The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1895-11-24
How Boggs and His Vampires
Stole Millions of Dollars
From the People.
NOW REAPING THE WHIRLWIND
Careers of Thievery and Corruption
End in Disgrace and the
Prison.
Especial Correspondence Of THE CALI

TACOMA, WASH, Nov. 19.-When the
editor of THE CALL assigned me to the
duty of travelling north to this city and
getting the inside history of its city treas
ury bank scandals. I thought to myself:
"Oh, my What does woman know
about such things; how ever can 1 get at
the inside?"
Ny ambition to succeed, though, was
greater than my misgivings, and so came.
l have been here less than a week, and
think 1 have done fairly we'll. I've talked
with lawyers, newspaper men, gamblers,
politicians, searched newspaper files and
musty city records, talked with the fun
niest fellow, who is City Clerk, chatted
with the Mayor, interviewed receivers
and-done the best could-so here goes
for the "inside."
When Mollie Rosencrans, the most no.
torious woman among all the tribe that
infested Opera alley in Tacoma, agreed to
build brick livery stable for Freeman &
Boggs it was because Bill Freeman-red-
faced. vulgar, conscienceless Bill-was a
member of the City Council, and not in
any sense because Mollie had the slightest
affection for Bill or because she dreamed,
even in her most sanguine hours, that
Boggs would ever be City Treasurer.
Grattan II. Wheeler was City Treas
urer then and Stuart Rice was Mayor.
Rice, one of those lucky Demo-
Gratis who fall into nice, easy
berths as receivers of National banks
in these days, Notwithstanding an
inspection of the judgment index would
reveal how thoroughly incompetent they
are to manage their own business. But
that is a depression. As City Council
man, Bill Freeman had distinct value to
Mollie. Mart Dillon, the most notorious
gambler, short-card man and smuggler's
''friend" in all the Sound country. was Chief
of Police in those days and he and Bill
were friends, and being friends with Mart
|m made Bill man to be courted, and Mollie
well Mollie knew the way to Billo heart
and she built the stable.
Poor old Sam Wheelwright, Stuart
Rice's predecessor, who killed himself at
Chicago last year, used to say in his
polished way that Mart and Bill were a
"pretty pair to draw to-" Harry Morgan,
the notorious dive-keeper, whose infamous
Comique was the rendezvous of thieves,
thugs, gamblers and aspiring politicians,
was the boss then. He had built
up the Globe out of a variety theater
programme, and with the assistance
of Paul Schulze, Ike Anderson and others
of the railroad crowd was endeavoring to
''throw down" the Ledger. The Ledger
had endeavored to suppress Morgan and
Tacoma would have been better off had it
succeeded; but Morgan's weapons were
deadly. To begin with, he had the politi-
cal dictatorship-he "made them all come
up to the doctors Office" He had the
Globe, with unscrupulous, versatile, low
able Will Visscher at its head; he had the
private record and life history of every
man of any importance in the town, and
then he had the railroad and the land and
water companies pack of him. The rail-
road company's representatives and the
land company's manager and the light and
water company's manager, and Schulze
with his street railway projects-these all
found in Morgan and the Globe more use
full instruments than the Ledger, with
Rau. Radebaugh as editor. Radebaugh
was too presumptuous, too am bilious, too
enterprising, and when he attempted to
suppress Morgan Morgan and his lieuten-
ant. Cham berlain, hired couple of equally
opium -steeped fiends to try and burn the
Ledger and assassinate Radebaugh.
1t was amid such scenes as this, sur
rounded by such environments, the wings
OF Boggs' ambition first sprouted, but who
first suggested the thought to him or how
he "a me- to think of IL q cOuldp'f tell To-