Hair Pulled Ont
He arrived there with his face
scratched and the crystal of his watch
broken, also with evidence of some
of his hair, which was of light color,
having been pulled out. jL. Nltch-
man, a farmer living about six miles
from Louie Schmidt, who was Sierks
employer in Washington county, made
affidavit on December 3, mat
ho had known Sierks for about six
years, and that he was in the habit
of stopping at Nitchman's place on
his journeys between Scappoose and
Schmidt's farm; that he arrived there
just about the time of the murder of
Mrs. wehrman and stated he had
been In Scappoose. He was in a state
of great excitement, holding his head
in his hands and crying.
Nitchman says: "He cried and
cried until my wife was freightened
and called me in, saying that John
Is in trouble. lie said among other
things, 1 am so sorry.
Visit la About Tim of Murder.
"I cannot remember exactly the
data of John's visits, but am positive
that be visited us while at work for
Schmidt and about the time of the
murder he cam and I thought he
was drunk because he was crying
constantly, which was a thing he had
never done before. He said he came
from Holbrook and had been in
fight. It is my recollection that John
told us about the murder .before -we
caw it in the paper.
The fact that he was there, his
sudden disappearance, the efforts of
his family to conceal his whereabouts,
his mental agitation and the marks
on his face when he returned to
Washington county, coupled with hi
past history, his homicidal tendencie
and his attempts at worse than homi
cldal acts, make a prima, facie case
against him as the perpetrator of th
peculiarly atrocioua and Sadistio mur
der of Mrs. Wehrman,
This is 11 circumstantial evidence
it is true, and unacceptable without
corroboration, which is found In
Sierks' formal confession that on La
bor day, September 4, 1911, he com
tnitted the two murders.
Another Person Convicted.
In this signed document he gives
details which correspond exactly
with the conditions existing in th
Wehrman house when the bodies were
found. And furthermore it weave
into its story every shred of the thl
fabric of Inferences miscalled clr.
cumstantial evidence on which
other person was convicted. In a let
ter to his father dated Salem, January
S. 1915, he wrote: "I am the murderer
of Mrs. Daisy Wehrman and her littl
eon. I am the man that done the
dirty trick and lied on Pender." This
was separate and apart from hi
sisned confession above referred to.
At the same time there lived in the
nlghborhood one John Arthur Pender,
a. man of exemplary character, so far
as known, and against whom
charare of any crime or of the posses'
aion of homicidal tendencies was ever
made. His connection with the Wehr
man murder case begins (accordln
to his statement) with a. demand
made of him by e detective that
(Pender) gie evidence against an
other man, to -which Pender replie
that he knew nothing about it an
could not testify. To this the detec
tlve responded: "Now look here, Pen
der, we are golne to get somebody for
this job, end that somebody Is likely
to be you, If you don t help us.
And eo It came to pass,
I .' t
I
' - , ' I .;
! i " s i
i ' ,.! yf - 'x 1
I V - .5' A
Si t , 1 - 5
- I "
V '- :- y 1
ave been , committed Immediately
thereafter."
Quite true, all this may have been
true, but tnere wasn't a particle of
evidence adduced at the trial of Pen
er'a having done any one of these
things.
Character Testimonials High.
The testimony to Pender's good
character is plentiful and convincing;
11 his friends and his lawyers believe
im Incapable of such a. crime; his
mother and sisters testify to his hav-
ng been a good son and brother. He
served in the Spanish-American war
nd H. E. Coolidge, cashier of the Ld.
Grand National bank, says of him:
knew Pender as a soldier in the
Philippines in 1898-9. He was a mem
ber of the same battery and one of
he gun detachment of which I had
harge as chief of section. He was
splendid soldier and held the confi
dence and respect of his comrades at
all times. His devotion to duty and
manly conduct marked him as the
est type of American soldier. In all
ti r IntimatA a cgam a T I tn with thU
man I never knew of a single act of
is that would reflect in any way
upon his record as a moral ana up
right American citizen."
