1911

HEY, WE’RE IN THE MOVIES

Jeff Elliott Leave a comment

What did the Wild West look like? If you went to the movies in 1911, it looked like Marin and Sonoma county.

For six months of that year, the Essanay Film Company based its west coast operations in San Rafael, filming in West Marin and southern Sonoma County, including Petaluma and Santa Rosa.

The company had been moving around the west since leaving Chicago in the autumn of 1910, filming its short cowboy movies in Colorado and California, mostly in the South Bay and the outskirts of Los Angeles. Pretty much any of those places would seem like a better location for a western than San Rafael but as silent film historian David Kiehn explains in his definitive reference, “Broncho Billy and the Essanay Film Company,” Marin offered reliably nice weather and had other appeals:

There was a valley with farmland and cattle ranches. The little nearby towns of San Anselmo and Fairfax gave the area a decided western flavor. A stagecoach still ran over the mountains on a dusty road from Fairfax to Bolinas…San Rafael, population 5000, had a lot going for it when Esaanay arrived on May 31, 1911.

(Digression: The whole notion of filming westerns in Marin reminds me of a memorable incident on Groucho Marx’s radio quiz show, “You Bet Your Life.” Before starting the quiz, Groucho would interview and banter with the contestants. Once a guest was a movie location scout for a major Hollywood studio and the man sounded boastful when describing his prowess in finding perfect settings around Southern California. Groucho asked for an example. “Why, San Juan Capistrano looks more like Italy than Italy does,” the man said with assurance. “Have you ever been to Italy?” Groucho asked. “Well, no.”)

The head of the company was Gilbert M. Anderson, who directed hundreds of these short westerns and starred in many as “Broncho Billy,” a character he had invented just a short time before arriving in the North Bay. Broncho Billy was the prototype for all the rootin’ tootin’ celluloid cowboys that came after him, yet with a range of roles that might be surprising; instead of always being the guy in the white hat with a toothy grin, sometimes Billy was a drunk, an outlaw or a man haunted by personal demons.

Anderson also directed modern-day comedies during his Marin stint, but he was better known for the action-filled cowboy adventures. Some members of his Essanay troupe were former cowpunchers and included an amazing stunt rider, who could “throw his horse down and, while still in the saddle, make the animal rise again,” according to researcher Kiehn. An actor was at risk of drowning when a horse kicked him in the chest during a river crossing scene but saved by an expertly-tossed lasso.

Much of the filming was done around Fairfax, which Anderson called “Snakeville” as per his usual fictional town setting. But in the week around Hallowe’en, the troupe traveled farther north to shoot scenes in Petaluma and Santa Rosa. In Petaluma the scenes involved a bank robbery, and Kiehn’s book includes two photos of the filming around the intersection of Main and Washington.

In Santa Rosa the shooting was for a comedy with a chase down Fourth street. The Press Democrat summarized the action:

The story photographed here was that of “Hank and Lank” stealing a horse and buggy where it was left in front of Jacob’s candy store while the owner went inside on business. There was the chase and capture of the thieves, a fight and the return of the rig to its owner. Later the rig was stolen again, after a fight with the owner, and the chase and capture by the police and the finale with the prisoners taken to jail.

Anderson usually worked locals into the storyline and here it was James W. Ramage, the PD’s circulation manager, “with his auto loaded with a bevy of handsome school girls,” and 16 year-old Margaret M. Hockin riding her horse. As the chase was proceeding down Fourth, an auto unexpectedly shot across the intersection at B street causing the young woman to quickly rein up her horse, which was then struck by the buggy following her. The horse was badly wounded in the collision but the girl was unhurt.

While in Santa Rosa, the Essanay players booked the big Columbia theater at Third and B streets and put on a play, “The Man From Mexico,” a farce that was popular on Broadway fifteen years earlier. The plot centered on a man nightclubbing while his wife is away; after being arrested in a police raid, he is sentenced to thirty days behind bars for drunkenly insulting a judge. To coverup his jail time he tells everyone that he is vacationing in Mexico and upon his release, spins a tangle of silly lies about life in that country (the Mexican currency was supposedly the “flempf,” as an example). It probably was a helluva lot funnier than it sounds, with Anderson starring as the lying husband. Both Santa Rosa papers gave the production raves, the Republican stating the audience was “in a state of uproarious laughter from start to finish.” The expensive tickets – with the best seats going for $1.00, about half the daily income of the average Santa Rosan – also probably paid for their excursion. The play was also performed in Petaluma.

A month later Anderson briefly moved the company to the San Diego area, then in the early spring of 1912 settled down in Niles (near the town of Fremont). Here Essanay built a studio and produced some of the best films of the era over the next four years, including Charlie Chaplin’s earliest classics. Today the town has a theater owned by the Niles Essanay Silent Film Museum, which still presents silent movie programs every Saturday night. It’s quite fun – you should go next weekend!

