The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1895-07-13
Richard j. Dowdall, the Intimate of
Eugene Ware, the Murdered Drug
Clerk, Who Is Trailing the Assassins
[Drown by "CaU" artist from q photograph

fends who were refused the drug they
crave, or by any of his intimates, or by
burglars actuated by desire solely to loot
the store. Mr.. Dowdall is not announcing
his discoveries from housetops, for the
scent is narrowing and he does not pro-
pose to jeopardize his chance of success by
making premature statements.
Yet, he says this much, that at least
three persons were concerned in the crime;
none of them were intimate friends of the
murdered man, and the identity of at least
one of the suspects is all but known.
1t will be recollected that Eugene Ware,
who was clerk in the St. Nicholas phar-
macy, at the junction of Hayes and Mar
ket streets, was found dead in the base
ment of the store on the night of Decemb Der
ID ct about o'clock, by Policeman O'Dea.
He had been stabbed nineteen times in
and about the chest and abdomen, and ap-
parently the instrument used was a double
edged stiletto at least six inches in length.
Subsequently it was found that the
money tills in the store had been rifled
Until overshadowed by the grisly terrors
of the Emmanuel Church murders Wares
assassination caused profound horror in
the public mind. The inquest developed
no tangibl fact upon which a solution of
the crime could be reasonably based, and,
although Captain Lees says his men are
still on the hunt for evidence, the practical
truth of the matter is the police have thus
far accomplished nothing.
Nothing has been said or written of it in
months. Even the relatives of the MUIR
dered man have despaired of finding his
assassins. And yet strangely enough all
this time the Pythian friend of the de-
ceased has Systematically and deter
minedly worked to avenge the death of his
old associate.
The element of the startling is present
in this unusual display of fealty and devo-
ton to friend, and Mr.. Dowdall's story
Of how he came to figure as the Sherlock
Holmes" of the Ware mystery is not
wanting in interest. Mr.. Dowdall reluc-
tantlv consented to say anything.
"My Investigations, he said, ''are nearly
ended. 1t is only matter of a short time
when | may stand face to face with the
men, who, l think, know all about poor
Eugenes murder, and / don't want to say
word that may put these men on their
guard. None of them know me, but
have already identified one of them.
have been close enough to him to put my
hands on him several times. and l can as
sure you the temptation to do so was al
most irresistible.
How did happen to take up the case2
Well | and Eugene were chums-closer
friends than even most chums are. We
knew each other thoroughly. l had Eu-
genes confidence and he had mine.
'Only the night before his murder we
had planned pleasure iaunt few days
ahead.
knowing him so well / realized how
false were the hundred and one theories
gotten up to account for his murder.
The police did not accomplish anything,
because they followed ir their investiga-
ton the lines of the conflicting evidence
brought out at the inquest. They did not
G. 4 7 - ~
were taking the matter too easy to secure
any result.
SIT struck me intuitively almost that re-
venge was the chief motive of the murder.
Burglars do not stab man nineteen times
when any three of the lunges would have
caused instant death. The rifing of the
till was a subterfuge of the assassins to
mislead the police, and l think the ruse
was very successful.
81 determined after the inquest to do
little detective work on my own account.
/ kept my mission secret and worked out
theory had until it led me directly to
corroborative witness. Through that wit
ness received the descriptions of certain
persons Zone of whom 1 now know who
we're not dozen miles away when the
murder was committed.
1.-THE evidence against these persons is
damning. Their motive-or to be more
correct, the motive of one of them, be-
comes clear to met was revenge. pure
and simple; revenge for fancied wrongs
done by Ware against another person.
at is easier to sum up the results of my
investigation than to state in detail how
many efforts and how much time were re-
quired to put me on what / consider the
right track.
much still remains to be done before I
can report my findings to the police and
point out to them the men | suspect MUIR
dered my friend. What | have yet to ac-
eomplish l cannot talk about.
81 may be wrong, but speaking as one
who knew Eugene Ware better than any
one else living, l do not hesitate to say l
think am right, and time will prove it.
Il don't propose to daily with the police
in the matter. They have done nothing,