! -
I
GOOD CVEIiniG
, TII3 WEATHER
Fair' tonight and '' 7e4needsy;
northwest wind.' - '
VOL. V. NO. 132.
PORTLAND, OREGON, TUESDAY EVENING, AUGUST 7, 1900. FOURTEEN PAGES.
PRICE TWO CENTS.
IX i . lud Cm.
- YOtfflFUl
Of VETEEM!
CONFESSES X
Fifteen-Year-Old Thomas Reeves Admits
Murder of William Powell, Cut Claims
That He Was Threatened by Victim
; Vith Knife and Shot More lie Knew.
- Dime novel Heading Cause
(Front BUff OorrMpomtent )
' Cottage Grove, Or, .Aug-. W ouv
tody -of - Sheriff - Fred Flake, Thomas
Rnvti and Hugh Saxtdtrr tart, uw
, kempt boys,' arrived at this, place, this
: moraine to anewsr ths charge of will
fully murdering aged' William Powell.' a
; Gettysburg hero, a refuges from tba
Ban Frsncfsoo.dtsastsr, and ae-harmlea
, a wanderar as 'long' years of" toll aver
brought to a senile ; dotage. Manacled
together by strong cuff a of steel, ths
; bojre they are- agad only ! ' and t IS
, years took their arrest -lightly, - -
Hugh Saxton. tha younger, whom tha
old man aald before his death waa tha
murderer, rolled cigarettes with the
hand that waa free, and maintained an
air' of Bowery toughness, until confined
In the dingy little Jail at this place.
Then he broke down, and wept, - ,
Tha Juvenile murderers .. are products
of the city of Portland, and gained their
dealre for glory as desperadoes, they
' declare, by reading the direful stories
of Deadwood Dick. Nick "Carter ' and
v :
Sheriff Fred FUka, Who Brought the
Boy Murderers to Cottage Grove.
similar yarns of the crimson type.- One
la a graduate of the notorious "Oooaa
portion sf South Portland for years.
.'. Career of Curderara.
Thomaa Beevs is II years of age and
lives at 14 Columbia street. Portland.
l On . ths witness-stand today he con
fessed that he , fired the fatal shot,
'though the old man declared' that tha
' younger Jad waa the murderer. He la
a member, of whtt he calls the 'West
Bide club, an- organisation of young men
Land boys who reside In tha Oooae Hol
' low district.- The object of the club,
he saya, is to teach its members how to
fight and to have a good. tlme.: vr
Hugh Saxon la - II years of age. He
saya that he Uvea at 431 Carter street
He is a typical waif who ran away
from his home in. Texarkana, Texas, one
year ago, becauae tha town waan't large
enough, he says, and because he wanted
to aee. the -world. - He' rods the brake
beams across the southern deaert to
- Sacramento and from there rode tha
: beams to Portland. He arrived In-that
city a month ago. Both . Saxon and
Reeves ware employed until a week
FIREWIflN'SFUNDWILLPAYUP
Announcement Made" by Attorney to! Policy
Holders Caiifornia
t Levy Five Assessments ' i
' (Jmraal gpeclal Sarrlca.) ' . '
Ban Franclsao, Aug. T-Attomey C -B.
Klnard -at. a meeting -ot tbJU BP.UiT.
' holders last night snnounced that ths
Fireman's ; Fund Insurance opmpany
would pay 100 oents on the dollar. Hs
said that he had talked with the large
policy-holders of the company and With
, the stockholders snd they hsd sssured
' him -that the company's losses would be
paid in full. Ha said that he knew of
the plan by which this would be ac
complished, but was not ready to tell
- It, becauae he had promised to keep the
details secret from, ths public.
Klnard e 100-cSnt Tiromlse seemed 1m
poaalbla after Prealdent Dutton's state
. ment that the Flreman'e Fund was
r going , Into liquidation and no assess
ment would be levied. Yet the poltey
holders are much encouraged b Kin
ard's statement . '
In-tbe meantime tha organised policy
holders sr not willing, to remain In-
active. They are-contemplating forcing
... . ,' . '..' i '. 'r : ' ;
- SllYEE -
wME
ago at the Portland Wire A Iron works,
Third and Flandera street. - .