The captain of his company speaks
f hlra in the highest terms as a man
nd a soldier. A prosecutor in Utah,
later in th United States attorney-
general's office, refers to Mr. Pender
as a normal man of good instincts
whom he had known personally for
...... Ait V. v a n . iM
...O...J. jr- - "V" ... , ,,,. ,,,-,1, , , Xrir,l
Charles E. Lewis. .
Charles E. Lewis has been
chosen Instructor in mathemat
ics at the college preparatory
school of the Oregon institute
of technology, fourth floor of
the T. M. C. A. building. He is
an ex-service man and taught
last year at Pacific college in
New berg.
George N. Aitken, ex-afety en
gineer of the Pacific Lumber company
of Scotia. Cal., has been appointed
field engineer of the national safety
council. His duties will be for the
district of Oregon and the Columbia,
river basin.
Under the direction of Mr. Aitken
the Pacific Lumber company attained
an enviable record in safety and th
general prevention .of accidents.
The Industrial accident commission
of Oregon has complied figures show-
I,fH V , , Q L l
ing accidents in various Industries
within the state during the last year.
and that $2,119,725 was paid out in I
I compensations. The national safety
council is endeavoring to reduce these
figures.
Hugh H. Herd man, vice-president
and general manager, when asked
"What is the national safety council. I
and what are its objects and methods
or work?" replied:
Association Is Volnntary.
Those questions are asked me so
often that I am glad of this oppor
tunity to answer them publicly.
In the first place, understand that
it is a voluntary co-operative asso
ciation of employers and others non
political, non-commercial, not for
profit. It is now the one national
body that is carrying on the move
ment for accident prevention in this
country. Starting in 1913 with 40
members, it now has a membership of
over 4000 factories, railways, public
service companies, logging and lum
ber companies, mines. Insurance com
panies, technical schools, colleges, etc.
The National Safety Council and
accident prevention are almost synon
ymous terms. It might well be called
the accident prevention council. Here
in the northwest its activities have
been directed principally to the pre
vention of public accidents and It has
accomplished much in this direction.
It co-operates wth all public bodies
that strive toward this -end. For ex
ample, it was instrumental in secur
ing the passage, at the recent session
of the legislature, of the motor
drivers' license law. It has a. large
ind well-org-anixed list of commit
tees, composed of public-spirited tsi
sens, who give their services freely
for the public good.
"Now, be it understood, it is not
federal, stats or city body; it is not
under the control of any of them: It
is not vested with any of their police
powers. It co-operates with all of
them In preventing law violations
that endanger the safety of the peo
ple; but it does not affiliate with and
should not be confused with any of
ficial body.
Public Safety Only Part of Work.
"But this public safety Is only
part, by no means thev greater part.
of its work. Industrial accident pre
vention lies at the basis of ourvactivi-
asrea
never contained a more trustworthy
or dependable inmate or one of more
blameless character than John Ar
thur Pender.
Safety Council has undertaken to
overcome a serious obstacle to our in
dustrial progress. Accident preven
tion is really an outgrowth of indus
try. We have workmen's compensa
tion laws to compensate workmen
and their families from loss resulting
from accident; we have rehabilitation
acts to re-educate disabled workmen;
and now we are forced by the logic of
events to take what should have been
the first step. That is. the state has
arranged to take care of the workman
and his family after he has been In
jured or killed, but we have done
comparatively little to prevent his &e-
Lawrence E. Griffin of Pittsbura I lng injured or killed. The next step
Is accident prevention, ana employers
REED HDDS TO FACULTY
REGEXTS FILL- BIOLOGY AXD
IiAXCUAGE CHAIRS.
and Edmund' .C. Bcchtold of
Kansas Are Elected.
With the announcement of twd new
faculty elections at Reed, the pro
fessorial personnel is practically
complete, and the regents are satis-
are taking It.
"HowT Well, so per cent or the
accidents that occur are preventable.
Of these, not mors than 25 per cent
can be forestalled by proper appli
ances and safety devices; the other 75
per cent must be overcome, if at all,
by education.
"The National Safety council resorts
fied that the present staff is as strong I to both methods, of course. But wa
as it has ever been. - Professor Law-1 put th main emphasis on education
rence E. Griffinpf the University of I getting the men interested, securing
Pittsburg, has accepted the chair of
biology to succeed Professor Harry B.
