The San Francisco call., 1904-11-14
Police Commissioner Neil
roy Presses Inquiry as
to Burglarious Patrolmen
DETAILS SLOWLY SIFT
Nearly a Score of Stores
Suffer From DepredationS
of PiIferers in Uniform
Oakland Office San Francisco Call,
1916 Broadway. Nov. 13.


Whether or not Prosecuting Attor-
ney Leach decides that there shall be
a criminal prosecution of former
Sergeant of Police Charles E. Clark
and Patrolmen Lee f. Andrews, j. f.
Stahl and Charles w. Hamerton on
charges of burglary makes no diff
ference TO the Board of Police and
Fire Commissioners so far as their
plans for the future handling of the
shop -pilfering scandal are concerned.
President John e. McElroy has de-
cided that every detail connected with
the exposures shall be ventilated TO
the fullest extent. So determined Is
he upon this course that he insists
that everything shall go before the
public, provided the knowledge can
not interfere with any prosecution
which might ensue.
This course will be continued SO far
as the investigation of all other sus-
pected patrolmen is concerned. Evil
dence is being collected daily against
several men whose names have not
yet been publicly connected with the
cases that have been brought to light.
The Commissioners individually have
been given information which is be-
ing verified. Chief Hodgkins has ex-
plicit instructions to keep busy at this
work. He will not be permitted to
stop until the board has been satisfied
thoroughly that the Police Depart
ment has been purged- Along this
line of campaign much thought is be-
ing spent by President McElroy and
his associates. They are planning as
TO the future. 1t is current that there
will be developments at the next meet
ing of the Commissioners.
In that regard President McElroy
said to-day:
/ am surprised at the information that is
coming to as result Of the exposure OF
this thievery BY Friday next l shall be
ready. hope. to thFow some further light on
Police Department affairs. II is my purpose
to pursue this subject relentlessly. No man
shall go free OF well deserved disgrace IL It
shall be proved that he is guilty Of this mis-
erabie thievery.
Prosecuting Attorney Leach will not
be ready until tomorrow TO give de-
cision touching the sufticiency of the
evidence with which the four men
were confronted and that led to their
designations.
Slowly there is coming TO light some
OF the inside details of the means that
were adopted to bring to book the pa
trolmen and their delinquent sergeant.
1t appears that the pilfering by police
men had been matter of common
gossip among some of the men at least
for months. In way it got around
TO one of the newest appOintees, Po-
liceman Michael Shannon, a big, stall
Nart Irishman, who looked askance at
some of the peculiar occurrences that
came under his keen eyes. One night
he stood in a doorway and watched
Clark and Stahl fumbling about the
doorway of James CahilPs wallpaper
store on Thirteenth street, near Broad
way They saw him after a while and
moved away shannon, suspecting
something was wrong, got under cover
and was rewarded by observing one
of the men later carry off a bundle of
wall paper that had been taken from
the store and hidden in the doorway
of the Merritt Hotel, few doors away.
Special Policeman Newell Goodwin,
with Shannon, saw Clark and Hamer-
ton enter the Buswen Paint Company's
store, 9o4 Broadway, take out can OF
paint and hide it in the entrance of
the Blake & Moffitt building. Sergeant
of Police Frank Lynch was notified,
and the can of paint was seized as
evidence. 1t is in the possession Of
Chief Hodgkins.
According to the data in hand no
less than seventeen business houses in
the heart of the retail district have
been visited at various times by one or
more of the men who have been dis
missed. Some of the information con-
cerning the pilferings has been given
to the police officials by the men them
selves in their confessions. Other facts
have been furnished by Shannon,
Goodwin and Sergeant Lynch, who for
weeks had been.watching the suspected
men. The complete list of stores so
far as uncovered to date follows:
Horace D. Eliason. stationer 1857 Broad
p Flynn. dry goods Bacon block, Twelfth
street near Washington.
Moss Glove Company, 455 Thirteenth street.
Harry b. Cushing, grocer, o2S Thirteenth
street.
Eastern Quitting Company Thirteenth and
Samuel H Steward. leather findings. 400
Twelfth street
Crescent City Corset Company. 81 San Pablo
avenue
James Cahill & Co., wall paper. etc., 4Os
Twelfth street.
Buswell Paint Company 904 Broadway
Sbarboro & Co.. hardware, Broadway near
Seventh street.
Clothing store, formerly on Broadway. be-
tween Seventh and Eighth.
P. n. Kuss, painter and decorator So San
Pablo avenue.
Theodore Ger Company. wine and LIQUOR
merchants, OIL Fourteenth and 015 Washing
smith Bros. stationers, 562 Thirteenth
street
Charles H Smith. mems furnishing goods,
hats etc. 1883 Broadway.
Charles H. Wood, optician, etc.. 1853 Wash
ington street.
Steffanoni & Co., jewellers. 115I Broadway.
In the new list of stolen articles ap-
pears a pair of field glasses taken
from Steffanonis and Photographic
supplies from Woods.
Patrolman Shannon will be called be-
fore the Police Commissioners to-mor-
row morning, when that officer will
shed some light upon the misdoings
of his less scrupulous fellow policemen.
He has explained in brief to some Of
his superiors that he had refused to
stand in and did not propose to permit
such actions on the part of any man
on his beat, policemen not excepted.
HEART SUDDENLY FAILS