LtO CHARTER LM2IIDMEIIT VtTiiOUT A VOTE' OF TliE PEOPLE-THAT. TOE PROPER :?G1
G
00D EVENING. ,
TJUS WXIATIECX. - T"
Tonight and Wednesday, shnwers;
cooler tonight; southerly wind.
S
' W
I J V
TKE aCUUTION ,
" OF TKE JOURNAL
- YESTERDAY WA5
13.01(1
VOL. XIL'ttO. 71
PORTLAND. OREGON, TUESDAY EVENING, MAY ,31. 5 1901 .
: " PRICE FIVE CENTS.
Special Agents' Reports, Records of the Government and
His Own Admissions Declare That He Is Guilty, of.,
k. Violation of the Plain Established1 Laws.; :-
.
,,
lind Which He Acquired Whfle Receiver; at Roseburg ; Was Taken Up
: r in Defiance- of President s Express Prohibition His r Flimsy - Pre-.
. " tense That He Wais Under a Blissapprehension Absttrd; v
. ; . i . -" - : ' '
- 1. When InformaUon of th stupendous fraud of th Benson-Hyde ring; reached Washington to th
i spring; riM.XandCmmissionerJBlnger Hermann delayed th investigation by Bending Special en$
ev Holsinmr. who had been assigned to the work, into Montana and keeping him there for more than three .
month.., - . ,.',"-'' ' ' ' " ' - '
When" Holslnger report,' containing a complete expoture of the frauds, the ' eonfeaaion of J. H.
Schneider, the. eonfldenltal agent of the ting; and the evidence upon which to bam tnetant proceeding against
tht conspirators, reached Washington In .November,! 1902, Hermann suppressed It Be kept the report hid
den, until Secretary Hitchcock, learning of Its existence forced him to produce? lC " V. . , ' '
This report, now on file at Washington, afforded the basis for the ' prosecutions instituted after Her
mann had been dismissed from the land offic,and which have resulted In the Indictment of John A. Benson,
Frederick A. Hyde and some of Hermann's trusted oubordinates. Hermann's suppression of the report was
on of 'President Roosevelt' reasons for removing him from office. ., X , , a .
S. r The report of Inspector A. K. Oreene, forwarded to Washington to February, UOJ, and bow on file In
the land department, recommended that Hermann be Indicted for rushln to patent the fictitious home
stead entries of the Puter-afcKlnley gang, In the face of report by two special agents of the department
exposing the fraudulent mature of the entrieo. Greene's report name II bogus entries In the Cascade
mountains forest reserve, which Hermann had himself 'declared In writing to be fraudulent, but which he
made special, causing them to be approved and issuing: patents upon them , three days after approval.
.Honest ettlers were compelled to Walt from ten months to three year-for their patents. :v,::-x.y(:
S. The Indictment now. pending in' tho federal court of this, city against Horace McKinley, B.
Puter, Mario Ware and Bmmi Watson,, recites that they filed false and fraudulent homestead applications.
after ap-
: supported' by forged and perjured affidavit, and that patent were issued upon them II days arte
broval In the general iMd fflcr r ;-rwJr
Th records of tho land 'office at Roeeburg show that Hermann, while receiver of that office, ac
. quired 4,000 acre of public "land, in violation of law and In ' contempt and defiance of speclno Instruction
from President Granv forbidding such purchases by register and receiver of theIocal land offices. - This
land Hermann still owns, never having offered to make restitution to tho government. ' '
. ' Tho Report" of Inspector A. R. Greene forwarded to 'Washington In November, 1901, and now on-file
there,' charged Hermann .with direct responsibility for the fraudulent survey of publio land In Oregon
for which ex-Surveyor General Henry Meldrutn ! now under Indictment By these frauds the government
was mulcted of over $50,000. Attached to the report were 81 exhibits," including letters and telegrams from
Hermann authorising the purveys, but ail of these documents have mysteriously disappeared from" tho
files. It is said that they were last seen ther day before Hermann went out of office, and that they were then
on his desk. When they were wanted for presentation to the grand Jury last March they could not b
found. . ' J', .:''r !: .;'?--r y..r':-p'l:'-;:'--:-t; A',A; -'X '-y-X,
, 6. Th report of Special Agent Holslnger, already alluded to state that under Hermann's administra
tion of the land office' forest reserves were platted In accordance with plan prepared In the San Francisco
office of Benson and Hyde, th boundaries being fixed so as to facilitate their steals, and one of Her
mann's confidential clerks kept the? conspirators constantly Informed of every move by the department that
could affect their Interest. - That this could' not have been don without tho knowledge- and consent of
Hermann ha been repeatedly stated by. th Oregonian. which 1 now defending; him. '
-xx ,x'l .. , -css '-:x.: :x
Si
Mrs. S. G. Reed Founds
School ;to Educate
. . Poor Youth.
