The Oregon daily journal., December 19, 1908, Page 4, Image 4

THE- OREGON DAILY JOURNAL, PORTLAND, SATURDAY EVENING, 'DECEMBER 19. 1908. '
IE: IRE
FlfJCH
Fifteen Talesmen
But Little Gain
Murder Takes
Own Defense
4 - 1 JCROR3 ACCENTED.
4 W. S. AbbettA tlnshop, Sell-
, wooj street, Alblna.
E. E. Howes, agent for rdad
e machinery. 408 College street. e
: John W; Davis, streetcar man,
118 Sumner atreet
' W. B. Charlton, dairyman, 4
Sauries' Island. ,
: 8. I. Ogden, farmer, St Johns.
Robert Servlc." blacksmith,
4 Holbrook. 1 '. - '. .
4 . Charles J. Bush, laundry, drtv-
ef, T4 Clark atreet. ;
One juror was all 'that was added to
"1 the list at the trial of James A. Finch,
! slayer of Ralph B. Fisher, by over.to
" hours or examination or talesmen -in
Judge? BroTiaogh's 1 department of the
circuit court this morning. During this
time 35 men- were questioned, making
a total of 34 men examined ana seven,
accepted since the trial openea yester-
day morning.'; ...-'..;
This morning' session "was prosy and
destitute of sensation, although there
-were frequent wordy battles between
the opposing lawyers over the qualifica
tions ol men who' admitted that they
bad formed some opinion, yet said they
could try the case fairly. .-.
Although Finch does not himself ad
.dress the court, he is himself the chief;
1 general ot his forces. : Alert and ob
servant of all that goes on, he makes
suggestions to hia attorneys as to ques
tions that are promptly carried out,;
"When the, moment comes for accepting
of . rejecting a jurors it is Etnch who
i gives the deciding word. Several times
he has insisted on -ffee challenging of
" men whom Ills lawyers-were inclined to
- accept, and in each case he has had his
? way' i,' ' .
Pino. Leads right.
If 'Finch is greatly worried he does
not show it in his manner. With his
mind fully- occupied In the legal fray,
he- no longer gives the. appearance of
being ill at ease,-as was the case during
the preliminaries of arraignment and
idea. With his life as the stake, he
lias plunged Into the defense with
lawyer's interest, consulting with his
attorneys on the phases of legal conflict
' as he would if he were fighting tile battle
for some other man. ' j
Five of the seven jurors so far se
lected . nave : already served on juries
that have convicted other defendants at
, the present term of oourt. E. 83. Howes,
W. K. Charlton and John Davis were,
among the men who found Casper Blik
enstorfer guilty of manslaughter and
reoommended bjm to the extreme mercy
or the court Kobert service was one
. of tli twelVu who found Matt Johnson
guilty of murder In the second degree
and at the same time acquitted John
Johnson. Charles J. Bush .concurred in
the verdict of guilt-' In the manslaugh
ter case of Dr. O. B. Whitney.
Tnrai X Unwelcome.
An unwelcome turn of affairs for the
defense came this morning, when the
. jurors in the Harry Daly murder case,
who were discharged by Judge Ganten
beln late yesterday afternoon after find
ing the defendant guilty in the first de-
free. were released for service in the
Inch ase. Thin morning Judge Cle-.
jna neeaea a jury in . nis department
m 1 names were arawn ror it. Among
this number were four of ?the Daly
jurors, leaving eigm 10 go into tne box
In the Finch case, m . ,
Finch's attorneys procured a list of
ino jjmy jury and tney made sure that
no man who had voted for a verdict that
, will hang Daly will have opportunity
to hang Finch. Every one of the eight
who could not be reached by a chal
lenge for causa was peremptorily ex
cused by the defense. .
; . Both sides expect that the Jury will
be completed today, and the opening
statements will be made Monday morn
i Ing. This will make It possible to se
cure a verdict before Christmas morn
ing, .unless some unexpected delay oc
curs The, defense has only five per
emptory . challenges left, having used
seven, .while the state has used hut one
of Its allotment of six challenges.
Most Call for Mors.
Ten special veniremen were called for
this morning, but only two of these
had been examined at the time of tho
noon adjournment. It seems likely that
. the sheriff wUl have to call additional
men, .
Th attitude of th majority of the
, men examined this morning was In
marked contrast to the lack of opinions
that prevailed In. the answers yester
day. Today there were only two men
: oliLof ,s who tted that they were
without some opinion or impression re
garding the guilt of Finch. The most
of the men made it known that they
, have decided opinions, and challenges
' "yth defense for cause were not re
sisted by the state. ,
Charles J. Bush, a laundry wagon
drfyer, was the one man accepted. He
had read little about the case, and had
no opinion, although he Heard some dls-
cussion He was asked if he had taken
ny obligations as a. member of -any
' 5?rt.?ocJt,rJitht wou,d Prevent his
' ?. ,hlB duty M a juror, and said
, he bad not. ,
Tear gecret Bocletlea.
The ' defendant's attorneys hare f re-.
; Siirnr.,Hf3 Oue"ons of talesmen
regardlne their mnhir,iii. 1. .
