The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, August 22, 1902, Page 2

(] THE SAN FRANCISCO CALL, FRIDAY, AUGUST 22, 1802 HEAD CARPENTER AT SAN QUENTIN SWEARS THAT BEDST | '6" WAS ORDERED BY GEORGE MFDOUGALL, COUSIN TO GOVERNOR'S WIFE g couches, in fact, furniture of all descriptions, were made and shi for whom the initial was intended and he had asked no questions. He w A. EMSLIE testified on the stand yesterday to the enormous amount of furniture manufactured in San Quentin prison o e - Furniture Made by | 1 | Wh0|esale In | ‘ by order of George McDougall, on the head of which was a be Pnson' 2 Dougall, as well as several othe [ - Head Carpenter Says He Obeyed All | Orders. Hardware Used and Never Paid | For. R of the owner of| andsome mahogany bed- | ith the mysterious in-| " on it, and which* was | shipped away from San Quen- tin -prison, was very clearly dis- closed yesterday. The piece of furniture was or- dered to be made in the prison carpen- ter-shop by George McDougall, ship- ping clerk at the State penal institution. | McDougall was formerly foreman of the | Gage ranch at Downey, and, as was tes- % | tified to by Joseph Aguirre, is the cou- sin of Mrs. Gage | The inner workings of the carpenter- shop were ventilated yesterday by H. A Emslie, who has been in charge of that department since last October. Mr. slie appeared in court with his| ition book and proceeded to tell hings were managed in the car- penter-shop. His requisition book told that the little apartment over the car- penter-shop was known as Warden Aguirre’s private workshop. This is the apartment with which the Warden’s brother was so strangely unfamiliar on the day before. His memory was con- siderably refreshed by the tell-tale | | name in the little requisition book. H The head under question- | | ing, told of t e manufacture | | of furniture in the prison, which had| | gone he knew not where. If it had been | shipped he was not aware of it: he only knew that the stuff had left the carpen- ter-shop. He had manufactured four bedsteads, many chairs, tables, desks, chiffoniers, couches—in short, nearly every variety of furniture. He had had made two bedsteads for Joseph | Aguirre and then took one of them for | himself. This he had sold to the War- | den for the price of the mahogany that | was in it. The mahogany, he said, he’| had previously bought and paid for out of his own money. Assertion Lacks Backing. | Mr, Aguirre, the Warden’s brother, | has made a strong point of his assertion that money was paid for the State’s ma- | teriel that was used. So far this asser- | tion has not been backed by proefs He is the cashier and ought to know, but he becomes confused when the question is asked as to whom the money | 1 was paid, He said that it was the cus. | | tom, to deduct the amount due for ma. terial from the salary of the employes at | | the end of each month. The custom | does not seem to have been applied in this case, for he ritted ‘that he paid y subsequent to The s exposure of the rotten’ condition of affairs in San Quentin. But a strong point was brought out| | yesterday which all the -conspirators CARPENTER EMSLIE E By — ] R e R LG I S e L f material furnished by the State and shipped throughout the country. Mr. Emslie has been’ foreman of the prison carpenter shop, since last October. In the few months he has been in chafge the shop has turned out manufactured goods of the finest mahogany, rosewood, oak and other costly woods. Bedsteads, chiffoniers, tables, easy-chairs, pped. This was the testimony of “the witness. He said that he made a mahogany bedstead autifully carved “G.” He could not say that the “G” stood for Gage. McDougall had not told him as accustomed to making furniture to the order of the Warden, Joseph Aguirre and Mec- s, some of whom were not connected with the prison management. McD_oug_gll is the shipping clerk at San Quentin. He was for- merly foreman of the Governor’s ranch at:DO\\:ney,‘ and is a cousin to Mrs. Gage. IS SURPRISED BY NUMEROUS LUMBER AND HARDWARE ENTRIES I and crooks in the penal establishment |+ e A T N 7 verl & 1 . 1 rs estifie actured? A.—Well, as I sal efore, have overlooked. In the manufacture | Dlrteflé’» testified to that statement | facturedf A.—ell, as 1 s department. of tables and chairs and couches . and | Yesterday 3 y | Q—Yes. "Well, then, under whose charge bedstea, er he only | Mr. Aguirre further did himself | was that department? Under ‘the_immetilate bedstead iber is not the only article | proud yesterday by exploiting himself | CIare of the Warden himselt? A.