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About The Oregon daily journal. (Portland, Or.) 1902-1972 | View Entire Issue (Dec. 22, 1908)
THE OREGON DAILY JOURNAL, PORTLAND, TUESDAY EVENING, DECEMBER 22, 1908. .: Fffilf eomiEO BUT SAVES CHILD 3Irs.r Julia Laventhal Tosses Baby Out of Circle of Flames, Unharmed. fCalte rn Leaned Wlra. Ran Francisco, Deo. 22. While Mra Julia Laventhal was tondling her four months old daughter. Irma, today In . her apartment, her dress caught fire from an open fire In the room and before neighbors came to her aid ehe received burns which will probably cause her death. The baby was rescued from a biasing bed on which the frail woman threw It, and was unharmed. A message was sent to Mrs. Laven thal's husband, a clothier at Los An geles, and he is racing with death to reach hla wife's bedside at the Central hospital SO , SIGNS OF STRUGGLE .'(Continued From. Page One.) Ivor-Johnson autopsy on Mnnrinir fnilnwin th nanv and purchased an shooting, described the wounda on revolver. lie had the clerk load 4t for Klsher'a hetd. Death was caused al- him. and started direct for the Mo- most instantly, he said, hr a. nullt that 'hawk building, stopping to take a drink entered the back part of the skull about lor two in a saloon on the way. With one inch back ofthe middle line, rani- his hand on that revolver he went to ing through the brain and lodging back 01 mm temporal bone. Just above the ear on the left aide. The course of the bullet was downward. A second bullet wound was found on the left aide of the head, the leaden ball paaslna- lust under the akin and through the lobe of the left ear. The nrst bullet was found and removed, much flattened. The witness illustrated the points of entry and lodgment of tire bullet by DOlntlnr them out t the Jury on the head of Deputy District, Attorney Pitsgerald. The witness said he also found a bruise on the right h iHinr In the Mohawk building and rode to the third floor. Before the elevator boy bad time to make another trip, Ralph B. tisner iaya corpse on iha finnr nf hla office. Pinch brushed past the stenographer after asking if Fisher was in, ana Derore tiBner touio be apprised of anything, wrong had aent a fatal bullet througn ms prain Snencer then rapidly sKetoneo events following the shooting, telling how Miss Burkhart -ran In terror from the office when the shooting began, how Finch ran to the elevator with a smoking revolver in his hand, how he was disarmed ov inesier v, uoiihi, temple, that might have been caused by 1 how he had told Attorney S. 8. Hum- a fall on a flat surface Murderer Snickers. On cross-examination Dr. Oellert said there were powder burns on the rlsrht side of the head, but none on the left. A question as to whether the wounds the shooting with the exception of . Finch himself. With this before it, 4he defense seems likely to have an uphill task to substantiate its theory of self defense, unless It tias unexpected testi mony In reserve. ' Not untu the examination or wukihh had been finished by the state this morning did the defense ask for the exclusion of witnesses from the court house. Charles F. Lord, one of Finch s attorneys, announced after a short re cess that he had seen "hurried confer ences among the witnesses for the state," and he wanted all the witnesses "fired out" He modified this request to allow the reporter for The Journal to remain, but refused to extend this priv ilege to a reporter for another evening paper, whom .Deputy District Attorney Fitzgerald announced he might desire to call for the state in. rebuttal. Rather - than have the reporter excluded by en forcement of the rule, Fitzgerald would an-not , nounced that the reporter De called as a witness. Winer's Slaysr Cheerful. Finch was In excellent spirits today.H Ha chatted with his attorneys ana rre quently smiled, as though he were ex changing bon mots with them at an : after dinner event. During the giving of testimony he made notes wun great , Industry, or leaned over and earnestly explatned the questions he wanted asked on cross-examination. He is still . the guiding hand at the wheel, and if Ms ship Is wrecked he apparently will not be In position to blame his pilots. Objections by the defense were less numerous tnan yesterday arte moon. though there were frequent Interrup tions on tecnnlcal points, that trie de fense Is saving. An effort was made to attack the credibility of Wllklns. the - most Important witness of the state so far presented, by 'showing that Wllklns had some difficulty with Finch In col lecting a bill several years ago. An effort was also, made to show that "Wllklns had tried to talk to mem bers of the Jury -when the Judge and Jury visited Finch's office yenterday. Wllklns denied this, but admitted that he had gone to the door of Fisher's room while thejury was there, upon ln- , virauon or A. c Spencer, special prose cutor for the state, and had been denied admittance by Bailiff H11L Tells of JCurder. 