The San Francisco call., 1908-03-31
MANIAC WAITER
STAYS HIS WIFE
Crazed by Overwork, Otis L.
Allen Becomes Murderer
in Restaurant
Brave Woman Who AccOmpa=
nies Victim Saves Baby
From Fathers Pistol

In a sudden burst of unreasoning
anger, the point where his tired nerves
snapped after he had been working
Is hours a day for months, Otis L
Allen. a waiter, yesterday afternoon
shot his wife where she sat at a table
in a restaurant. fred once at his year
old baby boy as the child smiled at him,
unfrightened, through the revolver
smoke, and tried TO stab the man who
caught the gun from his hand when he
took aim again at the dying woman.
Then he collapsed completely and be-
came raving madman, requiring the
united strength of four men to hold
him until the arrival of the police.
The shooting took place in the Home
restaurant, All Clement street. where
Allen was employed.
or the four shots he fired two went
wild and the third struck the woman.
her hands upraised TO beg mercy, in the
right shoulder It ranged downward
and glanced around the shoulder blade.
then tore through the right lung and
imbedded itself deep in the other lung
near the tenth rib. At the Hahnemann
hospital doctors said she had not a
chance for recovery.
At one end of the table where she was
eating, In high chair, was their baby.
Lloyd, and across from her sat Mrs
Edith Mccartney, wife of Emile Nc
Cartneys friend, at whose house at
25s Twelfth avenue the couple had
been living. This braye woman. for
getful OF her own safety, thought only
of saving the infant from the murder
GUS hand of its father.
BRAVE WOMAN SAVES BABY
As his wife sank in her chair, breath
ing out her life in great choking sobs.
Allen turned toward the child. AS
though the whole tragic scene had been
but new game worked out for his
amusement. the little: youngster
chuckled joyously. as babies will. and
turned his gaze unwipkingly into his
fathers face. Allen seemed to hesitate
moment Then crying, hoarsely,
Hes next" he raised the weapon
against his boy.
He was hardly three feet away, but
like fash Mrs Mccartney had jumped
to her feet and with a quick move
ment sent the high chair with the baby
spinning backward out of harms way
just as the man shot Yet. even in her
great excitement, she did not let the
maintain its balance and keep the child
from injury threw her almost in line
! with the bullet It passed so close as
| almost to SINCE her hair.
Temporarily ponplused, Allen took
aim again at his dying wife, but Oscar
I
and caught him by the arms.
Let go OF me. Oscar" cried the now
insane man. Turn nae loose,"
With sudden wrench which dislo-
Gated the. right shoulder Of Alfred, he
freed himself and caught a butcher
knife on a table near by Then he
I jumped furiously at Alfred and tried
to stab him: Despite the pain OF his
disIocated shoulder. the waiter pIuckily
110 NTH y i'm ~,
men who had rushed TO the restaurant
on hearing the shots, succeeded in
overpowering him.
LAST SPASM OF MANIAC
Still thinking only OF the baby. Mrs
Mccartney had caught II up and was
.hurrying from the restaurant with it
in her arms. when Allen saw her, and
with the four men hanging to him,
made another desperate attempt to get
his weapon and shoot the child. But
Patrolman Patrick Mahoney came up
and handcuffed him TO a post In the
restaurant Allen tried to beat his
brains out against it. then suddenly
collapsed and was crying like a child
when Detective W. l. Ceiner of the
park station came in response to call
and took charge of the situation
Ceiner called Dr. Neimeyer of 5oe
Clement street. who found Mrs. Allen
almost unconscious. Then the de-
tectfve took her to the Hahnemann hos
pital, where Dr.. P. G. Garlick, DR.. Nei-
meyer and DIR. Ferdinand Freitag at
tended her and located the bullet They
said she would die at any moment.
Detective Ceiner hurried Allen to the
central emergency hospital. where he
was placed in a straitjacket. 1t was
learned that he had been working Is
hours a day for many months to pro-
vide for his family. and that the strain
had caused nIs mind to give way Only
an hour and a half before the tragedy
he had been attended by DR. Garlick
and the day before the physician had
performed an operation for a nervous
trouble
sTS THE STEW G0OD.1
It was Mrs. Aliens custom to take
the child and go to the restaurant Of
L. Decide at AT Clement street, where
her husband worked and where the
shooting occurred, to take dinner Yes
terday she persuaded Mrs. Mccartney
TO go with her.
rs the stew good2" she had said to
her husband. Without a word he
walked back to the kitchen, then re-
turned with a revolver, and at point
blank range began firing.
Though the couple had been living
at her house only a month Mrs Nc
Cartney took the baby home with her
TT is such pretty little baby"
she said last night. When he began
shooting, III just couldn't help try
ing TO save IL. Poor baby, I couldn't
let him shoot you" There were tears
in her eyes:
case is to be presented before Judge
from the interior OF the state. who is
free from any preconceived ideas or
local influences. it win be interesting to
watch its progress"