The Oregon daily journal., December 29, 1905, Image 1

(. , . t
GOOD EVE Hill G
THE WEATHER. ;.
" Tonight and" Saturday occasional
' rain; southerly winds.
Journal Circulation
VOL. IV. NO. 2561.
PORTLAND, OREGON, FRIDAY EVENING. DECEMBER 29, 1805. TWO SECTIONS 18 PAGES.
PRICE TWO CENTS. S?JWrcKS
Vii
ODE
fiiffiHiimii
i
Tf f f f f f f ff ???? ??? f f f ???? f
Jiaspar Van Dran's death by his own hand last night Js the concluding chapter of a story extraordinary In Its accumu
lated tragedies. I Late In the evening of lay 2? of this year, Joe Young, proprietor of an adjoining saloon, walked Into the
Washington cafe, of which Kaspar Van Dran was ihen the owner, and fired five shots at Van Dranf fourofjhcm taking,
effect. Van Dran was In the hospital for two months, and his recovcry was regarded as almost miraculous. ; Young was
subsequently tried, convicted and sentenced to six years In the penitentiary. Mrs. Van pr an? who had nursed her husband
with tender care during his convalescence, died from cyanide poisoning on the night of August 12, at their home, 33 North
Seventeenth street, under circumstances strongly suggestive of murdemThq mvstery of her death has never been tsolyed.
Kaspar Van Dran, jvho was broken-hearted over bis wife s death, Hilled himself about 10 o'clock lasThlght by swallowing
cyanide, the same poison which caused hls wife's death; CJ ...Vv-.vVA-' : 'i ' 1.'. 'S .-' r fv.-""
(USESIOENIICAl TOBSON
Leaves Curse ori Joe
- - for Ali:His:Trou
' V - the Mystery
kin
WENT TO BATHROOM, JVIIXED. AND DRAINED THE POISON, '
' ; -WALKED' BACK 70 BED, AND DIED ALMOST: INSTANTLY
Letter to Assistant; District-Attorney
: Ji-Hotel People Did Not Know of ! Anything Wrong Body
U ' U - Found on Bed
';" ":-dH ;w- u -n- .'-C'
nuMmml with aoVrow : and woarT of
Thrntal torture, Kaiipar Van Orah, "who
llotmrnt of trouble wa tieavter than
la Uduajly ivea to 'men, aouaht .death
In ahe Oregon hotel laat nlaht ' by
' wallowing cyanide" of potaaatum. the
dnis that killed his wife, the mystery of
whose death has-never been solved.
l Before his death he left a curse upon
. Joe Younf. his blttsr enemy, and found
. the end pointing a ory hand ot accusa
tion at the man whom he declares caused
, all his trouble. ,
Van Pran's suicide M terrible and
' swift It was carefully planned and de
' llberately executed. The body .waa found
at 10 o'clock this morning- In a room
at the hotel Oregon. Seventh and 8tark
street. It Is believed that he died about
.11 o'clock last night. He left no trace
- of the means by whtob he died except
' a statement that he had used the
-cyanide. "
. Yesterday,, forenoon Van Dran went
to the Oregon hotel and engaged a
room. It waa for no specified period
but ha had frequently talked of living
there, and it was thought by clerks
that the engagement would be perma
nent. He had spent a great deal of
time In recent days a,t,tthe hotel. ;,
-, , . " Told fcTo Oae of Haa. -'
He was about the city during the day
, and was aeen by a number of hla friends
and acquaintances. To none of them
did he confide the ghaatly thought that
waa coursing through his brain. He
spent a greater part of last evening In
C the writing room of the hotel. It was,
not observed whether ha was , writing
or merely meditating. - i
, In the forenoon,, however, he wrote
letter to Deputy District Attorney
- Oua Mpser. The letter was received
ty Mr. Moser at 10 o'clock thin morn
ing and Van Dran'a body was found' a
' few moments later. ' The letter , was
written upoir the stationery of the Ore-
gon hotel. ' The envelope showed .that
It was mailed at 1:10 yesterday. - It
was the last of a large number of let
ters that wasopened by Mr. Moser this
morning.. It reached hla office at 1:30
' O'clock. ' ' - ,-. . ,. .
