The morning call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1878-1895, 1894-11-10
KEEPING US ALL GUESSING
All, How Dan Burns Must Curse
This Man.
TORE THE SEAL FROM THE VAULT
He Said the Court Wanted the STUFF.
fers' AffidaVits and the Court
Did Not.

Registrar Evans, under pretense of try
ing to get the affidavits of the Baldwin
Hotel suffers for use in the trial going on
before Judge Wallace. broke the seal of
the great vault containing the election
returns yesterday afternoon. and with the
AID OF an expert Iocksmith opened the
door and went in.
What his Intentions really were is left TO
conjecture, for the affidavits referred to
were not wanted in court. Judge Wal
lace, when his attention was hastily
called Oy Attorney Nougues to the Regis
trar's remarkable conduct. stated from the
bench that he had made no order requir-
ing the affidavits.
Nougues tried to send word to Evans by
one OF his deputies that they were not
wanted in the case, but the deputy re-
fused TO carry the message. Nougues him
self. thereupOn. ran down to find Evans
with the expert at work on the vault.
Here was situation! With the result
of the Stats election depending upon few
votes one way or another. the Registrar of
Voters is caught in the act of tearing away
the seal placed upon the door of the vault
and practically breaking it open by force, de-
spite the presence Of policemen aud deputy
sheriffs, asserting blatantlY that he in
tended to enter the vault. and enter it
alone or accompanied by his own most
trusted deputies. That is what he said to
NOugues when the latter inquired what it
ali meant
1T means that intend to get into the
vault because | have a right to and be-
cause no one has RICH to but me no one
but me shall go in
1t is inconceivabe that any public official
should attempt to commit high crime in
this dramatic fashion-but then is it not
equally. yes, just equally, incouceivable
that public official would commit such a
colossal stupidity at this critical juncture
And yet he did it. Then if he did the one
thing ineonceivable to average intelligence
why might he not have contemplated the
other?
Here is Dan Burns, the Registrars
brOther-in-law, missing. and under sus-
picion Of having slipped away somewhere
In the quietest possible fashion, and. wheE
everybody is holding his breath TO note
what is to happen, the deep sound of
Buckingham at work rolls over the city,
People rush into the streets and inquire of
each other what it means, and they are
breaking into his own vault to get at the
records of the election.
Alb! how the quiet and adroit poll
! tician and boss, Daniel Burns, must hourly
curse this laundering br0ther-in-law of his
| Thieves. contemplating a break from
| jail, sometimes set up great howl TO
| drown the noise made by their saws.
Aside from Evans own individuality this
| last act cannot be reconciled to any other
theory than that the noise of it may call
| off the public eye and ear from Dan.
| Evans is admirably equipped for that sin
| gle part in the play and for none other.
! There is nothing of the fine italian hand
about him as has been already said. He
was built for neither a burglar nor a diplo-
mat. Did he try the first, his victims
would be aroused while he was yet block
from the house, by his jimmy clankiDg
| over the basalt blocks. Why, if he but
! changes his mind it is like the deep rum
| BILE of the night wagon.
! All. how the soft and silent Daniel
Burns must curse this noisy Registrar
with which he is plagued, however 0bedi-
ent he has proved himself in carrying on;
the bosses orders
| Whatever the design in breaking open
the safe after it had been locked AND
sealed, Evans gave as his only reason, as
stated, that he wanted the suffers aft.
| davlts, whereas no one had asked him fol
! them, and before the safe was opened
! Nougues. direct from the courtroom, told
him they were not wanted. There was
something wrong with the com bination
and the door would not open. An expert
who had been called opened 1t, and there
was found on the floor of the safe a pack
| age containing the returns from the Four
teenth Precinct of the Thrty-eighth Dis
trict, upon which the seal had beer
| broken. Evans sent for the election off
GERS of this district with a great display OF
concern. They came, and the package
was sealed with wax and placed in it!
| box
By this time a crowd had gathered
among them Democratic State Contra
Committee Chairman Gould. Joe Dwyer
|