There’s also a Believe-it-or-Not! angle to Santa Rosa’s first brush with the movies; just days before Essanay arrived here, Francis Boggs was shot to death in Los Angeles. Born in Santa Rosa, Frank was introduced here earlier in a profile of his grandfather, memorable Sonoma County “pioneer” William Boggs. Francis and Gilbert were doppelgangers; both came to California at about the same time to make movies for Chicago-based studios (the Selig Polyscope Company, in Boggs’ case). Both were prolific actors/producers/directors and both are credited with “discovering” a major silent movie comedian: Boggs launched “Fatty” Arbuckle’s career and Anderson sent cross-eyed Ben Turpin on the way to slapstick stardom (he also was responsible for luring Chaplin to Essanay).

Frank Boggs’ obituary in the Santa Rosa Republican also solved a little mystery. In May of 1910 there was another film crew here shooting footage of Luther Burbank, the Rose Carnival parade and other notable sights. There was much excitement that a newsreel of Santa Rosa would be available and the Columbia theatre even ran an unprecedented “coming soon” advertisement. From the obit we learn that the filming was done under Boggs’ direction and was part of a much larger project commissioned by the Southern Pacific for promotional advertising.

Alas, Boggs’ film was ruined, either by mishandling or technical problems. The Essanay footage from Santa Rosa and Petaluma is lost as well, and may actually not have made it into finished releases – no titles listed in Kiehn’s catalog seem to describe the plots as we know them.

When Anderson left the North Bay his best years were still ahead of him, and had Boggs lived he surely would have developed into an important Hollywood player. And speaking of which, we might not have a Hollywood at all if not for Boggs; he convinced the reluctant Selig office in Chicago in 1909 that he should open up a satellite studio north of Los Angeles. Within a year of his death the area was the hub of West Coast film production.

SEE YOURSELF IN MOTION PICTURE
Essanay Film Company Will Take Pictures Here Next Week–Will Present Fine Show at Columbia

The Essanay Film Manufacturing Company that has been making motion pictures at San Rafael for the past three months will visit Santa Rosa next Tuesday and perform a play at the Columbia Theater.

All the favorite characters that have appeared in the Western releases of this particular concern in the past three months will appear in “The Man from Mexico” at the local theatre next week.

The company will bring a carload of scenery and all electrical effects for the production. [illegible microfilm] is all built at San Rafael, where the concern keeps a number of mechanics at work building set pieces for the new productions.

While here the company will take several motion pictures to give the public an opportunity of seeing how the pictures are made. If you chance to be on the street that day you may have the pleasure of seeing yourself in pictures. The pictures that will be taken here will show at the Columbia a few days later.

– Press Democrat, October 25, 1911

FRANK BOGGS SHOT TO DEATH
Former Santa Rosan Killed in South Friday

Frank W. Boggs, whose death was told in the dispatches from Los Angeles, published Friday afternoon in the REPUBLICAN, was a former Santa Rosan. He is a nephew of Professor and Mrs. Alex C. McMeans of this city and a brother of Miss Florence M. Boggs, superintendent of schools of Stanislaus county.

The former Santa Rosan was murdered by an insane Japanese at Edendale, where he was having a consultation with William C. Selig, president of the moving picture company which bears his name, and other members of the company which produce the pictures in southern California.

The murder was Frank Minnimatsu, a Japanese gardner at Edendale, where Boggs had erected a handsome studio for the purpose of taking the moving pictures. This place was surrounded by magnificent landscape gardens and one of the real show places of the southland.

Early in life Boggs evinced a liking and an aptitude for the stage and in Chicago he made good on his chosen profession. He became manager for the Selig people in the Los Angeles vicinity and later was given charge of the Pacific Coast for the firm. He was singularly successful in handling the affairs of the company on this coast and recently Mr. Selig presented him with a splendid touring car for his personal use, in addition to one which the company maintained for business purposes.

The last time Mr. Boggs was in this city he came with three men from Los Angeles to secure moving pictures of the Rose Carnival and of Burbank’s Experimental Farm here. The films were spoiled in the manufacture after they had been taken and could not be shown. It was planned to take another set at some future time….

…Santa Rosans who knew the deceased are shocked at the tragic manner of his death. The Japanese, who had been discharged by Boggs, is believed to have gone suddenly insane. Selig, who was wounded, had a bone broken in one arm and was shot in the head, the latter being more of a scalp wound than anything else. He will recover.

– Santa Rosa Republican, October 28, 1911
PHOTOPLAY HAS PLOT LAID HERE
Daring Robbery of Horse and Rig on Fourth Street–Capture of the Thief–The Chase

The Essanay Moving Picture Company spent yesterday in Santa Rosa [illegible microfilm] During the afternoon they gave an exhibition of the method used in getting moving pictures for use in the thousands of moving picture houses throughout the country. The work was watched by a great crowd of people.

The Essanay Company keeps a company of thirty five well trained actors and photographers at San Rafael where the ball park has been fitted up as a studio for a setting, and where hundreds of scenes are enacted to be photographed and made into moving pictures. The company had a days’ outing coming here, but at the same time pictures were taken for a 500-foot reel.

The story photographed here was that of “Hank and Lank” stealing a horse and buggy where it was left in front of Jacob’s candy store while the owner went inside on business. There was the chase and capture of the thieves, a fight and the return of the rig to its owner. Later the rig was stolen again, after a fight with the owner, and the chase and capture by the police and the finale with the prisoners taken to jail.