Host Wastes afude.
'Criminal history furnishes few In
stances .of such brutal - and wanton
murder as the deed of which the two
youths- are accused. Walking the rail
road tracks near this place Sunday
evening, they came acroaa the camp of
aged William' Powell, who was prepar
ing a meaL They demanded food and
the old man. petulantly. refused. Then
It la charged they sat down beside him
and-taunted blm ft-.; - vi, .-.-,-
"Get busy, old man; cook that' meat
and when you're through we'll eat it,"
they said. When he "had finished cook
ing they tried to take hla meal away,
he resisted snd the younger lad. It la
charged, whipped out an oath and with
it a revolver; a shot waa fired and the
old man fell, mortally wounded, to ths
ground. -, :. ..
Ths lads ran oft, but a gang of rail
road laborera who were bathing In a
stream nearby' heard tha - old man's
groana and went to hla aaalstanee. On
a handcar be was 'removed to thlrplace
snd to ths office of Dr. C. T. Hockett.
where an operation was performed, but
the wound waa fatal and the old man
ftptred yesterday t morning.; ; ,
Death' ed storjk. -
Before his death, however. Powell told
a strange stery of hla life and wan
dering and the far stranger stery , of
how he came ' to his death. He was
born In England and earns to this coun
try st ths age of 10. H was 70 years
old when he died. At -the . outbreak of
the "civil war ha enlisted in a, Pennsyl
vania regiment, which waa assigned to
the army of the Potomac He waa at
Gettysburg, at Shiloh and the wilder-
aeas. ' " ' , "", -.
Enlisting as a private he rose to the
rank of sergeant and-It waa while he
held that rank that hs fought with
Meade at Gettysburg, it was also there
that his - undoing came. Ha quarreled
with a cavalry lieutenant and waa court-
martialed, receiving a dlahonorable dla
oharge." -.- w t.V. "- .. . '
Powell came west and began to
preach the goepel. , He finally drifted
into San Franclaco and went into bus!
neas. He acquired property but lost it
all in the great disaster. , He haa five
grown, children in that ' city and a
brother In Seattle. It waa after the
disaster that ha waa forced to mend
umbrellas an4 began to tramp. He went
lo Portland but falling to flndempldy
ment startsd back to San Francisco.
He was en rout to San Franclaco when
death at the hands of two mere boys
overtook him. ; .. .
-T-;-.;',:: '. Septal f TOUthS,
' It was several hours after the crime
that poaaes started .In pursuit of 4hs
old man's slayers. Sheriff Flake with
Special Deputy W. McFaj-land followed
the railroad tracks in a southerly direc
tion and finally overtook the fugitivea.
They were only half an hour behind
them when the lads were captured near
Drain, by Town Marshal Mynott of that
place. ..' ) . ' ,'
- After firing the ahot and seeing the
old man fall the boys sped blindly down
the tracka. They ran - for a mile or
more, thev sav. until exhauated, when
they hid them eel vee In a hayfleld.
'They spent Sunday night in a hay
mow and emerged "next" morning.
Cautiously they continued their Journey
down the tracks and met a trackwalker.
(Continued en Page Two.)
. V
President Dutton to make deposition
giving-the names of the stockholders.
o Ponl jmlt8Uberou
The California Insurance company of
San Francisco is- sssesslng Its stock
holders five times . the value .of their
holdings In capital stock to pay losses
on a dollar-for-dollar basis. Its shares
are owned by San Franclaco capitalists,
every one of whom was hard hit by the
disaster. Yet this California corpora
tion set to work heroically and they
have paid I70,00ff to the policy-holders.
4ts total loas was 11.150,000 and its
combined capital and aurplus on April
II amounted to only IJSO.000. t
'Under the laws of California directors
of ths company , found that they could
not aaaeaa the stock at more than its
par value of 140. at any one time. They
decided to levy . an aaaeeement each
month until five aaaesaments should bs
paid In. "Two aeseesraents. have - been
levied and paid and a ' third la to pe
levied todsy. . . , :,r w ,
Three posee of .William Belcher,
' ' " .'