—T guess ’(eg T: v SBs Sl vavhish fand L 3 e eapaciy SF overoeeriof e prison [ nes—Well, you have been up there, have you ardwar 3 ob% " A <) He was shown a req tion signed by, him for $975 worth of hardwood lum- ber. The latter, he said, was for the jute mill, but to what use it was to be put he had not the vaguest idea. - He was told by the head of the department that the stuff was needed and that was | enough for him. This will give some Mr. Emslie, on the stand, was startled when the subject of hardware was intro- duced by Attorney Campbell. “We don’t use hardware,” “we use glue 4 Then from the witness was drawn the he said; admission that hardware was exten- idea of the methods in .vogue in the sively used in the carpenter-shop. | prison and show how it was possible to There were casters and bedfasts and | do the things charged by The = Call locks and drawer-pulls. The requ:sx-fagamst the ad{ninis(ration. The case tion book showed this. Requisitions had been made for 60 sets of casters, 60 drawer-pulls, 276 locks. and 1000 will go on again at 10:30 o’clock this morning. —_— e I ¥ 11, or al_;n: r‘:xi:pa great part, of this HEAD CARPENTER had becn 50 gencrovsly. moven. Be “WARDEN’S SHOP” All it had been paid for by the i R H oney; but if the State has ever wnerated for it by employe or anybody else, Mr. Aguirre forgot to tell of it and A. EMSLIE, formerly a guard and since October of last year ® millman or head carpenter at the he books of the - prison, ac- State Prison at San Quentin, cording to Clerk Oliver, do not | followed Clerk Oliver on the stand in the show it. | After the usual pre- . | ary questions and answers his testi- Tablcs Never Paid For. { liminary questions an To show how carefully are kept the| wr, Ca ;IfAhrEutnwhat Mmte in r1190x accounts of lu " 4 you assume charge of the carpenter shop, accounts of lumber, the witness con- f,ii,"’f’.m Emslie? A.—October or November, fessed his total inability to tell how Q.—In October or November, the time you assumed charge of it, how many men did you under you in the carpenter shop? A.—I 1 had in the neighborhood of twenty— much lumber was being used or had | been used. The commissary books | ™ would show that, he thought. He did | not know how much material was on | hand when he took charge of the car-| penter-skop, nor could he tell how w0, Q.—Now, Will you kindly describe the car- penter shop? Is there more than ome room which is used for carpenter work? A.—Well, yes; one room where men are employed at. < s —Only one? A.—Well, there is another much was in stock at the present time. | ron upstairs, where the Warden has got a How, then, was he to tell how much | couple of men working for him. o ! —Where the Warden has a couple of men had been used in the manufacture of | wetiing Tor bine? . A poris & furniture for the friends of the Gov-| Q.—What are those men doing? A.—They ernor and for other people? He did tell | are making dressers. Q.—Sir? A.—They are making dressers, Made a bedstead—I don’t pay much attention to that department; it is out of my jurisdiction. Q.—How long have these men been Working of making a dozen tables for a saloon- | keeper in San Quentin town, which zc- | cording to the records have never been there for the Warde A.—Before 1 took paid for. | charge of the carpenter shop. . And since that time up to the present? Ms. Joseph Aguirre, the brother of | o &3 A™, M pine pome b & - the Warden, is the cashier of the| Q—Are there more than two? A.—There isn't over-three or four—not over three or four at_the most. Q.—And have they been working there since you assumed charge of 1t? A.—Yes, sir. Now, will you kindly tell us what you know, Mr. Emslie, that those men have manu- prison. No authority can be found in| the minutes of the Directors giving| Aguirre the exercise of this function. | Clerk Oliver of the Board of Prison | Q.—What have’ you seen when you were up there? “A.—1I saw a dresser and a bedstead— some tabourets. Q.—And? A.—Some tabourets. Q.—Is that all? A.—I can’t think of any- thing more; maybe a-table or two. Q—Or three? A.—Or three. F Q.—Did you sce any chalrs up there, Mr. Emslie? A.—No, sir. —Did you ever sée any chairs come out of there? A —Not that I know of; I can't re- member. Q.—You never saw them manufacturing any chairs there? ‘A.—I can't remember of any chairs being seen’ there. Q—Now, give us tables. What was the char- acter of the tables that you did see up there? A.—Well, they are what you call inlaid tables, <Did you ever see any dining-tables? 3 sir. Q.—Do you know whether or not a dining- table was made for him there? A.