The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1897-08-02
GIANT
POWDER ON
THE TRACK
]. Sta rtling Find Of a Switch
I. man Near the
s. Trestle,
!. one TRAIN PASSED. OVER IT.
---z---- ---. .~4..
! Peril of Oakland Local Passen-
f !. gers and Their Narrow.
S ..... Escape
.EKOuGH 10 BLOW UP THE CARS.
No =0lew to the Perpetrator of Che
#. !. +: l. Crime, or His Motive, Is
. <: !. *.:.. !. Known. 49,.
ed ~. -
!. ENOUGH 10 BLOW UP T. THE CARS.
No @olew.. to the .Perpetrator of the
!. -. Crime, or His Motive, Is
(. - III. Known.
OAKLAND orr1oE SAN FRANCISCO CALI, !

=. = : -; 90S Broadway. Aug. l. I
: :. A stick of giant powder was found on
: the Seyeuth-street track this morning be-
: tween. the little cal bin at thefoot of Oak
street and the end of the trestle, and
although the police have worked on the
case all lay they have been unable 10 dis
cover motive for its being placed on the
;. track or the man who placed il there.
:. The cabin near where the giant powder
was found. is occupied by switchman
: named HaTsey whose duty it is to set the
:; switch and flag all the broadgauge local
trains across the trestle. -
= He goes on duty in time for the A. NJ.
Train to the pier, and this morning when
!. he inspected The track he saw something
That looked like q piece of iron on the
track that had been cut in>two by train.
He wentto remove it and discovered that
it was giant powder. 1t was a stick eight
! inches long and enough to have killed
:halfa dozen people or to have wrecked a
: baggage car. 1t was very plain that the
slick; had been placed on the track and
=*that train had cut 1t without causing an
XpIosion. Halsey reported the affair to
the. police and Detective Shorey has been
trying, but without success, to find some
thing that would throw some light on the
affair.
: :: HaIsey says ne believes it was placed on
The track before tho last train went over
z last night,
II was on duty last night" said Halsey,
''oetWeen II and II O'Clock and l saw
man near theswitch. did not see him
till he was walking AWAY and was I'M
able TO get near to him. 1t is very
lonely place and nobody is ever around
.there:at night, and l thought it strange
that a man should be there, but had no
change TO discover his business.
He i'd not appear, to me as any body
that have known, and so far as know
was a complete stranger. When l found
. the gunpowder this morning l at once
j bought the man 1 saw last night must
have. placed it there. 1t could not have
=: been placed there later, because a train
passed over it, and there was only one
train after I saw the man in the darkness"
=. The. gunpowder is now in charge OF the
police, who are quite at a loss to account
. tor the affair.
Hslsey says he has no enemies that he
: knows of, but the fact has been recalled
= hat some months ago he had trouble with
" ONE neighbors in the neighborhood and
on one occasion was assaulted in his cabin
by a woman and so badly beaten that he
was taken 70 Fabiola Hospital. Wood
d, and iron have frequently been stolen from
the cabin and lows have followed with the
:. people who live near by, but Halsey does
not believe that any of these trivial affairs
would create desire to blow. him to
pieces.
They Think He Made Money.
=. OAKLAND. CAL, Aug. Wv. G. Grit
fiths was lodged at the County Jail to-day
charged with operating counterfeit plant
He was arrested in Butte County and
: brought here by Treasury Detective Dick
.inson. Griffiths has made partial con-
fession which, with the evidence in hand
satisfies the officer that he has a clear
= case.