The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1899-01-17
MORE FACTS
IN THE CAREER
OF MEREDITH.
Moore's Sins Also
Rise Up in Armor.
ROMANCE IN THE COLONIAL
THE MAJOR WALKED IN HIS
SLEEP.
Matron Cameron Of the Presbyterian
Mission Nails Several False
hoods Retalled by the
Bureau.
ROMANCE IN THE COLONIAL
THU MAJOR WALKED IN HIS
SLEEP.

The abnormally large rainfall during
the month of January, while it has
thrilled the hearts Of the farmers and
miners with gladness, has not increased
the pulsation of Special Agents Smith
and Linck by even one beat per minute.
They came hither nearly two weeks ago
for the purpose of investigating the
serious charges made against Chief Mere
dith of the Chinese Bureau of having dis
eliminated against the Government and
in favor of the Chinese Association for the
Importation of Chinese Slave Labor and
Lewd Women. They are here, also, alas
to collect evidence against one of their
own brothers of the cloth, Major Moore
who is accused by three or four of his
own typewriters of conduct during office
hours unbecoming good Christian and
a prudent public official.
Agents Linck and Smith have held their
sessions with closed doors in the Office of
Surveyor Spear. What has taken place
within those closed precincts has been
known only to themselves, the five wit
nesses which they have examined, and E.
Percivale Baker, the talented male stem
ographer of Collector Jackson. Yester-
day prepossessing young lady stenogra-
pher was added to Mr.. Baker to assist in
doing the work. She is not one of the
witnesses against the gallant major,
ton of office hours and a Government Of
fee as the time and place for the declara-
ton of his amorous passion.
DR.. Gardiner and John Lynch, Chinese
inspectors, appeared before the agents
last week and told what they knew about
the crooked work of Chief Ben E. Mere
dith. w. II. Gayan, a Custom-house la
borer, told how Meredith had tried for
a half hour to shake his testimony as to
Il
he had intercepted on the person of man
named Brown, clerk for a white law
yer engaged in the business of landing
Chinese. Meredith, according to Gavan' S
statement, tried to make him say that
another letter was the one he had found
upon the person of Brown. This other let
ter was one on business, whereas the let
ter seized by Gavan contained by ques-
ton and answer instructions for Chinese
emigrants. Meredith's purpose was so
plain that Gavan bluntly asked him wheth-
er he wanted him to say that the wrong
letter was the right one, and Meredith did
not reply. After GaVanS story had been
published in The Call Meredith called
Gavan before him and was curious to
know how The Call had secured the news
Gavan said he had mistaken The Call re-
porter Tor special agent of the treasury
and told him the truth without reserve
Gavan. instead of being rewarded for
his zeal in intercepting letters facilitating
the Illegal landing. was awarded the cold
s st6 noe He thought s 1t strange, but he
Bureau under the Wise and Meredith
regime.
Mrs. Johnson, landlady of the Colonial,
was witness against the Warm-blooded
Moore. She told how Moore had taken
apartments in her aristocratic hotel, and
how he had also lodged a good-looking
young lady there. All the witnesses agree
that the major had good taste in the mat
ter of beauty, except perhaps, in the case
of his last typewriter, but she would not
listen to his addresses and proved to be
nndOinP johnson no
had been under the disagreeable necessity
of ordering the major and his lady friend
to vacate the house for the sake of its
good name, because of reports that the
major walked in his sleep or something
of that kind.
The strongest witness against Meredith
came to the front yesterday in the per-
son of Miss Donaldino Cameron, matron
of the Chinese Presbyterian Mission. Miss
Cameron told the agents how she had in
formed Chief Meredith of the true charac-
ter of Fong Suey Wan, the Chinese slave
dealer, when Fong Suey was under arrest
Collector Wises statement made in Wash
ington that she and Major Moore and
Assistant United States Attorney Bert
Schlessinger had asked that Fong Suey be
released. They had asked that one or the
witnesses against Fong Suey should be
allowed to go back to China, because this
witness, a Chinese woman, had only hear
say evidence to offer, and her testimony
would not be received in court for that
reason.
The agents were favorably impressed
with Miss Cameron's sincerity, and her
testimony will go very far toward sub