The morning call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1878-1895, 1893-09-28
CANS AND CASTORS.
Discoveries Made on a Visit to
Vests Office.

west OIiiSSs
A visit to DR.. Vests former Office at 139
Turk street, revealed the fact that the
physician had cans enough to put away
several more bodies had his career not
been interrupted.
AS is well known, he kept bachelor
quarters there and did his cooking on a
small gasoline or oil stove. and the little
woOdshed which stands at the rear OF the
building Ontains, among other rubbish.
TWO empty cans exactly like that picked
up on the Oakland beach. while third one
half full OF oil stands on the floor beside
the doctors cupboard.
Standing at another side of the shed is
an old plush chair which had at one time
been supplied with eastors, and Mrs.
Brady, the laudlady, was not aware that
they were gone until her attention was
called to it last evening by CALL report
er. She said she could not be positive that
they had been removed lately, but that
they were in place the last time she had
noticed. and that shs knew nothing of
their removal.
But the most careful search could not
reveal the place from which he butts had
been taken. Out in the back yard were
several wlndOw-ShutterS with the butts in
place. while The cores ponding piece was
on the WlndoW-frame in every case. With
the amount of rubbish that there is lying
around the place, however. it would not
have been difficult 20 find a few cast-off
pieces such as these are, with which to
weigh down the tell-tale article which it
was hoped to bury IN the bay.
The rooms occupied by the doctor are
locked and the key is in the possession of
his wife. so no examination of the interior
of the rooms could be made.
Late last evening Detectives BOhen and
Anthony and Officer Gibson made tour
OF investigation CT the doctors offices, and
what they brought to light will be some
thing for the defense to explain, and if not
cleared up, will be Il most important point
for the prosecution.
DIR. West had box of rubbish in his
operatlng-roOm, in which was miScella-
neous collection of casters, butts, nails,
hinges. buttons, screws and odds and ends
of every sort. The casters and butts were
of the same pattern as those packed in the
oil can, which was picked up at Oakland,
and there is no doubt that those which had
been thrown into the can were picked out
of This collection.
But the most important thing found in
the box was button from Miss Gilmour's
jacket 1t is exactly the same as the two
found In the can, and prove cOnclusively
that the body of the girl was cut up in Dr.
VESTS Office, and that it was there packed
and prepared TO be thrown into the bay.
This is the first discovery that the police
have made which directly connects Dr.
West with the cutting up of the body of
his victim. The theory of the medical
students on which the defense counted To
build the foundation for the doctors ac-
Quittal has vanished into thin air, ana the
only medical student interested in the in
human deed was the man who hacked thu
body TO pieces, packed as many pieces in to
The can as it wOuld hold and tried to
weight it down with old junk taken from
the box in Vests office.
Until the presence of buttons from Ad-
die R. Gilmour's jacket in the Oakland
beach oil can and in Vests office can be
satisfactorily explained it is folly to talk
of the body being taken from that Office
intact.