?2fi5.tie..T?,5 Jnlu'T appeared to be
-.cwjr ui.etira 10 ascertaining whether
or not the prospective Juror belonged
.a.nfAh,e 8oottlh "ocletles of which
District Attorney. Cameron .Is a mem-
thSI fh dy U. apparent
i that no testimony rnnM h t0i,On
JL,ib,jr,0I,B1t .of the defense It was
, - iMiiut jurors already accepted
, should not be required to remain in at
, tendance, and that each new Juror, as
' soon as accpnted. nn,h w
; $ "i.11? 'nsnctions to be on hand at
' J;30 o'clock Monday morning.
vukj iBinct attorney FItxgerald.
j Jn charge for the state, conducted the
examination of talesmen on bis sid
consulting with District Attorney Cam"
ion and A. C. Spencer, special counsel.
C'harlea F. Lord continued the work of
mmioauoii ior ine aerense that he b
gan yesterday, and during much of the
time was unassisted except by Finch
The other lawyers for the defense were
' in and out of the courtroom, holding
brief whispered conferences with Finch
and evidently ngaged in looking up in
formation or witnesses on the outside
under the direction of the defendant
''l.ord Correct' 2mt,i
Attorney Lord announced that a mis
take was made in the subpoena issued
for one of the Eugene men who.it is
said, will testify that they saw a strug
gle in risher's office and saw Finch
Kiandlng with tis back to the window,
arms extended. "rhe attorney said that
the ttarn eh.Wild be B. J, Watts instead
'K J' ,'n' "n1 new subpoena
will be issued for him. C- M. Kls
mn eer. the other of -the two men, is
already hre in readiness to be called
i (he stand. i ... '
On the ihl in front Of the defend
ant n,1 hia attorneys is kept a stack
'f hepapei c,ijtainitig account of
'tiie klilintr if Fisher nd nf suhne
1 hn(M of the case. Frequently
.. ' . . 1 : -. I 1 - - . . . 'l .
MOHl
CASE SE
Are Examined With
Lawyer: Accused of
Full Charge of His
these are made use of by showing them
to prospective jurors and asking them
if they , have read certain editorials or
saw some of the cartoons. Prominent
Is the cartoon of an empty gallows, and
a significant caption s to the time
having- come to use it Jurors who
have read .editorials and seen these
cartoon .are excused by the .defense as
a rule, .,-. - . -
C IIdlenian, a Portland liveryman,
was excused in short order for cause,
declaring; that he had an opinion that
strong; evidence would be required to
remove. The state did not resist the
challenge. ' ' '' -',
, Use Peremptory Challenge. '
.' John W. Camobell. a member of the
jury that convicted Harry Daly of mur
der In the first degree yesterday, and a
resident or Beiiwooa, saia ne naa an
opinion that would hold until removed
by evidence. A challenge for cause was
denied ov juace uronauun ana tne iirtn
peremptory challenge of the defense was
used on him. . ', : .
Fred A. Burgard Tvas quickly allowed
to go by the court on challenge for
cause, lie said It would require eon
slderahle evidence to change his opinion
regarding tne case. . ,.. ,
K. iv. warren, a loan and investment
man. was acquainted witn Mrs. f ianer.
and Tie had an opinion formed from
reading . the newspapers, A challenge
tor causa was tougnt by tne state, but
the ekirmlBh resulted Jn favor of the
defense., the ohallensre belna- sustained.
ti. . cnickering naa reao: about tne
case extensively in the newspapers, and
had a decided opinion. Excused by the
court . He was a member of the Daly
jury.. . . . -
Another member or tne jDaiy aury.
Carl AV-Carlaon. said it would not be
easy for him to change an opinion he
had formed. M. O. Faulk, likewise a
member of -the Daly Jury, was excused
by peremptory challenge of the defense
after a lengthy examination by Attorney
Lord m an etiort to disquaury mm.
DeDutv District Attorney FlUgeraJd ob
jected to a question as to Faulk having
been a f member of the Daly- jury, but
Judge Bronaugh ruled that this waa a
proper question. .
Still Aaofber 9Ula.
The next battle came over T. 3. Cof
fer, stUI another Daly Juror, who ap
parently answered questions both ways
as he was led on by the attorneys. Fi
nally he was 'excused by the court on
challenge for biased opinion.
H. w. JUlckle said he had expressed
en opinion and had talked about the '
case. Ha still had an opinion, and it
would take "petty strong evidence" to
change his Ideas about it. Excused by
the court.
W. II. Coldwel), a hay dealer, said
that he had an opinion and he would
not liko to be tried by a Jury In tha
same state of mind If he was on trial.
He was also a member of the Daly
Jury. , Judge Bronaugh excused him.
E. A. Bamford went the sama-way,
because lie had a strong opinion as to
the guilt or innocence of Finch. He was
one of the men who eonvicted Daly.
J. V.- Burk, bank cashier, had read
much about the case and said he
thought he would be biased. He did
not think he could be a rair juror and
challenge for cause by the defense was
allowed. Burk was a member of the
Daly and Bllkenstorfer Juries.
Clarenc Fancer. the first man of the
morning to say that he had no opinion
whatever, was dismissed on peremptory
challenge by the defendant's attorneys
by direction of Finch himself. The
juror evidently dlS not look right to
Finch, although he answered all ques
tions satisfactorily, The dismissal of
Fancer exhausted the res-ular venire nf
jurors.
Bush Coma Pint,
Charles J. Bush was the first man of
the morning to ba accepted. He is a
laundry driver for the United States
laundry and lives at 74 Clark street.
Lower Albina. He had read little about
the case, and the meaning of capital
punishment had to be explained to liim.
He said he had no opinion, and would
vote for first degree in a proper case.