MEAflEST-THiEF -
LURED TO FRISOIL
BYWE'ftWE
Former Mayor Belcher of Pater
son" Payrl,enaltjf677Embez
zlements and Forgeries Lec
tured to Children on . Morality
While Robbing Friends.
(laaraal SdmUI Swrtea.)
Pataraon, N. J. Aug. 7. Twelve years
In the penitentiary la the sentenos im
posed on William ' H. Belcher, former
mayor of Pateraon, who surrendered to
the authorltlea from whom he had hidden
for a year. Hla aurrender .was due to
the tears and pleadings of his wife, who
used every art. every wile known to
back like a man like the man aha mar
lied alx yeara ago, whom aha thought
honeat, but who, it. waa learned yea-
terday, paid the expeneea-of their wed
ding trip to Europe with atolen money.
Mrs, Belcher first learned of her fui
tlvs huaband'a whereabouts In April,
when, after eight , months of - aimless
traveling .through ' 'the west, always
haunted by fear -of. apprahenalon, he
cams by way of .Canada Into .Boston
snd registered at the American houae
under an assumed name. Through a
chain of family connections he told nis
wife where he was, and aha wanted to
oome to him Immediately. : But ha 'de
ferred her visit, advising, her. that he
preferred to meet her in some secluded
spot in the White mountains. -. -,
..'-.. Ylstted by Wife. i
It waa on May S that hs went to the
Maple cottage In . Bartlatt, New Hamp
shire, a pretty spot 10 miles from -Portland,
Maine. There he" poaed aa "B. H.
Williams.' a wealthy New -Tork. law
yer, who was suffering from gout snd
sought relief . In" the drier air of New
Hampahlre. , . . '
Quickly he made friends and amused
the summer gueata with hla stories, and
after a short time became intimate with
aome of the best clt liens of the place.
JU-' C. Dunbar, one of ' the prominent
bualneea man, 'and a phyflelan, J. C
White, took an Intereat In hla ailment,
and not "only preaorlbed for him. but
took him riding' in- automobilaa and
Introduced him to all 'thSaoclal pleas
ures of ths town. Hla new-found friends
did not suspect that, back In New Jer
sey1 people were eallinr him ''the mean
eat thief and that they accused him of
stealing 1 100.000. '.'-- ' 1
On July 10 there .wVa an affecttonate
greeting between huaband ' and wife
the first in 10 months. rt-galled the
woman to go to the cottage to be Intro
duced as "Mrs. Wllltame." - Constantly
compelled to regard herself as the wife
or a 'iFrlTrrlnsI, yet --forced eaanme-an
exterior that, belled her mental "State,
Mrs. Belcher remained there a' week un
der these torturing, humiliating .condi
tions. . - :-.(
A XJvlnr Paradox. .
Belcher was a living jparodox. .While
stealing right- and left, he was accus
tomed to take parties at basthess men
to the publla schools, whers he would
sddresa tha children and abjure them to
be honeat and upright. 1 After the ora
tion! he would banquet hla gueata and
he bdUgrirthese "banquets-and kept hlm-4
self in fine style. It seemed, on IJ.IOO
a year from his law practice and a
aalary of 11.000 a year as mayor. Yet
nobody was suspicious.
Belcher's steeltngabover a period of
alx years, during which time he lived
far. beyond, his means. ,lt wss aald of
him afterward that "he had a'wlue ap
petite, but s. beer - Uwome., ,
it -, 4. - -i '. , ; . - ,-Ji "I
VIFiX'D'TIDAaO INDUCE
v'., , VJ"' 'v ' - v-
former mayor of Petersen, New Jersey, gelf-confesaed forger snd embexsler,
' . and U sentenced to twelve yea m the penitentiary. ;-
GREAT CAVE IS
F0UI1D 4(1 SIDE
OF SI. HELENS
X ' . ... .
Portland Men Explore Cavern
I Forty Feet in . Diameter Which
Seems to Lead Into Extinct
Crater of Mountain Cave Is
Described. ; -
X marvelous cave, six to eight miles
long, 40 feet in diameter and believed
to lead Into tba very bowels of the ex
tlnot crater of Mount St. Helena haa
been found by explorera and waa vlalted
laat week by a party of Portland men.