'Wllklns gave a dramatic reoltal of the events tha't followed the sound of shots In Fisher's office. He and Dr. . Roberts were the ones who first entered , the room after Finch had fled, and the ! defense tried to show that they had moved the body. Wllklns ' said they had not moved the body, only touching : funeri nana ana snoaiaer to De cer tain that life was extinct. Finch's old mother again cams to court this morning, and paused on her way to a seat to greet her accused son. Finch said this morning that his wife Is Still in a dangerous condition, and will not be able to testify. - The state has already consented that her statement may be taken and used as testimony by the defense. She is want ed to tell of a burglar being In Jier ' house two nights before Fisher was killed and of asking her husband to - get a revolver for protection, this be ing the explanation of the defense for the purchase of the gun by Finch Just ' before he shot Fisher, i ' Victim's Brother oa Stand. l ...... .... I'loiiQ,, UIVLUDI Ul lOJtl B. Fisher, was the first witness of the morning. He said his brother was born near Dallas, Polk county, was 28 years of age and had been practicing law for four years. The defense ob jected to a question as to whether or not Fisher's parents are living, and this was sustained. Objection was also made to a photograph of the deceased, but tnis was admitted in evidence. The witness said his brother was about five feet nine Inches tall and weighed 200 be like pieces of blank paper until that time. He aald that Spencer was Incor rect in saying that r men was aisoarreu, when he was only suspended, and it was were only untrue, he said that three charges were IfVlUK phrles that Humphries was the cause oi u au. lord Pleads With Jurors. Lord began an outline of his remark able version or tne aeain oi r inner ininA ih. inrnri that tha defendant could have been inflicted by a person ! 8 presumed by law to be Innocent until while standing at Fisher's left was pre- j he Is proved guilty. He pleaded with vented by objection of the-ta1e, and them to reserve their Judgment until this incident seemed to greatly rejoice : the last word of testimony is In, and Finch and his attorneys, who snickered tnld the lurors that their minds should auaioiy a Attorney Campbell exclaimed, .now wo ve got you where we want you. M. u. wllklns, an attorney wno was an office neighbor of Fleher In the Mohawk building, and was one of the first men to enter the room of tragedy after the shooting, was next called and taken througn a long examination ay Deputy District Attorney FlUgerald to Identify the drawings of Fisher's office and the location of the furniture In the office. He was In the office about 11 o'clock on the morning of the shoot ing and talked to Fisher. He pointed out several respects In which the dia gram did not, in his opinion, properly show the location of some of the fur niture. Wllklns then told his story or tne scenes following the killing cf Fisher. He heard shots, followed by a woman's screams. He went Into the hall, where he saw -Dr. W. A. Roberts, and then went Into Fisher's office together. They found the room full of powder smoke, and saw Fisher's body Just in front of his desk. It lay as though he had top pled over with the chair, the office chair lying on. the right side by the body. Fisher s breast, was about six incnes from the front of the desk, tils feet were partially under his desk, his left arm was thrown over his back and his right arm under his head. The top of his rollertop desk was open, and on It lay a freshly written check with the Ink apparently lust blotted. All the drawers of the desk were closed. Qna la closed Drawer. Wllklns said ha made a search for weapons on the floor to see if he could find evidence of how the deed was done, but could find nothing. After the cor oner came he saw a revolver in the rear end of a drawer In the right side of the