Torrey who goes to the University of
Oregon, and Professor Edmund C.
Bechtold, a prominent college man of
Kansas, has been electedsnead of the
Heed Qerman department.
Reed biology students, including a
number of pre-medics. have been wor
ried over prospects until the election
of Dr. Griffin, but according to the
recommendations of colleges at Pitts
burg, and Gardner C. Bassett, until
this year a Stanford psychology man,
Mr. Griffin is a teacher of unusual
ability, and a. man of scholastic en
thusiasm. According to James B.
Kerr, Keea regent, Mr. Griffin is
just the man for the Reed position.
and Dr. Griffin has expressed him
self as strongly in sympathy with
Reed s ideals in regard to sound
scholarship.
thsir co-operation, making them see
the value of the work. A safety ap
pliance on a machine is almost use
less 'unless the man operating the
machine believes in safety. Our plan
involves personal service by safety
ati in art mAti rlin lenaw tbA indus
tries, who know men, who understand
safety methods, who can get co-opera.
tlon, who can convince the men on
the job that accident prevention
means something to them.
"First, then, what it means to th
workers. . For the year ending Jun
80, 1916, our accidents numbered 4570;
for the year ending June 30, 1920, they
numbered 21,378. To those injured in
the former year, there was paid $417.
998 in compensation; last year the
sum was $2,119,725. The misery, suf-
ferintr and sorrow attending these
accidents are not to be measured. But
on the monetary side alone accident
Mr. Bechtold comes to Reed recom-1 prevention means much to them, for
mended by W. H. Carruth, poet and
F.ngllsh man at the University of
Kansas, as a brilliant student and
energetic teacher, and the German de
partment promises to be on a par with
other Reed departments. Thls-.com-I
pletes the appointments in the lan
guage departments, and leaves but two
faculty appointments still pending.
the chair of nistory and sociology.
PAVING SAVING 'INDICATED
the compensation is only a small part
of .what the injuredi persons' wages
would have been. The total injuries
last year, if divided among all th
workers of the state, would have
meant that each one would have lost
22.9 days. Few of us realise that In
our industries we Kill two persons
every three days. Yes, it does moan
much to the workers.
Employers Also Discussed.
"Likewise with employers. Not until
very recently did they have figures
available for estimating their losses
M nn lclr.nl "plant Rorina I from accidents. But now that statls-
ii i . , . . . , .... ij....i.i
lies as Eftiiiereu u j iuo .nuuni,
Tenlno Avenue $1275.63.
The municipal paving plant has
caused a saving of 81275.63 for prop
erty owners on lerjino avenue, be
tween East Thirteenth and Kaat Fif
teenth streets, according to City Com
missioner Barbur, in charge of the
department of public works. Accord
ing to Mr. Barbur, the bid of the
contractor on this job, recently com-
OUR GUARANTEE
We guarantee six.
pain of our Pilgrim
Positive Wear
Hosiery to wear six
months. If they do
not, we will replace
them without any
expense to you.
Sears, Roebuck
and Co.
andStposfage
for
Guaranteed
Nicely Boxed
for "WOMEN
MEDIUM WEIGHT
Fully Seamless. Desirable
Weight -for Wear in All
Seasons j
No. 432 Black " 4 !""
No. 434 Dark Brown
No. 436 White
Sizes: 8H, 9, 9$, 10 W
10H- "
" LIGHT WEIGHT "
SEAMED BACK
FineJKnic Have the Ap
pearance of a Fashioned
Stocking
No. 443 Black
No. 445 Dark Drown"
No. 447 White
Sizes: 8M. 9, 9i, 10 and
EXTRA SIZE. LIGHT
WEIGHT. SEAMED
BACK
For Women Who Cannot
Be Properly Fitted in the
Regular Sizes
No. 453 Black
No. 455 Dark Brown
No. 45 7 White
Sizes: 8M, 9, 9J 10 and
103
PILGRIM Positive Wear Hosiery insures real
economy and satisfaction. We guarantee "
six pairs of Pilgrim Positive Wear Hosiery
to wear six months. If holes appear in any
of them in less than six months, return :
them to us and we will replace them with
new hosiery without a cent of expense to
you,- and we will refund any postage you :
pay on the returned hosiery. A biasessr
Pilgrim Positive Wear Hosiery is made for men and
women. Knit from very fine selected combed cotton .
yarns, with special reinforcing at the soles, heels
and toes the three points of greatest strain.
