The Evening statesman. [volume] (Walla Walla, Wash.) 1903-1910, 1906-11-23

toms Last Days Of Pompeii, or Sien-
keiwicz's "Quovadis," runs the story
OF saving the records of hundreds of
criminal and civil cases from the raw
ages Of flames and earthquake at San
Francisco as told by Theodore Kytka,
handwriting expert employed by nu-
merous state and municipal govern
ments in cases that range from the
| smallest civil suit to the terrible Hay
market riots in Chicago years ago.
At present he is at tht Portland with
Mrs. Kytka. making this city a brief
visit, says the Oregon Daily Journal
For more than 20 years the decipher-
er of forged handwriting has been
waging war against the greatest Grim
inals in the United Sattes. The Fair
Will case, the Davis will case, the
Botkin murder case the "Sir Henry
Cooper forgery case, the George D.
Collins bigamy case, the great Carl
Becker forgery and hundreds of other
cases have come to Kytka for solu-
ton and never once has his employers
mad cause to regret paying him $25
a day and expenses or the municipal
tiles 500 a day and expenses, for
the work they have entrusted to his
care.
When the first tremors of the grea,
earthquake shock reused the sleeping
| thousands in San Francisco, Kytka
was awake. For he had an aviary in
which he kept $50 finches including
six specimens that had never been
classified, and he was always astir at
daybreak feeding his pets. wniie
leaning out of the window and throw
ing the birds their morning food, he
was interrupted by the tremblors. He
realized at once what a city shaken to
her foundations, with water mains torn
asunder. would mean. Fourteen years
before the old chief Of the fire depart
ment had told him what would result
If San Francisco should be visited by
great earthquake. So, without a mo-
ment's hesitation, he commenced saw
| ing the records which had a distinct
bearing upon the lives of seven per-
| sons, the freedom of 80 criminals be-
fore whom yawned the walls Of the
penitentiaries ready to enclose them
| for life or long terms, while included
| in tine records was evidence which
would decide the fate of dozens of
| lesser criminals and the disposition of
| millions of dollars worth of property.
There is a law. in California, as
there is in the federal statutes, which
| says that when the original records
are destroyed the negatives made Of
the originals by a Photographic ex-
| pert shall take their place. Kytka had
these records-wagon loads Of them
and his first thought was to save them
that justice maght be dealt to those
| concerned.
At Twin Peak, not far from Kyt-
| ka's home a contractor had recoved
| a large quantity of sand and gravel
had made, in fct, sheltered nook
| against the side of the hill. Kytka
| decided that he would store his rec
| ords there. So with the assistance or
| several boys from his laboratories and
his servant girls he commenced the
work Of transporting the valuable glass
negatives to the fire protected spot.
For more than 40 hours they carried
the heavy plates up the II blocks of
the steep hillside Without sleep and
food they labored that the criminals
! should be punished for their misdeeds
i and the legatees Of the millionaires
might come honestly into their own
Kytka had made in his laboratory
| negatives which were more than two
feet square and these were nailed on
heavy wooden frames, some of which
were nearly 20 feet square, and which
could be wheeled into court and show
plainly the forged names and wills. |
He had several of these in his yard and
they were taken to the hillside spot
and from them two wooden shacks
were built, which not only sheltered |
the records, but provided home for
| the expert and his wife, and his en-
tourage as we'll which at one time |
numbered as high as 80 persons.
Worked Day and Night.
Although he had stepped on a piece
of broken glass in his dining-room
soon after the first shock, Kytka labor
ed on without stopping to heal the |
wound, save to remove the jagged !
piece of glass from his foot. For three |
days and nights he labored, and with |!
his helpers, lived like animals, he i
!