The San Francisco call., 1898-06-24

instead of the descendant of Smooth" John McNab he would have conspired with the Red Comyn and the false Monteith to deliver Sir William Wal lace over to the bloody vengeance of Edward Plantagenet. As it is he is the king-pin of the trio of world beat CTS, and, like Charity-with due apolo- gies-he is ''the greatest of these"
 An apology is due to Colonel Black Bart Burke, the recent arrival from Santa Cruz and a member of the sa- cred band of One Hundred and Three, for emitting his name from the list of nominees for Superior Judge. His is a name that cannot help being tower of strength to any cause. The travel ing public has ever dearly loved it and many stage driver has drawn inspir- ation from it while traversing the mountain ranges on the road to Devils Gulch and Bitter Creek.
 It is admitted on all sides that the most brilliant star in the constellation so hurriedly swept together by the om- nipotent hands of the Three Disgraces is MaXimilian "Parkhurst' Topper the speediest reformer on the track of of fee. There are several close seconda a few third choices and a goodly bunch of 'also rans,' but there is but one Pepper, and he is a crackerjack. Once
 
 Three Wise Guys from Anywhere, he was a boss himself. Now he is a re- former-that is to say, sort of seams treSs in the trinity tailor shop of the gentlemen from Tooley street. Because he is reformer after being shorn of such great power he has been likened to certain members of the French demi-monde, who, after their charms have taken wings, retire from the ,-tl C., fNII -14 Il youth by endowing institutions of piety and learning.
 In the early part of June, 1894, this up-to-date Parkhurst made a speech at Metropolitan Hall. In the course of his address he had occasion to refer to the corruption that has marked the administration of affairs in this city and he frankly confessed that he had been "as deep in the mud as anybody had been in the mire. Some irrever- ent youth in the gallery repied: That's so, Maxey."
 Like all great men Pepper has made mistakes. One of these was his con- fession at a well-remembered meeting of the Tea and Toast Club that he had secured favors at the hands of certain Supervisors at a cost to himself of $650 per month. Commenting on this con- fession the yellow mouthpiece of the re- habilitated Democracy said: "TIe ought to be prosecuted for being guilty of one of the most atrocious crimes in the catalogue of iniquity, crime which is species of treason, destroying the very handspring of government" The same saffron mouthpiece later spoke of the reformer in this wise: His in ability to realize that he has been doing wrong makes weird and almost awe inspiring the nonchalance with which he admits things which qualify him for San Quentin" Still later the same paper exclaims that "the grand jurors who were present in court at the con- clusion of the hearing which granted to Parkhurst Pepper immunity for his failure to answer certain questions seemed almost to hear his insolent question: What are you going to do about it?'"
 But this is ancient history and does not enter into the qualifications re- quired by the Three Tailors of Tooley Street