The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1905-03-11

Chronicle. that they have narrowed
| to four persons. All of these four per-
sons We're employed in the Stanford
house on Mob Hill at the time of the
attempted poisoning in this city
| There is good reason to believe that
the detectives are very conservative
| in still keeping four persons on the list
| of suspects, and that two of these per-
sons are not eliminated from the cal
culations of the detectives simply be-
cause of A remote chance that they
| might have done the poisoning.
| The nine employees in the house on
the night that Mrs. Stanford so mar
| rowly escaped death from poisoning in
| this city We're:
Bertha Berner, secretary; Elizabeth
Richmond, maid; Nora Hopkins, house
maid; William McWhinney, butler; An
| Wing. Chinese housekeeper; All Young.
Chinese houseboy; Yeng, Chinese cook;
All Lee. second cook; Wong, second
| butler.
Going over this list the detectives
readily eliminate two of the white en-
ployees. Nora Hopkins, the housemaid,
and William McWhinney, the butler.
| The investigation thus far makes II
certain in the minds of the detectives
! that neither the Hopkins girl nor Nc
| Whitney can be held under the slight
est suspicion.
| In the case of the butler there was
lack of opportunity, except by stealth,
| to have placed the poison in the bottle
! in Mrs. Stanford's room. Moreover.
McWhinneys reputation and the entire
| lack of any Imaginable motive on his
| part were in themselves enough, the
| detectives say. to eliminate him from
the suspects. McWhinney was a new
| butler and took the place with the I'M
derstanding that it was only temporary.
Mrs. Stanford desiring a butler for
| month or so until she was ready to
| leave the city.
| Nora Hopkins was in the house to
assist Miss Richmond. and to attend 10
| the duties of a housemaid. She had
| been in Mrs Stanford's employ for
some time. her regular place being in
the Palo Alto home She was trusted
| to the extent that she took care of the
house alone at times for long periods.
| She would have had little opportunity
to put the poison in the bottle without
| under suspicion by those who knew
| most about the poisoning.
FEW HAD OPPORTUNITY.
This leaves only two of the white
| employees who might be suspected,
Miss Berner and Miss Richmond. AS
to the Chinese, the detectives are not
so positive as to whom they have elm
mated. All Wing, the Chinese house
keeper. it is believed, has never been
under suspicion. He has been in the
employ of Mrs. Stanford for over TWEEN
ty years. longer than any of the other
servants, and Mrs Stanford did not
hesitate to leave the Mob Hill mansion,
with it's valuable furnishings and paint
ings, in his care for periods of nearly a
year at time.
When Mrs Stanford travelled around
the world the last time Wing was left
in charge of the house as housekeeper.
1t was only three days before she sail
ed for Honolulu last month that Mrs
Stanford employed the present house
keeper, Mrs. Mary Gaffney. Mrs. Calf
ney does not believe that Mrs. Stanford
employed her because she lacked con-
f1dence in Wing after the attempted
poisoning. but thinks it was because
Sfle sent MIS-. NtdIlloTu
tions from some of the old Sacramento
acquaintance of the deceased.
COOK NOT ON LIST.
Yeng. the cook, has also been elimi
mated by the detectives, it is believed.
Yeng has been cook at the Mob Hill
mansion for several years, and de-
spite the fact that he never performed
the duties of cook in the house except
on tie occasions when Mrs. Stanford
was there he was regularly paid.
When Mrs. Stanford left for Honolulu
last month Yeng left the house, but he
was still in Mrs. Stanford's employ
at the time of her death. 1t was his
custom to go away to the country when
Mrs Stanford was not in the city. He
is now in Chinatown and Captain CAL
lundan had another long interview
with him yesterday. This was merely
to find out all that he knows about the
poisoning or anything that might throw
any light on it. Yeng's duties at the
Stanford mansion kept him in the base
ment. where the kitchen is and il was
not necessary for him to go upstairs
to the floor on which Mrs. Stanfords
room is located.
Wong. the second butler, was not
an old employee, having been in the
house for only few months. He did
not have access to Mrs Stanford's room
and was under the orders of the white
butler. He left the employ of Mrs.
Stanford a short while before she sail
ed for Honolulu, but it is said that he
was not discharged. The servants say
that he quit because he wanted to get
a place in the country. He is now in
Chinatown and Captain Cullundan
knows where to find him at any time
1t is practically certain that he has
been eliminated from among the posi-
bly, guilty.
All Lee, the assistant cook, did not
have access to Mrs. Stanford's room,
and it is a remote possibility that he
may have committed the attempt at
poisoning by stealth or through a con-