The San Francisco call., 1898-01-14
His Case Will Be Taken Up by the League for Cleaner
 Government.
JUSTICE IS DEMANDED.
Judge Phillips Says the Organization He Represents Will Act
 at Once.
Special Dispatch to The Call.

LOS ANGELES, Jan. 13.-There is quite a general feeling abroad In this community that the League for Better City Government will not prosecute the charges filed against School Director J. H Braly The Board of Education has requested that the league conduct the prosecution. but the general feeling is that the league would by far prefer to defend Braly rather than prosecute him because of his high social standing. In the prosecution the League for Cleaner Government has thus far been repre- scented before the School Beard by Judge J. Noonan Phillips The Judge was asked what position the organiza- tiOn he represented took with regard to Director Braly, and he said:
 Director Braly has been duly charg- ed with having violated the law. The League for Cleaner Government, through me, as its representative, will prosecute MT. Braly just the same as We would any other accused public servant And why should we not? We have said that We have nothing to cOV- CT up in this School Board investiga- uOn, that we were going to probe it to the bottom. Now let us go ahead with ! the probing. Mir. Braly ought to be only too glad to be prosecuted, and l thereby set at rest these rumOrs. If the League for Better City Government de- clines to prosecute MT. Braly, the l League for Cleaner Government, which represent, will. We want no nonsense ] nor sickly sentiment in this business ] We must treat all people alike. That ] IS the only way We can do and do right l by everybody"
 l The announcement of Judge Phillips ] will be in the nature of boomerang in ha pq mn of Tpy1I I've @,-g., are making every endeaVor to head off the investigation.
 Elder J. s. Pittman, ex-member of the School Board, who confessed that JanitOr F. E. Cooper paid him bribe money to be used to secure the reten- ] tion of his position as janitOr. and who decamped some weeks ago, has re- turned from the East. He denies that . he left to escape further exposure in 1 connection with School Board crook edness. He is after Professor Rohde, a teacher in the public school. who has testified that he joined Pittman's church at the time Pittman was a member of the. School Board in order to get position as teacher. ROhde has ! been called up before the church, and an effort Is being made to expell him.
 Pittman claims that he went East on ! church business. When interviewed he l said he had no further statement to make concerning the bribe money he received from JanitOr Cooper.
 Only one witness was examined be- 1 fore the Board of Education tonight in defense of School Director Webb. and this closed the case for the de- fense, with the exception of one wit nesS-the self-confessed perjurer, J. F. Adams, who was ordered subpenaed for tomorrow. The prosecution will put in rebuttal testimony tomorrow.
 Mrs. A. c. Gregory, a teacher who was dropped from the list last June. gave testimony showing how the Times had distorted an interview with her so ! as to engender public feeling against ! Director Bartlett, who has stood by Webb throughout this controversy. In 1 an interview published in the Times of December r Mrs. Gregory had been 1 made to say she had bought piano from Bartlett, which she returned be cause she could not see her way clear i to pay for it and that she had lost her 1 position because she had returned the piano. On the stand tonight she de- clared that she had never stated to the Times reporter who interviewed her that she had lost her position be- cause O fthe return of the piano.
 Mrs Gregory created a stir for a mo- ment when she admitted that she had 1 tried to secure her position for another | term by means of money.
 Whom did you try to buy?" asked Attorney Meserve for the defense.
 "I decline to answer" replied the wit ness.
 ITO whom was the money to go?'' 1 persisted the attorney.
 'I supposed it was to go to the 1 board"
 None of the three papers which com l pose the journalistic combine of Los 1 Angeles has been more unfair in its handling of the School Board investiga- tion than the Express. So peculiar are its ideas that even the newsboys of Los i Angeles, a most worthy lot of young sters and mostly attendants at the pub lie schools. struck to-day. There are about fifty of these lads. They met last night, and to-day distributed the fol- | lowing printed notice on the streets:
 To the Public: We take this means of l informing you that we, the Newsboys' Union of Los Angeles, have declared a strike against the Evening Express until | they agree to sell us papers at price at i which we can make living by selling ] them with other papers on the streets. 1 At present they charge the newsbOyS 3 | cents a copy. so we have to sell them at them over the counter at their office to | the public for centS-1 cent less than ] they sell them to newsboys-which is an imposition on the newsboys and the pub | lie Therefore we ask you to cooperate with us in fighting this wrong. Yours THE NEWSBOYs' UNION OF LOS AN
 GELES.
 Not single copy of the Express was sold on the street to-day.
 r. t6a No.