The Washington times., 1926-01-14
IS DIE AS VANS
.MOTHERPRAYS
Continued from First Page

cific, to bring death and misery
and woe on those who, she be-
lieves, are depressing her son?
Have the grinning idols, the re-
rengeful genii, of an ancient race
Iecome unlisted, unexamined and
unseen participants in the fight OF
ZIang Sun Wan, Chinese student,
for his life in the District of Column
bias courts?
American scorn of superstition
answers to these questions, an EN-
phatic NO" Wan, his immobile
Chinese features unaffected by six
years in the shadow of the gallows
-four wears of that time in I
death cell'-answers not at all.
Yet, there are 10 silent headstones
II District Of Columbia cemeteries
to mark the final seal on the lips
of 10 men whose testimony or
actions six years ago brought the
death sentence to Wan-10 men in
all walks Of life. from the Judge
who pronounced the death sentence
to the colored bell boy who thought
Vans actions suspicious.
Go One By One
One by one they have gone as
Wan has fought for his life and for
the new trial which now lie in
progress before Judge Wendell p.
Stafford in the District Criminal
Court. There has been added to
the grim list an eleventh name,
that of one Of VANS countrymen
who gave witness against him, and
who since has mysteriously disap.
! peared-dead or alive, no one seems
| to know.
To these ten also are to be added
the names of the three Chinese
students for whose Staying Wan
was once condemned to death. and
now must answer in his second
trial. That makes the death list
number thirteen-which may give
more food to the followers Of such
grim "hoo-doos.
The thirteenth death in this
Oriental tragedy-which remains, in
it's essentials, purely Oriental de-
spite its Occidental setting-occur-
red a few days ago, just as Vans
second trial was about to begin. 1t
took from the Government lists of
witnesses George Spohn, who had
been clerk at the Harris Hotel,
where Wan lived before the tragedy,
and who knew much of the stu
dents activities in the days just
preceding the finding of the bodies
of three of Vans countrymen in
the Chinese Educational Mission
in kalorama Road on January 81,
1919
Morgan Prigg, also a clerk 1T
the Harris Hotel. who also knew
much of Wan, preceded SpOhn
in death. These are the others
who participated in the first trial
and who since have died:
Judge Ashley NJ. Gould, who
sentenced Wan to die.
Inspector of Detectives Clifford
Grant, who did much to gather
the evidence which brought
about the students conviction
SIX years ago.
Detective Harry Wilson, who
learned that Wan and his brother
had withdrawn money from the
bank account Of one Of Vans al
legged victims.
Major Raymond w. Pullman,
then Superintendent of Police,
VINO directed the investigation Of
the tragedy.
John T. Laws, secretary to
Major Pullman, who aided his
chief materially i'm the inVestiga-
ton.
Policeman Oscar Mckinney,
guard over Wan at the Dewey
Hotel, after the students arrest
and before charges had been
placed against him formally.
Robert w. Miles, cOlOred bell
boy at the Hotel Harris, who tes-
titled to the alleged Suspicious"
actions of Wan just before the
bodies were found I'm the mission.
Robert r. Rose. court stenOg-
rapher, who took the notes on
the first trial, and the only man
able to give authoritative inter.
pret atiOn Of those notes.
That's the list of the TInOWn
dead, besides the three Chinese
/ victims of the tragedy. The
missing man, who also was a
Government witness, is Fahan
ii. Chen, who vanished as if he
were swallowed in the earth.
AS this death roll has grown,
Vans mother, blind and very old,
has been awaiting his return to
his native China. She does not
know he has been condemned to
die and that he now faces the
possibility of reaffirmation of that
condemnation. That has been kept
from her.
Prays for His Return
But she knows her son is in
trouble. and that he IS. being kept
from her. SO Ier prayers, to all
the gods of her ancient race, have