The San Francisco call., 1897-03-05

means and manner of producing the evl.
dence."
"We want to get at the truth" ex-
planned Chairman Belshaw, ''and we want
to treat every body fiirly, but we don't
want TO be hampered by unnecas >ary work,
and we don't want anything that is not
| strictly relevant TO the case. We are in
| the last part of the session, and we want
! this matter finished before We adjourn.
| The com mmittee is in favor of giving the
Examiner every opportunity OF proving
| the charge and we want them to be as
| brief as possible"
Knight replied that it would require ten
| days for the Examiner to present its case.
and Clunie urged that 1t would save time
| if both committees would sit together.
Belshaw announced that the chairman
| OF the Senate committee had sent him
word that the Senate committee preferred
| to hold separate sessions. 1t would sit in
the evenings, while the Assem- bly, COM
mittee would hold day sessions; each
com mittee was inq uirng as to the charge
made against its own branch of the Leg
islature.
knight had another trial at the matter.
He said that he had been in the Senate
when the resolution came up and was
voted down, practically denying the Elk.
aminer to take the Investigation out of
the hands of the committee and run it in
its own way. He and his client had a
right to look upon the Senate committee
as hostile.
"One moment, if you please" inter-
rupted Chairman Belshaw, ~ don't
think that this committee will allow the
Examiner to conduct its investigation,
and | want it understood that this COM
mittee, and not the Examiner, is conduct
ing this investigation.
"You don't know whether those charges
In fad
come here to show that they are true, and
you won't have it; want to quit
81 don't care what you want to dc" re-
torted Mr. Belshaw, "but we don't want
you to cond duct the examinations.
Hill said that the affair was simply an
| investigation and that the Assem- bly, COM
| mittee had extended to the Examiner the
courtesy of being represented by counsel.
| 'sWe want to get through as quickly as
possible and we don't propose to allow
anv fishing excursions. We will allow
| you to cross-examlne any witnesses so
! long as you don't interfere with the iegiti-
mate progress of the examination. We
don't care what the Senate committee may
] do in the matter"
| knights superb gall protruded itself
| once more through the environment. He
said: 1--WE must do one thing Or the other.
! We have the laboring oar TO prove this
matter to be true, or we have no business
| here at all. The Examiner. people are
| here and represented by their counsel,
and # this committee desires 10 investi-
gate this affair the Examiner must have
! exclusive control OF the investigation.
! We want the exclusive right OF introduce
the truth of the statements made in the
article, otherwise l don't see how we can
proceed"
After considerable more of this kind of
! bluff, which led the spectators 10 believe
that the Examiner might have some evil
dence up its sleeve, LAWYER William Bag
gett of San Francisco, the fountain head
OF the ibelous article, was called to the
stand.
The witness swore that he was an attor-
ney for the plaintiff in the Hale & Nor
| cross suit, and he came to the conclusion
that Mr.. Caminetti's bill very seriously
affected that case. 1t was an attempt TO
disquallfy the Judge sitting in that case
in the event of it being sent back from
the Supreme Court. He heard last Wednes-
| day or Thursday of the bill, and he at
once notified his friends and went to the
Examiner editorial rooms and called Mr.
Lawrence's attention to the Dill, giving
the opinion that he, Baggett, consid cred
ii an indirect attack on Judge Hebbard.
On the following day, as q result of that
sweet communion of spirit an editorial
was DOTH III the E4dInlDeT calling atten-
tlon, IN accordance with Baggett's opinion
TO the demerits of the bill. Apparently
the editorial was not strong enough, or did
not come before the ewes of sufficie t
number of people, for Mr.. Baggett went
on a new trail and used his ears. He
heard a day or two after that that money
vas being used, or would be used. 81
think" "Hhe added, that the amount
named was that they were paying $3.50
apiece for votes in the Senate. Mr.. Eich-
koff, an attorney in San Francisco, in
formed me that that was what he had
heard"
Mr.. Baggett, after surprising the com nit
tee by telling what he had heard Mr.. Eich-
koff say about what he had heard some
where unknown and from some one un-
named, Immediately reported to his ally
that he had heard that $3.50 was being paid
or offered for votes in the Senate.
On the following week he came to Sac
ramento and met Major Gillis just outside
the Golden Eagle Hotel. '.He made a
surmise," continued Mr. Baggett, that l
had come up here in the interest of that
bill, and he told me that there was no use
in trying to do anything; that the matter
was liked. There is money IN this thing,
and unless you are ready to put up some
money you are gone, said the Major"
II SAID continued Mr.. Baggett, his
bosom swelling with unwonted emotion
Major, if it would cost me only Is cents
to STOP the passage of the bill would not
pay it,
This remark produced a marked i'm
preston upon the audience, and E. J.
Smith wiped his eye with his cuff.
"At that time" resumed Mr.. Baggett,
"The bill was on the Senate fle." He
| (Baggett) went on to tell how he had gone
to different Seniors to lobby against the
bill. He found that Senator MorehOuse
| had made a motion that the bill should
be denied third reading, and the motion
was defeated by vote of Is to is. He
found also that Senator Stratton had
| voted against More houses motion. Sena-
tor Bert told him that he had promised to
vote for the bill. There were 20 votes in
the Senate in favor of the bill, which was
one less than rhe constitutional ajoritv.
Senator Morehouse voted aye on the
passage Of the bill and some one else came
| IN. and voted aye, so that there was one
vote more than majority. Baggetg re-
marked to Morehouse that he must have
voted aye for the purpose of giving notice
OF motion to reconsider. Senator More
| house denied that such lad been his in
tention. Then Baggett suggested that as
the bill had won bs only one vote outside
of Warehouses; it could be defeated on the
| next day. Morehouse replied that it
could not he done.
| Baggett confessed this made him dis
heartened and discouraged. He went out
| into the hallway and met Attorney Nor
4