8. tt. OumDertv. VU iha last mn r,f
the morning. He Is employed by a local
newspaper, and had done too much
reading to be acceptable. He said he
had an opinion, and while he could give
the defendant the presumption 'of Inno
cence, he would not like to be tried him
self by a man in the same state of mind
that lie occupies toward Finch, He was
excused by the court.
No other members of the special
venire were at hand, and at 11:45 Judge
Bronaogh declared an adjournment un
til afternoon.
When Judge Bronaugh adjourned the
Finch case yesterday afternoon nlne
tenmen..,,ad been examined aa to their
qualifications as Jurors, and six had
been accepted by both sidea. A surpris
ing feature of the afternoon was the
small amount of prejudice against
Finch, so far as evidenced by the an
swers of the Jurors. Nearly half the
men questioned declared that they had
rormed no opinions whatever regarding
Finch's , guilt or innocence. Others
were excused because of opposition to
the death penalty, without having been
asked as to their attitude toward Finch
Repeated challenges for cause were
made by the defense, and were various
ly acted on. In all four peremptory
challenges were used by the defense and
one by the state. Finch took a keen
interest in the selection of the jury
and several times he dictated the course
that should be pursued by his attorneys
in accepting or rejecting the men who
had qualified.
E. E. Howes, the first man up In the
afternoon, and foreman of the Jury that
convicted Casper Bllckenstorfer of man
slaughter, was accepted after stating
that he had read little about the killing
of Fisher and had no opinion. He is
an agent for road machinery. John W
Davis, a streetcar man, was also ac
cepted, and he, too, -was a member of
the Bllckenstorfer jury. He said he
read only the headlines in the newspa
pers about the case and had formed no
opinion.
Opposed to Ranging. -
Charles B. Hand, a lumber merchant,
had formed no opinion, but was - ex
cused becaue he is opposed to hanging
B. B. Burdick was promptly challenged
by the defense after he had said that
he accepted newspaper accounts of the
shooting of Fisher as true, but would
lay his tmpreasion aside and give the
defendant a fair trial.
W. B. Charlton was accepted.- He is
a dairyman of Sauvles island and had
read nothing whatever about the case.
He caused amusement when he was
asked his nationality and answered, "I
was born in Oregon, and I guess I am
an Oregonian." - -
8. I. Ogden had not heard the case
discussed and would not be Influenced
by- the newspapers. He would vote
against the death penalty, but believed
la enforcing the law as It la He waa
accepted.; lie is farmer and lives at
6t Johns.--" -
K. T. Buckler, a tailor, waa chal
lenged peremptorily .by the state after
It had developed that he knew one of
the attorneys for the defense, although
he said he. did not know the lawyer well
enough to speak to him on the street
in passing. " .
, Charles T. Cash was excused by the
court because he does pot believe in
inflicting the dath penalty. W. H.
Brown had : formed an opinion, but
thought he could lay it aside and try
the case fairly. He was acquainted
with both Fisher and iFinch, and was
CAUCUS CALL
SIGHED BY
FEW
House Members Wait to See
Which Way Cat Will
Jump When Legislature
Opens Organization So
Far Not Mapped Out
Will there he a caucus In the house
after all? How is It going to be organ
ised and who is going to organise it?
Nobody knows. Everything depends.
Much of it denends noon H E. Bean
of Lane county, one of the candidates
for speaker. . Soma of it depends on C
N. McArthur, the leading" opponent of
Mr. Bean. Right down at the bottom of
it all, however, the answer depend
upon the members who are not signing
the caucus calL many of whom will not
sign until they see how the puszla Is
going to work out- , v:
Bom tima"aa-o Bean rama dawn from
Eugene and held a conference with the
members of the Multnomah delegation.
or practically all of them, and after his
return to Lane county it was the com
mon rumor that be had persuaded the
Multnomah members to join him in his
fight for the speakership. Some of the j
members guardedly admitted that this
might be true.
Tun JTow Changed, '
' Vow, however, at -this time the tune
ts changed Just a little. When Bean
held his conference with the Multnomah
men lfr was decided that he should go
back and make an effort to gather all
the outside strength possible,' Having
gathered it, he was to make- a report
and if be had been able to secure suf
ficient votes to make his nomination
in caucus sure, with the alrl nf the
Multnomah delegation, then the Mult
nomah delegation would agree to go into
i" caucus ana oacg nis candidacy.
As the matter now stands Bca.n has
the provisional promise of about 11 or
m votes outside of this countv. There
are 10 or 12 Multnomah countv votes.
according 10 im way me two uncertain
memoers go. This leave Bean with
at least 24 votes, or three less than the
number required to make the necessary
11 ana ine nomination.
McArthur contends that he has 21
or ii votes, but It is armed by the on.
position that he has not more than 10
or possibly 11. so that the real strength
of the two candidates at the present
time is practically me same witn uran
a little in the ' lead and potentially
stronger by reason of his chances for
the Multnomah delegation a support
Kefusal Blocks Wheels. ,
The one thing which is blocking the
wheels is the refusal of the member of
the bouse to sign up for the caucus
call. The call requires 40 signatures
out of the total Republican member
ship or 6 z before it is effective. Not
half of this number have signed up and
it Is not known what their final ac
tion will be.
Representatives Libbv. Patton and
Hattenberg of Marlon, Jones of Douglas
and Jones of Polk and Lincoln have not
signed the call. They have, however,
agreed with Representatives Altman,
couch. Davis, Bryant orton. Mcuonaid,
Mahone and Jaeger to stand together
on the organisation ana when tne time
comes to make a move to go in a body.
