Richmond Palladium (Daily), Volume 34, Number 193, 20 May 1909 — Page 1

AND SUN-TELEGRAM.

VOL. XXXIV. NO. 193. RICHMOND, IXDt THURSDAY EVENING, MAY 20, 1909. SINGLE COPY, 3 CENTS.

EDITOR GORDOII BADLY THRASHED BY AIUTTORIIEY Dyram Robbins, Well Known ' Young Attorney, Brings Editorial Writer to Task for Virulent Attack. 'KNOCKED HIM DOWN ON STREET CORNER

fCtordon, Bleeding Profusely, r Removed to a Physician's Office and Later He Was Taken to His Home. NOT SERIOUSLY lf,GEtD 1 5 'LAST EVENING THE IT ED SCURRILOUS ATTA ITORIAL COLUMN AND TIM REVOLTS. , Scurrilous editorials such as have been prominent in the Evening: Item, (resulted in an attack upon J. B. Gordon, its editor, by Byram C. Robbins, a well known young attorney today, fin a fist fight at the corner of Main ;end Seventh streets at about 9:15 'o'clock, Robbins knocked Gordon" to rthe cement ; pavement and after he rose rained other blows upon his head.- The fight was Interrupted by bystanders after the combatants had gone to the pavement in ' a clinch. Both were ordered-by the police to report at city court this afternoon. H. rU. Johnson appeared for Gordon and tasked for a continuance, saying GorMon's condition was such that he could not appear. Y " ; Robbins Uninjured. 1 Following the fight. Gordon went to the Item office and Robbins continued on hit -way to the court house. Later Gordon went home. Robbins attended to what matters of business be had at court and afterward removed the dirt and blood from his clothing. He left the courthouse for ftils office In company with his father, John F. Robbins. He- did not show any physical signs of combat - The meeting of the two men at the corner in front of the First National bank was by accident. : Robbins overtook Gordon and asked what reference the editorial in The Item had to him. "I read your editorial and you poke of four attorneys connected with the Harris campaign." remarked Robbins. "I am an attorney and I was identified with that campaign, so I suppose you meant me as one. Now which one was it?" Robbins Strikes Him. Gordon is said to have answered: "You may draw your own conclusion about tne matter." in answer to a second question from Robbins, Gordon advised him to make his own infer ence. Thereupon Robbins struck Ae the result of the first blow. Gordon went down. His head struck the walk with force enough to bruise it severely. He arose and Robbins struck again. Gordon tried to return the blows but was outpointed by Robbins. The two clinched and Robbins lifted bis opponent off his feet, both going flown. A. M. Gardner rushed . from across the street and A. D. Gayle, of the bank, hurried out, and separated the twft':''j'-'v;;:'v;:;-:,.;;.' A crowd of spectators rushed to the scene at once. There was considerable excitement. Gordon was bleed ing profusely about the face and the , blood had bespattered Robbins's face and clothing. Gordon made his way to the office of his newspaper and a few minutes later was removed to the ) office of a physician in a cab. Later lie was taken to his home on North Seventeenth street Cause of Trouble. Under the head "A Civic Uplift." the Item last night printed one of the most uncalled for and wholly malicious ed Jtorials that ever has appeared in the Item. The attempt was to ridicule the candidate supported by The Palladium in the ' recent mayoralty . cam paign, by attacking by lnuendo,- four local attorneys who were identified with the candidacy. Robbins assum ed from a perusal of the stuff, that since he was an attorney, who was active in bis support of Harris for mayor, Gordon might' have Intended to di rect Insinuations against him. It was to discuss the subject that he stopped Gordon on the street. The Item editorial was a subject for general discussion in the down town district last night But the comment of last night was as nothing compared to the whirlwind that carried the news of the street fight far and near this morning. The sensation was little short of the mur der of a few days ago. in the rapidity with which it traveled. ' It was spoken of as a regrettable affair ' by - friends of both the fighters. ' -' Robbins Makes Statement. Robbins made the following state ment this afternoon: . 'There were Just tour attorneys who prare active in the support of Cd. Ear-