BEQUEST1 OF; $500,000
I Will of Portland Pioneer Woman filed
la County Cocrt leaves to
Other Charities and Rela- ,,
v tlves Half Million. .'.
THE CUCKOO CLOCK HEARD AGAIN
DAY PROVES ONE
- Of TRAGEDIES ON WOfrJAN'S GRAVE
POISONED FLOW
REPORT JAPANESE
Youthful Hasband Slays . Wife, Child Fiend Desecrates Crave of . Mrs.. If. W. Port Arthnr's turn : Said Jo' Have
and mmself-nglneer Shoots Prettyman and Then Administers Either Sank or Silenced Japanese
Woman Other Cases A Deadly Drutf; to Fowls.
Gunboat Loss Was Great.
Blnger Hermann asserts that the 4,000
acre of goernment land taken up by him
while he. was receiver of the Roseburg
. land office were. aoqulred in Ignorance
that he was" violating the law or the
rules of the department
This assertion is untrue. '
" When Hermann took up this land he
did It with full knowledge that he had
, . no right to do so, and that he was act
- lng contrary to the express prohibition
. of the president, who had notified all
registers and receivers of land offices
that they must not acquire government
.'lands.'. ' ' ' f'Vs.. '
Prior to 1171, when Hermann -was ap
pointed receiver at Roseburg consider
table scandal had been occasioned by the
practice among certain officials of local
land offices of taking up government
lands. This was in violation of numer
ous provisions of the federal laws pro
; faibltlng . all omcuus. cieras anoem
- ploves of the land office from "dlrecWy
or indirectly purcnasing or oecoming m
' terested in the purchase of publio lands."
These laws had been in force for many
years before Hermann's appointment to
CHARTER'S FRIENDS :
I : AND FOES ALIGNED
::
e '-, The committee of cltlsen ap-
'. e pointed by the public meeting to e
- e take steps with reference to the
' , various ieglslatlye candidates as
were calculated to insure the
, , maintenance of the present ' city
, 0 ' charter has made publio recom-
0 mendation that the following
,i ' - named gentlemen be voted for by
, e all who believe that the charter
,'e should be maintained: ' ,; 0
A, R XV MftlSTT AflTTHl , M
0 W. U BREWSTER, . 1
,, '0- ,E. B. CLARf, e
' - ' JOSEPH E. HEDCSE8.
'. . It recommends that the follow
. - e ing men be voted against as being
against maintaining the present 0
e ' city charter: - '- ,'.'
. A. A. COURTENbT. j . ' 1 '
1 e A. J. CAPRON. ' v ", '
THOMAS H. CRANO. . -
e ' W. R. HUD80N.
i. MADISON WELCH.'' . . e
" "" e OEORGffl W. HOLCOMB. -.-.
, e ' Save the list, for It will help ' 0
,. re you in making out your ballot in
v ' the Interest of good government 4
- e The 'list should be In the hands e
, e of every voter who favors keep-
e e
the Roseburg office, and are still on the
statute-books. ,
- The attention of President Grant bad
been called to the violation of law by
local land office officials, and during
Hermann a terra at Roseburg the presi
dent issued a special order directed to
au registers and receivers or una or
flcea prohibiting them - from making
purchase of government land. A copy
of this order was received at Roseburg
and was posted In the land office. It
was notice to -Blnger Hermann that his
speculations In government land were
unlawful.
Nor was this the only notification of
this character that Hermann received
while in the Roseburg office.. Commu
nlcatlons, were sent to him from the gen
eral land office at Washington,' warning
him that as an official of the depart
ment be must refrain from purchases of
pUDiio land. i ,
It was in defiance of these repeated
and imperative Instructions that, Her
mann began to accumulate his holdings
of valuable land. He made cash entries
on extensive tracts, and by thrifty speo
ulatlons In scrip he constantly added to
his possessions. , The foundations of the
fortune which he has 'amassed during
his long career as an office-holder were
thus laid in violation of the law and In
disregard of the orders of the president
and the secretary of the Interior..