The method of work is to take a picture of one incident at a time, and in any order of the chain of events which make up the whole of the story. Later these are developed, the films cut into sections and made up into one complete reel. The picture taken here yesterday will be released in about six weeks by the company and will be shown in one of the local playhouses, the Theaterette or Columbia.

In the chase after the stolen rig, Miss Margaret Hockin, mounted on her handsome bay horse was taken in the [illegible microfilm] W. Ramage, with his auto loaded with a bevy of handsome school girls, was also a part of the crowd taken as well as a number of other local people. They will no doubt be shown plainly in the moving pictures. An automobile which broke into the procession as it raced before the moving [illegible microfilm] B and Fourth street, caused Miss Hockin to rein up suddenly and a buggy following closely behind collided with her horse, forcing the point of the shaft into his flank, making a bad wound. Miss Hockin escaped unhurt.

– Press Democrat, November 1, 1911

PICTURES OF ROSE CARNIVAL RUINED

Owing to some defect in the film the pictures that were taken here during the Rose Carnival were ruined along with about fifty thousand feet of film of views for the Southern Pacific for advertising purposes. The men came all the way from Los Angeles to take the pictures and it will be a big loss to the company. Among the carnival pictures were a number of Burbank views, and it meant much to this part of the state to have those pictures go on the circuit. It was through the efforts of the Chamber of Commerce that the men were induced to come here, and the loss will fall heavily on the Moving picture men.

– Santa Rosa Republican, November 8, 1910

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THE DUMBEST CRIMINALS, PART II

Jeff Elliott Leave a comment

The would-be crooks and conmen of 1911 Santa Rosa and vicinity weren’t as criminally stupid as the 1909 crew (see part I), but good gravy, it’s still hard to believe anyone actually expected some of these schemes to work.

Start with the guy who wandered around the rural Todd district begging for handouts and pretending to be “deaf and dumb” (an offensive term today, but commonly used at that time). He approached a farmer named Wilson who thought the man was “drunk as a lord” and refused to give him money. “The residents of Todd district are a sober and energetic people,” sermonized the Santa Rosa Republican, “and they do not permit drunkenness to flourish in their midst, or encourage men in making beasts of themselves.”

Farmer Wilson watched the man as he stumbled next door to pester Wilson’s neighbor, then return to his place. “Wilson locked the door, and when the supposed deaf and dumb individual reached the door and discovered it was locked he remarked in good loud tones, ‘They won’t open the door,'” the Republican reported. His fraud exposed, Wilson “forcibly ejected the man from his premises.”

Apparently Wilson or another neighbor called the sheriff. Meanwhile, the man tried his story on a farmer named Nobles, who believed it and invited him in for dinner. While the guy was eating he overheard Nobles speaking on the phone with a neighbor and deduced the cops were coming. He started to leave and when Nobles tried to detain him, the man pulled out a razor and threatened the farmer. A deputy and policeman soon arrived and arrested him.

Faking deafness was an old scam even then and this fellow was a professional, insomuch as he was handing out printed cards. Less prepared were the three men arrested a few months later in Glen Ellen, who were all likewise passing themselves off as deaf with each carrying only a written note stating, “I present this as an explanation of my condition, having met with an accident caused by a gasoline explosion. This subjects me to epileptic fits and I have lost the use of my left arm.” It’s nuts for them all to claim to have the same infirmities but the explosion part of the story was a nice touch, as autos were still rare enough for most people to know only about gasoline’s volatile reputation.

But here’s the other interesting thing about our Todd road rambler: We can’t be sure about his name. He was James Mackay according to the Press Democrat and William Murray in the Republican paper. Such indifference to accuracy is a common thread in many of these stories; the papers just didn’t care about getting details right about these petty criminals. After all, Mr. Mackay/Murray probably wasn’t going to subscribe or take out an ad.

Editors loved to pump sensationalist angles in these little crime stories, however: “When Nobles sought to detain him, Murray drew his razor from his pocket and made a swipe at Nobles’ throat,” the Republican gasped. Another example is found in a story with the headline, “Hypnotized Woman and she Signed Checks,” where the PD reported “Arthur Freeh, a vaudeville actor from San Francisco…is charged that he hypnotized Mrs. Charles Weyhe, a daughter-in-law of the family he was visiting, and had her draw a number of checks…” Articles about Svengali-like masters of hypnosis forcing people to act against their will were staples in the yellow press during that decade, so it wasn’t a great surprise for readers to learn a woman in Forestville had been wrongly mesmerized.

When the case came to court, however, the details were anti-climactic. The “hypnotist” was 19 year-old Arthur Freeh (misspelled “Free” in the later article) who stupidly stole a check from his aunt and forged her signature. He was given five years probation, but not before the judge told him that he was a lousy dancer and should find an honest line of work. Lacking the spooky hypnosis angle but still hoping to milk a bit more out of the story, the PD headline this time was, “Told to Avoid Buck and Wing” (a kind of tap dancing sometimes called the “soft shoe”).

That story was unusual in that we learned its outcome (and that was probably only because the judge made the funny remark about the young man’s lack of talent); most of the crimes described here were misdemeanors, and the papers usually didn’t waste the ink. But a serious crime was committed by one of these characters who had a Santa Rosa connection – yet the local newspapers didn’t report anything about it.

