The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1896-02-01
The Manager Of Our Exhibit at
Atlanta Criticizes His
Disparagers.
CALLS MRS. M'CANN A PEST.
A Letter Written by F. w. Crandall
Is Denounced as Being Utterly
Untruthful.

J. A. Fiicher, the secretary of tie State
Board of Trade, is wrathfuI. He returned
Wednesday from Atlanta, where he was
CommissionerGene of the California
exhibit, and yesterday learned for the first
time of extensive anonymous criticisms of
the California exhibit, and saw some of
the unfavorable comments made in regard
to himself by persons concerning whom he
felt free to express his opinion.
The principal thing he objected to was a
letter from F. w. Crandall printed in the
Examiner of January %. In this letter
Filcher was accused of completely in an at
tempt of two men to beat the railroad out
of its fare by riding in one of the cars car
rying the exhibit back to this State. Will
lam Harris was allowed to occupy the
office with impunity, to drink wine galore,
get drunk and lie behind the Ventura
bean exhibit for half day at time. In
the face of all this. he is sent to California
in company with his pal, Walton"
''The entire article is one batch of false
hoods" declared Mr.. Filcher. "Why Gran
dali should write them 1 do not know.
Why, at the time this letter was written
he was expressing great friendship for me-
and qualification at the results we had
achieved. Besides, [ gave him work when
the State Development Committee, by
which he had been sent out, told him it
was unable to let him have more money.
tHis lying insinuation that | loaned
myself to an attempt of two laborers to
beat their way to California does me a
double injury. Both myself and the State
are under heavy obligations to the rail
road companies for many favors. and
would not have been party to a scheme
to rob them. Besides, my work was to
induce desirable immigration, and
would not have assisted men who were
unable to pay their fares.
1.-THE fact is that / exposed the hiding
place of the men. They had assisted in
packing the cars. One of my assistants
learned later, helped them to secure their
quarters. l heard some talk of this and
had the head freight clerk of the Atlanta
and West Point Railroad open the car.
1.-THE men were discovered, of course
and hauled out. learned that they were
taken to jail. As l knew they were not
criminals | secured their speedy release
Later they bought tickets and are now in
this City, believe.
Harris never hung about the exhibit.
The only wine he ever drank there was
when opened bottle to encourage tho
men who were doing extra work to hurry
the preparation of the exhibit. Once he
came to the exhibit intoxicated 1 at once
put him out. Later l heard he had come
back while L was away and gone into a
back room aud slept. l gave him lecture
and never saw him intoxicated again"
Some of the most severe criticisms of
Mr.. Filcher came from "Mr, Click"
and Mrs. J.. A. Mccain. The latter was
appointed commissioner with four others
by Governor Budd.
"Td like to find this man Click" said
MIR. Filcher warmly. Then he added:
'Fhere are dozens of prominent gentle
men from all over the country who would
like to do the same thing. / did not know
him, although he introduced a party of
influential business men to me, and on
the strength OF his apparent connection
with the exhibit borrowed money from all
of them. They never got il back.
"As to Mrs. Mccain, she was pest and
tended to make the exhibition ridiculous.
Mrs. Alice May Porter, the other lady
commissioner, by her charming manner,
did much good for the State. Mrs. Nc
Cam was really harmful. She wore an
enormous badge on which was the label:
The Commissioner from California.
Once she took exception to some praise
that was being given to the management
of the exhibit and in the pariors of the
Kimball House said l was merely her
lanitor and box-opener; that she was the
commissioner, and if my face was black l
would be known as her porter. This was
heard by half dozen people. friends of
mine, who e1postulated with her"
Mr.. F1lcher told of many instances in
which Mrs. McCann's actions were, to saw
the least, of acharacter hardly to be ex-
pected. He declared that her presence
was a constant source of annoyance, and
said he had been told by Santa Cruz
editor at the time she was appointed that
Snch WOuld ba tho 10