desk. This drawer was 16 or 18 Inches LEAPS 100 FEET 10 RIVER GRAVE Tom Sullivan Commits Sui ride Off Willamette Bridge at Salem. pounds or more. B. M. Uellert, who performed the Dr. long, and ws closed when he entered tne ornce arter the shooting. The witness said that he went to the telephone from Fisher's office and called for the police. He then went back to the office, and while he was there Finch was brought in between two policemen. Persons in the office asked who the man was and the wit ness, who knew him, said "He is J. A. Finch." The defendant said, "How do you know?" and the witness again told the officers that the man was Finch. Then Fineh held out his hand as though to shake hands, and said, "I am glad to know you." The witness turned away from him and the officers led the pris oner away. The first question on cross-examination by W. C. Campbell, attorney for Finch, was: "Are you as ismlliar with the post office as with the Mohawk building?" This was objected to by the state and the court sustained the objection. Finch's attorney said .he wanted to show tha Wllklns would be unable o draw a plan of the Mohawk building, and therefore was not qualified to iden tify the plans of the building. Questions about the accuracy of the chart -J n showing ths pigeon .holes In fisher's office desk were riled out by Judge Bronaugh. Attorney Campbell who conducted the examination of wit nesses for the defense this morning, started to address the court in protest on this ruling, but the Jfidsre cut him short and told him he might have an exception. Later, the court warned Campbell that he was consuming tdo ""fh time on unimportant things. wllklns was asked nothing about the seal, directly, but did say that he.aaw nothing on the floor or anywhere in Fisher S office that mle-ht L used as a weapon. The state did not ask specifically about a seal her-aiiaa that is nart of tha Hp'-nu defendants attorneys evidently fought shy of the question because they were certain that the witness would sav he did not see the seal. Tha drift nf th cross-examination was an effort to weaken Wllkln y,v irvin. v.. he has taken extraordinary interest in the case and that he Is unfriendly to r iiit-a uecause oi tneir differences over filed against Finch, there '"tVi, attnrnav then aald that Finch while under the cloud of charges In dulged too freely In Intoxicating liquor, and he did do some of the things charged In the complaints of the bar association. Some of the members of the bar interceded for htm with Fisher, one of them being C. M. Idlemen, who thought that Fisher was "crowding him too hard." He referred to Finch's mar riage about two weeks before the trag edy, and said that up to November 28 finch had never , used a hard word toward Fisher, but had been a suppliant, pleading that he might be allowed to earn a living for himself and wife and thus make a home. . Coming down to ths day of the kill ing Lord explatned the purchase of the revolver by saying that a burglar had been discovered In the Finch house two nights previous, and Mrs. Finch and W. C. Plggott, a nephew of the attorney assisting in Finch's defense, wno naa frightened the marauder away, had ad vised him to purchase a gun. Ooes to riaheVa Offioe. Just after buying the revolver, said Lord, Finch went back to his office. Before removing his coat he received a telephone message from Fisher, in which he was invited to call at Fisher s office. He went to the Mohawk build ing In response to that call, and when t, inttrul aoM "Hello how are vou. Ralph," in the most friendly tone. Finch I tnen taitcea wun usnur, uniunK mo prosecutor to "let up on him," and say ing in substance, "I am Just married, I am poor. 1 have fot to support my wife; for God's sake, give me a chance; you can give me a chance ir you win. Fisher became much Incensed, accord ing to Lord's narrative, and the two men engaged In an. altercation. Fisher used harsh language, seised a notary's seal weighing about a pound and a half from his desk and struck Finch with it on the head. "That blow loosened the bone," said Lord. "You can put your finger there now and feel that bone, that Is loose Just under the skin." Then Finch tried to get out of the of flee, his attorney declared. He was half daied, and Fisher barred the way to the door. He stood for a moment with his back to the window, with his arms ex tended, then tried to get past Fisher and esoepe. Fisher had arisen from his