The San Francisco call., 1896-08-04
The Story Told by P. B.
Cornwall to the Wal
lace Jury.
IT rs NOW OF GREAT
SIGNIFICANCE.
Two Years Contract for Public
Lighting Awarded by the
Supervisors.
a VERY HIGH RATE PAID BY
THE CITY.
The nvestigation Just Now Pending
Will Be Certain to Develop
Some Rather Peculiar
Transactions.
a VERY HIGH RATE PAID BY
THE CITY.

The Grand Jury did not meet yesterday,
and, SO far as can be ascertained, no ses.
sion will be held until next Friday. But
members of the jury are not Idle, and
others than P. B. Cornwall may be heard
as witnesses at the next meeting.
At last accounts Mr.. Cornwall was in
Seattle. No information has reached the
Grand Jury to raise a doubt about his
attendance. In view of the remarkable
disclosures which Mr.. Cornwall made
under oath to che Wallace Grand Jury in
1892, more than ordinary interest is in
yolved in the call for his presence at this
time.
P. B. Cornwall was then president of the
Electric Light Company. The Grand jury
subpenaed the president, the vice-presi-
dent and the manager, George Roe.
One officer testified that he did not know
of any money having been paid to Chris
topher Buckley or any other person to in
fuence the Board of Supervisors.
Ten minutes later Mr.. Cornwall. the
president, was called. He testified that at
first the company paid Buckley $3.50 q
month. The compensation was finally in
creased until it reached $3.50. One single
payment of $4,000 was made. The custom
was to draw a check for the monthly al-
lowance to Buckley, and for Mr.. Roe to
leave it at Sutro & Co., brokers. Mr.. Corn
wallis testimony was to the effect that
$4,000 year had been paid to regulate
the Supervisors. He was so disguised
with the transactions that he sold out his
stock in the corporation. He told the
Jury that these facts were known to all
the directors of the company.
The Grand Jury then resolved to bring
in the manager, George Roe, and compel
him to produce the books of the corpora
ton. Several subpenas were issued for
him, but not one was served. For some
reason Mr.. Roe, who was known to be in
or about the City, could not be found at
his office.
After some days delay and disgust an
anonymous letter was received by we'll
known member of the jury who is now q
citizen of San Francisco, stating where
Mr.. Roe could be found at certain hour
of the day. This member of the jury had
a subpoena placed in the hands of Detective
Robert Hogan, who is now connected with
the District Attorneys Office. Mr.. Roe
was found at the place designated in the
anonymous letter and served in due form
with the subpoena by Detective Hogan.
Manager Roe then asked for an inter
view with the member of the Grand Jury
who had charge of that line of the investi-
CATION. The interview was accorded and
took place in secret at the residence of the
member. In that secret conference Mr..
Roe said he believed that the Supreme
Court would decide that the Grand Jury
was an illegal body. He said if he should
respond, tell all he knew and produce the
books and thereafter the jury should be
adjudged an illegal body that all therob-
bers and scalawags would be on his back.
He asked for time, pledging his word that
if the jury was sustained by the Supreme
Court he would tell the whole story with
out reservation and produce the books to
verify it.
The member of the Grand Jury who
then conducted that negotiation said yes
terday to CALL reporter that he assented
to the arrangement suggested by Mr.. Roe
and waited for the Supreme Court to de-
eide. The decision of the Supreme Court,
as Mr.. Roe anticipated, was against the
legality of the Wallace Grand Jury and
Mr.. Roe never testified as a witness. He
died subsequently, and so the inside de.
tails as to particular methods of disburse-
ment were never submitted.
Mr.. Cornwall may return to this City
by the end of the present week. He will
be heard as witness by the Grand Jury
soon after he shall nave arrived. As the
president. successfully, of three electric
lighting companies he ought to be able to
tell something of the subject of street
lighting in the City of San Francisco in all
its aspects.
He was first president of the California
Electric Light Company. next president OF
the Edison Electric Light and Power Com
pany, and is now the head of the Mutual
Electric Light Company. His incumbency
in these three positions, collectively, has
covered a series of years and the terms OF
Office of successive Boards of Supervisors.
During all that period rumors derogatory
TO the Supervisors have been periodically
believed. If there has been any attempt,
successful or unsuccessful, by the Super
visors to raid the treasury of any electric
light company in San Francisco he has