—I made a dining-table for him; that is, one was made in my department, Q.—Well, was that disconnected you call the department upstairs? where I work is down stairs, Q.—Yes; then you made a table Aguirre,, did you? A.—Well, Qers. Q. —Well, did you make a bedstead for Jo- seph Aguirre? A.—Yes, sir. Q.—Now_then, will you kindly state it, it you can, or can you tell us from anything that you have in your possession, what furniture was manufactured by your orders. A.—Well, I made several pleces of furniture for Mr. Aguirre and for the different departments, mads desks for the different offices, that is, some of them. - 2 Q.—Now then, have you any list of the fur- niture that was manufactured under your direct stpervision? A.—I think I have. Q.—Have you it with you, A.—Yes, sir. Q.—Will you kindly produce it? 'A.—Yes, Q.—Will you kindly let me see the book? A, —Yes, sir. Q. —This department that you say is upstairs, and the people who are working for the War- den. manufacturing this furniture, was not such with what A.—Well, for Joseph through my or- A.—No, sir. Q.—Was there any account kept of that, that you know of? A.—Well, what material we ould use belonged to the State; I got them to d it over to me: sometimes a little bit of gar pine or some little thing, Ihad them to nd it over to me. Q.—Who furnished them with the material, that is, who gave them the material out of which they manufactured those articles—you delivered it to them, did you? A.—Well, bought—the Warden ‘sent me * to town &nd bought rosewood, mahogany and walnut, and had ft _sent over there. —Now. sir, where did you buy any rase- v.000? A.—From Niehaus Brothers, I think, down on Brannan street or Bryant. street, 1 ain’t sure. I think it is Niehaus Brothers, Q.—And how much rosewood did you buy? A.—TI bought a log, a year ago, maybe longer. Q.—Can’t you glve it to us any nearer than as you kept any account of in your books? | Q.—When was that, Mr. Emslie? ‘A.—About’ that? A.—Well, within two vears ago, Q—Well, when was it_that the rosewood bedstead was made? A.—I think it was made within_the last year. Q.—Now, how long before the rosewood bed- stead was made was it that you got this ma- hogany or this rosewood? A.—Well, the bed- stead was made after 1 got the -mahogany, or I mean after I got the rosewood. Q—Well? A —Well, I went to work at it right away, Q—How ‘many people went to work at.it? AoNow, I can’t tell; maybe two and maybo three. Q.—Well, where did you buy the mahogany? A.—Well, 1 bought some from Niehaus. Q—And when? A.—I bought some two weeks ago, I believe. Q.—Well, how much did you buy two weeks 2g0? A.—Bighty feet. Q.—DId you buy any before that time? A.— No, I made a mistake, I didn’t buy it; it was Mr. Galardin, Q.—And you bought it two weeks ago? A.— No, Mr. Galardin did. Mr. Galardin bought 800 or 400 feet about a year and a half ago: Q.—Mr. Galardin bought it? A.—Yes, sir. Q.—Do you know where he bought it? A.—I think it was from White Bros. Q.—Mr. Galardin i3 the assistant commissary of the prison? A.—Yes, sir, Q.—This mahogany was delivered to_you as the head of the carpenter shop? A.—Yes, ‘sir. Q. —Have you got any.entry in your book when it was dellvered A.—No, sin Q.—Have you got any entry as to the amount of 1t? A.—T may be able to get the bills for it. . W, but T am asking about your book— do you keep any book as to when— A.—No, that 1s outside lumber. I don't keep an ac- count of it. Q.—Well, now then, of the carpenter shop, when you took charge did you take an inve: tory of the lumber that was on hand? A.— No, sir. Q.—Do you know what was on hand at that time? A.—No, sir. Q,—Do you know what was on hand—you don’t know, of course, what was on hana be- fore you took charge of the carpenter shop? A.—No, sir. > .—You don’t know what s on hand now i hardwood, mahogany, ebony, rosewood or any- thing of that kind or character? A.—Well, 1 don’t know. That would be a pretty hard mat- ter to tell. Q.—Do you know whether or not any are on hand? A.—Why, there Is, yes, sir. There s oak and ash and'cedar and poplar,, sugar pine. Q.—Well, now, is there any mahogany? A.— Well, there is mahogany. I got here some time ago. It is there, Q.—Is there any ebohy? A.—Not to m: knowledge. . i i Q—Is there any laurel? A.—Yes, sir. a2 MAKES BEDSTEAD WITH LETTER “G” ON HEADBOARD N reply to a question as‘to how much hardwood lumber there was in the shop when he took charge, .Emslie said that he had no idea, nor did he know how much had been used since, though he claimed that would be found in his books. The examination proceeded: Q—But you say you don’t know how much these other people—two or three or four men Whb have been working upstairs for the War- den—you don’t know how .much - they have used? A.