They followed the aobterranean cham
ber nearly two mllea with lanterna and
than clambered out through a break In
the aide, opening upon a a wale.
a mile from the house of Ole Peterson,
a farmer residing ts miles north weat of
Amboy, nesr the headwaters - of the
north fork of the Lewla river. Amboy is
the nearest trading post. Ths ' Port
land men. going Into the St. Helens
foothills with pack horses,- ran out of
provlslona and had to send a man back
to Amboy to replenish - the supply,
While waiting; at Andarson's houae they
were tout or tne cave ana went to see
It. D. J. Forbes of. the American Be
curttlea company, with off lcea in the
Fenton building, who was a member of
tha- party, aald of the trip: ' ' -
' Describee the Oavs.
We "Were told by Anderson of the
existence of the cave. At his house we
met a man. who was out to investigate
geological matters and we war.t with
him Into the cava.,'- It was pitch dark
and all we aaw was by the light of the
lanterna we carried. The -floor was
smooth and the ' sides hung with
stalactites or ooslnga of lava that had
cooled. ' The entire Hiring -of the- cave
waa black lava, -evidently impregnated
with iron."-' y, , .... r
"The aides of the cavern bulged at
places, 'and it. Appeared to be about 40
foot wide' and the-same in 'height. We
followed through it for-more. than 'a
mils and some of the party went' on
farther. :. At the point of beginning, it
(Continued on Page Two)
PU1ICHUSCH FOR CHILDREN
J AT KANSAS City
Juvenilis Officers, Organist, Dea
cont,. UsherslandJ,Cjpn.
gregation ' ;
, s . , .,, , , v. ,:.
(jimraaV Tyaelal garrlre.f . '
KSnaaa City,. Aug. 1. A church for
children, with children constituting ths
official board, a child organist, children
aa'lta office's. Its deacons, ushers snd
congregation, is the plsn of ths Rev.
Harry A. King, pastor of Oakley M. 5.
church. '
RevMsv. King, would, have, the chil
dren's church organisation as perfect aa
in any organisation, following ths forms
snd discipline laid down by the general
conference - for churches formed
adults. ' , ' ' .
by
( Mr. King said hs honed to have) Ms
plan so fsr matured by the! time tha
public schools - are-reopened rthle- fall
that he 'could start the - new cburoh, ,
ABSCONDER TO RETURN
r.lAY AID
PORTLAUD BUILD
Commissioners and City Author!
ties to Hold Conference Re
garding Project Before" Next
Tax Levy Need of Institution
Is Generally Recognized.
"Before the next tax levy the county
court end tba elty authorities will hold
a , conference on the establishment of
aa emergency hospital," said F. C
Barnss, county commissioner, ' today,
"We realise ths need of such an lnatltu
tlon and will do all we can 'toward es
tablishing one.'
- Nobody appreclatea the need of an
icy hospital moTalhanHotho
officers of- the city health department.
Lack of money haa prevented even a
dlacuasion, of the possibllUz of such a
hoanltsl. . .7"
The plan now Is, however, that the
elty and county shall combine in bear
ing the expense of . constructing snd
maintaining the Institution.- ' A portion
of the block occupied by the court house
would be uhed for-the purpose. Three
and probably four room a would be
needed.- ,y;-...
Here a doctor and at leaat one nurse
would be oonstsntly In attendance. As
there are aeveral good private ambu
lances which (in b called out at a
moment's notice day or night it would
not be neceseary to buy one of theae
expensive .vehicles.
Judge Webster Interested. .
It is known that County Judge Web
ster, has been much interested in ths
hospital - plan-and- that - both- commis
sioners are alao"wllllng to cooperate
with-the oity authorities. . ',1..
