The San Francisco call., 1896-04-05
Why Louis Behrmann and Harry
Steir Committed a
Burglary.
INITIATING THE OAKLAND BOYS
Behrmann Was Until About Two
Weeks Ago a Member of the
Salvation Army.

Louis Behrmann and Harry Steir, the
two boys arrested Friday night on the
charge of burglary, blame their fall from
grace to desire to follow the example of
Abe Majors and Bert Willmore, the boy
burglars in Oakland, which was engrafted
on their minds by the exhaustive reports
of their crimes that appeared in the news
papers.
They are both intelligent looking boys
and their faces do not give the slightest
| indication of anything vicious, but rather
the reverse. Behrmann was member of
the Salvation Army for seven months, and
it was ouly about two weeks ago that he
left the organization.
Steir's mother, widow, has kept
restaurant at Fifteenth and Mission streets
for several years. He is an only child and
his mother has given him fair education
and endeavored in every way to make a
good man of him. Her grief at seeing him
in felon's cell when she called at the City
Prison yesterday morning was most af-
fecting
81 was born in this City," said Behr-
mann last night, nineteen years ago. My
father was cooper by trade, and died in
1881, my mother following him two years
later. I attended the Longfellow Primary
years OF age have had to work and keep
myself.
About four years ago 1 answered an
advertisement put in the papers by Mrs.
Steir for boy to help her in her restau-
rant, and got the position. I have been
working with her since then, except for a
few months when L was in the country. l
got my meals at the restaurant and Mrs.
Stelr paid my room rent.
About year ago Mrs. Rodgers, who
keeps lodging house OH Mission street,
not far from the restaurant, where 1
roomed, blamed me for stealing SIS from
her. l was innocent of the charge and it
so preyed upon my mind that few
months afterward | joined the Salvation
Army branch at 631 Commercial street.
| 81 remained there for seven months, but
two weeks ago last Thursday, something
| happened to discourage me, and 1 laid
down my cross and took up my evil habits
of smoking and drinking again.
Harry Steir had been reading all about
the boy. burglars in Oakland. and he sug-
gested to me that we should break into
Mccoy d Nesbltt's grocery, just to see how
We would feel. We had both been drink
ing. Thursday night, when we decided to
break into the grocery, Harry got chisel.
and we went to the rear door about half
past 10 o'clock. Harry forced open the
panel of the door, but he could not reach
the bolt so put my arm in and unbolted
| the door.
| "We first went to the telephone box, ex-
! pecting to get some nickels there, but it
was empty. Harry went to the register
and opened it. but it was also empty.
Just then dog upstairs began to bark.
| and we got scared. We grabbed some
! packages of chocolate and each took two
punches of cigars out of box and ran out
of the rear door. Harry went home and l
went to my room in the Winchester
House, on Third street.
''lt is not true that there was 500 in the
register. There wasn't a cent. All the
cigars we took were the four punches,
twenty-five in each bunch, and that wasn't
so very much. The police are trying to
blame Us for other burglaries in the Mis-
sion, but they are wrong. When was in
the army money was stolen from the Of
ficers' quarters. and they are trying now
to throw the blame upon me. l swear to
you this burglary is the only crime have
ever been guilty of. / have always led a
| Christian life until now and if get out of
this trouble shall never commit another
| crime"
| Harry Steir is a round-faced, sturdy
! looking boy of sixteen. He corroborated
what Behrmann said as to the causes which
led them to commit the burglary, and the
manner in which it was perpetrated.
"It was sreading about the Oakland BOYS"
said he, 'that made me think of it. had
dark lantern which | got two years ago,
| and | also made mask, but we did not
| take either of them with US to the grocery
All we took was a chisel with which |
forced open the panel of the door, The
police found the mask and dark lantern in
my room after I was arrested
"Did you intend to commit any more
burglaries?"
NO said Steir, with a certain hesita-
ton, which would convey the impression
that II he b. ad not been caught he might
have tried it again. He does not seem to
take his arrest ss seriously to heart as
Behrmann, and appears to look upon it
more as clark that anything else
The police suspect that other burgIaries
! in the Mission have been committed by
Behrmann and Steir, notwithstanding
| their denial, as the modus operandi was
the same; but so far they have had no
means of verifying their suspicious.