The San Francisco call., 1897-02-23
THE MYS Terry OF
FOUR SMALL SAWS
They Were Found in a
Window of the City
Prison.
Captain Robinson Failed to Re.
port The Discovery to
Chief Crowley.
A Rigid Investigation Will Likely
Be Made Into City Prison
Methods.

A discovery alleged to have been made
by Captain Robinson of the City Prison
about three weeks ago may lead to com.
plications that were never anticipated
About that time the captain said he
found a small parcel stuck through the
steel wire screen of one of the windows
looking into the ''tanks," where prisoners
are confined pending investigation. On
opening the parcel he found it contained
four steel saws from six to eight inches
long and about half an inch wide. The
parcsl had been showed into the wire
screen from the outside.
The captain locked the saws in the
drawer of his desk and did not consider it
necessary TO notify Chief Crowley or any
only person who was in his confidence was
a "trusty," who is now enjoying his lib
erty, having completed his sentence.
By some means the finding of the saws
leaked out on Sunday, and it was reported
that they were put there with the object
of effecting q Jail delivery. Such an idea
was so preposterous that it was at once re-
jected, and various surmises were made as
10 who put the saws there and what was
the motive that prompted the act. The
probability is that Chief Crowley will in
sist upon full investigation, as he said
Captain Robinson should not have re-
ported the ~ after to him at once.
Guarding all the windows in the City
Prison are chilled steel bars about six
inches apart and about one and a half
inches thick. There are two rows of these
bars, one on the outside and the other on
the inside, and between them is a thick
steel wire screen. The saws and the bars
are about the same quality of steel and to
attempt to saw any of the bars would be
a case of diamond cut diamond. 1t would
be utterly impossible TO sever the bars
with such saws.
Assuming that the saws had been put
there with such an object, none of the
prisoners could have got possession of
| them without collision with one of the
TRUSTEES" The cells are from twelve to
fourteen feet from the windows, and the
prisoners are confined behind iron bars,
SO that it was i'm possible for them to get
the saws without the assistance of a
''trusty.'
81 cannot understand" said Chief
Crowley, yesterday, why Captain Robin
son could be so derelictin his duty as not to
report the finding o. the saws to me. OF
course it is absurd to imagine for a
moment that there could be any idea of q
Jail delivery, and 1t is not worth while
discussing such proposition. but why the
thing has been kept SO secret is what
cannot fathom. 1 have been unable to
see Captain Robinson to get his ex-
planation, and therefore am unable to say
anything more about it.''
As stated in Sundays CALL, Captain
Robinson has preferred charges against
Desk Sergeant Shields for not visiting the
'ttanks" every half hour, as required by
an order of the Chief, and it is said that
when the case is heard before the Com
missioners tomorrow night there will be
interesting developments regarding the
workings of the City Prison.
One of the results of the investi CATION
will probably be the abolition of the
''trusty" system in the prison and the
appointment of salaried guards.