Women's stockings have garter tops. VVlll' '"
The light weight stockings for women are made with. '
a seam in back of leg and seamless feet. The med- j
ium weight hosiery for both men and women is
fully seamless. Pilgrim Positive Wear Hosiery is -well
made and finely finished in every detail. It -looks
well, feels well and wears welL Packed six -pairs
in attractive box.
USE THIS ORDER BLANK
Fill in the spaces on the order blank below, indicating the
stock number, color, size and number of boxes you desire.
Sold only in boxes of six pairs. Mail this order with check,
postomce or express money order to cover the price of the
hosiery, plus postag at the rate of 8 cents for each six pairs.
This is our complete line of Guaranteed Hosiery as shown
in our General Catalog. There is no other literature describ
ing this hosiery; nor are there any agents or stores selling it
Send your order direct to Sears, Roebuck and Co.
V
for MEN
' MEDIUM WEIGHT
Fully Seamless. Neat and Durable. - Suitable
WeigjL All Wear
No. 401 Black
No. 403 Dark Brown
No. 405 Navy Blue
No. 407 light Gray
Sizes 9M.1040M.il, HHand 12.
n
Sears. Roebuck and Co.
I sm sending herewith
leeua total amount or monay
Von mar send me Pilgrim Positive Wear Gnasa
an teed Hosiery at described below, under the term, of your guarantee printed in this advertisement.
. No. Bona i ...
No. Color Six (Ml orJj in bans. I Pries
&1K palr to box.) H
I
I
45 40 I
Postoffos
No, .
Box
-No
-State
and No.
9
CHICAGO
DALLAS SEATTLE
Cend Your Order to the Nearest One of Our Stores
Pender, and on as flimsy a. pretense of
circumstantial evidence as, was ever!
accident commission aro at hand, em.
ploysrs ars beginning to realize the
heavy load they have Keen carrying-.
They have coma to see that tneir in
sura-nce costs are based on the acci
dent records, and that there Is mi
terlal saving to bs made by reducing;
th number or accidents. They now
fia-ure also their lost time, their labor
turnover, their decreased production
j n .a tn.t ttffl snd disArff&niud
Dieted by the city plant, was 3405.28. I . thn-
while ttte municipal paving plant wasthey cannot help becoming accident-
11 ' - " w - obt ujuaiiiB I nF.v.nt An fnn.
"For example, figuring deaths and
permanent disabilities arbitrarily,
for the year ending June SO. 1918, In
the manufacturing industries alone,
accidents caused a loss of 739,681
working daye, or 2465 years, or the
time of a gang of 1000 men' for Shi
years. And In all Industries for the
same year, accident caused the loss
of 1.281,369 working days, or 4271
years, or the loss of the time of a
gang of 1000 men for 4H years. Now
this lost time cost the employers of
the state a great deal of money, more
perhaps than it did the Injured work
men. Because oi toe costs of the re
S2S7S.2S.
The actual cost of the work was
12129.65. .figures prepared by Sun.r
intendent Dulia of the plant show a
saving ot s cents a square yard on
this JOD.
output, and all the other consequences
that followed these thousands of ac
cidents. "As I said, the National Safety
Council is a non-profit making or
ganization. It is supported by dues
so low as to be merely nominal, paid
by the employers and graduated ac
cording to the size of the organiza
tion. We have divided the work into
two departments, the public safety ,
section and the industrial safety sec
tion. H. P. Coffin, whose work along
public safety lines is well known, is
in charge of the public safety work.
Mr. Aitken will look after the Indus
trial accident prevention. He will or
ganize the safety work In each plant
and keep it going.
' Progressive Campslgrn Planned.