During, the two years that he was In
the Roseburg orrice Hermann secured
8,000 acres of land in Jackson county
and 1,000 la Coos county., . This. land he
still owns, , The . Journal published re
cently an official certificate from J. h.
Booth, receiver of the Roseburg land of
flee showing" ". that these entries were
made by Hermann, and giving dates and
descriptions of the land. These data
were taken from the records of the of
fice. They show 'that on February 14
and 19, 1872, Hermann entered, by ag
ricultural college and bounty scrip, upon
portions of sections 21, S8, 87, J 8, tt and
84, township 86 south, range 1 east and
that on March 1, 1872, he made cash en
try upon portions of sections iO. Jl, SI,
26, 37, 29, 82 and 88 in the same town
ship. - .
'' Bermana Soe Vat Deny. .
Hermann cannot dispute the evidence
of the records.
"I did make such an entry," he ad
mltted in his speech at Salem.
The exouse he offers is the flimsy pre
text that at that time the law prohibited
entries by land office officials was pop
ularly construed as applying only to
those in the general land office at Wash
ington. He asserts that not untU June,
1900, was this law Interpreted, aa apply
ing to the officials of local land offices.
This is abundantly contradicted both
by the instructions sent to Hermann
from Washington and by the laws them
selves. The federal Statutes in force In
1872, when he took up public lands, were
unmistakable In .their prohibition of
such acta The prohibition had been
emphasised by express Instructions front
President Grant himself, as well as by
oraers xrora tae secretary or the interior.
' Hermann set at defiance th law and
the mandates of bis superiors. .
" Among the sections of the federal
laws which forbade acquisition of the
publio lands by receivers and registers
were tne xouowingr t . r-
- Section 4 &2, Revised Statutes of the
United- States, provides: "The officers.
clerks and employes In the general land
office are prohibited from directly or
indirectly purchasing or becoming Inter
ested In the purchase of any of the nub
ile land, and any - person who violates
this law shall forthwith . be , removed
from his office."
Section 10 of an act approved Anrll
zd, isii. establishing tne land office,
ioiiows:
Ana do n runner enacted that no
person appointed to an office instituted
by this act or employed in any such of
fice, shall directly or indirectly be con
oerned In the purchase of any right title
or interest in any public land, either in
his own right or in trust for any other
person, or in the name or right of any
other person in trust for himself, nor
snail take or receive any fee or -emolument
for negotiating or transacting the
business of the of flea Any person of
fending in the premises shall forfeit and
pay $100, and upon conviction shall be
removed xrom office." , ,
The general land office was reorran
ised July 4, 183 6. and section 14 of the
act again prohibited all officers of. the
department "from dlreotly or indirectly
purchasing or in any way becoming in
terested in the purchase of any of the
publio land."
The manifest purpose of these repeat
ed prohibitions was to prevent ail offi
cials of the land department from using
tneir positions roe their own private
gam and at the expense of the publio.
It Is absurd to contend that the prohi
bition was Intended only for off lcials in
tho Washington office, for' their oppor
tunities xor making purchases or pub
lio lands would be few, it any. The
laws were aimed primarily against; the
receivers and registers of the local land
offices, who would otherwise be able to
seise upon all the choicest lands in their
districts to -the exoluslon of legitimate
settiera -
No sensible man can be deceived by
the subterfuge by which Hermann seeks
to escape responsibility for his acta He
scimma puoiio iana in tot igu Knowl
edge and with ample warning that he
had no right to do so. For 82 yeacs he
has - enjoyed the ' possession of .these
4.000 acres, and apparently without a
thought of restitution,- . , , . ' .
' BBT. KB. BOAXTSOV ZS DBAS. ; '
' (JoarMl Special Berries.)
New York, May 81. Rev. P. Scanlon.
chancellor of the archdiocese of. San
Francisco, died today at St Vincent's
hospital of a oomplicatioa of allmenta
' (Journal Bpaeltl Barrlee.) ... .