Readers of the Press Democrat that summer saw a large graphic ad from “Professor” Russell De Sang, “clairvoyant and palmist” (shown at right). Hucksters like him blew into Santa Rosa fairly often, but advertised only in two-line classifieds; the last “psychic” to buy expensive newspaper ads here was a palm reader back in 1908.

From Santa Rosa, De Sang went to Ukiah with his buddy, W. H. Peterson. Within a week, the pair were arrested and charged with rape. A search for a “feeble minded” teenager led to the men’s hotel room, where the girl was found “in a half nude condition,” according to the Ukiah Democrat. Furthermore, the arresting constable told the paper he believed “the men are emissaries of the white slave traffic, and their sole purpose while here was to lead young girls to ruin.”

If statutory rape wasn’t newsworthy enough, the “white slave” angle should have captured the attention of the Santa Rosa papers – as discussed here earlier, the U.S. was gripped with “white slavery” hysteria in the 1910s. De Sang had just come from Santa Rosa where he apparently saw many people (the Ukiah paper, which did not run his ad, mentioned there he was “doing a good business with the gullible public”). Considering his recent visit and the sensational nature of the accusations, why didn’t either Santa Rosa paper mention anything about De Sang’s troubles? This might be another example of the PD censoring negative stories about its advertisers, which was shown most infamously the year before in the situation of the “Great Fer-Don,” a medical con man.

De Sang and his pal were released and not charged for lack of evidence, but he was in trouble again a few weeks later. The Ukiah papers kept track of his misdeeds but the Santa Rosa papers continued silence. The nature of his crime is typically fuzzy; in Eureka he robbed “a Finnish domestic” out of $700 (Ukiah Democrat) or “a poor servant girl” out of $800 (Ukiah Republican) or “two girls out of $1,700” (San Francisco Call). He supposedly hired a car to hustle him down to San Francisco, where he stiffed the driver out of his $200 fare. Later he was arrested in Oklahoma and extradited back to Eureka, but there the trail ends – Eureka newspapers from that era are not available.

The other dumb criminals of 1911 were less sensational. A pair of men claimed to be collecting farm information for the upcoming San Francisco exposition and tried to slip a promissory note for $100 among papers a farmer was asked to sign. Then the Press Democrat reprinted an item from a Sacramento paper that W. E. Nichols, a local builder and cement contractor (you can still see his name stamped into many sidewalks around Santa Rosa) was conned out of $500 in a “fake gas-lighting scheme.” Given that electricity was pretty widely available by then, it’s hard to imagine why he thought any gaslight business could be profitable. But then again, Nichols was the same man who placed an unusual ad in the papers after the Great Earthquake, announcing that he was “open to any kind of legitimate business proposition.” No sweeter words has a con artist ever heard.

DREW RAZOR ON W. S. NOBLES
Mendicant Objects When Alms Were Not Given

A man pretending to be deaf and dumb, and much the worse for liquor, ran amuck in the Todd district Thursday afternoon. He drew a razor on W. S. Nobles there and threatened to do bodily harm to that gentleman. He had just previously been forcibly ejected from the ranch of Frank W. Wilson, and strange to say, even with the rough handling to which he was subject there, he did not draw his weapon or make any threats.

Fortunately, Mr. Wilson was at home when the man called. On his first visit the apparently deaf and dumb man, who was as drunk as a lord, to use the expression of Mr. Wilson. He produced a card asking alms, but his condition did not prepossess Mr. Wilson with the idea that the mendicant was a subject for alms and he refused.

As the mendicant wandered down the road he was seen to enter the residence of Mr. Wilson’s neighbor, but he was not permitted to tarry long. The residents of Todd district are a sober and energetic people, and they do not permit drunkenness to flourish in their midst, or encourage men in making beasts of themselves.

After dinner, the mendicant returned to the Wilson residence, and Mr. Wilson, who was at home, saw the fellow wander up the walk. Wilson locked the door, and when the supposed deaf and dumb individual reached the door and discovered it was locked he remarked in good loud tones, “They won’t open the door.” After he had remained a brief time Mr. Wilson took the fellow and threw him off the premises through the front gate and told him to hike.

The mendicant went to the Nobles place and drew the razor, at the same time threatening violence. The officers here were notified earlier in the day that the man was in Todd district and badly intoxicated and they were requested to come out and take him into custody. No officer appeared for hours, and in the meantime, the belligerent nature of the man asserted itself and he would have used his razor had the opportunity presented itself.

– Santa Rosa Republican, March 11, 1911

MUTE WHO TALKED IS LOCKED UP

James Mackay was arrested in the Todd district Thursday afternoon by Deputy Sheriff Don McIntosh and Constable John W. Pemberton, who were summoned there by telephone. Mackay had been begging as a deaf and dumb man and making himself very much of a nuisance. When he finally threatened to assault W. S. Nobles and displayed a razor and so far forgot his part as a mute as to talk, it was considered time to call the officers. A quick response was made and the man is now in jail awaiting sentence.