These 14 men, therefore, will not go
into a caucus except in a bunch.
J. U. Campbell of Oregon City, one
candidate for speaker supported by his
colleagues Jones and Dimlck of
Clackamas, is also standing out against
the caucus. Neither of these three have
signed the call and it is not believed
that they will do so unless at the
eleventh hour.
The situation at the present time
therefore seems to be that If Bean can
drum up strength enough to win with
the aid of the Multnomah delegation
and can show it, then the delegation
will go Into a caucus and help nominate
him. If he can not it is probable that
there will be no caucus and that the
organization fight will be taken to the
floor of the house.
Tourteen Are ireedad.
There can be no caucus unless the 14
men signed up to stand together de
cide to go into the caucus. They will
not do so unless they can see that their
man has the nomination in. his pocket
The call requires that it shall be
signed by 40 members before It becomes
effective. There are 62 Republicans
and the refusal of the 14 to sign will
defeat a caucus.
If the fight goes onto the floor of
the house it will be an interesting ono.
Then it will take 31 votes to elect and
it will be possible for the eight Demo
crats to Join in the voting. None of
the Democrats will vote for McArthur.
Bean does not want any Democratic
votes. 80 there It is. Campiell of
Clackamas ha no such scruples and
under the circumstances might become
a vary dangerous opponent to both Bean
and McArthur.
.from every point of view it would
seem that McArthur' has the long shot
at the wire. He can not line up the
40 members for a caucus without the
aid of Bean. Bean can not doe It with
out the aid of the Multnomah delega
tion. The Multnomah delegation will
not vote for McArthur. Therefore if
they do go into a caucus it will be
pretty sure shooing that McArthur will
be defeated for the nomination.
If the fight goes onto th floor of
the house, it will b about th same
only It will let Campbell into the game,
and .eight addiitonal antl-McArthur
votes. It Is pretty much up In the air
then, with the chances In favor of
Bean. -
Two million dollars will be spent In
improvements on the great . steel plant
of the United States Steel corporation
at Emsley, Ala.
near th Mohawk building the day of
the murder. He was excused by the
court.
Pinch Makes Objection.
R. Hunter, who conducts a hotel at
Fatrview, also had an impression, but
said he would give the defendant a fair
trial. Finch advised his lawyers
against the talesman, and he was dis
missed by using a peremptory.
Robert Service, a member of the Matt
Johnson Jury, was accepted. He said
he had no opinion whatever, and had
read little about th case. He la a
blacksmith of Rocky Point .
Alexander Barren, a farmer of Rock
wood, said he had an opinion that it
would require evidence to remove. The
defense used it fourth peremptory to
get rid of him.
A. G; Day, a Portland restaurant man;
had read a great deal about the case
and discussed it many times. He said
he would try his best to give th de
fendant a fair trial, but would not like
to be tried himself by a juror in the
same frame of mind toward him that
he possessed in this case. ; He wa ex
cused for cause on challenge by the de
fense. ' - .
11 L. Dixon, a carpenter, was also ex
cused for cause, saying he had an opin
ion that would have to be removed from
his mind. li. A. Bates, an advertising
man, said that he. "Judged by th pa
pers . that Finch is guilty." Beside
that he was opposed to capital punish
ment, and he was excused.
W. A. Cantrill wa allowed to go be
cause he said he would not -vote to
hang a man In any case. M. Bums, a
farmer of Cleon. Bald he had expressed
an opinion, and a challenge by the de
fense for cause waa not resisted by the
state. , This exhausted, the list of tales
men for tlie afternoon and adjournment
was taken until this morning.
FULTOII YIELDS
Gives 'Notice oi Motion to
Discharge Committee '
After Ilojidaj-s.
(Wanhingtoa Buret a , ef The JoutdhI.I
Washington, Dec. l.Benator Fulton
again gave notice today that immediate
ly after the holiday he would move to
discharge th senate commute , from
consideration of his rat law amend
ment bill. His motion was accompanied
with humorous by-play that is variously
interpreted. "Lodge moved adjournment
Kuiton, asking him to withhold lor a
moment said th chairman of th com
mittee on - interstate commerce had
promised to report his bill before the
holiday adjournment and he therefor
knew the chairman was at that moment
burning with anxiety to gain th chair'
recognition lor that purpose, uikina
was peeping through the cloakroom
door, everyone in the chamber plainly
seeing him. La Follette darted into the
cloakroom to bring out Elklns, who re
fused to come, retiring to the farthest
corner, while everyone laughed, v
VICTIM OF NIGHT
(Called Press Leued Wlrai
Union City, Tenn., Dee. The eight
prisoner at the bar were the only
persons who did not betray any emotion
today when Colonel Taylor related th
story 01 tue killing or i-aptain Rankin
by the night riders. Tear streamed
down the face of the judge, and th
attorneys for the defense turned their
heads away to hide their feelings. The
frreater part of the audience was weep
ng and many of th women present
sobbed audibly. '
Colonel Taylor related the details of
nia experience. He told how he was
awakened at night, marched by. hi cap.
tors nan a mile ana orougnt to a as
serted soot
Jn route, said he, Individual in the
mob tormented him. They demanded to
know how much Rankin and Taylor paid
Judge Cooper for the Reel Foot lake
aeciaion. me leaner ot tne moo ap
peared to b In a frensy. Taylor testi
fied that fa said:
"Gentlemen, I'm 62 and have lived
th better part of my life. I am not
afraid Of death. Kill me, but save the
lire or captain Rankin; he younger."
