The morning call., 1893-10-14

Tawless men who had hand in the work
and have kept him under constant surveii-
lance. In spite of this the man managed
.to>keep out of the clutches of the author-
ties. 1t was not until the recent dynamite
outrage that any evidence could be secured
against him. Many men who were in the
possession Of information came forward
and told what they knew to the Chief of
Police. Several days ago a sailor went TO
Chief Crowley and said that he had seen
John Hansen place the dynamite cartridge
on the cylinder head of the Ethel and
Marion on the morning of April 4. The
man said he and two companions
were In the vicinity of where the tug was
mo0red at Fishermen's wharf. and while
{. there saw Hansen go on board and place
some object on the cylinder head. Hansen
then lit match and appeared to be trying
20 get something TO burn, but when he
heard the approaching footsteps of the
three men he came out of the engine-room,
stepped up Oh the dock and disappeared in
the direction of Market street.
The sailor said that he bad not told of
what be had seen at the time because he
feared that persons connected with the
Sailors Union would visit him with sum-
mary punishment and he feared for his
life He gave the names of his two CON-
much persuasion they consented to tell
what they knew, and their stories corrobO-
rated in very particular what had already
been told to the Chief
On this information orders were given
10 have strict watch placed On Hansen,
as the authorities wished to ascertain if
he had any hand in the recent outrage.
Yesterday it became evident that Hansen
suspected something and that he was max
ing stealthy preparations 10 leave the city.
When this was reported TO Chief Crowley
he placed the evidence at hand before
District Attorney Barnes and asked for his
advice. After examining the testimony
Mr.. Barnes declared that there was sure
case against Hansen on the Ethel and
: Marion affair. The Chief accordingly or
dered Hansen's arrest, and yesterday
morning he was taken into custody by
Detective Egan.
g. When seen in the City Prison shortly
after his arrest Hansen appeared to be ex-
ceedlngly nervous, but declared his inno-
ceDce of the crime with which he is
charged.
81 never had any dynamite in nv life" +"
he said. 'tand | don't know anything about
handling it. / was on Spear-street wharf
when l first heard that an attempt had
been made to blow up the Ethel and Mari
on. / know it was attributed to the Sail
ors' Union, but if any of our members did
1t, l never knew anything about it.
"Yes, / am patrolman for the Sailors
Union My beat is from Market street to
the Mail dock. | have no business down
near Fishermen's wharf. If l 60 down
there it is merely for a walk, and not be-
cause / have any business there There
are men in this town who would swear q
mans life away for a twenty dollar gold
piece. l never had anything to do with
any of the trouble charged 10 the union.
and am as innocent of this crime as il /
had never been born"
Upon further questioning Hansen said
be could not remember where be was the
night before the discovery of the explo-
sfves on the tug. He could not tell
whether or not he could prove that be
was at home on the night in question
When told that he had been seen on the
tug by three witnesses, mis- lip trembled
very perceptibly and be hitched about in
his chair uneasily as he stammered a de-
nial of the whole matter.
Hansen's room was searched shortly
after the explosion on Main street, and
the officers found two racksaws in his
trunk, such as are used for saving iron.
One of them was broken. It will be re-
membered that the anchor-chains of two
ships were cut last winter, and the work
was supposed to have been done with saws
OF this description.