The Hermiston herald., August 18, 1921, Image 2

Regaining the International Polo Cup
Cuba Is Free
of ‘El Pote’
*■
to whom the government of the young
republic was entrusted were bis
debtors—which he never allowed them
to forget
/
He secured a monopoly on all Cuban
printing, for which scandal scores
went to Jail. Then he got control of
one of the biggest banks and wrecked
that, “borrowing" no less than $11,-
000,000 without security of any kind.
Peasant Trod Down Millions as He He loaned millions, but always de­
Plied up Riches on Misfortunes
manded from 50 to 100 per- cent In­
of Others— Lived and Died
terest.
a Brute.
It Is believed that after the pay­
ment of all debts the estate of Jose
Havana.—“El Pote” Is dead and all Lopez Bodrlguez will be worth some­
Cuba rejoices. The peasant who be­ where around $10,000,000, proving that
came u millionaire muny times over It was not the fear of penury that
and used his wealth to wield a cruel drove him to end his life In the
power died as he had lived, haunted fashion by which his employer 40
and hated, a victim of his own power. years ago had died and which had
In 40 years he established a career marked the beginning of his own pros­
lurid with tragedy, dark with sordid perity.
scheming, tremendous with both suc­
cess and failure. A year ago reputed
Hogs' Snouts Do Plowing.
the richest man In Cuba, he came to
Woodstock. Ont.—Hogs take the
a miserable end at his own hands, nnd place of plows and harrows In the cul­
almost his last words were that the tivation of one of tlie best producing
wealth which cost him 40 years of small apple orchards In Ontario. Most
unremitting toll to accumulate did not orchardlsts plow and replow and har­
yield him one hour of happiness.
row and ditch the lnnd between the
Jose Lopez Rodrigues was known to rows of' trees. J. W. Tuttle of Cur­
virtually every one In Cuba. He was rie merely turns In a drove of hogs.
a strange, sinister figure, nnd even in
death he furnishes a remarkable ex­
ample of what can be accomplished
by the constant, ruthless application of
power to a single task. Ferve el
Pote (the pot bolls) was his watch­
word, his motto, the rule of his sordid
life, and It was from this that he came
to be called “El Pote,” the name with
which millions became familiar. For
yeara he thrived, at the expense of
others. Then the fortunes of war
turned against him, and, fearing the Memphis Teller for 12 Years
loss of all his Ill-gotten gains, lie com­
Missed Vacations to Shield
mitted suicide by hanging himself with
a twisted sheet.
His Shortage.
Filthy of Body.
Not more than five feet In height,
“El Pote” had the powerful, thickset
frame typical of the Gallego peasant,
He wore the oldest clothes he could
find and was foul of mind and speech Began W ith $100 Holdout and Lived
In Hope of Making All Good— Nev­
and filthy of body.
Jose Lopez Rodríguez was born In
er Missed a Day or Was Lats
Spain nnd emigrated to Cuba In his
—Strain Was Terrible.
fifteenth year, fleeing from the hard
conditions of the Gallego peasant life.
Memphis, Tenn.—Alex V. Smith, for­
In Havana for a while he worked with merly note teller for the First Nation­
pick nnd shovel, but as soon as he al bank, stood convicted, but elated
could he abandoned such hard manual with a three-year term, given to him
labor to work for nn old second-hand after he had confessed to a $60,001.37
hook denier, peddling the hooks from peculation and pleaded guilty.
house to house. One morning his nged
During the 12 years Smith was con­
employer was found dead In Ills bed nected with the bank he never took a
and young Lopez Rodrigues, who slept vacation, never was ubsent or late In
on the premises, was arrested on sus­ reporting for duty. He told reporters
picion of murder, but after spending in order to cover up the shortage he
some time In prison he was released had to be continually on the job.
for Inck of sufficient evidence to In­
John D. Martin, Smith’s counsel,
dict.
read a copy of Smith’s confession to
The widow of the murdered book­ the court in I l l s plea for leniency. The
seller continued the business and confession says:
Lopez Rodríguez, after his release
“I, Alex V. Smith of Raleigh, Tenn.,
from prison returned to his old em­ do hereby make confession.
ployment. One morning the widow
“I was born in Liverpool, England,
was found hanging In her room, hut, on June 8. 1883. I left England and
no evidence being found to confirm came to the United States when I was
a -suspicion that there had been foul about twenty-two yeurs old. After a
play, a verdict of suicide was returned. short stay In New York city I came
By the time the young employee had to Memphis, Tenn., nnd became a bank
saved up some money and he bought clerk In the employ of the Bank of
the business.