Taylor continued: .
'They threw the end' of a rope ovwr
the branch of a tree nd tied th other
end around the neck of Rankin. Then
they pulled him up. As his feet left
don't do that don't do that. You're
killing me; you're killing me.' "
Here Colonel Taylor collapsed. Ther
was not a sound in the courtroom for
several minutes save the sobbing of
the witness He then said:
"Suddenly I heard a gunshot and saw
a hole in Rankin's coat I made a dash
for the lake, a few yards away, and
jumped aa far as I could- I stayed
under water until my breath gave out
As providence would have It I came no
on the other Side of a Ing. I had al
ready come to the surface, when the
shooting began. They were firing at
my log.,- I thought they never would
stop." ' .
Colonel. Taylor then related how h
waited until the night rider had de
parted, thinking he had been killed.
The stars guided him in- his escape into
Lake county, where he knew he wa
safe. '
Th witness (related his experience
In reaching a houa where he received
food, drink and protection.
Colonel Taylor said the leader of the
nightrider bore every resemblance to
Garret Johnson, who is charged with
muraer.
to having been approached by Arthur
v, , vile u. tuv uoxoiiuuiiii, u i kivci; .
a night rider's black maak. He said
Clear told him he had been elected to i
membership by the riders. Russell said
he told the band that he did not want to
Join. '
xne riders, Kussei aia, cam to his
home at nlpht and took him out and
administered the oath to him. Then
they took him to the home of Fred
Fagan. - They took Fagan out and
whiDDed him. each member of th oarty
giving him five strokes with the lash.
Clear declared that Fred Pinion, an
other of the defendants, wa .captain
of the night riders.
Mrs. Kd. ttowell, aged zs years, testi
fied yesterday afternoon that on the
night of October 19, she, her husband
and five children were awakened by
the shouting of a mob. The leaders
of this crowd ordered ber husband to
accompany them. Later' they returned
and led her and P. C. Ward, owner of
the Walnut Log hotel, ' some distance
from home to a place where they saw
Captain Rankin lying underneath a tree,
a rop around his neck and bullet holes
In his neck -and head.
Other testimony wa adduced to prov
that the night riders knew that Cap
tain Rankin and Colonel Taylor would
spend th night at that hotel.
VETO ON COLORADO
BOUNDARY CHANGE
(United F.-ns Leaaea Wire.)
Washington. Dec. 19. A message
from President Roosevelt vetoing the
Joint resolution defining the. boundary
line between Colorado, Oklahoma and
New Mexico was read in the senate to
day. . ' "
The reason glxen for the veto was th
opinion of . Attorney General Bonaparte
that the proposed line would place a
considerable strip of Colorado, contain
ing five postofnees ana much population.
in New Mexico. . .- .
Senator Teller explained that th veto
must have resulted from misunderstand
ing on the part of th president. He
declared that the resolution provided
only for ascertaining the true line, and
asserted that it did not establish a new
boundary.
IMMUNITY BATH FOR
J. DALZELL BROWN
(United f'reM teased Wire. -' ' !
San Francisco. Dec. 19. J. Dalzell
Brown, former manager of th looted
California JSaf Deposit Trust com
pany, will be a free man when he fin
ishes serving his sentence of IS month
at San Quentin prison. The five re
maining indictments against Brown
were dismissed today by Judg Cook.
on motion of Assistant District Attor
ney Hort cook, . on the ground that
Brown had fully testified and given
evidence to the district attorney when
his own and his fellow bankers' cases
were being tried.
FAIRBANKS NAMES fc
INAUGURAL . COMMITTEE
(Catted Ptms leased Wire H
Washlnatoi.. Deo. 19. Vice President
Fairbanks today announced a senatorial
committee of Senators Knox, Lodge and
uacon to cooperate witn a committee
from- the lower house In making prep
arations for th Inauguration of Presi
dent-elect Taft -
Wood Alcohol Victim.
' (Unite Ptm Lctutd Wlre. ',V
nolds a farm hand employed on Island
No. 2 In the Sacramento , river, was
found dead- thi morning, having ue
f um bed to the effects of wood alcohol.
He had been drinking heavily and Is
believed to have taken the deadly drug
to further quench his thirst - -
RIDERS
SAD
GERMAN BARON TIRES OF SEA AND
u DESERTS SHIP IN LOCAL HARBOR
: Girls, there 1 a real baron In Port
land pd he' in Jail. 'v -J, -
But listen, girls, the baron Is but It
years old and he's going to be her only
a few weeks. Then he leaves for a
long voyage on-4he high seas bound for
Europe. ' -
Baron von Metcsch wa "arrested by
the federal authorities thin morning a
a deserter from the German ship Ore-
Son. He had a hearing before United
tates Commissioner Marsh and was
turned over to O. Lohan, acting consul.
Then the barorr was taken to jail.
The baron comes from a good fnmily
in Hanover, Germany, and went before
the mast a a common eailr for , ex
perience, so it is said, and with the
nope of eventually being prompted .and
entering the imperial navy,
But after rounding the horn and hav
ing a taste of sea life th baron decided
COLDEST DECEMBER WEATHER
IN TEN YEARS FOR PORTLAND
' Last night was the coldest December
night Portland has experienced for 10
years. 'That what District Forecaster
Beals of tire weather bureau says, and
he has his official records to prov it.