Cambridge. O., May , 21As th re.
suit of a quarrel with his wife .this
morning, Andrew Measer went : to a
neighbor's, borrows a rifle, returned to
his home, and shot both his wife and
Infant son. He then turned the rifle
against himself .and sent a ball crash
lng through hlS 'skuIL bringing Instant
death. " jjii,; :, ,.,;,
Messer was but 24 years of age-and
his wife but 17 years old. The child
which was sacrificed to the father's
temper was but 1 year old. Intimates
assert ! that the quarrel is believed to
have been the first one ever engaged In
between Messer and his wife. .,
XATOB TAKES UTB,
Baltimore, Md., May 81. Mayor Rob
ert M. McLane of this city committed
suioide yesterday afternoon by' shooting
himself through the head at his home.
No. known cause Is assigned for the act
although by some it is thought that re
cent criticisms by political enemies may
have caused a temporary mental aberra-
tie was elected as a Democrat for a
term of four years last May. He was
88 years of age, a member of a promi
nent family and very popular among the
people. He was married about two weeks
ago to a well known and popular so
ciety leader of this city.
Clay Timanus, president of the city
council, a Republican, became mayor to-
aay ic succeed Mayor Mcuine. , The lat
ter was a Democrat No further expla
nation or Mcuane s act has. been made
known other than despondency over crit
icism aimed at him since the big fire.
, P i. ii n mi i I ii . ) 4
i UIUUUB ATTEB MXTBSXB.
Pittsburg, Pa, Miy 81.Irvln Wise.
well-known mechanical engineer, this
morning i shot and killed Katie Craft, a
boarding house owner, and then com
mitted suicide. It Is presumed that-the
woman rejected bis suit
Prompted by a motive that has not
been explained, a fiend in the person of
a young "man desecrated the grave of
Mrs.,H. W. Prettyman in Lone Fir ceme
tery yesterday and made a vicious at
tack upon the home of Mr., Prettyman,
At the Prettyman residence In Mount
Tabor poison was distributed about the
place and caused the death of 80 chick
ens.
uvvu vn i ui most mvsceria
lous and dastardly that has ever been
brought to the attention of the local de
tectives; Officers are working on the
case, but have failed to find a clue that
will likely result tn the arrest of the
perpetrator. It Is believed, however,
that the deed was done by a young man
who claims to have a grievance against
we rrettyman xamuy. ,
At II o'clock yesterday Mr. Prettyman
and hl daughter went to the grave of
nis wire. They placed
' BVXZiETZB,
Tien ' Tsln,' May 81. It Is reoorted
that four 'fulj Siberian ' regiment left
Tasechao, 20 miles south of New
Chwang, for Kin Chow, Monday. It la
believed these will be followed by an
entire division In an effort to relieve
Port, Arthur.
Mukden,' May 81. A report reached
here today that the- Japanese attack on !
Fort Arthur Saturday was not without
loss.; The report says that the attack
was made after night had fallen and
when everything seemed favorable for
the Japanese cause.
An" attempt similar to the one which
recently proved temporarily successful
was made to block the harbor entrance.
A number of torpedo boats, a gunboat
Mrs. 0. ' O. Reed leaves
Guests:- r - -
To Mra Amos N. Reed, , a cou- -sin
........2 25,000
To Harry TX and Grace G Reed, , ,
children of Amos N. Reed,
each 10,000
To Georglana Reed, widow of
deceased's husband's half
brother, Edward P. Reed. ... 25,000
To Georglana Reed, In trust ' '
for Georglana's children...... 80,000
to jymuy rioitering, a sister, and
to Amelia wincn. wife of Mar
tin Wlnoh, each.............
To Myrtle Walker Winch,' widow
of Henry ;Wlnch.- ;..'...
To children of her sister and
brother, Ellen,' Bailie, Emily,
William M. and John A., ea..
To Simeon Reed Winch, son of
her nephew, Martin Winch..
To the -'i Troupe . Polytechnic
- scnooi, fasaoena, cel.. . . .
To First Unitarian church , of
Quincy. Mass..................
To Unitarian society of Portland
To the Home, Charitable society
of Portland ................. ,
To the Boys' and Girls' Aid so-.
clety of Portland....'.,...,..
To the f Baby Homa Pattoa.
