The San Francisco call., 1897-03-28

Nor Is that all. we want waterway TO Sdl
Francisco. We want the Alviso Slough dredged
and opened, and steamers coming and going,
bringing and carrying out the freight OF this
city and county. 1t was said that the railroad
company was against this measure, and yet
had it not been Tor my voice and vote upon the
floor of the Senate the bill could not have
passed; and behold l, who am charged by the
snall-brained politician, who never has and
who never will DO anything Tor his county or
country. with being II railroad h1rellng, gave
$25, 900 appropriation to the Governor for
approval, TO dredge this channel and lay the
foundation for an artery OF commerce. Had L
opposed it il could never have become a law
with my support 1t stands a law so lar aS
Legislature can make IT.
These are some OF the things which l have
assisted in accompll shing / refer 10 them
only because they are local and directly affect
our personal interest. True, In speaking oil
them l am compelled 10 use the personal pro-
noun Il" not that | would detract from tne
ability, earnestness, honesty and la Dor oil non.
+. &. Franck, whose fidelity to your interests
and whose integrity and uprightne<s maze
him one of the best ana mos. useful mem Ders
OF the Senate. Nor would ! dlsparaSe me
work and care. the honesty and ability OF Mat
Arnerich Jack Kelsey and J. j. McLaurin OF
the Assembly, for these men were true 10 the
trust imposed in them and asslduously aiu 'a
their duty with promptness ana sn eye single
to the interests of this county. They each
made records worthy OF themselves anu non
oraDle to the county speak OF myself pc
cause l am the one attacked not only py tne
Examiner but by those little sheets to which
theExaminer has sent out marked copies with
a request that they say something whlch the
Examiner may copy, 10 make people ochefe
that the ISLANDERS OF that vile sheet meet pub
lie opinion
Now. believe in newspapers 1 believe in
that high-ninded, noble class OF papers W whlch
try to elevate the public morals. educate. set
forth the many great and grand things of our
country and our civilization. The response
bilities of the press are very great. The news
paper which takes the standard of truth
..f,i rir and fri m nnl
news of the day from all over the world but
has constantly in view the uplifting of hu-
manfty, the promotion OF the best interests OF
the country, becomes factor or has influence
in moldtng the thought and progress and
greatness of the nation that no one but God
can estimate. But when newspaper has no
other object or aim than to appeal to vice,
licentiousness and crime, and seeks to live not
on honor, put reyels in dishonor, then the
time has come when an educated and honest
public sentiment should drive such paper
out of the market.
Let us see the truth There was pending in
the legislature bill known as Assembly bill
No. 213, bill framed to change section ITO of
the Code of Civil Procedure of this State. 1t
contained only the provisions now applicable
TO Justices Courts, and gave ntigant right
10 file an affidavit that he could not get fair
and impartial trial by reason OF the bias or
prejudice of the Judge; and upon fling such
affidavit the Judge, if there were more than
one in the county, should send the cause to
some other Judge in the county, or If only one
Judge in the county then TO some other Judge
or call on some other Judge to try the case.
This was the effect of the bill. 1t passed the
Assembly and came to the Senate. Upon its
coming up for the third reading, on February
%, l moved to deny it a third reading. The
motion was lost. l opposed the bill on two
grounds: first that ! wanted it to apply to
criminal as well as civil cases. and because
the affidavit ought TO set forth the facts
wherein the bias or the prejudice OF the Judge
consisted. But, it was claimed by the Sena-
tors favoring the law that it did so provide,
and that was mistaken as to my conStruc-
ton OF the proposed bill. Thereupon a mo-
tion was made that the vote be postponed
until the next day. Upon the next day-the
Oath day OF February-the final vote was
taken, and having no interest, directly or In
directly, in the bill, upon the request OF Sena-
tor Langford OF san Joaquin and w. F. Herrin,
my personal friend, by telegram, voted for
the bill. No one was there lobbying for or
other than 1 have just stated, but with the
purest of motives and purpose cast my vote
for the measure
Now note The result: On Saturday, the 9th
OF February, without any reason or truth, the
San Francisco Examiner came out and charged
as follows:
Bribery in aid OF thevery-Thousands of dollars
corruptly paid mbers of the Legislature to nfiu-
ence their vote-Without a shadow OF doubt men,
bers Of the Assembly and members of the Senate
were bribed TO support the bll-The price paid for
each vote bought in the lower house was S150-In
$500.
Now, as I had Yoted for the bill was neces-
sarily Included in this charge. l could not sit
still and hear the burden of thus, being
charged felon. arose from my seat and de-
nounced the article as far as 1 was concerned
as q lie and the author thereof ss a liar. And 1t
was, and is, a lie. And the author thereof was
and is, a liar.
able Senate do? would you have done?
Would you have sat in your seat and
let falsehood like this pass by? No. No man
who was innocent could dare 81 { still and have
this lying sheet brand felon and coward upon
his forehead. Only guilty man would per-
nit this libel TO stand unchallenged / chal-
lenged the article then and there There was
no mistake in my utterauce. The next day the
Examiner said:
The Legislature determined to know the truth
The innocent bent on bringing venai members to
book.-Explanation Monday morning.
And then, in the body of the article, said:
In the Senate to-day Mr. Morehouse defined hi s
position in the matter by EN- hattie assertion Of
his own honest intention in voang for the meas
ure. and denying the truth of charges that had
never been made against him.
It viii be thus seen that only the next day
the Examiner acquits me fully then had
no fight against the Examiner and it had no
fight against me.
But what should do7 Should and all of
the other members OF the Senate stand quietly
by and have the body, or any member OF the
body, thus charged and not prove the truth?
No. Then, on the Monday following-that is,
the 1st of March, introduced a resolution
demanding an investiga ton, and had q COM
mittee appointed with full powers. We wanted
the truth. Ii there was q member OF our body
guilty OF taking bribes / wanted-the Senate
wanted-to know that man, SO we could e1pel
him. The Examiner said 1t was so. To the
Examiner, then, we must look for our proof,
and as it said ''bey ond shadow of doubt"
we supposed that that paper could and would
furnish US the facts. We had no grievance
against the Examiner. for if it ad written and
published the truth then it deserved the high
est commendation, We were ready, not to
condemn it, but TO praise it.
But behold the result. We subpenaed its
editor and its reporters. They had nothing.
They knew nothing. The truth is that that
paper had willtully and deliberately lied. We
called before the committee and put under
oath every mem ber of the Legislature, and not
one had ever been approached, or knew of
any money being paid, or had been paid any
sum whatever, or knew of any one having
been paid, or Of any person having money, Or
any lobby for or against the bill. We put OH
the stand the men who wrote the article, and
the editor who supervised Its publication, and
they knew nothing. They could not give a
fact. They knew that the article was false,
and that they published the same because
they had probably sold the columns of that
paper to defeat the measure before the Gov
ernor by falsely charging the members of the
Legislature.
Like ours at bay the vile slanderers when
put to the proof hid behind refusal to an
qnd fe ap onaeT its
q writ of habess corpus before Judge Hugh
in the Superior Court and were again COM
init ted to Jail. Again they applied to the Su-
preme Court of the State for another writ and
again by the unanimous decision of that
learned court they are remanded to Jail. Now
like hounds, as they are, they skuik and hide
away from the Sheriff until q writ is issued
by Judge Morrow of the United States District
Court, and they are again remanded. Again
they appeal to the higher court so that time
may pass and the Legislature adjourn, for
they have learned from their attorneys that
the Senate's power terminates with the ses-
sion. All the way through with cowardice,