eji PRifir-

BK IN lh-

SUIT QUIET TITLE

Suit has been entered in the Wayne circuit court by Martha J. Harris vs. Eliza Thistlethwalte and thirty-six others to quiet title to real estate. APPLIES FOR DIVORCE Upon the grounds of abandonment and failure to provide, Elizabeth Brown has entered suit in the Wayne circuit court for divorce from Edward I. Brown. The plaintiff asks the custody of the minor children. Joseph B. Moore has brought suit against Charles D. Brown on contract demand $120. The plaintiff represents he appeared as agent for the defendant in a real estate transaction, He seeks to recover the amount of commission he alleges be was to re ceive. , BROKERS SUSPEND New York, May 20. Barry and Sederquist, bankers and brokers, with principal offices in New York and Bos ton, but with branches all through New England, suspended business this morning. Liabilities are a half million dollars. . AMERICAN MAKES A DARING ESCAPE Henry T. Jesse Escapes the Mexican Police, Boarding Special Train. HIDDEN IN LARGE BASKET CAR-4 SEARCHED FOB... HIM 'JM VAIN REFUGEE IS NOW. BOUND FOR ALASKA FEARING HE WILL BE RETURNED. Los Angeles, Cal., May 20. Henry T. Jesse, an American engineer, em ployed on the Mexican Central - railroad, who was summoned to appear before a . Mexican Tribunal to show cause why he should not be held responsible for the death of a Mexican mule driver in a railroad accident near the City of Mexico, escaped the Rnrales, Masqueraded as a cook, boarded a special train filled with Los Angeles Masons homeward bound, was hidden in a huge basket by the chef of the dining car and is now enroute to Alaska. .The men spent yesterday in this city with relatives but fearing that an effort would be made to extradite left for the North. Was Not toBlame. Members of the party on the spec ial train who 'investigated the accident for which the engineer was summoned before the courts say that -he was in no way to blame. The basket In wnictt he was eonceaied was purchased in the Thieves Market in MexicoCity by one of the members of the Masonic special and was being brought to this : city as a souvenir. It is seven feet high, four feet wide and made of split bamboo, and in it the man was concealed un known to the passengers for a day and a night while Rurales and detec tives searched -the train at several points along the' route. Just before the train reached the boundary line he crawled out of the basket and made bis presence known and was brought on to this city. ris for mayor in the recent campaign. I was one of the four. In last night's Item Mr. Gordon referred ' by various insinuations, ; to four attorneys who actively aided Harris, and bitterly as sailed the characters' of all four. Al though none of the Insinuation, so far as I am concerned,- were true in any manner, yet since it Is generally known I was one of the four attorneys whaf actively worked for Harris, and since Gordon referred to four attorneys, I thought I was entitled to an explanation by Mr. Gordon as to whetheror hot he intended any of his editorial to apply to me. I saw him this morning on Main street and told him what I have just told you, as the reason for asking an explanation, and asked htm if he intended any part of his editorial to apply to me, and if so. what tart I told him I wanted' no troubli, but that I wanted and was en titled to an explanation. He replied sneericgly, that -that was op to me. and I tould draw my own conclusions; I agaii asked him for an answer and he safJ I could draw my own infer ences. 1 The fight then followed. As I fiave stated, the entire editorial so far is I am concerned, was an absolute nd unqualified lie, ' malicious. and wholly uncalled for. It Is wholly wrong, and a thing not to be tolerated, that a man should be the subject of abuse b Mr. Gordon merely because he did I it support Mr. Gordon. I support. Ed Harris solely because believe tlm qualified for the place, because llllke him. and because he has long: boj my friend." . ,

WANTS

COMMISSION

Mrs. William Ann On Stage

New York, May 20. To provide for herself and two boys it was said today was the reason for the decision of Mrs. William -Annis, widow , of the; man slain by Capt. Peter Hains, to go on the stage " Mrs. Annis has signed a contract to appear, for one year in a musical act. She is to play the piano accompaniment ' Since the tragedy, Mrs. Annis, with her two children, has been living with her mother, Mrs Von Hunnerbern, at 50O West 13lHh street, i Mrs." Annis was out of town today, but her mother made the following statement : ; "The anxiety Jhe t has ,i undergone during the past few. months and the strain of the Hains trial would have completely wrecked the health of a less strong, self-reliant woman. It was not until Capt Hains was taken to Sing Sing that she began to think of the fu ture and how she was to provide for PHONE PATRONS HIGHLY PLEASED Federal Court Decision Means Good Long Distance Service Again.'LOCAL CONTRACTUS GOOD DECISION OF JUDGE TAYLOR IS SIMILAR TO THOSE RENDERED BY COURTS THROUGHOUT; THE ENTIRE COUNTRY.. . Patrons of the long . distance telephone are almost as' much pleased with the decision of Judge Taylor,' of the United States District court, at Cleveland, made yesterday, in which he- refused to sustain the United States Telephone company, in Its contention to make permanent an injunction against the Bell Telephone company. asz are the officials of the , local telephone companies. - 'Tne Richmond Home Telephone company, ' because ' It had a working agreement with the Bell com pany, was also affected, as a defendant in the suit. The United States company tried to have a temporary injunction made permanent to prevent the independent companies doing business with the Bell company, where it conflicted with the United States company's lines. Similar- contentions have been raised in other states and in each instance the courts have acted as Judge Taylor did. In fact the local; telephone officials have been satisfied that any other decision than that made by Judge Taylor, would have been an unjust decision. Local Contract Unaffected. Local patrons , of the long distance service will now have , the same privileges as they did before the United States company secured a temporary Injunction, last November. They can call up the Bell exchangee over their Home phone and talk, to any place in Ohio or Indiana, where the Bell company has an office, rf the Injunction had been made permanent, patrons of the Independent company would' have had to go to a Bell telephone booth or to the downtown office. , - ,. 1 .- The contract between the -United States Telephone company and . the Home Telephone company was not affected in the least by the iajaaoUon.

