The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1897-01-17
Cooney Was Charged First in
Hopes That He Would Turn
States Evidence.
Friends of Mrs. Craven Say the Pro-
ceedings Are Intended to Brighten
Her Witnesses.

purpose of calling the special session thaI
it might make a day of it.
The evidence is said to be voluminous
and the purpose is, of course, not to lnolct
Cooney, for he has been formally charged
on a complaint sworn to by Charles L..
Fair The jury will hear evidence look
ing to the Indictment OF some SIX other
persons who have figured as witnesses IN
behalf of Mrs. Nettie r. Craven, in sup
port of the famous deeds, including, OF
course, Mrs. Craven herself
Both District Attorney Barnes and Cap
tain Lees, together with the officers who
worked up the case" declare that this
evidence is of character that will result
in bringing indictments against all the
parties.
The Grand Jury will also make formal
recommendation to the Board OF Educa-
ton that Mrs. Craven be suspended from
her position of principal of the Mission
Grammar School pending the trial OF
Cooney or any other criminal trial that
may grow out of the inquiry.
Why was James J. Cooney selected TO
be arrested on a sworn com plant while
others who are involved with him, if he is
involved in a criminal transaction, are to
be indicted?
1t is said to be a part of the scheme of
prosecution, as suggested by Captain
Lees. Cooney is looked upon as the tool
OF the more interested parties in an alleged
conspiracy.
He is referred to as the 'fweak sister,
He was simply made use of to perform a
verv essential but easy part in the play.
The prosecution, taking their turn in
the play, determined to make the same
use OF him. They charge him formally
with perjury, first of all, and then say
they feel sorry for him-at the same time
placing him under heavy bonds. The
purpose is to lead him into their camp
10 cause him 10 become their wltness-to
turn States evidence with the promise
that the charge against him will be dis
missed.
The efforts of the attorneys for Charles
/. Fair and of the Police Department will
be directed toward securing indictments
against Mrs. Nettie r. Craven in the first
instance, as the holder of the deeds and
the party in interest, for perjury and pos
sibly forgery; Mrs. Hasklns, her friend,
who swore she saw the deeds in Senator
Fairs hands, for perjury; Mrs. Johnson
of the Colonial Hotel, who also swore she
saw the deeds in Mrs. Craven's hands, for
perjury; Stephen R. Roberts and George
R. Williams, friends of Mrs. Craven who
put the deeds on record, for uttering
forgery knowing it to be forgery.
One John G. Barker is on the list also.
An attempt will be made to secure an
indictment against him on a charge apart
from the deeds, but allied to the general
alleged conspiracy. 1t is alleged that he
has been manipulating other deeds 10
which Notary Cooney took acknowledge
ments about the 9th of September, 1894.
1t is claimed that all the certificates of &C
acknowledgement issued by Cooney al that
time differ materially from those of the
Craven deeds. Barker is said to have
gained possession. of some of these certi6-
Gates and attempted TO make changes in
them to reconcile the differences.
As for James ]. Cooney and all these
others woo are being thus proceeded
against criminally in advance of the civil
suit, they wore an appearance of entire
which is ADVERTISE as being impregnable
will upon its being brought into the light,
be found to be anything but that.
The evidence upon which all this pros
ecution is based is said to be a printed
faw," said one CT them last evening
Suppose a printer or a photographer
makes the absolute statement of day and
date upon which these blank certificates
were printed Suppose two or three of
them do SO? Against this there is the
word of Mrs. Craven, her daughter Mar
garet, Lee D. Craig, James J. Cooney,
Mrs. Haskins, Mrs. Johnson of the Colo
NAL Hotel; Mrs. Cosack, the old nurse
who attended Mrs. Craven when she was
sick at the Colonial; Stephen Roberts and
George R. w Illlams-all reputable. good,
trustworthy people. To be sure they did
not all swear as to the deeds, but what
they swore to is so interviewer with them
that if the story of any one of them is true
it is reasonable to assume that every other
one of them is true.
IF one of them is shown to be false all
of them will fall. But look at the circum-
stances. Is it reasonable to suppose that
all these reputable people have been led
into committing such high crimes as for
gerry and perjury? And for what? This pro-
perty conveyed in the deeds is said to
be worth 81, 500, 600. The fact is $500 OO0
would be a high estimate. What
part of it are they each to get in case
their great and dangerous conspiracy is
successful? Mrs. Craven, who is set up as
the arch oonspirator, has no money. So
true is this that the little incidental ex-
penses OF the courts and of taking depo-
sitions go unpaid for long periods Some
of them are not paid yet. None of the
others have any money. What they have
done must have been done on mere
promises. Is it reasonable, now, to think
they would lend themselves to such bust
ness on such chances?
LAS for Mrs. Craven she is represented
as all that is evil now. A short time ago,
while she had only gifts to bear TO the
Fair children, there were no praises too
high for her. 1t was so with Cooney.
When it was first stated that Cooney was
the notary who took Fairs acknowl-
edgment Knight and Heggerty threw
up their hands and declared,
'Oh, we know Cooney, he has
done our business for years; he
will never go on the stand and swear that
Fair made that acknowledgment But he
did do just that thing and now he is suf-
fering the enmity of Charley Fair and his
attorneys. They bring these criminal
charges on the eve of the trial of the civil
suit. If they had such impregnable evil
dence would they not, as good lawyers,
have waited to bring it in at the trial, in
stead of exploding their mine in advance
"They could have put all the balls in the
pocket at one coup, but they prefer to tell
their story out of court, in the hope of
frightening Cooney and the others out of
the straight course they were taking.
They hang this criminal charge over all
witnesses Tor the deeds in order to dis
credit them, and so build up their own
cause; but they will gain nothing"
The civil trisl-the ejectment suit OF