The San Francisco call., 1896-05-09

slightly relaxed.
When Judge Slack finished reading he
looked at District Attorney Barnes, and
the latter moved that the indictment De
placed on the secret file. To keep the mat
ter secret he went still further and moved
that the name of the person indicted be
not written in the minute-book OF the
Clerk. AS an extra precaution he asked
permission to withdraw from the posses
sion of the court the Indictment papers
and Judge Slack granted this request.
Various stories were soon in circulation
Crocker os the CrocKer- Woolworth Bank
was witness in the iury-room gave rise
to the rumor that the bank had been
cheated by forgery.
Mr.. Crocker himself said last night:
"There is no truth in that story. l was
before the Grand Jury on another matter,
and the bank has nothing to do with the
indictment"
Then another story went the rounds to
the effect that a prominent railroad man
had been indicted for EN- mbeZzlement.
This story is fatty denied.
The truth of the matter, so far as can be
ascertained is this: Captain Lees has dis
covered that clever crook bearing several
aliases, one of which is plain "Jones," is
in town. The captain feared that any
outside talk about the indictment would
be conveyed TO Jones, alias Crook, ct al,
and that the latter would shake the dust
of the peninsula from his garments be-
fore the police could get him.
The nature of the forgery committed is
not so remarkable and the amount of
money EN- bezzled is not astounding. The
main object in view is to keep Jones in
ignorance of what the Grand Jury is doing
and to convince him that our detectives
know when noted crook is in town.
The Grand Jury expected to hear men,
bers of the Board of Health yesterday, but
these doctors being busy elsewhere in
practical politics, paid little heed to the
request of the jury. Next time the request
to hear the members of the Board OF
Health may be in the form of summons.
George Robertson, the steward of the
City and County Hospital has been will
ing for some. time to explain to the jury
why coarse raw sugar was procured for
the patients. He fancles that he can con-
vince the jury that the brown-bIack raw
sugar is the sweetest thing on earth, al
though it is not of the grade called for in
the contractors schedule.
On the sugar question the mind of the
jury is fixed. Arthur Price had samples
OF the sugar analyzed and the repor. of the
analysis is on file.
The Board of Hsalth's presence is de-
sired in order that some explanation may
be given as to why the hospital is not kept
clean, why the rooms are unswept and
why old, wooden slopbuckets are left
standing in the kitchen. In a word, the
Grand jury wants TO know why the pa.
tients at the hospital cannot have the
civilizing influences of cleanliness in the
| establishment.
Last night one of the jurors said:
Il understand the account for the main
tenance of the hospital is already over
drawn to the extent OF $4,000. The Board
of Health, instead of looking after hospi-
tai affairs, is making place in the Aims
house for nonresident. Affairs have
come to such pass that public sentiment
will cause the next Legislature to abolish
the State Board of Health entirely, and
then San Francisco can manage the hos
pital and Almshouse without State inter.
terence. There institutions are supported
by local taxes and should be controlled by
the local governing body. This last out
rage OF removing capable superintendent
to make place for an outsider is the most
grievous violation OF civil service reform
ever committed"