is Will Go To Earn Her Living

herself. I am sorry the report of her decision to go on the stage has become public, but now that it is out, I will state that even before the Hains trouble my daughter had an offer to go into vaudeville. "Some people may think my daughter is going on the stage because of the excitement of;' the life, but her friends know differently. She will go in the event she accepts an offer be cause she has better musical and artis tic than business ability. "The verdict in the Hains case was satisfactory to us, although I believe a life sentence should have been given, There wa&i great deafcmore iny dangh ter could have got into tne evidence If she had desired that would have shown motive other than that" which the Hains family put up, but it was such a terrible experience that she kept many things back she would have told had she been vindictive." THREE BRANCHES : OF ORDER UNITE Merger of the Independent , Order of Odd Fellows Ratified. ACTION AT INDIANAPOLIS GRAND LODGE APPROVES INCORPORATION OF INDIANA HOME ASSOCIATION AND PROVIDES FOR APPOINTMENTS. Indianapolis, May 20. The Grand Lodge, I. O. O. F. of Indiana, at its seventy-second semi-annual meeting which began yesterday, ratified the action of the Rebekah Assembly and the Grand Encampment by approving the proposed incorporation of the Indiana Odd Fellows Home Association to take into the association the three branches of the Indiana I. O. O. P. The home has been in charge of the Rebekahs heretofore. By the terms of the ratification, a board of control is to be appointed, to consist of a member each from the Rebekahs, the Grand Encampment and the Grand Lodge. The appointments will be made by the presiding officers of the three : branches within the next ten days. .The president of the Rebekahs is always an ex officio member of the board and its nominal head. Deputies Meet. ",SA meeting of the district grand deputies was held late yesterday, and it was decided not to elect officers until the fall meeting. H. J. McSheehy presided at yesterday's meeting and appointed Joseph De Hority of Elwood to serve out the term as secretary. The deputies were addressed by Grand Master H. M. Kean and Grand Secretary W. H. Leedy. -The sessions, morning and afternoon, yesterday were given over to the hearing of officers reports. No new officers will be elected at this meeting, but today, nominations will be made for the election to be held at the fall meeting. : The report of the Grand Lodge Hall Association shows that the fonrteenatory new building here Is about 90 per cent rented and paying a profit above all expenses of more than $20,000 a year. This surplus will be applied to the indebtedness of $591,000 in the form of first mortgage bonds