Commerce of Memphis, where I worked
Piles Dollar on Dollar.
for about nine months. I then en­
Living upon almost nothing and tered the employ of the First National
working tirelessly, he steadily In­ bank of Memphis, Tenn., and was con­
creased his trade and piled one dollar tinuously employed there until Janu­
on another until with the passage of ary 13, 1821. I was note teller at
the years his fortune grew to re­ the First National bank for about 12
consecutive years. During this time
spectable dimensions.
When, after the wealth of Cubans I gave diligent attention to the du­
had been drained by three years of ties of the position.
Began With $100.
revolution and embargo, the American
“About 11 years ago, one day after
fleet blockaded Havana In 1808, “El
Pote”—for by that time he had come the vaults were closed, to accommo­
universally to be known by his sobri­ date a customer I took a deposit of
quet—was able to acquire for cash about $160. That night I used this
largo properties for a tithe of their money to pay a debt, hoping to re­
It was never
value, and when the Cuban republic place It Immediately.
was set up he was a rich man among replaced, and the shortage grew, until
men who had been ruined. The latter January 12, 1921, It amounted to $66,-
were compelled to go to him for cash 501.37.
"My method of concealment was
which he alone wns able to lend. And
so It came to pass that many of those throughout the entire period of short-
WOMEN’S WATCH TOWER
Island Republic Rejoices at the
Death of its Richest Mil­
lionaire.
CRUEL POWER OF WEALTH
Here it) a remarkable action plcture^takeu during the polo game* at Ilurllngham, England, in which the American
team recaptured the International trophy. It show« a sharp tuaale In front of the American goal.
Pirates Again
Sweeping Seas
king In 1690 with power to seize and
destroy off the American coast all
pirate ships, lluvlng been given ships
and crews to accomplish the purpose,
he gayly set sail across the Atlantic,
around the Cape of Good Hope to
Madagascar and the Bed sea to ravage
East India waters and convert to Ills
own uses his captures. Then he hied
himself, so the story goes, to West
Indian waters and burled his super­
fluous treasures before he finally went
to Boston where he was captured, sent
to England for trial, was executed and
his body left to dangle In the wind
for years as a warning to sailors.”
• — --------------------------------------------------
Theory Put Forward as Explana­ to have covertly countenaced ns well
us helped expeditions by buccaneers,
tion of Disappearance of
and In the West Indies the trade re­
strictions placed by the various moth­
American Vessels.
er countries led to acceptance by many
Island governors of wares brought
by navigators whom they knew to be
free-booters and whose methods they
COCKATOO KILLS BIG ROOSTER
could not afford to question.
Piracy Road to High Office.
Island-Dotted Area« of tho Oceana Of­
"Perhaps the most unscrupulous and Bird, at Outs With Barnyard Fowl,
Wins Battle at Mar­
fer Lurking Places for Sea Rovers— wily of the perverted sea kings was
tinez, Cal.
Piracy Hat Flourished Since
Henry Morgan of the Carlbbees. lie
Early Days of Hletory.
was a magnate, an Indomitable ruler,
Martinez, Cal.—A bitter battle was
a crafty strategist, and a commander
Washington, D. C.—The theory that of genius as well as a pirate-par ex­ fought at the home of 11. F. Rhine,
pirates are again Infesting Atlantic cellence. In fact he flirted with one local merchant, by a two-pound cocka­
waters bus been put forward In con­ danger after the other always to come too and an eight-pound rooster.
The diminutive cockatoo proved
nection with the grounding of the Car- out on top. He marched Into Puerto
roll Deering and the mysterious dis­ Principe In the hear* of Cuba and that weight does not always prevail,
appearance of three other American took it despite every resistance, lie for after taking a severe grueling for
outwitted with uncanny cunning the almost five minutes he grabbed tlie
steamships.
"An epidemic of piracy has followed officers at Porto Bello In Panama, one rooster In the windpipe with his sharp
In the wake of nearly all of the great of the strongest cities near the Car­ beak, administering the death blow.
According to Bhlne, the pair had
wurs. Even us recently ns 1815 rest­ ibbean shores and the storehouse for
less souls who had smelled the blood the riches which had been brought been at outs for several weeks. One
of battle and felt the Intoxication of by Spanish galleons and mule packs morning tlie cockatoo was perched on
danger became loath to settle down In­ from the Interior. He escaped with a bush In the back' yard when the
to the peaceful ways of men and an Inestimable amount of gold and rooster spied him. The heavyweight
commerce, and chose the wide seas Jewels, Ingeniously employing u fire­ barnyard champion made a rush at
as un usylutn because they refused ship ogntnst the Spanish to accom­ his smaller enemy, spurs and beak.