, Home and Homeopathic Hoepl
. tal and Dispensary, Portland, ! '
each ; 1,000
To Portland Free Kindergarten 2,000
To Portland Library association : ,
and free library,.... 10.000
To Portland City Board of Char
ities To Oregon Humane society..;. :
To Pooples Free Reading A Ll--
brary association, Portland., i
To Refuge Home for. Women,
Portland
To Portland Women's union...
To Portland v Good , Samaritan-'.
hospital 1,000
To Old Ladles' Home, Portland,
block of 124 and, ....... 40,00ft
To Martin Winch, nephew....; 100,000
TO Trustee of Reed Institute, .
balance of property, and for
a .building 150,000
Total cash bequests.......
1.000
100
1,000
5,000
10,000
2.9O0
; 5,0U
5.000
1.090
2,000
1,000
1.000
1,000
1,000
.2438,500
flowers- on the grave. Then - they went
home to luncheon and returned to the
grave in the afternoon.
. Jflowera Tuned Black.
They were startled to discover that
the flowers were black, instead of th
various colors they bore when they were
placed upon - the grave,... Gasing in
amazement on the metamorphosis. Mr.
Perttyman reached down to investigate.
He seised one of the bouquets, but -drew
his nana quickly away, dropping the
iiowera 10 ine grouna.
! His hands stung as though ' burned
where they had touched the flowers. To
day he visited a physician and was in
formed that his hands had been burned
by carbolic acid, Unable to Understand
the change of the flowers Mr. Prettyman
and his daughter returned to their
homa -'
, Poisoned CMokeua.
It was 8 o'clock in the afternoon when
theyi reached the placa In the yard
were scattered a numoer ox dead chick
ens. There is a large number of the
fowls at the place and they were
JBAX0T8T OAT7SXIS TBAOB9T. .- I hnwA rninlumi ht AlunrA amA v-.-
AUUMW41. aw.1 hij tijn. b: norn-1 wninn wra not dei , itirnn
oucxiB, a weaiiny reeiaent snot and i main ahmit th nM. a n.imK.. i-
killed himself and ' seriously wounded i
Mvevaav acaaa-vaar aaas uic;OU . "JUV, VCtrj I WVlTV POIBOHCU.
By the will of the late Mra S. G.
Reed, filed today, the poor young men
and women of this city who are strug-"
pi lng for a living and such education as
they can acquire under trying conditions
and merchantmen steamed quietly to-1 are. benefited to the extent of property
m-nrri th harhnr ntntii.i hnf . IssRSSMsd for more than 8500.000., The
a number of I ntnlraii .in kv h Pm.l.n fA Wnmn'i hiuiM rKtn 110 .000 In raIi.
,v,- i - .... w...M, - . - -- . ,
.terrirMT. cannonade was centered on ina many otner msiuunons prom.
the gunhoat which was sent to the The bulk of this money goes, toward
bottom, and a f ow minutes later, the the founding of an institute of art,
report, says,, two torpedo boat also dis
appeared.
The merchantmen, after the' loss of
the Japanese boats, retreated from the
tone of .fire and were apparently un
harmed. 4 ' ''." ' , " .
The report is unofficial. It 1 re
garded as certain here that if the Jap
anese were repulsed in an attempt to
shut the harbor another desperate trial
of this sort will be made within a short
time and In greater force.
this morning. The cause of the tragedy
is supposed to nave been jealousy. The
woman's -recovery is doubtful.
WATERS HIGHEST ON
RECORD AT PAOLA
' ' (Joonul Special 8errlee.
Faola, Kan., May 81. The Marals Des-
cynges river flood is Your feet above
the - highest - record. Railroads are
blocked and, many people at Ossawato
mie are nomeiess. . , . ,
The waters seem to be recedlftar and
11 no neavy rainfall la experienced, dur
ing the next 24 hours, they will soon
reacn weir normal level. . .
nrePBOTB aUBATEBWOBTX rosT,
' (Joornal Special Service.) s
Fort Leavenworth. Kan.. Mar II
secretary of . War Taf t reviewed the
garrison andi Inspected the post here
this morning, then boarded a trolley for
Kansas City, " where he will participate
in the automobile parade and probably
make a speech at Convention hall before
leaving for Washington tonight.