chair, and again that seal came into play. This time he was struck in the back of the head and knocked ogainBt the door and partition between the outer and the private office. As he stood there Fisher advanced on him, and in that position. In self defense, he drew his revolver and fired. Claim of Self-Dtftnse. "If he had not had the gun," exclaimed Lord, "he would have stayed and had his brains knocked out. Fisher had started to get chair or something else to re new the assault, end Finch did just what you would have done, protected himself." Lord attemnted to ridicule the disarm ing of Finch by Dolph, referring to the latter as the '"hero," but (Special Dtcpetck t Ths JaaraaL) Salem, Or., Dee.; IS. Claiming to have lost his last dollar In a land deal at Portland, and unable to find work. Torn Sullivan, tS years of age, commit ted suicide last night leaping from the bridge that spans the Willamette river at Salem, . 100 feet above the water.'. His coat was found on tne onage oy g, l FTasurs about 1.30 o clock this -morning, and on It was uinnea me xouowing note 'Salem, Or., Dec. 11. To ; whom ; It may concern : . I am old and useless, never was other than a detriment, so In avy xew uoniRa i imena to step flown and out My family lives at 1110 North M street. Tacoina. Wash. ". They are better off without ma. , ' "TOM BULXIVAN.- 1 Sullivan had been in the city three or four -days, having corns here from Wood burn. He was a member of the Y. M. C. A. and while here had spent much of his time at the association's Headquarters, us toia secretary Forbes, who helped him, that he had Invested every cent he had in a land proposl-. tlon. He said that he had trusted the money with a friend, but that when he had come to Woodburn to take possession of the land he found that he OS a none. Sullivan's occupation engraver bv trade. He had. excellent recommen datlons from former employes, and was at -one time .employed on The Ram's Horn, published at Chicago. lHe came to Tacomav from Chicago seven " years ago, according to tne story tola orbes. LAB0BERS KILLED ' : : BY QUAJIRY CAVE t7nltd PrM Leased Wlra.1 . . Santa Crux, Cal., Dec. 22. Messages from Davenport today tell of the death of' three men who were burled under tons, of rook last night by a. landslide at a Portland cement quarry,' The mem wer at work in the quarry when sud denly without apparent cause ths side gave way and they were, orushed to death. A number of other workmen wit nessed the burial of the victims, who had no chance whatever to escape. Res cue parties last night succeeded in tak ing out the body of Jakoo Perkoo. At l o'clock this morning .the body of Garda.- Gulsonne 7 o'clock another landy was, taken from was remqyed and; t me eartn. - r uiro notanoo was taken from the slide at midnight. . Many of his ribs were broken. , ', -t Looked Down Gun Barrel.." " (United Press Leiiad Wlra.l Bonora, Cal., Dec. 23. Wade Archer, 16 years old, son of George Archer, was brought to the hospital here today from Tuloumne. , where - he was shot In the , eye while removing a cartridge from a shotgun. He will lose the eight of ths eye, Tut will recover fronv the gunshot wound. - r. , .. ... v v. r - ... .- : : oomusanoT a xaxxstios. Ptovs that a neglected cold or cough puts the lungs In so bad a condition that consumption germs find a fertile field for fastening on one. Stop the eough Just as soon as -It appears with Ballard's. Horehound Syrup. Soothes ths torn - and ' inflamed - tissues and makesvou wall again. Sold by Skidmors Handkerchiefs in lin en from Ireland 50. In Silk from France $1.00. In mercerized cotton from Germany 35f. And American makes at 25. In plain white or white with colored borders, or colored throughout. No man can have too many of them. Here they are put up in handsome Christmas boxes. Special today, Silk In ital Hankerchiefs, 3 for 25. 156-170 Third Street. Two Pictures of Pinch. Two word pictures of James A. Finch. 