The San Francisco call., 1898-03-30
THRUSTS HIS HEAD INTO
 THE MOOSE Frank Belew Admits His Crime in
 Court. Changes His Plea From "Not Guilty" to
 "Guilty." Dixon Murderer Throws Him self Upon the Mercy
 of the Law.
HIS ACTION VOLUNTARY.
Ready to Undergo Punishment TOT the Killing of Brother ana
 Sister.

SUISUN, March 29.-When rumor gained circulation a week or so ago that Frank Belew had decided to plead guilty to the murder charge against him, some doubt existed as to the sln- cerity of the accused mans intention. A more changeable prisoner than BeleW never occupied a cell and no credence whatever was placed in his statement about withdrawing the plea or not guilty entered at the arralgnment in February last.
 But Belew is a peculiar man and he is as wayering sn his resolutions as he is variable in temperament. This morn ing he infor-ui ] the authorizes that ne was ready to plead guilty ana mat ne had firmly made up his nina.
 Belew was brought into the Superior Court. When Belew was ordered to stand up Judge Buckles said:
 "Belew, you were arra1gned here on February 24 upon information charging you with the crime of murder and your plea that day was that you were not guilty I have now been informed that you desire to withdraw that plea and that you are here for the purpose of pleading guilty. There are some ques- tions l want to ask of you before you plead.
 '.The crime with which you are charged. as I understand simply from the confession that l have heard you have made is one that would merit the extreme penalty of the laW-that IS, hanging. If you were tried ana con- victed by a jury the jury might say that you be imprisoned in the state Prison for life, or the jury might say that it is murder in the first degree, which would impel this court to pass the death penalty upon you. l wish to ask you whether any inducement has been held out to you to plead guilty by any one?"
 Belew, without the slightest hesita- tion, said:
 NO, sir; there has not"
 He added that he acted upon his own suggestion. The court, ad- dressing Belew, said:
 T warn you that in plead ing guilty you need expect no greater leniency than though you were tried by a jury. The jury's duty is to deter mine your guilt, whether you be hanged or sent to prison, and the court has the same duty. The crime is one of the worst kinds of murder, if it is as rumored, and as you have confessed What is your plea?"
 Belew answered without the slight est tremor in his voice or any visible sign of nervousness:
 Guilty, and I ask the mercy of the court"
 The case was then continued to Tues day, April 5. District Attorney Dev- lin will adduce testimony necessary to establish the degree of the crime, and Belew's attorney will probably call witnesses in support of mitigating cir cumStanceS.
 The murder to which Belew pleaded guilty was one of the most revolting in the history of crimes in the United States. Susie and Lewis Belew, the vic tims, were two of the most popular young people In Dixon. On November they died. after an illness of less than twenty-four hours. There were suspicious of foul play from the Belew, as was indicated by The Call exclusively the day after the death of the victims.
 At the funeral Frank Belew was ap- parently one of the saddest of the mourners. He was dressed in a suit of solemn black, and he moved softly among the mourners, as if he suffered deeply In spite of this fact there was an almost unanimous feeling that he had committed the deed.
 On the night of November ', while protesting friendship for those he mur- dered, Frank partook of supper with them at their humble little cottage in town. IL was then that He pOlSOneI the teakettle, the waters of which were used for making stew and coffee the next morning. Within a few hours after breakfast Susie and Lewis were taken deathly i'll, as was Bruno Klein, the livery hand, who boarded with them. He was sole survivor Of the fiendish act
 The Call, convinced that Frank Be lew was the guilty man, kept reporters on the case from the outset, covering the field for weeks after all others had abandoned the case. The result of this vigilance was the arrest of Belew on the night of February 3, and his subsequent confession. Full details of the confession that led to the arrest and of the arrest were printed in The Call exclusively, making the greatest newspaper beat of the character in the history of San Francisco.
 By working up the case and aiding in the preliminary part of the work The Call has thus saved the taxpayers of Solano County many thousands of dol lars. as the case was so complete as to render useless the delay and cost of a