The San Francisco call., 1899-07-16

has been induced to expose the plot of
his criminal associates and TO confess
the part he played in the scheme.
He declares that several of the trus-
ties, who are serving terms of compara-
tive comfort in the City~Prison through
the influence of political friends, snug
gled knives and pistols into the prison.
made duplicate keys of the important
cells and the prison door and prepared
to liberate several of their desperate
friends at the expense even of murder
ing the turnkey.
The plot was exposed by one of the
TRUSTEES who was not consulted in the
scheme. He learned of the desperate
plans of his associates and informed
Captain Seymour. An investigation
was Immediately made The arms were
found. two prisoners were transferred
to the County Jail and a third was
placed in the tanks" to be questioned.
This third prisoner has confessed his
knowledge of the plot and has admit
ted his participation in the desperate
scheme. 1t is upon his admissions that
the authorities base their belief of the
plot to accomplish a delivery and lib
Grafton of prisoners, even at the cost
of death.
The police authorities began their in
vestigations with we'll founded miSgiv-
ings that the story that the City Prison
delivery might have been the dream of
an opium smoker, and the police were
notinclined to give much attention tothe
recital. When they investigated. how
ever, they revealed a startling condi-
ton of affairs. They were told TO ex-
anime the bunk room in the City
Prison. They did so and found two pis-
tolls and several knives. They were in
formed that a robbery had been COM
mtted in the very prison itself and the
investigation demonstrated that the in
formation was. correct.
The authorities are not eager to ad-
nit what they discovered but the fact
remains that robbery was committed
in the City Prison by some incarcerated
public offender. Several nickel-i in the
slot machines, which were seized by
the police some days ago, have been
broken into and their contents stolen
The room in which these machines
were stored was locked. The key was
placed where only the desk sergeant of
the City Prison and the property clerk
of the Police Department could find it.
The room is near the desk sergeant's
desk and apparently is T-ithin the
range of his vision. But it has been
robbed and nobody seems to know
how the theft was accomplished. The
lock of the door has neither been forced
nor broken. The door was still locked
when the authorities made their inves-
tigation. But the nickel-in-t -the-s slot
machines had been rif1ed and their CON
tents stolen
Armed with this corroboration of the
informer's confession, the authorities
took immediate action. On Friday
morning they examined the bunk
room of the prison. The bunk room
is reserved for the accommodation of
TRUSTEES, the favored petty criminals
who escape Imprisonment in the Coun-
ty Jail through the influence of a ''po-
litical pull" The pistols and knives
were found, but no trace of the dupli-
cate keys was discovered. The police
claim. therefore. that no such keys
were made.
The authorities belle their own de-
NAL. however, by their actions. They
accepted the theory of their informer
and made a raid upon the prison over
which they have control. They have
removed from their quarters three OF