2nitrU,or, llfe tor tlle murder of Ralph B. Fisher, were painted before the Jury In Judge Bronaugh's depart ment yesterday afternoon. One was given by Arthur C. Spencer, - special prosecutor, when he said that the state expects to show "beyond the peradven- i a. uuuui, io a moral certainty that when Finch went to Fisher's of fice on the afternoon of November 28. he went "with revenge in his heart, with vengeance in hla minrl hn nn destruction, no matter what might fall, and went cowardly, aneaklngly, to com mit the dastardly act." The other picture was presented by Charles F. Lord, attorney for Finch, who declared that hl client had no Idea of harming a hair of Fisher's head and was driven to shoot after try ing to escape from an unprovoked as sault, tha result of Fishers anger and hatred. Besides listening to the opening statements of the attorneys, the Jury yreaterday afternoon heard the first two witnesses for the state. One of thosa John D. Wilson, explained In detail the diagram he had drawn of Fisher's of fice and the furniture in it. J. C. Moreland. clerk of the supreme court, was called to identify the transcript of proceedings in that tribunal of the case which Fisher prosecuted to a suc cessful conclusion, and under which JM.rh was supended from the practice of law for one year. Moreland also Identified the letter, addressed by Fisher to the supreme court in which he recommended that leniency be extended to Finch and that he be merely sus pended Instead of being permanently disbarred. XMsch Apparently Unmoved. Spencer's opening statement con sumed only 16 minutes. Finch listened to it with the closest attention, and the keen shafts of denunciation hurled bv the prosecutor did not appear to dis turb him. He had Just gone with the Jury to visit the scene of the tragedy, but this and the scathing words of the state's attorney seemed to give him no more concern than if he were ap pearing as an' attorney In some ordi nary case. Spencer first referred to the life of Fisher and his career at the bar. He told of the dead man's exemplary character and the success he had achieved in "a few years. "In such esteem was he held by his nnsociai.es ai me oar, saw tne speaker, 'that he was employed by the bar as sociation to prosecute unworthy and dis reputable members of the profession. I'pon the resolution of the bar associa tion grievance committee It became his unfortunate duty to file three com plaints against the defendant Finch for Improper and illegal conduct, such as warranted disbarment. The cases were assigned to a referee for trial, and the defendant confessed the- charges. One or tnem .was for forging his name to a check, another for forging his name to a pension certiricate, and another for gross arunaenness. Spencer was here Interrupted by ob jections, on the ground that the nature of the charges were not nronr mator for comment Spencer withdrew his re marks In that respect, and then pro ceeded to recount the action of the su preme court In disbarring Finch. The latter then began o circulate a petition asking to-be reinstated as an attorney. t , Purchase of Kevolver. It seems that Finch had called on Fisher to sign this petition, and that Fisher declined to- do HI' the prosecutor continued. JWbout 12:j(S on the dayi Fisher Was shot, this ifrfendant mimnt to the store of the Hudson Arms com-i was cut short bv admonition from Judge Bronaugh, Preceeding, he said that Finch was not In a normal state for a time following his arrest. He talked In an incoherent manner, and about all that ran In his mind was to say, "I am a disbarred attorney." i Lord also made an attack on the I newspapers, particularly a morning pa- j fier, which he said had advised the hang- i ng of Finch without a trial. Judge Bro naugh again admonished him that this ! had nothing to do with the case. Loru asked the Jury to carefully note . Miss Burkhart's testimony. He said her desk was at a point where she could not see what was transpiring in the Drlvate office, but he understood she had peeked In when she was alarmed bv the loud talk within. He Indicated that the defense will t-ttempt to explain away her damaging testimony by argu ing that she was too excited to know what took place. This is apparently their only hope, for unless the force of her simple story of what she saw can be broken, Finch's narrative seems likely to be discarded as a desperate fabrica tion, concocted to save him from the gallows. odj actions o Diagram. When Lord had finished, the defense entered strenuous objection to a mount ed diagram of Fisher's office. The de fendant's attorneys said It was not needed, because the Jury had viewed the premises, and they complained that It obstructed the Jury s view of Finch. But Judre Bronaugh thought the dia gram might assist the oourt and jury during the progress of the case, and the offend!nr chart was placed at the end of the jury box near the Judge, where it no longer nifl men rrom tne jury. John