The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1895-03-18
A POST.SESSION SCANDAL.
An Allegation That He Was
Seeking Profit at the
Capitol.
WRATH OF A CLAIMS AGENT.
The Representative of Newspaper
Syndicate Says the Legislator
Is Boodler."

SACRAMENTO, March 17.-Since the
/ adjournment of the Legislature a scandal
| duplicating Assem- blyman Zocchi of San
| Francisco has gained active circulation.
| The legislator from the North Beach dis
trict is being denounced by Herman A.
| Pollak, the representative of the Franco
| Californian, LIE Voce de Popolo and the
| German Demokrat, as "boodler." The
| trouble arises over the defeat in the As
sembly of bill to pay these papers for
| printing of the constitutional amendments
| last year.
| 1t seems that Zocchi had arranged to in
| troduce bill to pay L'Italia, an Italian
paper, for similar services. Because of the
| illness of his wife Zocchi had to go to the
| city and the bill was introduced by Dewitt
! of San Francisco instead, but Zocchi man.
| aged the bill and acted as an interested
stepfather to it. He engineered the bill
| through the Committee on Claims, of
| which he was member and had it recon-
mended for the full amount, though other
claims were cut down considerably.
AS the time approached for the final pas
sage of the bill, Zocchi grew anxious. Con-
| siderable opposition began to manifest
| itself. Pollak, the representative of the
other three foreign papers, was constantly
working hard to win votes, but it seemed
as if they were not able to get the required
Al. Pollak says that Zocchi expressed
much anxiety as to the outcome of the
| matter.
"Zocchi thought that it would be better
| to have Mr.. Palmieri, the proprietor of
L'Italia, here" said Mr.. Pollak. 1.-THE rea-
son why, of course / need not tell you. So
he came to me and he had me send to that
gentleman a dispatch reading: Much op-
position in Assembly. Zocchi advises me
| to tell you to come here and attend to
| bill
"zaechi read this and said it was all
right. He was as much interested as l was
in the success of all the bills. Then a
change came. A new bill, substitute for
| the four already in the Assembly, passed
! the Senate. This gave all four papers $1,000
| apiece. 1t replaced the Assembly bills on
| the file and Bacigalupi, the undertaken,
| came down from San Francisco to work for
| its passage in the interest of L Italia"
According to Pollak it seems that this
was what occasioned the defeat of the bill.
| Zocchi learned that Palmiera had started
| for Italy. He had sent no word to the As
| semblyman, and the latter finding the in
terests OF the bill transferred to Bacigalupi,
declared himself against it and stated that
he was going to kill it.
No reasons were given for this bit of
political gymnastics. Zocchi merely de-
clared against the bill and Pollak now de-
nounces him in no unmeasured terms for
its defeat
Saturday was the last day on which the
bill could be considered. Friday night
Zocchi, the stepfather of the bill, decided
to vary the monotony of the dreary rou-
tine of the Assembly by an evening of
pleasure. Dewitt, the father of the bill,
accompanied him. AS a result the bill was
defeated, lacking only a few votes. Zocchi
excuses his not voting by the fact that he
could not appear in the house. Pollak
claims that the Assemblyman did not ap-
pear in the house in order that he should
not have to vote and protests that this was
done because Zocchi was dissatisfied with
Palmiera for not having lived up to some
mysterious contract
Several of the Democratic members of
the House have tried to induce PoIlak to
bring suit against Governor Markham for
the amount of his bills, some $4,000.
They urged upon him the fact that it was
by the ex-Governor's express orders that
the printing was done and that Markham
should therefore be responsible for any
damages incurred. Pollak says he will
not do this. He claims that the State
alone is responsible and will yet be made
to pay his claim.