But no on appeared at the office of
the weather bureau this morning to at
tempt to challenge the statement ' so
evidently most people thought it cold
enough. Tonight will not be qutte as
cold, unless Mr. Beals has the wrong
hunch. He says the temperature will
drop to about 28 abov sero. That's
what he said yesterday, but instead it
took a, sudden fall to IS a few-minutes
before 6 o'clock this morning. It was
then that the record for cold weather
was smashed. - r
But last night's weather was not the
coldest in 10 years in thi city. On
January 151 last year, or lea than 12
months ago. Portland had real, cold
ANSWER MADE
B CAMPBELL
1 '
Fire Chief Gives His Side of
Controversy Over Wa
ter hydrants.
In regard to the controversy over the
hydrant matter, Fire Chief Campbell
makes th following statement:
Advertisement for. bids to furnish
ISO hydrants was published by the
water board on May 10, 1907. Bids
were received by th water board up
tn June 1! 1907 Pronoaal from Hog
& Swift, dated June 12, 1907, addressed
to in water noara, wa receivcu,
on Jun 22, 1907. contract wa award
ed Hoga & Swift for 160 hydrants, to
be delivered to tne water ooara at
Fourth and Market streets.
A bond was Issued to the city of
Portland, call In or for delivery of the
hydrants to the water board "a above.
. "The hydrant wer invoiced to the
water board under the dates as stated
below. I have promptly executed every
order given me by the mayor and water
board In connection with thi hydrant
matter, and- reported my action In the
matter witnout- aeiay. joniraci oawa
Jun 22. specifies shipments wer to l
be made as follows:
"First carload of 65 hydrants In six
weeks; last shipment to tsompiet or
der, tn is weens.
'Hoge Swift invoice show hydrant
were delivered in Portland as follows:
"October 28, 1907, 35 hydrants: being
17 weeks after date contracted. Novem
ber 22, 1907, lx hydrant; being 20
weeks after date contracted. February
16, 1908, 60 hydrants; being 31 weeKS
...,,. , q j cn
" a "7.' ri:. i.TI
"J"""1"'. v"w -..;'-"
Th fnntorv'a slow deliveries caused
a long delay, the failure to make the
hydrants according to SDOcif ications, so
they would stand the test, caused the
next delay, and finally, the lauure oi
Hog & Swift to make th faulty hy
drant perfect haa caused the longest
delay, and even up to this date 20 of
these hydrants hav not been put In or
der to stand th test as required by th
specification. .-
"At the request of Superintendent
Dodge of the water board, we examined
the first carload of tnese nyaranta, ana
I reported in writing to the mayor and
water board that the hydrant did not
comnlv with the atteuif Ications. several
mechanical defects existing, Mr. Shane
of Hog & Smith being present at tne
examnlation and acknowledged the xd-
fectS. .: .:.'-:-. - , - .v - .
"Later, at the request of Superintend
ent Dodia. we nlaced these hydrant un
der a water pressure, test, .and found
manv of - them would not stand 100
pound pressure, while the specifica
tion and guarantee wer that they
should stand 800 pounds pressure, v
"The hydrant were finally hauled to
th Columbia Steel Company's work to
be put In condition to comply with the
specification wn leDruary n, ivub.
City Auditor Barbur wrote Hoge &
Swift, requesting them to appear ' be
fore the water board at the meeting to
be held March 12, 1908, and show cause
why these hydrants should mot be re
jected. I understand no one appeared
In response to thi letter.
"On July 25, 1908, Superintendent
Dodge of the water board wrot iloge
& Swift stating th long delay In ship
ping th hydrant, also the require
ment as to pressure test, and their
neglect in complying with, the term of
the contract, and calling upon them for
a full explanation. - w
"On August 11, 1908, Mr. Shan, of
Hoge A Swift, told m that aside from
making what alterations the specifica
tion called for, ther would --be no
more tests, a he did not think he waa
required to make the tests; and further
more, he Intended trying to make the
city reimburse him for what expense
he bad been put to in testing hydrants.
On September IS the Columbia Steel
company, in reply to my inquiry regard
ing the hydrant yet at their works,
wrote me as follows: Ttegarding the 82
hydrants which we have at our works,
would ay that we have stopped work
on them In accordance with instruc
tions from Hoge & Swift pending their
decision a to whether or not we shall
make alteration so as no stand th
required test.' - ; - .
On October 22 and 28, 1908, w tested
at the Columbia Steel company's works
14 hydrant and accepted them, leaving
a balance of 20 hydrants, two of which
hav , been returned to the 'Ludlow'
factory in Troy, N. Y.nd 18 f which
are at Columbia Steel company works
not yet put in condition to stand the
test required by the specification, and
I understand work on them baa, been
stopped, pending the decision of Hoge
& Swift a to whether or not they would
proceed with th necessary repair a
"All of which shows -the several
cause of delay to have been: First,
failure of the XMdlow' factory to hlp
within dates agreed; second, failure of
the hydrant to stand the required test;
third, failure of Hoge & Swift to make
necessary alterations and repairs on
faulty hydrant a and to give notice, so
far as I know, through the water board
when certain of th hydrants had been
repaired, after they had been notified
that ther wer faulty.''
FOR NAVAL BASE AT M
v ; SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO
(Halted Press Leased Wlr.)
Washington. Dec. 19. Senator Flint of
California today introduced a bill In
congress for the establishment at South
San Francisco of a naval baa for the
Pacific coast. , i
that it would be best to give up the Jolly
life of th sailor and take his chances
otherwise, whatever fhey might be. Bo
the baron deserted. Deliberately lett
his ship and hi mates and hiked it
about town all by his lonely. -.