The cockatoo, however, dug his
to live under the law," says a bulletin plish his escape when he was bottled
of the National Geographic society up In Maracaibo lake. Finally he claws into the rooster's breast, and
from Its Washington. D. C., headquar­ took and sacked the city of Panama. pulling himself upright administered
Then leaving his companions In the the death blow.
ters.
lurch, he slipped away at night with
Some Famous Plrats Bases.
“Beside the broad oceans which of­ all the booty to Jamaica, Ingratiated FLIES 300 MILES AN HOUR
fered Infinite chance for escape there himself with the governor, and was
have always been the Island-dotted clever enough to get himself into the Monoplane Invented by Italian Engi­
nreas which furnish excellent lurking graces of the English king who knight­
neer Said to Need Little
places from which these exponents of ed him and made him lieutenant gov­
Landing Space.
ernor
of
Jamaica
for
his
Tong
ex­
absolute freedom might take their
perience
of
that
colony.'
Rome, Italy.—-An airplane, capable
quarry for examination and long di­
"In our boyhood, stories of Captain of landing without the need of a large
vision among them. The Greek Archi­
Kid
were
frequent.
The
subject
of
aviation field, nble to travel more than
pelago, the Barbury coast, the East
Indies, the China shores and the Span­ the narratives was really a respectable 300 miles an hour and, if necessary, to
ish Main, within the shadow of our sailor In the merchant service with meander along nt only n few miles nn
own doors, have been pirate bases a wife and family In New York when hour Is announced as the Invention of
for centuries and given to the world he was commissioned by the English nn Itallnn engineer, Epaminonda Ber­
tucci of Borne.
a wealth of stories of breathless In­
The Inventor reports that he has
terest.
already tried out the mnchlne on a
"In ancient times these sen robbers
“ Dips” Robbed of Haven
smnll scale nnd regards his first ex­
off the coast of Greece, Italy, and
periments ns Indicative of the success
When Art Center Moves
Asia Minor with their thousands of
of the Invention. The new machine
light, swift vessels, or ‘sea mice' as
Is primarily Intended for aerial war
London. — Burlington House,
they were called, ‘taxed’ merchant
chasing nnd Is to be armed with a mn­
tlie present home of the Boyal
shipping so heavily that they lightly
chlne gun. It Is a monoplane.
Academy exhibition, does not
and rightly termed their base of op­
’ seem to afford such a tine harv-
erations the 'Golden Gulf.'
They
; eat for pickpockets as the great
flaunted their black flag In the face
MILLION IN MEXICAN CAPITAL
of mighty Home, which remained Im­ : room at Somerset House, where
; exhibitions were held until 1837,
potent against them until Pompey with
Population of City la Estimated to
almost unlimited resources at his com­ ; remarks the London Morning
Be Twice That of Ten
Post, A wooden dudo ran round
mand curbed their operations.
Yeare Ago.
Pandora’s Box of Piracy.
the room, and when after the
academy resigned possession,
“Ferdinand and Isabella unwitting­
Mexico City, Mex.—The population
ly, In their decision to drive the Moors
this was removed In the course
of Mexico City has Increased more
from Spanish soil, let loose upon the
of renovations, the narrow space
than lOt) per cent during the Inst ten
world and particularly upon Spanish
between It and the brickwork
years, according to recent estimates
shipping, then nt the height of Its
was found to be stuffed with In­
based on statistics, which fix the fig­
pride, a fearful horde of daring and
numerable purses, ancient nnd
ure at approximately 1,000,000. This
unscrupulous avengers.
modern—an eloquent testimony
Is far above the normal Increase nnd
"In the early days of Moslem pow­
to successful pocketpicking nnd
the Influx of persons Is attributed as
er one of the caliphs wrote to his gen­
cleverness In disposing of recog­
due to revolts. Housing conditions,
eral and asked him what the sea was
nisable property.
ns a result, are bad, nnd suitable
like. The general answered, 'The sen
dwellings are nt a premium.
Is a huge beast which silly folk ride
like worms on logs.' Consequently the
caliph gave orders that no Moslem
should voyage upon It, but they soon
learned that they must conquer It If
they were to hold their own among
other peoples, and they subsequently
furnished some of the most audacious
and picturesque of the pirate figures.
The James Brothers of the Seas.
“Two of the most daring and In­
genious of these were the Bnrbarossa
brothers. 'Bed Beard' terrorised the
Mediterranean world from Constanti­
nople to the Pillars of Hercules. The
excellent harbors and the Island hid­
ing places made It possible for him to
defy the fleets of England. Italy,
Spain and Holland, to levy tribute on
all the vessels that passed over the
highway, to rapture the richly laden
Papal galleys bound for Home In Mos­
lem defiance of Christendom and
chain the Christiana to their oars. In
1510, at that time notorious and Im­
mensely wealthy, he changed the baae
o f his operations to the Island of
Jerbs, off the coast of Tunis, where
the Fates ceased to smile so kindly
u | hmi him.