: Van Dxan retired to hla room shortly
'' before 11 o'clock last night. He was
'a. fully resolved, evidently, and the details
of the deed were clearly In' bis mind.
t He .locked the door afXnrenterlng. the
room.-"-Then he removed the key, so
that whn,the search was -made It
would not ; be . neceaaary to break -the
door. He 'placed the key upon a table
, - at the other end of the room. 1
, ' Took Volsoa im Bataroonw t'
He did not turn on the lights, but
carefully removed his coat and topcoat,
' hanging them with Iris cane In (he
?-loset. In the bathroom adjoining he
turned on two elect Me lights. They
'' were left burning... . , . " ' T'
WAN DRAN'S mT
My-Dear Friend Moser This will b the last message to you . from - me, as the pressure of my
trouble came so hard I could not stand it any longer. You will find my body in the Hotel Oregon.
I took ttiosc of this horrible poiaon, 'cyanide of potassium, Because it Is a quick death without suf
fering. Joe Young is the cause of all this trouble and I am satisfied he is the instigator of the poisoning
of my wife, which- waa intended for m and I have been very sorry it was not me instead of my dear wife.
Chase and Kinney, I am sure, got money to leave town and the. chances are they know something in
regard to the poiaoning. I ask you to make an examination of Young and Marshall and, if possible, locate
the im msnl Chaae and Kinney." - . . ' '
' j Since I lost my dear, wife I
Try and locate the murderer, - My
(Signed.) .
LED MIS WIEE
Youhgi VH isi Bitter J Eherriyr Whom He Blamed
of Which Has Never. Been Explained. v
Fully Dressed-With Exception Coatr -v -
, y. . , i .4. ..V i-,.1 ,,. . . ',. .."'(- f .i ',-'..
It was- in the bathroom. It la be-
Itevedf that he took- the ' fata dose.
He prepared' the decoction -with, the aid
ef a glass and water and it ' la be
lieved destroyed all evidence of what
he took by throwing the parcel Into the
sink. Drinking the ndeadly potion he
walked quickly from the bath Into the
adjoining room and lay dewn Won the
bed to die. Before the. deed waa. done
he had carefully turned down the cov
ers. iVle believed that he expired aa
soon aa he reached the bed. The end
of hla cigar he had thrown fnto a ua
pidor. . ':' . - ' . . .
There was no struggle, so tar as ap
pearances , indicate. When found Van
Dran lay quietly ' upon the bed, his
right arm "at retched under his head snd
his left hand extended by his side. His
head -rested, on the pillow end ho had
laid himself In such a position that his
feet stretched overthe side of the bed.
With, the exception of his coat and top
coat nonsj of hla clothing had been re
moved. .-.' " J ' .
XT. Xose Zs aarprlaed.
- Mr.- Moser went slowly through his
mall this morning. - He noticed one with
the handwriting of Van Dran. with
whlc he was familiar-, and kept It til
the last It was le o'clock before he
opened it He read It quickly, then
paused to rend It again. Ha naked thoae
In the office if they had heard of a sui
cide, then called .up police headquarters.
No auch report had been received. -
Mr. Moser hurried to the Oregon
hotel. - He asked-if Mr. Van Dran was
living there. K clerk replied that ha
was not. ' Mr. Moser' Insisted that he
look at the books and Anally learned the
number of the roonTVan Dran had
Uken. .He called HeaWirter Hoi lend
and together they hurried to the room.
The door, of course, wna locked when
Mr., Moser and Mr. Holland and the
boy reached 'he room. With the aid of
a paakey Ilnl'eiid easily opened the
door. TUe room was partly dark," for
the window ohndes were partly down.
In the bathroom two electric lights
were- burning, casting ' ghastly .rays. '
'ttf feaed ( drm oa Bed. ',
In . the dim- obscurity of the plact
those , who entered finally, dlacerned
objects In , the room.- The lights were
turned 'on and there upon the bed lay
the-cold and stiffened form of a man.
It lay . quietly and peacefully, as If
merely In repose, . but there waa that
about the features that plainly, told the
story of one whose longing . for ..the
unknown had paused the deed.!
! There was a yellow pallor, on the face
and the lips were swollen. I -
The coroner office waa notified Im
mediately and Deputy Coroner'' Arthur
Flnley hastened to the room.: The body
was removed to Pmley's undertaking
establishment where - It will i remain
had all kinda of trouble, which causes
brother will help you. - Good-bye forever.-' :; V
KASPAR VAN DRAN.
until-funeral arrangements are com
pleted.
A search of the .room waa then begun,
But there were no - telltale bottles or
vials or even a scrap of paper lndlcat
Ing where or how Van Dran had pro
cured the deadly drug. ,. A' glass was In
the bathroom, in which there were still
drops of t water. , . -t .,
Strychnine Tablets rouse.
In one of his pockets, was found a
small parcel containing a number of
thirtieth grain "atrychnine tablets. The
coroner, however, does not believe that
they, were used to cause death.. How
ever, an examination will be made to
thoroughly determine the means that
Van Dran used.
