The morning call., 1894-05-13
OPIUM IN PRISON.
How the Drug IS Sfnug-
gled Into San Quentin.
PLANTED FOR THE CONvICTs.
Fred Webber Recommended for
Pardon.
HE IS DYING OF CONSUMPTION.
Business Transacted in Secret Session
by the State Prison Directors
Yesterday.
PLANTED FOR THE CoNvIcTs.
HE Is DYING OF CONSUMPTION.

That opium is smuggled into San Quen :
tin TO the cOnvlcts is something that has
long basn suspected by the officials in
charge, but it was not until last Monday
that they got proof positive of the fact.
In consequence of this discovery Edward
Kelly will lose all his credits and stay in
the penitentiary a year longer than he
thought. Kelly worked in the road gang
blasting rock to build the wall on the
prison beach. His actions gave rise to
suspicious at the quarry and he was
watched closely, so that when he went to
get large quantity of opium planted
behind a tool bin Captain Berlin was there
too and caught Kelly in the act. There
were four packages Of "gin shee" opium,
weighing as many pounds. The convict
was placed in the dungeon and his case
came up at the meeting Of the Prison
Directors yesterday.
TO Director Devlin Kelly confessed the
opium had been planted" by an ex-con-
yict named Lofty" 0'Neil. Kelly was
going to sell it to the prisoners, ana ex-
pecled to realize some money to have In
hand when he went out of prison in Sep
tember next. The fact that the convictS
had money to buy opium seemed to strike
the directors as rather funny, ana an IN
vestigation has been instituted by the EN- to
find out what the financial condition is IN
the prison, and how such opium is being
imported by the financiers incarcerated in
Warden Hale's lonely hotel.
Kelly had been sentenced May s, 1892, to
three years for burglary In the first E.
gree, and by good conduct his credits
amounted to eight months, SO that he
would have left the institution September
next. The board decided that his credits
ko coTo m " bO n 4
q years credits and Will drag a ball and
chain around for the next thirty days IS
Eduardo Espinosa, who is doing term Of
ten years from Santa Barbara County for
manslaughter. EspinOSa was found with
a dangerous dirk in his possession made
out of file. His full credits were three
and half years, but now he has only two
and half
FREQ S. Webber was recommended for
pardon after the board had on the sugges-
tiOn of Warden Hale discussed the matter
in secret session. Webber is in the hos
pital dying with consumption. He had
forfeited his one years credits By fighting,
but these were just restored. and then see
Ing that he was so far gone the board de-
clded TO have him pardoned. Webber was
sentenced from MendOcino for assault to
kill ana got seven years. He was 19 at
the time and entered the prison on April
"a, 1880. His heart-broken father was
y
with joy at the idea of his boy beng free,
even if it were only to die.
II. R. Higgins of the parole commissio
attended The board meeting and received
recomn endations of parole for Reuben
Danie(f negro, sen fenced from Los An
gelss County for five years for arson, and
Peter DernbekeT, sentenced from San
Diego County for fourteen years for as
Sault with deadly weapon.
In the case of Andreas DomingUeZ, SEN
fenced for larceny from Ventura County,
the matter of his parole was postponed
for six months.
It was decided to transfer on May 1
seven convicts under the age of Is TO the
Preston School of Industry. This COM
prised the business done by the board. the
directors present being Deylin. Hayes,
Neff and Ivory.
At present there are two odeath-sen fenced
men in San Quentin. One is Fredericks
and the other Is William Smith. the Colusa
rancher who murdered friend some
months ago. Seneca Swain, whose time
is up on June Z, is confined to his cell, be-
ing quite i'll. He will not see reporters.
stating that what he has TO say he will say
when he gets out.