The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1895-12-16


buy and browbeat him. He was threat
ened by mail and his track logged by
thugs at night, but he was slayer. When
any member of the gang came to inter-
view him, with a proposition TO close his
mouth, Tom would strike his favorite at
titude, run his fingers through his hair,
and ask them if they had story for him.
A fund of $4,000 was put in the field
for the purpose of CARRYING the election in
favor of the water steal. All the bank
were in the field in favor of the scheme.
Ii was absolutely necessary that it should
go through, and that this additional money
should be procured in order to carry them
over the dangerous crisis which then con-
fronted them. The deal must be made to
go through. delegation of the City
Council was sent to Philadelphia to con-
fer with Papa" Wright to insure the
carrying out of the plans proposed by
him.. This delegation included Harris A.
Corell, president of the council and part
ner in the law firm of Parsons & Corell,
attorneys for the water company. Fred
Murray, at that time city attorney, was
objections to the deal met by specious ar
guments.
The Merchants National Bank, of which
Walter J. Thompson was president and
Samuel Collyer cashier, was about at the
end OF its string, and unless this deal was
to go through the bank would be COM
PEELED to close. Nelson Bennett was one
OF the largest stockholders and director
and also owner of the Ledger, the Oldest
newspaper in the city. G. A. Snowden
was placed in charge as managing editor
and instructions given to carry the cleo
ton at all hazard. The Morning Union
the other paper, was owned by Boggs ana
the city administration, and the News,
which for time opposed the deal, swung
into line and was one of the strongest adj
vocates of the purchase before election
day came around.
The Chamber of Commerce and Com
mercial Club, claiming to represent the
business men of the city, but which were
ali owned or controlled by the members OF
tie gang, directly or indirectly, passed
resolutions in favor OF making the pur-
chase, and the individual members were
sent out upon the war path to see that the
proposition carried.
Among those who were most prominent
in urging the proposition were G. A. Cav
ender. then chairman of the Finance Com
mittee of the City Council; G. E. Hale,
president of the Tacoma Grocery Com
pany, since defunct; II. o. Fishback,
cashier of the Tacoma National Bank, de-
funct; Samuel COllyer, cashier OF the
Merchants National Bank, defunct, now
secretary of the Chamber of Commerce.
after escaping the United States Federal
Grand Jury in the United States Court for
his actions in the conduct of the bank OF
which he was cashier; all of the Tacoma
Land Company and Tacoma Light and
Water Company outfit; all of the city ot1i-
GERS, and every one who was supposed to
have a ''pull" and who was susceptible to
the influence" brought to bear by the
gang. Ike Anderson, manager for Papa"
Wright of the Tacoma Land Com pany,
was not only serving his master in advo-
eating the deal, brit helping to save his
own bacon as well, for it has developed
since then that he had over half million
dollars of outstanding obligations, which
were threatening to break him unless
something was done to relieve the pres
sure. If his bank could only get its share
of the prospective millions to be derived
from the sale of the bonds, he would be
able to carry himself over the pending
crisis and no one would be the wiser.
Anderson talked loudly about running
the election in an economical manner
when it was suggested by some of the op-
ponents of the measure that extra guards
be placed at the polls to prevent illegal
voting; and when his point was carried he
went to his own lieutenants and urged that
not vote be lost. There was no registra-
ton, and the election was run "wide
open" Hundreds of repeaters and floaters
were in the field, and hundreds of others
the day before election every saloon in
town was given an order to use 5000 for
"the good of the cause" and the $500 was
promptly paid them by the gang.
Van Fossen and Fred Taylor were again
in the field, crying against the Irish en-
ployed by the water company. Poor old
Van Back East he was prominent
member of the Hibernian Society; but
time and tide and i'll fortune make strange
changes.
Van was a member of the third House
of the Washington Legislature, and the
story is told on him that Harvey John
ston, young Democratic politician, went
to him one day and told him Clan ma
Gael Society had been organized in Oiym-
pia, that he believed it had its eye on Van,
and advised him to keep in nights and not
allow himself to be away from his friends
after dark. A member named Dorrity,
from east of the mountains, a hot-tempered
Irishman, was pointed out to Van as
prominent mem Der of the Clan. Van kept
very close to his hotel evenings, and never
went out after dark without a bodyguard.
After this had gone on for several days
the joke was too good to keep, and Harvey
gave it away to few friends and it became
public, much to the chagrin OF Van Fossen.
Nelson Bennett, who has always been
fighting the water company, was now one
of the strongest advocates of the purchase.
he went 10 NEW OTh anu 1ullaQeipnld,
saw "Papa" Wright-and perhaps Papa
Wright "saw" him, for he telegraphed
back advising and urging that the pur-
chase be made.
One of the strongest pleas made to the
people in favor of the deal was that if
Wright could sell the water plant to the
city he would at once take the money de-
rived from the sale thereof and build the
Hart" Railroad to a junction with the
Hunt" road in the Walia Walla Valley
to a connection with the Chicago, Bur
Hngton and Quincy road, making Tacoma
the western terminus of that system.
"Give Wright his way about the water and
he will build the G. B. and @. into
Tacoma, was the cry. The laborng men
were told to vote for the proposition; al
though the price was pretty high the
money would all come right back here
again in payment for work on the rail
road, and the extra 100000 would be
used for building an extension of the
water works system to the sources of the
mountain rivers. Work would be plenty
and wages good, and the laboring man
would be in clover.
Three years have passed away, the deal
went, and the G. B. and @. is just as liable
to drop in here out of balloon as it ever
was to come in over the Hart" and
Hunt roads out of the hand of Papa"
Wright.
An army of lieutenants and heelers was