After many hard-fought
battles and vicissitudes of fortune he
fell before the forces of Charles V
of Spain near Tretnlzan on African
soil. He had actually escaped, but
upon learning that hla faithful fol­
lowers were close pressed he returned
to die with them. The career of hla
brother Kheyr-er-dln la acarcely leas
romartlc.
“Piracy on the American coast
among the French and Spanish naviga­
When thia photograph of little Warren Harding and hla two slaters waa
tors began before the days of the Eng­ made lu Caledonia, O , the six-year-old lad's father probably told him : "You
lish coionlata. Queeu Elisabeth Is said will be President tome day.”
PIRACY FOLLOWS GREAT WARS
When Warren Harding Was Six
A
The National Woman's party Is com­
ing Into Its own 'again and has bought
a new home which will be a regular
"political watch tower” to the capltol,
which Is within a stone’s throw. The
home is one of the most historic in
Washington, having been the meeting
place of congress from 1815 to 1819
while the capltol was being rebuilt, and
was the scene of President Monroe’s
inauguration.
$66,000 Thief
Given 3 Years
COURT GETS HIS CONFESSION
Sylvia Pankhurst Toasted by Reds
age to hold for a day or two, then re­
mit, being in the manner always short
in my remittances.
“I married about eight years ago,
and at the time of my marriage my
shortage was comparatively small. My
family consists of iny wlfie, aged thir­
ty-one years, nnd three children, Alex
V. Jr., aged seven; Jim Mnngrum. aged
six, and Jay Shaw, nged two yeurs,
nine months.
"The moneys which I embezzled
from the bank were absorbed in my
personal expense and extravagances.
I have not dissipated money In gam­
bling or speculation. I huve, of course,
entertained the vague hope that I could
make restitution of these peculations,
but have been crushed with the realiza­
tion that this was Impossible.
Strain Has Been Terrible.
“The strain of my situation lias, of
course, been terrible, and I have suf­
fered immense mental torture for
years.
"I have been unable to obtain suffi­
cient sleep or rest except through the
use of Intoxicants, and have been com­
pelled to resort to the same means as
a stimulant to enable me to discharge
the regular duties of my office.
,
“It Is my intention and desire that
In the event there should be an in­
dictment returned against me on ac­
count of my wrongdoing to immedi­
ately enter a plea of guilty to the same
and throw myself without reservation
upon the mercy of the court.
“It Is my desire to receive such pen­
alty as may be Inflicted on me as
speedily as possible. It being my deep
desire, after I have met my punish­
ment, to rise again and be a man. It
will be my earnest effort to make good,
in the fullest measure possible, the
loss which has been occasioned ns the
result of my wrongdoing.”
After the shortage was discovered
Smith says regarding his conversation
with bank officials:
“I gave them the exact figures, to
wit, $66,001.37, together with all data
and documents pertaining thereto,
thereby enabling the officials of the
bank to make a speedy adjustment of
their records. I gave the exact amount
of my shortage as stated above, so
that the bank would not be put to the
necessity of a long, laborious and ex­
pensive audit of my accounts.
PAJAMAS “ NOBBY” ON STREET
R um Officer's Garb Leads to Distrl.
button of Garments to
Refugees.
Constantinople, Turkpy.—American
Red Cross and army pajamas are be­
ing converted Into jaunty street clothes
here by Ingenious Russian refugee
soldiers and civilians.
Hugh S. Bird, treasurer of the Red
Cross, when here on a visit of Inspec­
tion, saw a spick-and-span monocled
Russian officer flourishing a cane and
fanning himself with a straw hat at
the local Red Cross offices. He no­
ticed that the man had'tnken a suit
of pajamas, sewed shoulder strap
braid on them, strapped his officer’s
belt about them and rolled up the bot­
toms to give a trouser effect.
Mr. Bird thought so well of the In­
genuity of the man, who had defeated
the hot weather, that he gave orders
for several thousand more pajamas to
be distributed, so no Russian need
wear his heavy, shabby winter clothes.
Miss Sylvia Pankhurst (center), who served five months' Imprisonment
at Holloway for preaching sedition in the British nary, was recently dis­
missed. Following her “coming out" she was tendered a breakfast In London
by the Communist party. This photograph shows the “reds" offering a toast
to Mias Pankhurst.
r
f
Partridges Alight In Street.
Coatesville, I'a.—A covey of part­
ridges came Into this city nnd alight­
ed on the paved streets In the busi­
ness section. Volunteer firemen caught
a few and placed them In a box. lib­
erating them later In the country.
They had become frightened when a
cooper's hawk attacked them on the
hill.
1