Caotaln Schumacher, of tka good ship
Oregon, soon heard the news and got
busy. unci earn was caiiea in, a
search made of places where the baron
might be with the result that the de
serter s was oaugni. , .
The baron signed as a" Bailor with
the ship German at Cardiff. His wages
were to be 126 a month, on the papers
Presented by the German consul the
aron'a address 1 given thus: "L'lplsch
Hof, i Russl." . . .
The Oregon Is taking on wheat for
Europe and until she leave the baron
will probably remain In Jail: That is,
of n course, unless he promises to be
good.
spell, in that the thermometer' dropped
to IS degrees above sero. The -coldest
weather previous to ..that of last night
wa recorded on th night, of December
xi, wnen in temperature ten to
21 degree above sero. The - effect at
that time is said to have been worse
than this -year, because the plumbers
were Kept Dusy lor several day repair
lnir the damaare. - '
How, welcome the cold snap f last
night was to the plumber has not yet
been estimated, but it is said that the
more modern, method of plumbing is do
ing a great deal to lessen the burden
of th man who charges . a small for
tune to thaw out a pipe. ." . ,.
-Horses perhaps suffered th moat, be
cause of th frost this morning. The
street were slippery and hard to travel.
But towards noon the sun cam out and
gradually the Ice crust disappeared.
ALLEGED DOCK
THIEF ARRESTED
Police Believe Suspect Is a
Member of , Organized
Waterfront Gang.
C. Lunstedt, whom the detectives
firmly believe to be a member of an
organised gang of thieves operating in
all aeaport of the Pacific coast, was
arrested by Deteotlvea Coleman and
Price last evening. Lunstedt ia charged
by F. P.- Baumgartner, Portland agent
of the California &' Oregon Steamship
company, with stealing a quantity of
gooaa irom tne uoucn street aocx. lis
was found in a room at Union avenue
and East Burnslde by the detectives. -
It is charged that in every port on
the coast there are several members of
this syndicate who- work about the
docks. Goods stolen in one city are
sent to another town to be disposed of,
and as at present there is an- almost
entire lack of cooperation among the
police department of - the , various
cities thi gang ha Keen able to oper
ate with Impunity for a long time.
Lunstedt Is charged with taking several
blanket as well a part' of a con
signment of goods Intended for a hotel
at Marshfieldl ,-a '...- f:
Another rantur made by the police
yesterday afternoon may prove to have
some connection with the dock gang.
Tom Thompson,, W. Harney and
Robert Duncan were arrested by
Officer - Craddock and Hyde, plalm
clothes men,,; l oeventn ana
Gllsan streets, for the - theft-Of a
drum of coffee and other article taken
from the Clossett .t Dever wholesale
house. Front and Ankeny street.
, Their method waa to back an express
wagon up to the sidewalk and take what
good were in sight ata moment when
any one looking through the windows
mlgnt oeueve a. tnem engagea in egn
mt transfer work. The thru men
wer positively Identified thi morning
by men to whom .they bad tried to sell
the goods.- ..-y : . , ',' - -.: -
.vein's com
IS GIVEN BUCK
Before
group of witness In the
Office of District Attorney Cameron
this moraine-. Charles Mays, proprietor
of the Circuit cafe, a saloon at 889
Btark street, returned to E. McCrum
$695 which McCrum alleged had been
stolen from him on 'an automobile trip
he made wlth My and twcV, women
down th Llnnton road. : '
.McCrum had recently- sold his home
and Wednesday night Mays; another
man, McCrum and two women made an
automobile trip into the country. Mc
Crum said .the last thing he remem
bered he had $770 and the automobile
wa spinning along down- th road.
When Ae woke up he .found himself in
the- middle of the road, minus his
friends and his money. -
Later, when the case was laid before
th district attorney. Mays offered to
return $295 which he aaid McCrtira had
flven htm to keep for him.' The dls
rlet attorney insisted on holding Mays
and the two women responsible for all
of the money, however, o, $895 was re
turned to McCrum this morning,
SESSION IS HELD . .
IN STAIt CHAMBER
Protective legislation affecting elec
tric light and - power corporations was
the subject of an executive session of
tne isortnwest cjiectno iitrni ana roww
association In the assembly hall of the
Commercial club--this morning.
The association met in -the city ves
terday and continued Its session this
morning. '' Th discussion thi rooming
wer private and nothing was given out
for publication, it being explained that
the discussions wer largely of a tech
nical nature ana or no puouo interest.
It must however, have been a warm
subject fof the chairman of the meet
ing sent out -for two pitchers of ice
water during ? the early part of the
session. ' - -
It i believed, however, that one of
tne main points under consideration was
a general discussion of the legislation
which Is being projected for the coming
session ' of the Oregon legislature, as
well as in Washington and California,
which will have a direct bearing on elec
tric light and water power plants.
This afternoon, at ih close of the ses
sion, . the members of the association
wer the guests of th Portland Rail
way, Light & Power company for a ride
over different lines of the company. In
cluding trips to all of the view points
of the city. The conventions will close
this evening with a banquet in the dining-room
of the Commercial club.'