D. Wilson, under whose direction the diagram was prepared, was then called and explained it. He said that tha articles of furniture were drawn In the rooms where thev had been placed under the direction of Miss Burkhart. Cross-examination was directed to sho-v-lng that he knew personally nothing ebout the position Of the furniture at the time of the shooting. W. C Camp bell, who questioned him for the de fense, apparently attached much Im portance to the witness' statement that Detective Tichenor called htm in to make the drawing. The diagram was marked for Identification, and will be offered in evidence later on. When Clerk Moreland of the supreme court was called to identify the trans cript of proceedings In the disbarment case the defense objected, principally on the ground that the document assails the character of the defendant Deputy District Attorney Fitzgerald pointed out that the state offers the transcript to show Finch's motive for murder, and that any aspersion on the reputation of the defendant is incidental and is to be disregarded by the Jury. Although Lord declared that the Introduction of this record was "Unchristian and unfair." Judge Bronaugh ruled that it was proper After Moreland had identified Fish er's letter to the supreme court asking leniency for Finch, tie was excused ana court was adjourned for tne day. by" Great One-Half Price Sale EVERYTHING ON THIRD FLOOR AT HALF High Grade Potteries Artware Imported ChinaHammered Brasses Just Think of Buying These Goods at Half Stouffer's Hand-painted China Imported Hand-painted China Hand-Hammered Brasses ' Japanese Bronzes Cloisonne Wares Imported Amphora Royal Doulton Delia Robia Bombay Reed Baskets Royal Vienna Ware Hanging Basket Austrian Ware Rozane Royal Bonn Ware Imported Waste Baskets Candlesticks (100 shapes) Imported Bonaparte Ware Japanese Kouchie Ware Cedar Chests Japanese Dinner Gongs Teplitz Ware Bavarian Vases Tiffany Ware Imported German Steins See the Wonderful Values for 25c Toilet Sets Infants' Sets Many articles worth up to $3.00 We only mention a4ew of what you can buy. 25 . ; 25 VALUES UP Handkerchief Boxes 25 Smoking Sets 25 Collar and Cuff Borxes 25 j Jewel Boxes . A 25 TO S3.00-YOUR CHOICE FOR 25c The above are on the Third Floor. SIMPIXX TYPEWRITERS $1.00, $2.50 $5.00 Give the boy or girl a typewriter, which is instructive, as well as useful. Framed Picture Specials Gen uine Carbon Gravures, framed in genuine Cir cassion walnut frames, 18 different subjects. $1.75 values for. . ..75 $3.00 values for. .$1.50 SEE THESE FRAMED PICTURES $4.00 values in Framed Pictures...- $1.69 $3.00 values in Framed Pictures 60 Fine Original Imported Oil Paintings at one half off. We Can Frame Pictures in One Day. Buy "Her" a Glove Certificate Charge Buy "Him" a Gillette Razor ii i in i 1 iWMM PJ&y WW m 4 n p & rem The Five Wishes, From tho Round Table. "I wlah I llvd In a beautiful palace. with nothlnir to no out wnat pleased, aid little Susie Blake. "O, I wlah I was very, very pretty, so that the people najuld look at me and aay, "She's the prettleat elrl I ever saw " exclaimed .una uuaiey. "And I do wish, more than anything else, that I had lots and lots of money. said Dora Kyle. 1 would like to be very bria-ht, and write beautiful story books," said Mac gy Wllklns. '1 wish 'tc be good so good that all my friends will love me," timidly said littls Kato Otis. A NEW ONE - Kaad-Palatsd lna Candy . Box. Among; th many new and attractive candy boxes this year Is : the Hand Painted Linen Box., This is only one or tne many on display at tne Hasle wood Cream Store, 180-90 Washington an VCV. ; 4 (. ' ' Christmas cards. New Tear tsarda. art calendars, exclusive lines Imported and domestic. , The postal hM, 124 -Fifth street, near Washington. ,?J At a sacrifice. Sacrifice Sale Benjamin's Clothes OUR ENTIRE STOCK OF THIS SEASON'S NEWEST SUITS, OVERCOATS AND RAINCOATS No last season's styles. No odds and ends. Blues and blacks included. SUITS, OVERCOATS AND RAINCOATS $20.00 VALUES NOW $15.00 - r VALUES VALUES VALUES VALUES NOW $30.00 $25.00 $30,00 $35.00 $40.00 NOW NOW NOW $18.75 $22.50 $27.50 ALL SMOKING JACKETS OneThird Off Regular Price TROUSERS Eniire. Line Fourth Off Regular Price , FANCY VESTS One-Fourth Off Regular Price In This Sale Benjamin's Full Dress and Tuxedo Suits Are Excepted COMMENCING MONDAY OUR STORE WILL REMAIN. OPEN UNTIL CHRISTMAS BUFFO! & PENDLETON 311 Morrison Street, Opposite the Posfofflcc