– Press Democrat, March 11, 1911

DEAF MUTE WAS A FAKE
William Murray Must Answer to Serious Charge

William Murray, the man who acted as a deaf and dumb man recently in Todd district, and later uttered some articulate words and gave evidence of his hearing abilities being unimpaired, will be tried on a serious offense.

Murray frightened some of the residents of Todd district badly when he appeared there last Friday in a drunken condition, made known his wants of alms by passing cards to the residents he could reach, and would up by flourishing a razor at the throat of W. S. Nobles.

Nobles is expected to come in from his ranch and swear to the warrant this afternoon. At the residence of Mr. And Mrs. Frank W. Wilson, the man found the door locked and he remarked, quite plainly: “They won’t open the door.” After Wilson had forcibly ejected the man from his premises he visited other places, and wound up at the Nobles ranch.

Mr. Nobles was having a meal prepared for the vistor, whom he believed to be an unfortunate bereft of speech and hearing, and in the meantime went to his telephone and talked with some of his neighbors regarding the actions of the man. The officers here had been notified to come and arrest Murray, and Nobles was trying to keep him at the ranch pending the arrival of the officers.

When Murray had listened to Nobles discussing his antics in the neighborhood over the phone he became nervous, and started to leave when his arrest was mentioned by Nobles. When Nobles sought to detain him, Murray drew his razor from his pocket and made a swipe at Nobles’ throat.

– Santa Rosa Republican, March 14, 1911

HYPNOTIZED WOMAN AND SHE SIGNED CHECKS

Arthur Freeh, a vaudeville actor from San Francisco, who has been visiting with relatives on the Weyhe ranch in the Forestville section, has been placed under arrest, charged with forgery.

It is charged that he hypnotized Mrs. Charles Weyhe, a daughter-in-law of the family he was visiting, and had her draw a number of checks, one of which he took and forging a signature, passed it in Sebastopol in payment for a suit of clothing and other articles he required.

– Press Democrat, April 6, 1911
TOLD TO AVOID BUCK AND WING
Young Vaudeville Actor is Told to Behave Himself When Admitted to Probation Monday

“My advice to you is that you cut out this buck and wing dancing. There is nothing to it. It does not appear that you have been able to make a success of it and compete with artists who are naturally gifted. You are going to be given a chance to demonstrate what you can do to make a man of yourself.”

Judge Emmet Seawell, in submitting Arthur Free to probation, gave him some good advice on Monday morning. The youth was charged with forging a check for fifty dollars, to which he signed the name of his aunt, Mrs. Weyhe of Forestville. On Monday morning he withdrew his plea of “not guilty” and entered one of “guilty.”

District Attorney Lea told the Court that he thought this was a case in which the accused might be placed on probation and that Mrs. Weyhe desired that this course be pursued.

Judge Seawell suspended sentence for five years and admonished Free to avoid evil companionship and seek the paths of rectitude. He will report regularly to County Probation Officer John P. Plover.

– Press Democrat, August 1, 1911

DEFRAUDS W. E. NICHOLS OF $500
Former Santa Rosa Contractor Victimized by Snyder in Fake Gaslighting Invention

A dispatch from Sacramento has this to say regarding W. E. Nichols, a former well known Santa Rosa contractor:

“Sacramento, June 8–Governor Johnson today issued a requisition on the governor of Oregon for the return of M. M. Snyder, wanted in San Francisco on a charge of defrauding W. E. Nichols of Santa Rosa out of $500 in a fake gas-lighting scheme.”

– Press Democrat, June 10, 1911

VICTIMIZING THE FARMERS
Smooth Strangers Working in Rural Sections

Two smooth individuals have recently endeavored to victimize farmers in the vicinity of Healdsburg and residents of the rural sections should take warning by the experience of others. Word from Healdsburg is to the effect that a couple of genteel appearing men have recently been “working” that section of the county.

Their modus operandi is that one of the strangers calls on a farmer, representing that he is securing “data” for the big fair to be held in San Francisco in 1915. He questions the farmer closely regarding the acreage of his property, products of the ranch, family history and other things, and notes replies on paper which he carries. Later the second stranger appears ostensibly seeking to verify the information secured by the first stranger.

On the pretext of confirming the information authoritatively, the unsuspecting farmer is asked to affix his signature.

One cautious farmer, on reading the document he was requested to sign to “confirm the information authoritatively,” discovered that the “information” contained a promissory note for one hundred dollars. It is a good rule for everyone to refrain from signing any papers until they are absolutely certain of what they contain.

– Santa Rosa Republican, June 10, 1911

ARRESTED AT GLEN ELLEN
Three Men Passing Themselves for Deaf and Dumb

Three men, Frank Perry, B. R. Vickers and James Boyde, are now lodged in the county jail, who were arrested at Glen Ellen on Tuesday for passing themselves off as deaf and dumb. Each carried a writing pad, and when they met any one would present this pad with the following. “I present this as an explanation of my condition, having met with an accident caused by a gasoline explosion. This subjects me to epileptic fits and I have lost the use of my left arm.” They also carried pieces of slate upon which they wrote.

They are believed to be ex-convicts and they have been photographed and their pictures sent to the the prisons to be identified.

