The San Francisco call., 1908-07-15
and his arrest is expected at almost
any hour.
LETTER LEADS TO ARREST

LETTER LEADS TO ARREST
The arrest of John Claudianes oc-
CURED early Saturday morning and was
the sequel of the finding. of a letter
written by ClaUdianes to his brother
Peter The letter was found on the
sidewalk in front of the prisoners
lodging place at 16 ByingtOn avenue
and was delivered to Langdon, who at
once sought an interview with the
writer. In the letter, which was ad-
dressed TO Peter Claudianes at Chico,
the writer threatens TO give his brother
away unless he comes through" with
some money at once, and specific ref
ereuce is made to the Gallagher dyna-
miting.
ClaUdianes was soaked with liquor
at the time Langdon reached him, and
after beating about the bush for some
time and telling several stories Of his
alleged knowledge of the case. De
clared finally that he himself planted
the Internal machines
He was taken by LangdOn in an au-
tomObile 10 Oakland and there LED the
way TO the scene OF both outrages and
went over every bit Of the ground,
pointing out the various places where
he claimed TO have hidden hlmseIt
while preparing the plot, explaining IN
detail how he had executed the crime.
day he repudiated all that he had told
the night before, asserting that his
statements were due to the effect OF
the liquor he had drunk and TO d de-
sire TO secure the reward offered Tor
information concerning the identity OF
the dynamiters
in many respects the prisoners con-
1essiOu bears the semblance Of truth
and the letter to his brother is un-
D f2 4 7EE-ri
there are many things which weaken
the theory of his guilt in addition to
the doubt as to his mental soundness.
In the first place he has assigned no
motive for the commission of the
crimes and at no time gave the names
of any one connected with the alleSed
plot besides himself lie cOntradicted
himself over and over again in the
telling OF his story, was caught in
scores of lies and no satisfactory eX-
PLANTATION has been given by any one
as to why, if guilty, he should de-
llberately place his own head in a
moose by admitting his participation in
such a crime while there was as yet no
breath OF suspicion against him.
PICkED Up BY NEWSBON
The letter which led to Claudianes'
arrest was picked up Thursday in By
ington avenue by a newsboy. 1t was
Claudianes. care Telephone oyster
house, Chico. and in the upper left
hand corner was written, II not de-
iivered return TO J. Claude, 16 Byington
avenue, san Francisco" The letter
had failed 10 reach the brother for
whom ii was intended, and was ac-
cordingly returned. Its contents were
as follows:
san Francisco, July ?.
say Peter. went up to the Bulletin
and seen Tom Murphy and ask them II
they would put up my expenses. VIII
tell them who done the dynamite and
then / get 1000 and II you tell them
where your money comes from they
viii not prosecute and you get $4,000
Tor confession. / am going to give the
whole thing away.
Now you dirty - - - you
turn me down and made a tramp out
OF me If you don't send me some money
10y Saturday Night / am going 10 give
YOU away. telegraph send II to John
Claude. is Byington Ave ). +. [ am
going 10 give you away as soon as the
know the fellow ] told them were the
dynamite coined, Goldheld i never told
them q name i told them the party is
up TO Oregon that they confessed to
me I'D there Send some of $1,000 you
told every body you got
YOU don't care lose me 1 VIII wait
up TO Sat o'clock or Sund o'clock.
The letter was unsigned, but the
address on the envelope and his true
name was learned Then, under prom
lse of reward, he was urged to tell the
details of the plot referred to in the
letter and at length told a story Of
how he had heard Of il through a man
whom he met at Yreka, who confessed
TO him.
LAYS CRIME TO SELF
When it was intimated that this an
swer was not satisfactory and when
District Attorney Langdon openly as
serted that he did not believe it, Clau-
danes, evidently fearful of losing the
reward he had been promised, declared
that he had done the dynamiting him
self. Again his story was accepted
with incredUlity and the man then Of
fered TO 90 over the scene of the crime
and point out his movements during
the time ne declared he was preparing
10 commit the crimes.
This was late Friday night CIaudf-
anes was taken in an automobile to
Oakland and directed the way to Nine
teenth avenue, where the original ex
plosiOn took place. He led the way
around the premises, pointing out the
places where he insisted he had re-
NAMED in hiding, showed the basin Of
an old fountain in which he said he
had hidden the dynamite at one time.
and then described how he had carried
out the alleged act.
he said that the explosion at the
Schenck home, where Gallagher re-
sided, had been planned for three weeks
ahead Of time and that on the night of
the explosion he carried 80 pounds Of
dynamite TO the house in a basket tele-
scope and touched it off with an eight
minute fuse four feet in length. He
made his escape, he said, in an auto
mobile which was waiting for him =
short distance away, and was to have
received $4,000 for the preparation of
the deed. u
Claudianes asserted that he had
watched the house for several weeks
being paid SO a day and $50 a night
Tor this task, and that he had eitber
watched the house from among some
tan grass about a block away or had
gone about masqUerading as a peddIer
Of potatoes. He said that he had rnade
three previous attempts to carry ont
the plot but had been frightened aUsy
before any Of them reached a culnina-
uon. After leaving the Nineteenth n
street residence he was taken to the
vicinity Of the wrecked houses be1ong-
ing 70 Gallagher at Adams y,o,r. - !