—It must be there in that book. Q.—Sir? ~A,—It must be there in that book. Q.-—Didn’t you state that you didn't give it out to them? That you dldn’t know anything about it particularly? A.—I said:that I told them to'turn in down 'stairs whatever they would use, : Q.—You told them to turn in downstairs whatever they used be- longing to the State? A.—Yes, sir. Q.—Now, whether they did or not, you don’t know? A.—I judge they daid. 5 Q—Do you know? couldn’t tell you. Q.—Have you any means of know- ing?_ A.—A man might take a little piece of lumber and I would not know it. Q.—Just a minute—have you any means of knowing it, Mr. Emslie? A.~—Well, I can’t say that I have, Q.—Of course you have not—if you don’t know how much was there when you took charge and You don’t. know how much is there aow, of course, you cannot tell how much has been used since? A.—No, sir. Q.—Now, is it not a fact, Mr. Emslie, that more than ‘one bedstead has been manufactured there since you have had charge of the carpen- ter shop? A.—Yes, sir. Q.—How many bedsteads hive been' manu- factured there that you can now - remember? A.—Four, I believe. Q—Wiil you kindly describe them? "A.— One was an oak bedstead belonging to Mr. Praetzel, Q.—What do yew men by “belonging to' do vou mean manufactured for-him? ~A.—] ‘made a bedstead for Mr. Praetzel. Q.—Who'was Mr. Praetzel? A.—He was the steward, Q—Well, now, that is one bedstead. What is mext? A.—I'made’a Couple of mahogany bedsteads, Q—Well, for whom if you know? A.—The Warden told me to make A—No, I | twwo mahogany bedsteads—gave me directions to make bedsteads. b Q.—Yes, sir. A.—One for Georme McDougall and the other for his brother. g YL ¥ Q.—Now, that is three? A~—Yes, sir. . Q.—Now then, ' where was the fourth? A.—MWade out,of rosewood; 1 did not have anything to do with that. Q.—That is the one that ‘made upstairs? A.—Yes, sir. " Q.—Npw, then, was there not a in there, mahogany bedstead mm a two mahogany was N HIS REQUISITION BOOK | -— % carved bedstead, carved by a man of the name of Leo? A.—Not that I know of; no, sir. Q.—Well, could it be made upstairs without your knowledge? A.—Not very well. Q.—Will you swear that there Was not a 1anhogany bedstead- with the letter “G” carved on it by a convict by the name of Leo? A.—To the best of my knowledge, no. Q.—Sir? A.—No, I—there was a bedstead made in my department answers that description. Q.—For whom was that made? A. —For George McDougall. Q.—For George McDougall? A, Yes, sir, Q.—With the letter “G” carved on that one? A.—Yes, sirj there was a “G” on 1t Q.—WHho is George McDougall? A.—He was shipping clerk; I believe. Q.—Do you know what became of that bed- gtead after it left your department? A.—No, I o not. Q.—Did you have in your department a man who packed furniture for shipping? A.—No man xw’fuwl“} Q.—Well, was it a fact that this badstead you made for Mr. McDougall? A.—I belleve it was: it must have been. Q" WVas it shipped? A.—I couldn’t tell you ai Q.—Tt left your departnfent, did {t? A.—Yes, 1 Q.—About when was that, Mr. Emslie? A.— ‘Within a year ago. Q.—Well, can't you come any nearer than that? A.—No, sir. Q.—Well, can you take this book of yours and tell us? A.—No, sir. Q.—Do you know who worked on that? A.— ©One of_the prisoners. Q.—More than one? A.—I believe only one, Q.—Only one? A.—Oh, let me see—there was two. Q.—Who did the carying on it then? A.—A prisoner by the name of Saville. Q.—Now, what did he carve on that bedstead. A.—Which one? Q.—Th? one we are talking about —the “G"” bedstead? A.—Oh, there was a letter “G” carved on it. and on the headboard there was carving that was glued on the side of the headboard. ¥ Q.—Where was the “G” earved on the bed? A.—It was not earved om the bed; it was just a letter “G” carved out and glued on the bed. Q.—Well, what was made with that bed- stead?' Was there anything else of mahogany? Any other furniture—any of the other furniture s0ld to the other Mr. McDougall, as you say? A.—Well. there was a dresser. Q.—Anything else? A.—That is all that I can remember cf. Q.—The bedstead was of mahogany? A.— Yes, sir. Q.—Was it of solid mahogany? A.—Yes, sir. Q.—And was the dresser of mahogany? Yes, sir. Q—Solid? A.