COMPANIES ARE

BIDDING LIVELY FOR A FRANCHISE Local Capitalists and the Schott Firm of Chicago Are Besieging the City Officials For Plum. RIVAL BIDDERS OFFER TO SHARE WITH CITY Local Firm Offered to Make a Flat Rate of Seventeen Cents Plans of Work Were Submitted. In order to reach some agreement and understanding, a conference waw held by the board of works. City At torney T. J. Study, the franchise com mittee of the city council and Mayor Schillinger, yesterday, afternoon, with a representative of the W. H. Schott Engineering Company of Chicago and a conference today with the represen tatlves- of the Central Engineering Company of Chicago. The former company represents its own Interests but the latter engineering company represented E. G. Hibberd and George H. Eggemeyer. The two companies desire' a franchise for a central hot water heating system. At the conference today Mr. Eggemeyer and Mr. Hibberd were present, as were also B. T. Gif ford, C. A. Gil ham, D. T. Wallace and J. E. Meyers, all of Chicago. They presented plans and specifications, of the routes which they desire to take in order to lay their mains over the city. A. franchise. which would be agreeable to the local promoters, was- also presented, and carefully considered by the officials. Offer 17 Cent Rate. In general -the proposition . offered by the local capitalists Is to" furnish hot water for heating purposes at flat rate of 17 cents per square foot of radiation, in every home in which the system is installed. The promoters agree to maintain a temperature of 72 degrees fahrenheit between Sep tember. 15 and May 25 and longer if the weather , warrants. The above charge is a minimum one and the promoters desire that a section be placed in the franchise Increasing the price one cent providing the cost of coal during any one year averages fl.60 per ton. The engineers main tain that the cost to the consumer should Increase if the price of coal raises a certain percent. . But the city officials are demanding that the company agree to furnish their pro duct at a flat rate of 17 cents, which shall be a maximum one. The promoters show signs of yielding to this point. City Demands Share. Whatever company gets the fran chise, It seems very probable that it will be compelled to give either a certain percent of the gross earnings, or 50 percent of the net earnings to the city. The Schott engineering company is willing to give 50 per cent of the gross earnings. The local firm has not as yet consented to this point Neither company wants to. give a pmall per cent of the gross earnings, because they claim it is poor finance and hinders the sale of bonds. Protection precautions will be taken by the city. The Hibberd-Eggemeyer company presented a plat showing the route de sired. The plant will be located near Twelfth and North E street and the main distributing lines will be on North and South A. streets, making a loop or belt Tributary mains will branch out from these distributing mains and cover all parts of the city, where there are enough customers to warrant the expenditure. The Schott plan is a little different No plans were presented by them. Its distributing mains will be on North A street exclusively, and the branch lines ra diate from this line. All branch lines will be placed In alleys, whenever possible. The city offldlala Insist that Main street be torn np in as few places as possible. Each company states it will cross Main street but three times. The local company agrees to main tain a temperature in the mains of 200 degrees Fahrenheit when It Is 20 degrees below aero outside. It first agreed to maintain a temperature of 180 degrees when the temperature outside was zero. However the Schott representative agreed to furnish hot water under, the first above mentioned conditions and the local men accepted this proposition. To Heat All Rooms. - . The local company desires to include all rooms generally used by the patron when it makes a contract to supply hot water. It will only consent not to Include such, rooms when they are very Infrequently used and of the nature of store rooms or the like. The other company, however, states that it will contract to heat any number of rooms in a residence providing the rooms not heated by their system are kept closed np. .-.

Ill SECRET SESSION Brewers From Over the State

Hold a Gum Shoe, . Meeting. PLAN OPTION CAMPAIGN? Indianapolis. Ind., May 20. Brewers from over the state held secret meet Ings here last night and today. Sev eral from Indianapolis were present and others, including Steve Fleming, Ft. Wayne, and Schellinger, of Kara Schellinger Brewing company South Bend. It is believed a meeting to plan the campaign against local option in. the big counties, including. Marion, Allen and St. Joseph, will be held. No information concerning the session can be gained.. BILL FAILED PASS Springfield, 111., May 30. The Wo man's Suffrage bill failed to pass the State Senate by one vote today SAILED FOB ROME New York, May 30. Archbishop Far ley, heading a party of seventy Catho lic priests and prelates and many lay men, sailed for Rome today to attend the jubilee celebration at the Ameri can college, Rome. A BIG LOSS SKOVVU Indianapolis, May 20. The total en umeration of he state with the excep tion of the city of Evansville is 531.962 persons. This shows a net. lost of 16,240 persons from last year's fig ures. ; ATTEMPT RESCUE PASSEHGEBS OFF ICE BOUND SHIP Today Coast Guards Make Gallant, But Fruitless Effor To Get to Inmates of the Liner Mongolian. ICEBERGS SURROUND HOLD IN FIRM GRIP Unless the Wind Dies Down I Is Thought That the Sides . Of the Ship Will Be Crushed By Jam. BULLETIN. St John's, N. F., May 20. This aft ernoon passengers on the Allan line steamer Mongolian which is caught in the ice a mile outside the harbor, began walking to the shore across the intervening fields of ice. Among the first five hundred passengers to leave were two women. It required one hour to walk to the shore from the vessel. The steamer Prospero tried to reach the Mongolian and was herself stuck In the ice. The Ice about Mon gollan threatens to do vital damage. St. John's. N. F., May 20. An at tempt to take off the. mail and 500 passengers of the Allen liner. Mongo lian failed todays Surrounded on every side by great masses of ice and Icebergs, gripped firmly In the tightening Ice floes with the wind blowing almost a gale toward the land, the liner, carrying passengers for Halifax and Philadelphia, lies almost helpless a mile outside the harbors. Unless the wind dies out the ship Is liable to be crushed by the Irresistible pressure of the Ice against her sides. . While the passengers are in peril, it Is possible for them to escape' over the Ice floes, should It be necessary to abandon the Wedged In The Ice. , The attempt to take off the St Johns mall and passengers today, was made by the Iceboat Prospere. which failed to reach the Mongolian and now Is wedged in the lee in the Narrows. The Mongolian met the first of the great fields of Ice just off this port Captain ' Williams endeavored so . far as possible- to shape his coarse in manner that would avoid contact with the floes. The ice, however, borne on the steady Labrador current had been dispersed, so that entire- freedom was impossible. The steamers prog' ress was fairly steady. - - - - The steamers efforts to ran : the blockade are believed to have Injured some of the bow plates, but a number of fishermen who managed to reach her side over the closely packed floes