"I have known Vaa Dran for several
years," said Mr. Moser, "and. I have
never known a man who wss so badly
wronged. In Pendleton and ' In 'other
places where he waa known ha bore the
beat of reputations and every one who
anew nim will always conaemn joe
Young for starting the slander about
Van Dran'a Intimacy with hla wife.
"Governor Chamberlain knew him and
had Implicit confidence In him, - He
talked wlttf me freely during the prog
ress of Young's trial and slways ex
pressed belief that Young was In some
way Implicated In the' murder of hla
wlfe
"I think ha must have made a mis
take when he wrote the name Marshall
In his letter. I don't know the man
and have never heard hla name men
tioned In connection with ' the crime,
I know who Chase and the others are.
but Van Dran must have been thinking
ao deeply that he made a mlatake and
Inserted the name Marshall for the one
he wanted to mention." .
Marshall Is the men wH6 wrote- let
ters to the police giving what purported
to be direct clues to the alleged murder
of Mrs. Van Dran. - -
- . .Bold' XIs . Baloecw - . "V '
jfTJfnTioior tilr stoortwtfireeka
ago to Scott Morrell. The saloon 'under
hla management was' called the Wain
Ington cafe, and It waa there that the
attempt upon Van Dran'a life waa made.
After leaving the hotel, . Mr. Moser
and Mr. Plnley Visited the saloon, where
they met, Watt Montetth, a brother of
Mrs. Van Dran, who waa murdered. Mr.
Montelth declared that ha waa with Van
Dran for several hours yesterday, but
did not even suspect that auch a deed
was being planned.", J - '
, Joe Youna; waa lying on hla cot at the
county jail miB morning vnw mtwu
called On 'by -a Journal reporter and told
of Van Dran's desth. Young lumped
like a shot when he heard the word
"sulclda,'JJIhe-eonvloted man nervous
ly piacea nia banns on nis neea ana ior
several minutes stood silent. After fas
"(Continued on Page Three.)
LETTER!
me today to. do this terrible deed, i t
tw , i i an -. asaar- r
wwi
Kaspar Van Dran, ho killed himself today, and his wife, who died mys
teriously by the same poison he used. Joseph "Young is in prison for.
wounding Van Drah aom time ago. . " ! '
ISELH1 AND MUNn TELL COnmiTTEE
ABOUT SYNDICATE OPERATIONS
k . . -....... ... -e-k,. . . . . .-
' ;" ' " ' ' ' . V' " "' ' " ''"
President of United States Company Produces Statement of the
- Company's Real Estate Holdings and Says He Never
- -j Received Rebates. - "
(Joanil Speefal Herrre.
wNewYprk." Dec. I . When..JU Arm
strong legislative Insurance fbveatlgat
Ing committee, resumed Its ' work ""this
mornlns Adrian Iselln, banker, and di
rector In the Mutual, was called to the
stand. Inelln this! morning presented a
statement-to the committee showing the
syndicate operations In which?- par
ticipated' with the Mutual. , Evidence
on the allotment of 1,000 shares of
stock In the Lawyers' Mortgaae Insur
ance company which, wklle being cred
ited to the finance board members of
the Mutual, was held by the company,
was taken late t yesterday afternoon,
when Adrian Iselln was first called to
the stand. J. 3. Haven, another mem
ber of the finance committee, and Fred
erick H. Cromwell, .present acting p reel
dent, of the Mutual, rere also examined
on the subjetu , . - '
It was brought out that President Mo
Curdy wss very angry when -he found
that he received none of the shares in
the Lawyers' Title Insurance ft Trust
company when the allotment was -made.
This evidence was given by Henry
Morgentheau ef the Lawyers' Mortgage
Insurance company, t Morgentheau said
that In order, to, appease Mr. McCirdy
the ' latter was offered " a block of
Lawyers' Mortgage Insurance company
LOCOMOTIVE BOILER V 'v -EXPLODES,
KILLING FOUR
(JarnaI Special Service.) '
Judson, Ind.. Ix-c. 2$. The holler of
a locomotive of a freight train on the
Krle railroad., en route from Chicago to
New York, exploded here hls morning
with terrible results. . Four trainmen
were killed and 1104.000 wdrth of fancy
areeaed tnnjit w iiln1. trt edflltlnfl
about l6o head ef cattle were killed. .
- rreeideat Still Ohaataif ' BabslM. '
(Joarn.l Special N'lfl.l
CharloMesvllle, Va, teo..2 No word
was received from the president . this
)444e4
stock Uit refused to sccept It. and
Intimated that neither -ef-the companies
could Took for any consideration from
the Mutual In the matter of future loans
being asked.
