The San Francisco call., 1908-10-22
BOMBS IN PARLOR,
SAYS BABY JOHN
Reputed Son of Mrs. Isabella
Martin FORCES Links in
Chain of Evidence
Attorneys Clash Over Sugges-
ton of Jury Tampering
by the Defense

OAKLAND, Oct. -21-Guests of Mrs.
Isabella J. Martin. when she lived at
Twenty-first and West streets, ran
great risks of being blown into eternity
by handling apparently harmless ar
ticles about the house, it appeared to-
day.
Baby John" Martin testified at the
trial OF his reputed mother today that
a sofa cushion was the repository of
a box of percussion caps for 10 days
Il haze seen people handle that cush-
ion with the caps in ii as we'll as sit
on it, the boy said. After little"
he continued, Il removed the caps from
the cushion and put them in the side
board. where we kept table linen, with
my old hats and odd things"
The boy admitted that Mrs. Martin
professed deadly fear Of the caps and
avoided them whenever she could.
An instance of Mrs. Martins self-pos-
session was related when John told of
the trip they made together in 1904
TO blow up W. J. Dingee's house In San
Francisco. He said.
she took me into an apartment at
the Palace hotel and 1 put on girls
clothes over my boys suit. Then we
went up on Washington street close
TO his house. We saw several police
men and a sergeant OF police standing
q little distance from US. Mrs. Mar
tin told me 10 take the other side OF
the street with the bomb and she ap-
preached the group. She asked them
for the residence of a certain man and
then pretended TO ring a doorbell at a
house After a little she came back
10 me and we went down in Van Ness
avenue. In a spot shaded from the
street lamps she took off her heavy
widows vel, while I removed the girls
L. - H. r-4r
Returning home, the boy said. he
took the Dingee bomb apart, put the
dynamite in a box downstairs and the
cap with the others in the sofa cushion.
Mrs. Martin once got over her fear
Of explosives. John said he saw her
take a sack of dynamite, with some
caps and fuses in it, and belabor a
bslky horse over the head with it He
laughed a little at his recollection of
the difference between her professed
fear and her actions on that occasion.
There was a long cross examination
regarding the shipping OF dynamite
from Redding to Oakland. John said
that the explosive was placed in ong
box wrapped IN a feather bed and
shipped. Other articles sent at the
time were a trunk with caps and fuses
IN it and wash boiler fun of ore
The attorneys brought out also 'BaSy
Jonns story OF an attempt TO poison
the family Of a man who Mrs. Martin
thought coveted her mine and the plac-
ing Of sugar of lead in a sugar barrel
IN a grocery store.
At the close OF the hearing this after
noon Assistant District Attorney Hynes
asked Judge Wells TO admonish the jury
10 disregard remarks by outsiders A
clash between Hynes and Frick was
narrowly averted when Frick thought
Hynes had made reference to tactics
used by the defense. Hynes had said
that a man seated close to the jury box
had said aloud that Baby john was
liar and that two jurors had been
followed up town by couple of men.
VINO discussed the case and criticised
Inc prosecution strongly. Hynes said
ne mad intended no reference to the
defense and the subject was dropped.