The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1895-11-20

Colima when she went down near Man.
zanillo last May, and was lost. She
struggled braveIy for life for two hours on
boat which capsized several times, and
finally being struck by pieces of timber
she sank beneath the waves. In the same
boat were Prof. Harold Whiting and A. J.
Sutherland.
Isson;s story is that Ssierlen wrote un-
publishable letters to Mrs. 1sson, anony-
mously, addressing them to "Mrs. w. G.
Steele" Tapachula, Mexico. According
to his statement he went down to Tapa-
chula, which is a small place in the ex-
IRENE south of Mexico, to better his con-
ditlon last September his wife following
him later. She returned to San Francisco
in March, leaving the port of San Bento
ON the steamer Barracuda, March II.
Soon after she left Tapachula, he says, he
received five letters there in quick success
sion addressed Mrs. w. G. Steele"
Seeing the imprint of the Fairmount
Hotel on the envelopes and knowing that
his prother-ir law lived at that hotel he
became suspicious and tore them open.
From that circumstance arose his suit
for $50, 900 against Stierlen for alternating
the affections of Mrs. Isson, which was
tried in Superior Judge Sandersons de-
partment two weeks ago and failed, the
jury returning verdict for the defendant.
Judge Sanderson would not admit the
letters as evidence, because he said they
were unfit and had been written by a
very foolish man to a very foolish
woman"
This suit he began in July, but two days
after filing the complaint. he says, he went
to Messrs. Erwin and Foote and endeav-
ored to have Stierlen prosecuted for violat-
ing the postal laws. Mr.. Foote said at
the time nothing could be done in view of
the decision two years ago or Judge Nor
- ba nit rot in,
the Wilson case, and advised Isson to wait
until the United States Supreme Court de
cided an appeal from the Southern District
of California on the same question.
Judge Morrow's decision was based on
his construction of the words "every OBJ
scene, lewd or lascivious book, pamphlet,
picture, paper letter, writing, print, or
other publication" in section 1888 of the
Revised Statutes, the Judge holding that
the 'words of enumeration are limited in
character by the concluding words or
other publication and that, therefore, a
sealed letter in writing did not come with
in the prohibition of the section" About
the same time Judge Ross of Los Angeles
rende red decision quite the opposite in
the Andrews case. Judge Ross regretted
to be obliged to disagree with Brother
Morrow" and saying that Judge Morrow's
opinion was based upon the process of con-
struction used by the United States Su-
preme Court in the Chase case. Judge
Morrow was a member OF Congress at the
time, September 20, 1883, the section in
question was made to read as it does now.
1t is the Andrews case which has been APP
pealed.
Notwithstanding the reasons given by
Mr.. Foote Isson is determined, If possible,
to get the matter in the Federal courts, so
recently he gave Inspector Erwin written
order on Judge Sanderson for the letters.
and Mr.. Erwin sent Inspector Thrall few
days ago to Judge Sanderson with the
order. Judge Sanderson, however. refused
to give up the letters, explaining that the
attorneys on both sides in the Isson VS..
Stierlen suit had stipulated that they were
not to be turned over to anybody.
Isson says his brother-in-law admitted
that he wrote the letters during the trial
in Judge Sandersons court and that he
can prove he wrote them by the circum-
stance Of his wife and Stierlen being in
San Jose and Santa Cruz as "Mr. and Mrs.
w. G. Steele last November and early
part of December. They then travelled, he
says, as a commercial traveller and his
young wife on their honeymoon. A Mrs.
w. G. Steele took almost an overdose of
morphine at the Hoffman House in San
Jose on December last. He claims to be
able to establish their identity by Dr.
Wayland, who attended MRS. Steele" at
San Jose
When his suspicious were first aroused
at Tapachuia. says Isson, he telegraphed
to his wife to leave San Francisco for
Tapachula on April IL instead of May 49,
as originally intended, and he believes her
infatuation here to that extent responsible
for her death. He has suit against the
Pacific Mail Company in pro spect for $50
600 damages for her drowning in the
Colima wreck.
The reason she sailed under the name
of Mrs. Irving" was because her husband
went by the name of Irving" in Tapa-
chula to avoid grotesque mispronuncia-
tons of his own name. He married his
wife four years ago, in Berlin, Germany.
She was the daughter of physician there,
and spoke seven languages. Isson is