The next -witness after Mr. Iselln was
John P. Munn, president., of the United
States Life Insurance , company, 'who
told of the operation of tils company.
A number of atatements of syndicate
operations were submitted by Munn snd
read, as well as statements ss to the
cost of Insurance to his company. He
also said that Andrew Hamilton was
never paid a retainer by his oompany.
In explaining .the cost of new business,
which in msny cases was shown to have
run from 200 to 100 per cent, Munn
said the sharp competition' of big com
panics was responsible. . e '
-Munn produced e.' statement of the
company s , real estate holdings, which
showed a total book value of tTSS.tOt.
but which were appraised-at IS70.2SO,
The net Income from this property was
shown to be IJSH7J.0. Munn stated
that he was Insured for I2R.000 In his
own compsny and further said that no
official of the company ever received
rebates on policies. He said Vhst he
was Insured in the Mutual for $100,000
and received the regular,jtgent'a com
mission ior toe nrst year. .
morning.' The stenographer here says
he has received no messages from
Washington necessary to transmit to
the plantation..- The president -and" his
family are wholly freed from official
carta ' Theodore, 3r and Dr. Rlxey
Joined the party 'In rabbit hunting. '
. Bernhardt ta Baltimore. ,
fine mil Special Karvlre.)
; Baltimore, ld., ' Iec. Madam
Sarah Ilerntiardt and her company ar
rived In Haltlmore toiiay to give a series
of '.three performances . ,1he Lyriq
theatre, appearing In 'famine.' "La
Borclere" and Spho.,, The advance
sale of seats la said to be the lal-seM
In the history" of the Baltimore play.
houses, v .,..,'..,'
HOLD-UP FOR
BREAKFAST
Five Men, In Next Room, Watch
:' Two Highwaymen Rob Lake ...
- Charles Saloon and Make
:'; No, Protest. . '"
ANOTHER CALMLY CHEWS
? TOBACCO BY THE STOVE
A Waitress, . Howeyer, If ' Agitated
Sufficiently , $o; Drop s Tray of
Dishes Robbers Get Twelve Dol
lars From Till, Search Proprietor
Hurriedly, Thin .Walk Out. .
TFlve men calmly at therf breakfasts
and looked on in an adjoining room,
while another chewed . tobacco by the
stove In the aama room, and watched
two masked men hold up and rob-August
Sterling, proprietor of the Lake Charles
saloon, St Fifth street, shortly after
I o'clock this morning.
Jennie Nelson, a waitress, dropped a
trsy of dishes In her alarm and ran
behind a stove, where she remained
until' the robbery waa finished.
. Sterling was cleaning" up his place
this morntnr when the hold-up occurred.
He was behind the bar wiping glasses
and talking to Charles. Grant, who sat
near the stove. Grant 'la employed; on
a dredae near- St. Johns. -
-. Separated from the saloon In tha rear
by a curtained alcove la the restaurant
connected with the Lake Charlea hotel.
The curtains were, pulled wide, apart
and both the dining-room and the saloon
were plainly visible to the- occupants
of each. Five men Were eating break
fast in the dining-room and Jennie Nel
son waa serving them.- ; . .
; .Xlwaymea BaahrZa. : . .
Two- men, their faces masked with
blue polkadnt handkerchiefs, suddenly
burst through, tha f eont door ram. the
street., Each carried a revolver In his
hand and leveled It at the proprietor.
They paid no heed to Grant, who sat
nearby.-
- "Hands up, and be quick, for we need
tha money, said one of the highway'
men and Sterling compiled without pro-
teat. r i . ,.
He raised hla handa and heM them- up
while one. Of the - bandits hurriedly
pushed hlra from behind the bar and
opened the cash register. The other
bandit meanwhile kept Sterling cov
ered with the revolver. . " r
-Grant, who - waa chewing tobacco.
roused himself from his Startled .sur
prise enough to expectorate and the In-
(Continued on Page Seven.)
PRIEST WITH CLOTHES ABLAZE PUTS
ARMS AROUND FIREMAN'S NEGK
Latter Walks With Him to Edge of Porch and Slides With Him
V V Down Post to Safety, While Flames Rage In the C '
' .-. ,: ,'' .Burning Building, v r .'
If was the presence , of mind and
courage, of William J. Taggart. driver
of fire truck No. 3. that saved the life
of . Rev. Alexander CeeteHl of St. Mi
chael's Italian Roman Catholic church.