CORONER FAILS

DETERMINE END Of UDER CASE Verdict File Today; Simply In Keeping With- Evidence Railsback'Shot "to Defend His Family. v - -a GRAND JURY CALLED T0Oresi-S:isjBiLi'nrJ v4 ndictn&nt Muster Deo ended Upon ioSTutate Degree of Blame Attached .to. Crime of Shooting;: ;;.V.V " That Joel RaiJsback. shot. Alexander and . Raymond Meek -in-defease -of mem bers of 'the Railsbadc family at whom the Meeks were shooting or aiming guns and as a consequence, to a more or less degree it was a case of justifi able homicide, is to be gained from the verdict of Coroner Allan Bramkamp, filed today, a ; . ; : The coroners verdict will have no influence in the ' disposal of the case by the courts. t Whatever litigation results, will follow from the investigation by the grand jury. The coroner does not settle the matter, but Is expected to prove a valuable aid to Railsback, when the case comes to trial. It will leave the question to confront the jury unsolved, snd difficult of solu tion, it will be the jury that determines whether, or not Railsbacks act was justified by the circumstances. 'Separate Verdicts. Separate verdicts as to the death off the Meeks were returned by the coro- -ner. He found that Alexander Meek came to his death from a shot wound of the head intentionally inflicted with a shotgun by Joel Rallsback. aftI.I JMU IIIVH 1 W Jl , . the father of Rallsback, and was ap. patently intending to fire again. n As diet says that death resulted from a gun shot wound of the neck intentionally inflicted with a shotgun by Joel Rallsback.' after, the deceased had shot Frank Rallsback, a brother of the slayer, and was in the act of pointing and apparently of firing his sun at Larkln Rallsback, another brother. , Evidence Lengthy. The evidence accompanying the cor oner's verdict, which was filed for the use of the grand jury, is somewhat lengthy. It is to be seen from the evidence that the Rallsback boys furnished the provocation Jor the fight by starting to remove the fence built by the Meeks on- land claimed by both families. The evidence shows that Raymond Meek was under provocation ' but not aggression on the part of the Railsbacks when he .'discharged the shotgun at Frank Otto Rallsback and immediately aimed the gun at Larkln. It is evidenced that Raymond had Intended to shoot by the fact one shell found in the gun- afterward had 'hot the first shot fired by Joel Rallsback was as he thought to save his brother Larkln. The second shot which was fired at Alexander Meek, was after the latter had discharged hi revolver in the direction of members of the Rallaback family, and was apparently engaged in repeating the act It Is clear ly apparent from the evidence, that Joel did his shooting in defense of members of the family, he. himself, not being under Are from the Meeks at any time. Larkin's Statement. Testimony taken by the coroner frotl Larkln Rallsback. was to the effect that Frank Rallsback. Jr.. the young man who- was wounded, was almost as a spectator In the fight. Frank had not wanted to go down with Joel and Larkln. when they left the house witi their axes. Larkln told the coroner that when the Meeks were seen coming across the field, Joel started for the house, saying. "Come on. boys, they've got guns and there's an use of our staying acre." vmrmxu. im rnu said they were on their own ground, so would not ran. Larkln said: "Whs Raymond palled' up his gun at my. neaa, i shuck lowmia uia bub wh m small ax." Frank Rarisback, Jr.. tea- -titled that when the Meeks arrived at IM place wild V inv mm in progress, Alexander Meek said:. v e II seiue uu Ming uj iw, mn told them to quit cutting. Frank said Raymond aimed at his head and he (Frank) says Raymond bad the aamvia mm Kjlr mwtA Ma Sum w the trigger. The other evidence obtained by the . coroner was as has been pabUabed. The case continues to attract into eat and as the coroner does not determln . the conclusion." no farther - develop meats sre to be expected, psafiss; faeT inc wcun.i rkW4-i. INOIANAPrvbabto

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