"Thus, you see, we are planning a
progressive campaign of education
and co-operation In accident preven
tion. We do not expect to accomplish
wonders at first, but we are , going
gunning for that preventable per
centage of accidents, both industrial
and public. We are covering the
state, outside of Portland and vicin
ity, by industries, and Just now are
centering our attention on the lum
ber industry, the most extensive, -the
most hazardous, and consequently
the most, costly in men and money.
We have the unanimous Indorsement
Of the loggers' aim ium uci men o ui-
ganlzatlons. and are rapidly enrolling
the operators and promoting the ac
cident prevention work in the camps
and mills. In addition to the loggers'
and lumbermen's indorsements, we
have that of the Industrial Associa
tion of Oregon, the Associated Indus
tries of Oregon, the Portland Cham
ber of Commerce, the Portland Ad
club and the United Metal Trades as
sociation. "In and near Portland we
ere taking eafre of sll Vlnflw of plants.
Children to Have Feast.
A watermelon feast will be riven
the children of South Portland late
this afternoon In Dunlway park. Re- !
freshmenta of various kinds have
I been donated for the party, which fa
They "got" I scheduled lor s o clock.
Bead The Oregonlan classified ads. I eultlng labor turnover, the decreased
Multnomah Guard Band of
' 120 pieces today at
COLUMBIA
BEACH
"In short, the National Safety
Council has for Its pole object the
promotion of the public and Indus
trial safety of the people of the state.
It seeks to save the life, health and
limbs of the workers: and while doing
so. It "contributes very materially to
the financial development of the In
dividual industries, and hence to the
state as a whole. Its work bas both
a humane and an economic founda
tion. It has something of " great
value for the employer, the employe
and the public."
Portland. Seeks Encampment.
J. W. Jones, commander of Over
the Top Post, No. 81. Veterans of
Foreign Wars, and James Walsh, past
commander, will leave Portland Tues
day for Washington. T. G, to attend
the national encampment of the
Veterans of Foreign Wars. An ef
fort will be made by the Portland
representatives to bring the next na
tional encampment to Portland. Mr.
Jones and Mr. Walsh will be in the
east about three weeks.
Central Library Open Tomorrow.
The central library will be open
for reading only on Labor day. It has
been announced, from 2 to 9:30 P. M.
The branch libraries wilt all be closed
the entire day.
1 S" vw' v w
'7
JUlaw
HOUSE FOR SALE
Southeast Corner East 23d and Salmon.
To Be Removed
Sealed bids will be received for the purchase of this 7-room house up
to noon September 15 by O. Olsson. 317 East 36th st. Building to be re
moved not later than October 15, or same will revert to present owner.
Certified check for 10 per cent of amount must accompany bids. Right
reserved to reject rny and all bids.
Phone Z22 - 62 for appointment to Inspect. .
IIIIIlllIIIIIIIIIIfIllf IIIIIIIIlIMIIIlIIIIIIIIIIIttlllllllllllllf lllf IIIII1IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIUI1S
i f '
VU j
til (ffiilllti Will 1 1ll lll nil ll.-isaaajasfe :iMkS
Skill
Science
Service
Assisted
by the
X-Ray
DB. 11. 13. HKK.HT
5 Assure you the best dental service if you entrust me with
5 your work.
Middle-aged and elderly people vho must have plates will
find my work along these lines unexcelled.
H Decayed teeth and useless stumps are a menace to health, H
5 while well-fitted, scientifically constructed plates are a substitute zz
5 that you will enjoy and appreciate. - 5
In all branches of dental work the results will be equally 'I j
satisfactory. :--
MY PRICES ARE VERY REASONABLE
I DR. B. E. WRIGHT 1
Korthwest
Corner
Sixth and
Washington
Streetn.
Ent. Z7Vi Wash.
Phone Main 2119.
Raleigh Hldg.
Painless Extraction
of Teeth
Twenty Years in
Active Service
Office Honrs
8 A. M. to P. M.
Sunday
! to 13 A. M.
Open Evenlnars
by Appolntnaent.
Conanltntlon
Free.
.nlllIlllllIIIIIIIIIIIIllIlIUI11111111ll1HllIllIlI111IlIlIIlllllllIIIIIIUII11IIlIllinilllllllIIil!:
107.5v