They carry nothing with them in the way of blankets or clothing and were picked up at Glen Ellen. The authorities believe that they are not deaf and dumb, and are well able to earn a living, and have been begging from place to place using this means of gaining money.

– Santa Rosa Republican, July 26, 1911

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LAWYER ARGUES AGAINST SELF IN COURT, LOSES

Jeff Elliott Leave a comment

Congratulations, Attorney Allison Ware, the judge ruled in your favor over Attorney Allison Ware, whose pettifogging argument reveals him to be utterly incompetent.

It’s too bad Robert Ripley was still years away from starting his Believe It or Not! column; he would have loved this 1911 situation in his hometown of Santa Rosa, where the same lawyer represented the plaintiff in one case and the defendant in another, with the same legal question pivotal in both cases. No matter how the court ruled, Attorney Ware would probably win one of the cases and lose the other. And this crazy, double-edged sword of a situation didn’t happen in different places and different times – Ware was asking for a decision from a judge at the same hearing, simultaneously arguing for and against the same point. This was a man who could obviously walk and chew gum at the same time, and probably whistle as well.

One case involved the late Pincus Levin, who was a partner in the Levin Brothers Tannery, Santa Rosa’s largest employer at the time. Levin died in a spectacular Marin county train crash in August, 1910, when twelve were killed as steam locomotives collided head-on. “The two engines reared into the air and locked themselves in deadly embrace,” reported The Press Democrat luridly. The Levin family sued the railroad for $25,000, and Ware was their lawyer.

The other case was a suit over the wrongful death of a Chinese-American man named Young Chow, who was struck by an automobile and killed at “Gwynn’s Corners”, which was the intersection of Old Redwood Highway and Mark West. His family filed suit against the driver of the car for $5,000 and Ware represented the driver.

Here’s the legal issue that was being asked: Could a lawsuit on behalf of a “non-resident alien” be filed in California? Young Chow’s beneficiaries were to be his wife and two children in China. Pincus Levin, an unmarried 28 year-old Russian-Pole who had emigrated to America ten years earlier, presumably named his parents or other relatives in the old country.

The question was pretty much a Constitution 101 no-brainer: All that mattered was that the wrongful deaths occurred within the United States. The 5th amendment guarantees “no person shall…be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law” and the 14th Amendment further emphasizes due process is not restricted to just U.S. citizens: “Nor shall any State…deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.” The Constitution didn’t care that neither Pincus Levin and Young Chow were citizens, and didn’t care where any award for damages would be going. Even Chinese immigrants, who endured all manner of legal discrimination otherwise, were specifically guaranteed equal protection under the 14th Amendment by a landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision, Yick Wo v. Hopkins (1886).

Thus Ware and the other lawyers went before a Superior Court judge in San Francisco and were told that no, you can’t throw out a case just because the money would be going to China or Poland or wherever. It was a victory for Ware in the railroad lawsuit and a setback for Ware in the automobile lawsuit.

Curiously, no newspaper editorialized about how damned odd it was for Ware to show up at a court hearing wearing two hats. The Press Democrat mentioned it in passing and implied Ware felt the railroad was making a Hail Mary Pass by raising the issue but appended the automobile suit to the motion because it couldn’t hurt so why the hell not:

“Attorney Ware thought at the time there was no merit in the contention and that he could easily defeat such a proposition of law. However, he brought forward the same point in the suit of the Chinese administrator against Charles Patchett of Healdsburg. This was done in order that if the point was sustained in the court by Judge Hunt that it could be taken advantage of in the court here.”

How did these lawsuits end? Nothing more about the Levin case appeared in the papers, so it was presumably settled out of court quickly after the judge’s ruling. The railroad had no other defense; the coroner’s jury had already decided the railway was guilty of gross negligence. There is a footnote to the story, however. Levin was on the train because he had just obtained $6,000 (about $150,000 today) in “negotiable paper” from a San Francisco bank and the document wasn’t among his remains. The newspapers never explained exactly what it was – most likely some sort of bonds – but press coverage invariably mentioned it “could be cashed by anyone.” Some historians have since claimed it was never found, but that’s not true; a man on the wreck clean-up crew picked it up from the ground but didn’t understand what it was, and once he realized it was valuable, promptly turned it over to the bank.

The Young Chow case went to trial, but not before Attorney Ware filed a motion claiming the victim caused the fatal accident by turning his bicycle into the path of the car. (This was not the first auto fatality in the Santa Rosa area; the previous year a nine-year old boy was run over at the corner of Third and B and the coroner’s jury found the child was at fault for dashing in front of the car without looking.)

The jury decided in favor of the plaintiff, awarding Young Chow’s heirs $2,500. (Did it help that the lawyers for Chow made sure no juror owned an automobile?) The jury also found the driver was negligent in going too fast and lied about tooting his horn as a warning. There’s a footnote to this story as well: Young Chow was killed when he was bicycling back to Santa Rosa from the ranch of Harrison Finley, the grandfather of Helen Finley Comstock. Long-time readers of this journal may recall that Mr. Finley had his own dangerous encounter with an auto in 1908, when a driver crashed into a wagon carrying him and most of his family. After this death of his employee, Harrison Finley had another reason to be distrustful of the new horseless contraptions.

