The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, May 24, 1902, Page 1

7 N\ g 2 r : - » . - S ™ AT S B VOLUME XCI-NO. 175. SAN FRANCISCO, SATURDAY MAY 24, 1902. PRICE FIVE CENTS. SCANDAL OF THIEVERY, FORGERY AND CORRUPTION BURSTS UPON SAN QUENTIN PRISON, INVOLVING WARDEN AGUIRRE AS INSPIRING CRIMINAL AND GOV.UAUE AS BENEFICIARY wtically ar t the direction of NSTERNATION reigns in San Quentin Prison. C s I'. Gage, the Governer of California. IWardeii Aguirre has been guilty of gross crimes and Governor Gage, his friend, associatec and adviscr, A scandal which, in its proportions, in its revelation of wholesale erime, has had few equals in this State, as burst over the institution, invelving Warden Martin G. Aguirre and has been the beneficiary of these criminal dcts. | transactions in the mase of crooked baokkecping, in order that the family of Governor Gage, through the criminal’assistance of TVarden Aguirre, might thrive upon a dishonoring bounty. g A g g i g g s Conzicts have been emploved to manufacture the most costly furniture, s progressed, to what . has been uncovered. Great fi | MG AGUIRRE WWARDEN OF AN QUENTIN PRISON -- which has been sent by Warden Aguirre to friends of his and of Governor Gage in this city and s in this city have been imposed wpon, riot has ruled at San Quentin, cxtravagance there has had no curb, penitentic cxtent the State has been robbed, it is the duty of ‘the Prison Dircctors, by immediate and carcful iquiry. to deterinine. where. - A manvmoth nest of official thievery, upon records hawe decn commit new crimes to hide the crime of their official guardians, and the State has becn robbed that Warden Aguirre might show the geiiciosity of -a thicf and Governor Gage might be his beneficiary. How The State trecasury has beer craftily robbed by a gigaitic ring, of which Warden Aguirre is the inspiration and governing genius: ' Supplics, clothing and huvurics have been purchased with the moncy of the State, and fraud, forgery, mis- bookkeeping and the consummate craft of Warden Aguirre have blinded the Prison Directors to the cr prison authoritics conwvicts, cxpert in forgery, have been employed to forge bills upon the penitentiary, to substitute dishonest demands for honest ones; to make fe s and have filched ‘dollars dishoncstly won from the treasury ef the State. entrics in the prison books, to conceal mutilated, accounts have be Wholesale Fraud Practiced Under the Mask of False | Bills and Mutilated Books FTER a most thorough m The Call to prove one of the most gs ever banded to- the purposes of crime is now conducting the affairs of tl e Prison at San Quentin, he knowledge of Warden , the bosom friend Henry T. Gage, and assistance of the War- ate deputies. 1 by a2 master mind, the itilized the services of ring convict forgers, thieves and mur- derers fo purpose of obtain- ing goods t Ise pretenses for the benefit and comfort of Gov- emmor ‘Gage, his family and friends, com . nitting forgery, sub- stitution of Dbills, falsification of records and engaging in a gen- eral conspiracy and being guilty of fraud, deception, misappro- priation of public fund f ce in office The manner in which the d mal- affairs of San Quentin prison are being administered financia by Warden Aguirre and his lieu- tenants is a disgrace to the com- munity, and The Call is prepared to prove that some of the men who are paid to conduct the busi- ness of the penitentiary have committed offenses that should doom them to be inmates of prison cells, garbed in the felon’s stripes. Goods Obtained by Fraud. Goods and supplies, ordered presumably for the prison at San Quentin, have been delivered to the Governor’s family and his in- timates, and in order that the State Board of Examiners might be deceived, forged bills have been sent to Sacramento and paid out of the public funds. San Francisco wholesale houses have on orders shipped costly. goods to the prison, and the bills for the same have been altered or substituted by con- vict clerks at San Quentin so that the State Board of Exam- iners might be duped into pay- ing for the articles. OFFIC - STATE OFFICIALS WHO ARE IMPLICATED IN A SCANDAL OF FORGERY, FRAUD AND MALFEASANCE IN AND SCENES AT SAN QUENTIN PRISON, WHERE CONVICT CLERKS ARE FORCED TO FORGE ACCOUNTS IFOR CORRUPT RING. ~ S BHELA use of the prisoners or the offi- Aguirre might enjoy luxuries at s of the prison, but were ob- the expense of the taxpayers. i In the Penal Code of Califor- These gyods were not for the family and the friends of Warden nia such transactions are desig- Cl1. tained so that Governor Gage's ~ nated “as felony, and the mem- bers of the ring that controls San Quentin prison have rendered themselves amenable to the out- + Craity ng g}stemz;tically Robs the State Treasury Under Official Protection raged majesty of the law. For the comfort and conven- ience of Governor Gage’s family, dainty articles of feminine ap- parel have been supplied by wholesale houses on the order of Warden Aguirre or some of his relatives. These goods have been shipped to San Quentin prison and billed by the shippers to the penitentiaty account. In order that the criminal transactions might be covered up, forged bills, purporting to be for genu- ine prison supplies, have been prepared by convict clerks. These bills have been passed by the commissary of the prison, Francis Foley, and by Warden Aguirre. Certify to Forged Bills. With thz signatures ' of Foley and Aguirre on their face,, the forged bills have been sent by Aguirre before the Board of Prison - Directors. The forged documents have been forwarded to Sacramento and duly ordered paid by the State Board of Ex- aminers and the State Controller. With the permit for the forged bills to be paid, the ring of forg- ers at San Quentin has sent the original bills back to San Fran- cisco merchants, accompanied by checks in payment. The original bills have been duly receipted for and returned to San Quentin. This skillful plan has enabled the ring to obtain large quanti- ties of goods for personal usc and secure payment for them by the State under the guise of genuine prison supplies. Convict labor has been util- ized to make costly furniture, harness and sole-leather trunks for the friends of Governor Gage and Warder Aguirre. The mate- rial has been charged up in the books at San Quentin to various accounts and the State defrauded thereby. Convicts Are in Control. In the matter of subsistence for Warden Aguirre’s house at San Quentin the grossest fraud has been carried on. Though the law allows the Warden the sum Continued on Page Two.