Investigation revealed the fact that
poison had been thrown about tho place
promiscuously. "Inside the house were
also found several articles on which it
is believed the -deadly drug - had' been
placed. ,
Mr. Prettyman presented the facta to
Dr. Woods Hutchluson. . He is conduct
ing a chemical analysis of the drug.
"I am not through with the analvsts
and, cannot say positively what poisons
are contained In the preparation - that
was left at the Prettyman home," said
Dr. Hutchinson today, "the deed was
certainly the most dastardly I have ever
heard of and I wish the culprit could be
discovered. , , . , . , . t. ,
r. . prettyman is a deputy game
warden. He has no enemies, be says.
SPANISH CITY IS , .
SWEPT BY FLAMES
; 1 'in , m ..y -X ,
(Jonrnsl Special Serrlce.) ' '
Madrid May SI. A fire at Luanco to
day resulted in many deaths. The J list
haa not been made up, according to-the
report received here, but la known to be
heavy.
ftOZTDOV BOUBTS BBPCJBT. ,
, f n iirr in ii'.iir.i ai - ' i
Hear Gunhoat Was Damaged, Bat Bo
; '. Blockade Was Attempted,
- (Journal Special Service.)
London, May 81. The reports were
received here today to the effect that in
actions off Port Arthur the Japanese
had sustained loss. One from Mukden,
undoubtedly from Russian sources, says
the Japanese lost two torpedo boats and
one small gunboat - '
A second report: from Chefoo makes
no mention of an attempt . to obstruct
the entrance to the Port Arthur har
bor, but. contains an account of a re
oonnalssance being made by a Japanese
gunboat No. I, on Monday, In whloh the
gunboat' - ventured too - near , the -' f ort
was discovered and badly damaged by
a fierce shell fircxrom ue land batteries.
The gunboat escaped with difficulty.
but no attempt was made at pursuit
This latter fact causes belief that the
harbor ,1a stiU dangerous for the .Rus
sian egress, as the gunboat was prac
tically unsupported.
One petty officer of gunboat No.' 8
was killed, three men injured and one
gun badly damaged. .
The Chee Foo report is the one ac
cepted as true by London students of
the situation, , - .
imuslo, literature and manual training, a'
practical school to be known as the S. G.
Reed Institute, named In . honor of . the
dead husband '. of .-the deceased, who
passed away in 'Pasadena,'. CaL, some ;
nine years aga ' ' .
In addition to the endowment Mra
- ' (Continued on Pago Three.)
PLOT TO KEEP
VOTERS FROM POLLS
It is positively ssserted that a o
scheme has been formed by the
liquor. Interests and by the gam- ; 4
biers who are enlisted in support i
of the Republican, ticket to join e
forces on election day and far e
aa possible to prevent the better o
class of cltisens from voting. The :
XtAXirr BOT,BXSTBOTZ,
Japanese Ftad 100 Warehouses, Barracks
1 and Other BnUding Tfalnjured.-t
, (Journal ptclat Berrice.l ' "r ;
4 Tokjo May 81. General Oku. com
mander Of the army operating against
Port Arthur, reports that the JaDanese
occupied Dalhy Monday, , More than 100
warehousea the barracks, telegraph of
fices, and railway station were found
to be uninjured. About 200 railway
(Continued on Page Two.). ; U
:
a
liquor men are anxious to reduce
to a 1 minimum the vote for the
local option law, and the gam
blers are equally Interested in
the success of the Republican
ticket which will ensure a eon-
"tinuance of the Immunity, from
the penalties of the law, whloh
' they now enjoy. 1' - ,
In the downtown precincts the,
saloon and gambling elements are'
, strong, and they will be aided by
the heavy registration of pur
chasable voters. But la tbe out-
' lying and residence districts it is
said that they propose to adopt
obstructive tactics. -Every voter
who is suspected of hostility to
either the saloons or the gam
bling houses wilt. be. challenged.
All Democrats are slso to be
challenged with a view to Cutting
down the Democratic vote. '
If any considerable proportion
of the voters should drfer the
casting of their ballots uni 1
afternoon, this scheme will pre
vent many of them from vm ?
at all, ,
It la Imperative thrf.n '
Democrats and sJv.m i-h r'
local option lnw. i i
Sire to lose t'-.'-'r
go to tlie T''- ".
-