There Isn't .a city of Portland's slse
In the United States where Injured per.
eons are first taken to the police station
In a patrol wagon before they are taken
to a hospital. Here both hospitals, ars
over a mile from ths station and the
patrol wagon was never designed to
carry . Injured persons. . . v:,
The case of W. B. Lotan. denutr city
auditor. Injured by filling from an Oaka
ear - Saturday night, la an Instance of
what, happens frequently. Only be
cause of the Identity of the victim haa
the esse excited more than usual atten
tion. "...
r rreolous Sour Wasted. -
Mr. Lotan waa injured soon, after
ralrtntghfa The patrol .wagon took him
t,o - the atatlon. There he waa laid ' on
oencn. not even an oia coai io put
under hla head was available. He was
almost unconscious and was seriously
Injured. . A telephone mesaage to . the
eity.:jhyslelan-Ir-Bpsnesr.. failed -t
bring him to the atatlon Inside of 10
minutes. Finally the patrol-wagon was
again put Into service and Mr. Lotan
was taken to ths Good Samaritan hos
pital, over a. mile away.- It wax nearly
an hour from the time that he waa in
jured before he received, proper atten
tion.' , t ' . . ... .
"While we are about It, the hospital
ahould be made an efficient inatltutlon
and not a makeshift." aaya Dr. C.-H.
Wheeler, elty health . officer. . "There
ahould be a nursssnd doctor.. ora
four-year student on duty all the time.
The eases should be taken there Just
aa aoon as possible and then to one of
the other hospitals. This should be
kept for emergency work alone. The
hoapttal at the fair grounds was a fine
place of Ita kind. It treated a number
of patlenta during the expoaltioh and
was a well-managed place." .
C0UI1IY
PUBLIC
iiospirii
who returned after s year's flight,
TO BE IIAHGED
ON 0CT0BER19
Woman Who Was Convicted of
Slaying Husband and Packing
His Body In Trunk at Stockton
Must Die Next Autumn -Prisoner
Unmoved by Sentence.
"""(Joaraal tseeUl Sarflea. v r
Stockton. Cel.. Aug. T. Mrs. Emma
La Doux waa this morning sentenced to
hang at St. Quentln on October 10 next.
oetween ooiock and noon. Bho list
ened calmly to the verdict, unmoved.
Mrs. I Doux was convicted of the
murder of her-former husband, Albert
N. Movlcar, whose body wss found
lpacked in a trhnk at the Si
pot laat March.
The trial developed the fact that the
woman gave McVicar poison, placed hia
body In the trunk and ordered It shipped
to Jackson, California,- McVtoar's home.
The odorcaused the discovery. The
police soon got the right clue and ar
reated the woman a few day a later at
Antloch, California.
The prisoner told conflicting stories.
one being that McVicar took polaon and
tba other that be waa poteoned by a
mystertoue Joe Miller. The prosecu
tion claimed that the motive of the
murder was Mrs. La Doux's fear that
she would be prosecuted for bigamy, de
claring that she hsd not been divorced
from MoVloar when she married Eugene
La Poux.
: ; i S. 9. Tardmea Strike. ..
(Joarttal Special Service.) '
Sacramento, Cal., Aug. 7. Three hun
dred yardmen employed in the Southern
Paclfio shops struck - yesterday for
higher wages. . They are receiving- SO
cents an hour for .hours and want IS 4
cents. They , are mostly foreigners. The
request was refused snd all were dis
charged, their places being .filled at
higher, wsges.
mm niu
GeneralXorbin and Other Officers: Built Pri-
vate Homes at Expense of Uncle Sam
' 1 While Stationed in Philippines ?
Uearaal Special Sarvk4 .
' Manila, Aug. 7. As a reeult of the
tnveatlgatton Into army conatruction
shops, which Is being conducted by
Colonel Woods, Inapector-general of the
division, Major-General Leonard Wood
Is rendering -- bills . for ' government
artiolea to 40 offlcera of the army and
civil government, including Major-Oen-eral
Henry C Cor bin, Oeneral Wood's
predecessor aa commander-in-chief.
Tens - of-thousands-- -el tare - are
owing the government and have been
burled beneath a mass of official red
tape for more than two years. The of
ficlala who are' concerned will bo com
polled to pay a monthly aum from their
wages' which will be held out by the
auditor In the caae of civil employee
end by the "paymasters of the army la
ths ease of army ef fleers,
ATTEMPT TO
DIB OUT OF
COUNTYJAIL
. ." : . .'. ; a : '.