BOURNE OPPOSES
: BELLINGliAM PLAIf
1 Senator Jonathan '' Bourn ha' taken
up the matter ot the proposed removal
of - the lighthouse board's headquarters
from Portland to Belllneham. Wash-
and. in a letter -which the chamber of
commerce received today be promised to
do everything in his power to keep the
board from being removed. . Mr. Bourne
said that he would see the department
of commerce" and labor and try to pre
vent any transfer from Portland. 11 -
PEI8ASS0 TELLS
STQRV OF CIIIL1E
Says He Was Justified in
Shooting and - Killing
Vencenza Desantis.
Antonio Petrasso, charged with th
murder of Vencensa Desantis, on Sep
tember 22. the dav of a weddlnar feasr.
took th witness stand in his own h.
-halt this morning and told brokenly the
story oi . tne crime with which he is
charged. " . . " .
From the testimony of the defendant
it Is evident that the defense will at
tempt to show that Petrasso was first
attacked by the man he shot and that
the shooting was in a measure justifi
able. Petrasso swore that he had ben
cut by a knife several time and ex
hibited a proof a scar on his chin and
a cut in hi coat sleeve, which had not
been sewed up. The courtroom was
crowded with Italians eager to hear tiie
testimony of the accused man, and until
Petrasso took the stand he was con
stantly attended by his friend, Joseph
Morak."..- .-.; . . ."- j--.-'.--- ,
Yesterday f afternoon Mrs. Filomena
Russo. one ef the witnesses for th de-
lense, testified in answer to the cross
questioning of John Dltchburn. retained
as special prosecutor, that her husband
had coached her in the testimony she
was to give. 1 He- had told her, she a Id,
to tell tne jury and the president of th
court to acquit Petrasso and present
him with a gold medal for ridding th
world of a man of such dangerous in
stincts and such violent temper a th
victim of th defendant, . - -
In every tragedy there is al
ways a note of comedy. The
holdup vt the Hyatt saloon, oppo
site th city hall, last night,
had an unusually strong on. As
th three holdup men wer leav
ing they met In th hallway a
German coming in for glass of
beer. - ''Get along In there," com
manded, one of th atickup men.
Th German hesitated and lie
was slapped on the Jaw. v
Indignantly the German expos
tulated, and a the three men
seemed determined to keep on
going he walked along with them
for a block. He got little satis
faction, and returned to th saloon
to protest. He was astonished to
learn that he had been walking '
with holdup men.
Then a smile broke over his
face Producing a fat wallet
which he said contained $65, he
aid "They never; touched me,"
and smlled'agaln, .
FIRE CHIEF IS
PUT ON STAND
Investigation into ' the reasons why
more than a hundred hydrant were left
untested last summer was resumed thi.
afternoon, and Chief Kngineer Camp
bell of -the fire department was tin
first witness called., The chief rettoi
ated statements made by him Wednes
day night and further denfel that he
had ever "recommended the Howe hy
drant manufactured by a local foundry
In which foundry Hydrant Inspector
Phillips is charged with having a finan
cial Interest. Superintendent Dodge and
other members of the water board have
sworn that the chief did recommend
that the Portland hydrant bo used by
the city. - , '
Chief Campbell introduced tome new
testimony to show that the contractors
for the Ludlow hydrant, or whicn 160
were ordered by the board, had misrep
resented facts in that they stated, he
alleges, that certain shipments were
made before they really were.
The chief claimed that every hydrant
furnished by Hog & Swift - company
waa defective and had to be repaired.
Isaac Swett of the board continually
reminded the chief that the Investiga
tion had nothing to do with the first
85 hydrants received. by the city. The
object of Mr gwett's questions seemed
to'be to prov that the chief did know
about the last shipment of 6 of which
the head of the fire department again
denied any knowledge. . -
The examination of W. J. Phillips
which will take place later this after
noon is expected to bring out some
new disclosures. ..-
T
OUT OF RIGHTS
(United Preis Leased Wr'.
San Francisco, i Dec. 19. Beeaus
thev found only $2 In the cash drawer
of Newsom'a waterfront saloon early
today two burglars wrecked the place,
out of revenge. That the proprietor
should not be in doubt as to their pur
pose the thieves left the following note
conspicuously resting on the till: .
"It you hadn't been so stingy as to
leave only $3 in the cash register, I
wouldn't have done so much damage.
(Signed) Happy Hooligan." -
ROOT RESIGNS IF
E
' Pnl ted Prat X-ewd wlr. ,
v Washington, Dee. 19. It was an
nounced at tha Whit House late thi
afternoon that' U wa understood that
Elihu Root will resign a secretary of
state If he la elected senator .-from Now
York, and that he will be succeeded by
Assistant Secretary Robert Bacon, That
Root will receive the New York toga is
believed to be almost certain. .
CRAZED ITALIAN
KILLS COUNTRYMAN
(United PrMI Leaaed Wire.)
- San Francisco, Deo. 19. Shouting ;
"Who shall I kill?' - Francisco Natale,
an Italian fisherman, believed to be in
sane, burst into the rooms of Emanllo
Ancltoo whiles th family wer at din- ,
ner today, discharged five shot at th
ersons sitting at the table, and proba
ly fatally injured Ancllco.1 When An
clioo fell Natale dashed front the hous
flourishing his revolver and jelling,
"I'll get others?" A posse of police nd '
citizens started In pursuit,- but lost
trace of the man. Anclicit was shot In
the neck and right eide. - He is 65 year "
of age and It is believed will' not sur
vive. ,.-.!'. . . "'V , ;.
GERMAN BANDIES
WORDS WITH ROBBERS
IIIICS
CHEATED
SENATOR