—Yes, sir. Continued on Page 3, Column 1. | EAD BEARING INITIAL Warden's Brother Is Mixed in His Story. Aguirre Contradicts Himself on the Stand. Suddenly Remem- bers the Carpen- ter Shop. OSEPH AGUIRRE, brother of San Quentin’s Warden, had afether bad day of it on the witness stand yesterday. He contradicted state- ments previously made by him in regard to the apartment over the carpenter shop. It developed through other testimony that this apartment has been known as the Warden’s private carpenter shop. Jo- seph Aguirre knew little or mnothing about the work done there when he was on the stand Wednesday, but ydsterday it dawned on him that he knew a great deal abeut it. Another thing that developed régarding Mr. Aguirre is that he has been acting as cashier without warrant of authority. The overseer was confronted with a re- quisition made by him for $975 worth of hardwood for the jute mill. He could not give any explanation of the requisition. [ DRI 2l HAS KNOWLEDGE OF WORK IN THE CARPENTER SHOP SKED by Attorney Campbell where A the furniture now is that was spoken of in his testimony yester- day as made for him, Mr, Aguirre said that it was at his home In Berkeley. The examination comntinued as follows: Q.—Mr. Aguirre, are acquainted with tke family of Henry T. Gage to tell us the members of it? A.—I think so. Q.—Please do 86 then. A.—He.has five chil- dren, I believe. Q—He has_five children, living? A.—Yes, sir. Q.—You have lived during the time you have Dbeen at Ban Quentin, up to within a very short § sutficiently " weil and his wife 18 time, In the Warden's house, have. you? A.— Yes, sir. Q.—Haye the Governor and his family béen present at San Quentin at any time since you have resided thers? A.—Yes,. sir. | . Q—How frequently has the Govermor been there? A.—I couldn't say that. He has been there—I couldn't say often. that—he has been there ‘A great many times, has he not? A.— sir; off and on at | Q'—And how long would he s t a time? What is the longest time that he has ever stayed at San‘ Quentin? A.—Well, he never would stay very long. Q.—Did he ever stay there a week? don’t think so. . Q—Five days? T dom't remember. Q-—And how frequently has he been thers in relation to time—has he been there once or twice a month? A.—Yes; sometimes oftener. A—1 A.—Possibly he may have; Q.—Sometimes oftener? °A.—Sometimes oftener than twice. Q.—Have you ever had occasion to ' go through the prison with him? A.—I dom't think I ever did. Q.—Do you know whether or not been through the prison during the he was there? A.—I think he has. Q—Do you not know as a matter of fact that he and your brother have frequently gons through the entire prison works? A.—I don't know about his having gone through the en- tire prison works, and I know that they have been inside the yard. Q.—You know that they have been In the carpenter shop, too, don’t you? A.—No, sir, Q.—Did you never hear them talking about what was going on In the carpenter shop? A.— Did I ever hear them? Q.—Or did you ever talk with them yourselt? he ever has imes that A2 71> you calling for hearsay testimony now? Q—1 am asking you the question. A.—I never did. Q.—You never did? A.—No, sir. Q.—Did you ever have any conversation with jour brother about what was going on in the carpenter shop? A.—I don't remember that L 8% win you say that you ata mott ‘Well, I don’t know. Q.—Did you know, as the general overseer of San Quentin Prison, that there were at least four con- viets engaged in working for your brother—the Warden—in what they call the loft of the carpenter shopt A.—1 knew that there were some conviets up there who were dofng work, npt only for the Warden, but they aid work for me, and they did work for all the employes of the jm- stitution. Nearly every ome im the employ of the prison has had some little thing made. Q.—Done up in that 1oft? Ar state yesterday think so. Q.—Didn’t you that you didn’t kuow what they did uwp there, Mr. Aguirre? A.—Yew, sir; you asked me if I knew everything that was dome up there and I told you that I couldn’t tell you every- thing that was dome. up there. Q1 ‘asked ‘you if. you could tell what was beng done up. there and you said you very rarely wenf UD there and you didn't know what they were dolng? A.—I think you ars mistaken. I understood you to say, to ask me if I knew of everything that was done up there and I told you I did not: that I knew of certaln things that were dome up there. | And I stand en those grounds now, Q—Oh, did you know that there were con- s Continued on Page 3, Column A Cooling TONIC Horsford’s Acid Phosphate quenches abnormal thirst, re- pairs weak nerves, improves appetite, promotes digestion, lears the brain, overcomes exhaustion, and increases the eapacity for hard mental and hysi labor. Imsist on g-ving Horsford's Acid Phosphate