The final score for Attorney Allison B. Ware was 1-1, winning the Levin case and losing the Young Chow judgement. These were among his final appearances in court; he was 64 and would live about another three years. His son Wallace later wrote an autobiography titled “The Unforgettables” that recalled his father as a jovial man with a talent for persuasion. He arrived in San Francisco in 1855 and later told his children it was then a “fecund mulching bed of frolicsome fillies and gay Lotharios.” His first job, at age 18, was running a school for incorrigible youths. He succeeded by appointing six of the toughest guys to be “captains,” ordering them to disarm their fellow hoodlums and keep them in line. In exchange he promised the boys a night off every week that would wrap up with an expenses-paid visit to “a friendly resort, where the ladies are always pliant, gracious, sweet, smiling and co-operative.”

Ware eventually became the Sonoma County District Attorney, settling down with his family of six children at 1041 College Avenue, calling their home the “Ware Hatchery.” It was one of the few residences seriously damaged in the 1906 earthquake (pictures and a story here) but they rebuilt at the same location. He loved kids, hosting neighborhood spelling bees and awarding jelly bean prizes. In 1904 the family threw a birthday party for daughter Mabel where the highlight was a guessing game with the mesmerizing question, “How old is Mr. Ware?” Only a very persuasive lawyer could pull that off as children’s party entertainment.

CHINESE IS KILLED BY AUTO
Hurled in Air by Impact and Run Over by Machine

A Chinese employed on the Harrison Finley hop ranch, on the Mark West road, just off the main Healdsburg road, was struck by an automobile on Friday afternoon. The accident occurred near Gwynn’s Corners, and the Chinese was so badly injured that he passed away in a couple of hours. The dead man was riding a bicycle at the time of the accident, and must have become confused or attempted to cross the road in front of the rapidly approaching automobile.

When the auto struck the man he was hurled some distance in the air, and fell directly in front of the machine. The heavy automobile then ran over the Chinese and mashed him considerably. The injured man was carried into a near-by residence by those in the auto and Dr. R. M. Bonar was summoned to attend him. From the first it was seen that injured man could not survive and Dr. Bonar did all he could to relieve his sufferings.

The name of the driver of the auto which struck the Chinese was not learned. On Saturday morning Undertaker Wilson C. Smith went out to the residence where the Chinese passed away and brought the remains to this city.

– Santa Rosa Republican, April 22, 1911
SMALL ESTATE OF CHINAMAN
Young Chow Left Fifty Dollars for Relatives Who Reside in the Chinese Empire

The first petition in a long time in the estate of a deceased Chinaman was filed on Thursday in the matter of the estate of Young Chow. Chow did not die possessed of much of this world’s goods. He left some cash and personal property valued at fifty dollars. Young Yup is the petitioner, and the petition sets forth that the next of the kin of the deceased are Joe Shee, his wife, and two children in Pong Woo, China. Attorney R. L. Thompson is the attorney for the estate.

– Press Democrat, June 19, 1911
SUES FOR $5,000 FOR DEATH OF CHINAMAN

The predicted damage suit growing out of the killing by an automobile of Young Chow, a Chinaman, by Charles Patchett, on the Healdsburg road near Gwynn’s Corners, some two months ago, was commenced in the Superior Court yesterday by Young Yup, who has been named administrator of the Chow estate. Attorney R. L. Thompson represents the plaintiff. The dead man has a wife and two children in China and the suit in their interest. It is charged in the complaint that Patchett was driving his automobile in a fast and reckless manner at the time he struck Chow, who only loved a short time after the accident. The defendant is charged with carelessness and negligence. At the  time of the accident Chow was riding a bicycle.

At the conclusion of the testimony the Court took the matter under advisement and it stands submitted.

– Press Democrat, June 21, 1911
CAN NON-RESIDENT ALIEN PROSECUTE A SUIT HERE?
New Point Raised in Court Here on Monday

Can a non-resident alien prosecute an action in the courts of California?

This is a new question urged in Judge Seawell’s department of the Superior Court here Monday morning by Attorney Allison R. Ware in the suit for $5,000 damaged brought by Young Lup, a Chinaman as the administrator of the estate of Young Chow, also a Celestial, who was run down and killed while riding a bicycle on the Healdsburg road near Gwynn’s Corners. Charles H. Patchett, who was riding in the automobile is the defendant, and negligence is charged against him by the plaintiff.

J. M. Thompson and Rolfe L. Thompson represent the plaintiff and Allison B. Ware is counsel for the defendant. The case came up on argument Monday morning, and Mr. Ware claimed that a non-resident man cannot maintain a suit in the courts in this state. The suit is brought in behalf of Chow’s relatives in China. A similar point is being made by the Northwestern Pacific railroad in answering the suit for damages brought by the late Pincus Levin, who was killed in the railroad wreck at Ignacio where a number of persons lost their lives some time since.

Judge Seawell took the matter under advisement and his decision is awaited with considerable interest.