Fifteen Prisoners Near
Liberty When Jailer
Mitchell Discovers the
Plot Is on Foot
With Pewter Spoons Men (near
cerated In County Bastile Pry
Big Stones Loose and Begin to
Tunnel Under Wall, Hiding Dirt
Under Their Bunks.
An attempt to tunnel - out of the
county jail that lacked only a couple of
hours' time , of being; suooessful waa
foiled by County . Jailer Mitchell at t
o'clock last night. Had he been two
hours later In making tha discovery lf '
or nis prisoners would have been at
large, for only three feet of soft earth
remained to be due away whea Mltohetl
found tha tunnel.
Fifteen prisoners ara In close confine-
ment eating bread and. water today.
Jailer Mitchell saya they wiU aU bs
kept In close confinement on bread and
water until they tell who were their
leaders In attampting to eaoape. . '
The prisoners had only pewter apoona
and their flngera to dig with, but la '
two nights had halt accomplished their
purpose of digging under the wall of the
jail near the Fifth street entrance. The
floor of the jell is of heavy flagstones:
and when laid, were firmly Klued to
gether with cement. . A careful ; tnspeo '
Uon this morning revealed a number of
places, where tho-prleouors had tried to
dig. ths cement fronv between the stones.
- - Xaavy Stoma Met fcoeeev- .
Back in a dark corner of oorridor No. ';
4. under the sink, a heavy stone about
two feet square had finally been pried
out of place and there remained only
a few feet of soft earth between the
prlaonera and the outside world. -
Eagerly they worked, each of them
anxious to be down in the dark tunnel
tearing away the dirt that barred them
from freedom.- The earth from the tun
nel waa carried away quickly and
dumped back - under the cots In tha
cells.. The men detailed to give the .
alarm at the approach of the Jailer'
sprawled in apparent carelessness alone
the oorridor and to prevent suspicion "
told stories and laughed. , .'-...
'The noise they made trying; to quiet
any fear the jailer might have enter
talned of their purpose was the very
meana of . causing him to watch them '
closely. -
"When they laugh and sing" look out .
for devilment," aaya Jailer Mitchell, ao
when he heard laughing" and singing in
corridor No. 4 he accordingly looked out
for devilment: The Jailer hardly knew '
what he was to look for, but he detcr
mined on a thorough search. He looked
oa re fully along -the floor the entire
length of the corridor and found Both- '
ing until near the corner. Hera was a
mop with a pair of shoes on it.
' . JaUes riade Mole, - -
The Jailer moved -the mop,, and two
pieces of board were under it. Tha 1
pieces of board were moved, revealing a
gaping black hole down to the bottom
of the Jatl wall and half way under It.
By the time the Jailer had found the .
tunnel, every prisoner In tha oorridor
was - sound ssleep, and none of them
knew a thing about how the bole had ;
been dug. . ' i --;.;.. v
The dirt -had been, scattered under
every bunk in the corridor, and there
was no way of determining- who the
leadera were., Jailer Mitchell la .confi
dant that he will learn their names after
a few eoursea of bsd and water have
been served. He declares that the lead
ers were J. C Bennett and John Davis,
who ware committed recently to serve. ,
year eaoh for larceny. Other prisoners
In the corridor are Harry Fend, the ,
wlfebeater, and Ah Lin, the Chlneee
for whom a pardon is being solicited.
-r
tContlnued en Page Two.)
It la said that the Indehtednees ef
Oeneral Corbln exceeda 15.000. The
money la due for repairs lo his resi
dence While he lived in Manila, and the
houae is not government property.
The house had extenalve repairs t -carpentera
and other artisans ample .
by ths government. Three other oi.,-
oera ewe sums running Into the thou
sands. It Is aald that after the govern- '
haa been relmtmnred by the-rn.-offlclals
there will be a courtmart. I )
the army and euapenslone In tne t. ,
Clrrle.
The dlacovarlea being ma-fe Yy C
Wood have rreated a furur i'i I - t
ciety and everv day the t- ef j
eona involved In tn a
la rumored t t f r
discoveries a I."- j e.. .
X
T- -'. -.'- . .
X
fr
t