Fourth and Mill streets, early this
morning. Father Cestelll was badly
burned and blistered, about the hands
and breast and Is , receiving medical
treatment at St. ' Vincent'a hospital. - t
The fire In which- tha priest nearly
lost his life occurred In the, pastorate
In rt he rear of the brick and atone
r v
W. J., Taggart, Who Rescued Father
Cestelli. .
church, and" caused damaar to the
building of less than ll.0"O snd de
stroyed several hundred dollara' worth
Of personal property of the prlent.
The fre dleciivere-t at shout 1 il
o'cloak. fjhottly after Lite siurrn l.,l
STANDARD OIL
M
Great Secret Service Machinery
' Extends to Every.State ind
f' Blocks Government i
; . ,:.,- 5
! v ;-' . t .Agents. : ;, j ; ;
': '; - J.-
... . . . . '
INDEPENDENT COMPANIES
'wPART.OF THEjSYSTEM
" .. 1 ' - . . ,
Rockefeller a.- Bigger- Man Than
'Rooaevelt," Is the Cry Has a Cods
, for the Punishment of Offenders!
' Government Has Secured Import
; ant Evidence.' '". :, ., "
1
."'-tJoernal apeelal Servica.) H
Chicago, Dec 2. The Tribune's ataff
correspondent telegraphs from Philadel
phia: ' 7 1
"We are bigger than the government.
Standard Oil Is stronger than . tha
states. We own the senate and the
house of representatives. If xou pursue
your : Investigations beyond the point
necessary to foot the public we
will have you removed. We can secure
tha Instant deposition of-the secretary
of commerce .and the commissioner of
corporations. If you persecute us In'
the slightest degree you will be out of
your job, end If you keep at your busi
ness you will find out that what we
aay !s absolutely true." - ..
This is the kind ot talk which' has
been handed out to the agents of the
government at every state in tha game.
The first-thins; they learned was that
Standard Oil, as has been truly said
pf tit, was a grest. "system.- , Agents
of the government were confronted .at'
the outset by the evidence ef an extra
.ordinary . secret machinery of Standard
OH. one that covers states and probably
extends to- foreign countries. This ma
chinery was organised In the first place
for the express purpose of preventing
jobbers and retailers cutting prices.
. The government agents have reported
to ths secretary of commerce that who-'
ever sells a shade off the market price
Is Invariably, caught and punished ac
cording to the code of the "system."
This secret service is said to be more
complete, unscrupulous and far-reaching
than anything that baa ever been known
In this country.- The government agents
stand aghast at its extent. At every
stage of the Investigation the agents
have besn thwarted by influence of
people not. supposed to be associated
with Standard OH. but who are none
the leas ready to do its bidding.
. At the outset It wss discovered that
(Continued on Page Seven.)
been sounded. Taggart. who was oft
duty laat night, but had returned to tha .
ftrehouse to get into hla "turn-out"
clothes, heard some ohe catr,' "Firemen!
Firemen!" t ' ,
v . ajaw Xaa oa Tire.
He ran out of the front door of the
truck side of tha house and was sur
prised to see flames leaping- from sev
eral windows of the rooms In the rear
section of the church; , which Is'across
the street. ' Standing on the roof 'of the
porch Covering the. north entrance to
the building he' saw a man whose gar
ments were in flames., v ' . (
Running . across the . street, Trirt
quickly climbed over the stone wall of
the church and - Blanc-hard -Institute
grounds on Fourth - street, sped over
the intervening- playground an called
to the man he w standlnc on the tun
of the porch .tha he would jrescu him.
Taggsrt did not wait for the arrival
of the truck, but hastily ellmhed one
of the posts supporting the roof ef .the
porch-and quickly reached the sMn of
the-.priest. At that time, the flnmee
were roaring out of the whitlow behind
the two. .men, great tongues of fire leap
ing' high' Into the' sir tbrougt clouds cf
smoke. ; -. ,,
'Batlag-nishlag the BarnJsa Clot hla g-
Telling Father Cestelll to throw his
arms around hla shoulders snd to rllrif
to him with all his strength, TxtU
trembling under the weih.' of Hie
priest, cautiously moved to ths e1e nf
the roof, put one foot over, then the
other, got them around one of . the
poets, and with the prh-st still Hinging
to his neck snd shoulders- with his
burned snd Mistered hnd and arma,
ld quickly to the ground,
f, Tnras Frlert Ovr o pettnra.
With Utile cerenmnv. Tm.-irt j fi - I
the half-rt.'i"d ni'n nvr t i n- ,i
of the thnlllne r''-" '" , h
line at n- 't ,l;''l I" i' r.
twen ImI'I. Mri.-l ""' r
extliifciil-'hlns "f ' -" t mi ;
L- n. . - i .. !'. i . , -