The San Francisco call., 1897-02-24
SHOT At Mr. O'CONNOa
The Crazy Deed of a Drunken
Man Who Had Imaginary
Grievances.
Eugene Jones, Janitor of the Horace
Mann School Attacked the
Principal.

The teachers and pupils of the Horace
Mann School on Valencia street, near
Twenty.second, came near losing their
principal-Joseph O'Connor-on Thursday
last.
The particular thing creating excite
ment in connection with Mr.. O'Connor is
that the janitor of the Horace Mann
School, Eugene T. Jones, did his utu:ost
to assassInate the principal last Thursday
afternoon.
Jones, who is one OF the newly ap-
pointed employees of the Board of Educa-
ton, assumed his duties about a month
ago. He was regularly instructed by his
predecessor as TO what work he had TO do,
and he acquitted himself in the premises
to the satisfac ion of the teachers until a
couple of weeks ago. He claimed he was
overworked, and he was allowed an as
sistant, who took charge OF one OF the
yards and of some of the day class rooms
Complaints from the teachers came
| pouring IN that the night school rooms
especially were being neglected, and Prin.
| cpal O. Connor informed Jones he must
| be more attentive or else a com plaint
would be lodged with the Board of Edu.
cation.
Jones brooded over this, and at o'clock
| Thursday afternoon he forced his way
some of the teachers were making their
| final reports for the day.
Come out here and look at those
rooms" he ordered in manner indicat-
l ing that drink had control of him.
81 will not do So" answered the princi-
pal "and what is more. / don't want you
| to come in here in that manner. especi-
| ally when your breath smells so strongly
1 of whisky"
You are u liarv' exclaimed the jani.
| tor. I'm not drinking, and If you say
i so, you lie"
| Mr.. O'Connor closed the door ON the
| fellow and went along attending to the
teachers, who were terribly frightene
/ At o'clock that afternoon, when Mr..
O'Connor was leaving the school buildin p
| Jones encountered him In the hallway
| and insisted again that the schoolrooms 5
| be inspected.
The principal was anxious to leave the
place to attend to other business and he
was particularly desirous OF having moth
! ing TO do with Jones, who was infiamed
by liquor and an idea that he was eing
abused
AS MIR. O'Connor opened the door to
| step out of the building Jones drew pis.
| toi from his pocket and pointing it al
him pulled the trigger. The weapon, al
though loaded, was not cooked" Being
| a sin9Ie-action pistol the repeated pulling
| at the trigger by the drunken janitoI
failed TO explode it.
Professor O'Connor, who is powerful
man, could easily have reached his would
| be assassin and disarmed him but that he
is suffering at this time from painful
accident he met with while exercising o
couple OF weeks ago in Sausslito.
Mrs. Jones, the wife OF the drunken
janitor, who had been evading him for
some hours for fear of his frenzy, rushed
in and grabbed the pistol. begging him all
the while to stop-that Mr.. O'Connor had
not done him harm.
Between the two the frenzied janitor
/ was disarmed and sent home.
Yesterday Detective Cody arrested
! Jones on charge of assault with deadly
weapon and be was subsequently released
bv Juoge Conlan on bonds in the sum OF
$1,000.
The story reached the Board of Educa-
| ton, and Eugene 7. Jones has been
stricken from the list of schoolhouse jani-
| tors.