The San Francisco call., 1896-10-10
NAILED BY
THE GRAND JURY
Campaign Banner Which
Excited the Ire of Police
Judge Low.
The Candidate Is Accused OF
Favoring the Employment
of Chinese.
AN INDICTMENT FOR LIBEL.
]. Millard Authorized the Lettering
and Display of the Campaign
Device.

The Grand Jury met yesterday after
noon. Work in the line of appointing
committees was begun, but not finished.
Frederick Hobbs, the foreman. wants to
please all the jurors in the assignments
for committee service and will probably
gain as much success as his predecessors
achieved in similar task.
The jury considered a case peculiar in
some of its features and practically de-
cided to indict ]. Milard for libel. The
story is this: Police Judge c. A. Low is a
candidate for re- election to the Office which
he now holds. Thursday last he was sud-
denly apprised by one of the deputies in
the Sheriff's Office that there was cam
paign wagon out on the street with BAN
ner bearing this alarming legend:
C. F. LOW,
POLICE JUDGE,
FAvoRs EMPLOYING CHINESE.
SCRATCH HIM.
Authorized by ]. Millard.
The candidate lost no time in finding
that wagon. He read the name &C. F..
Low and while his own initials are sc.
A." he knew by the Identification of Low
as Police Judge that the device was de-
signed to turn v otes against him in the
precincts where the Chinese are despised.
He ascertained at once from P. Gosson, who
owns the wagon, tnat 6. Glib, painter
on Eighth street, near Market, lettered d
the banner. From Gibb he learned that
J. Millard hired the lettering and also
hired Gosson to exhibit the campaign de-
vice.
Judge Low was indignant, but he re-
pressed his feelings and taking counsel of
himself read the law of libel. He found
that Police Courts had no jurisdiction in
libel cases and then he presented the mat
ter to Assistant District Attorney Black.
The latter was persuaded that the asser-
tion that Judge Low favored the employ
ment of Chinese tended to expose the
Judge to hatred and contempt and was
therefore under the law Hbelous.
The matter was accordingly brought to
the attention of the brand new Grand
Jury. Judge Low was the first witness.
He exhibited the banner. Harry Dur
brow, secretary of the Grand Jury, marked
it exhibit A, +" and J. Ross Jackson tackled
it on the wall. G. Gipb identified the
banner as one that he painted for Gosson's
wagon by auth bority of J. Millard. Mrs.
Glib, who was present when Millard
ordered the lettering, also testified. AS s.
finishing touch, Millard himself testified
that he composed the inscription, paid
hibiting it to the electors of San Francisco.
Here was proof ample as to the facts.
Then the question arose whether the state
ment that man employed Chinese was a
libel. Judge Low was sure that he could
prove it was lie, and on that point the
jury did not hesitate, but in the law there
is a vast difference between lie and a
libel. The jury voted at last, and so next
Friday the indictment OF Miliard may be
presented in Judge Slack's court.
The story goes that Millard, who is a
Chinese interpreter, fancies that Hong
Dong is getting too much prominence in
the Chinese quarter as an agent OF the
Police Court to investigate bonds. Mil
lard endeavored to get the Auditor to stop
the Chinaman's pay, and Mr.. Broderick
asked for light on the subject. Then the
facts came out that Judge Low advised
payment and cited authorities to justify
the Auditor in approving the demands.
1t does not appear that Judge Low en-
ployed Hong Dong, but nevertheless he
has found the Chinaman useful in the
work of detecting straw bonds.