– Press Democrat, June 26, 1911

NON-RESIDENT CAN BRING SUIT
Attorneys Ware and Berry Win in San Francisco

Attorney Allison B. Ware and Jos. P. Berry won an important legal decision in San Francisco on Friday when they presented an elaborate argument to Judge Hunt of the superior court there, on the question as to whether a non-resident alien can bring and maintain an action in the courts.

The local attorneys represent Nate Levin, who as administrator of the estate of the late Pincus Levin, has sued the Northwestern Pacific railroad for damages. The suit grows out of the collision at Ignacio in which Levin and others were instantly killed.

Judge Hunt made the ruling direct from the bench that a non-resident could maintain an action in the courts and this establishes the standing of Mr. Levin at once.

The point was brought up by the attorneys for the railroad in this suit and Attorney Ware thought at the time there was no merit in the contention and that he could easily defeat such a proposition of law. However, he brought forward the same point in the suit of the Chinese administrator against Charles Patchett of Healdsburg. This was done in order that if the point was sustained in the court by Judge Hunt that it could be taken advantage of in the court here.

Judge Hunt has consented to hear the case of Levin against the railroad in Marin county, but the preliminary argument on the demurrer was made in the court at San Francisco on Friday. Attorneys Ware and Berry feel much elated at this victory.

– Santa Rosa Republican, June 30, 1911

CLAIM CHINAMAN WAS TO BLAME FOR DEATH

In an answer filed in the office of County Clerk William W. Felt, Jr., on Monday, in the suit of Young Yup, administrator of the estate of Young Chow, against Charles Patchett. It is claimed that Young Lup [sic] was responsible for the accident that caused his death. The Chinese was killed in a collision with Patchett’s automobile near Gwynn’s Corners last summer, and the answer sets up that the negligence of the Chinese in turning to the left side of the road instead of to the right side, was responsible for the collision. Attorneys Allison B. Ware and Phil Ware represent the defendant.

– Santa Rosa Republican, October 10, 1911

AUTOMOBILISTS ARE NOT WANTED ON JURY

Owners of automobiles were not wanted on the jury now trying toe damage suit of Young Lup vs. C. H. Patchett. During the examination of talesmen in Judge Seawell’s Department of the Superior Court here yesterday, counsel for the plaintiff queried each man as to whether he was the owner of automobiles were excused. An automobile figures prominently in this case, as the plaintiff appears as representative of the heirs of Young Chow, a Chinese, who was killed by an automobile on the Healdsburg road near Gwynn’s Corners.

– Press Democrat, January 10, 1912

$2,500 DAMAGES AWARDED FOR DEATH OF CHINAMAN
Plaintiff Wins in Trial In Judge Seawell’s Court

Charles H. Patchett, the defendant was the last witness called in the suit brought against him by Young Lup, administrator of the estate of Young Chow, claiming $5,000 damages for the death of Chow by alleged carelessness of the defendant while driving his automobile on the Healdsburg road near Gwynn’s Corners.

Mr. Patchett testified, as did other witnesses on the previous day, that he was driving carefully at the time, that he sounded his horn a number of times and also shouted to the Chinaman before the accident happened. He claimed that the Chinaman, who was riding a bicycle, turned from the track in which he was riding on the road and swerved in front of the auto. Mr. Patchett claimed the accident was unavoidable. There was some conflict of testimony as to the speed at which the automobile was being driven at the time of the collision, but Patchett maintained that he had slowed down at the time he attempted to pass the Chinaman.

Attorney Allison B. Ware, with whom was associated Phil Ware for the defendant, took the witness through a very careful examination, as did Attorney Rolfe L. Thompson, for the plaintiff, when he took hold of the witness.

Before the noon adjournment Attorney Thompson had made his opening arguments to the jury, claiming that Patchett had been negligent and that the accident could have been avoided. Counsel made a strong speech.

When court resumed in the afternoon Attorney Allison B. Ware argued the case to the jury for the side of the defendant, making a powerful case of the facts and evidence adduced and denying any negligence of carelessness on the part of Mr. Patchett.

Attorney Thompson replied to the argument of counsel for the defense in another strong speech to the jury. Judge Seawell then delivered his charge to the jury.

The jury retired to consider the verdict shortly before five o’clock. At six o’clock they were taken to “Little Pete’s” restaurant for supper in charge of Deputy Sheriff Donald McIntosh and returned shortly after seven. It was nine o’clock before they had agreed upon a verdict.

The jury found for the plaintiff in the sum of $2,500 and also answered the following special interrogatories submitted:

Was the defendant riding at a rapid rate of speed at the time of the accident? –Yes.

Did the defendant operate and manage the automobile in a negligent and careless manner at the time of and immediately prior to the said accident? –Yes.

Did the defendant cause the said automobile to slow up and lessen the speed thereof? –Yes.

Did the defendant sound the automobile horn and warn Young Chow in a timely manner? –No.

Did Young Chow, by his own negligence, contribute proximately to the resulting in life death? –No.

Did Young Chow, plaintiff intestate, when the defendant was approaching on the left side of the road in the automobile, carelessly and negligently drive the bicycle on which said young Chow was riding in front of the said automobile on the left hand side of the road? –No.

Counsel for the defense have asked for a stay of execution for thirty days. It is expected that a motion for a new trial will be made.

– Press Democrat, January 12, 1912

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