The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1899-05-25
TRUSTED TO THEIR HONOR
A NEW THING IN THE FREEING
OF PRISONERS.
Their Attorney Told the Learned
Judge His Clients Were on Their
Way to the Butchers
Picnic.

Justice of the Peace Groezinger acting
Police Judge in the absence of Judge
Treadwell again distinguished himself
yesterday by an instance of the depth of
his legal knowledge and his willingness
to help the crooked and the lawbreaker.
The police had gathered in ten bunko
steerers, men of a gang they had been
chasing for weeks, and the learned jurist
allowed five OF them to go on their own
reCognizance. They were all charged with
Vagrancy, and what recognizance a va
grant has that will pass in court of law
has always been an open question:; but
the question was not too deep a one for
the learned Judge. He accepted their
simple promise to come into court when
called upon, and perhaps he expects them
10 come.
The gang of bunko men which the police
determined TO break up has been operat-
ing for long time. The members of the
gang are all smooth men, and they are
well up on the ways of the bunko men and
of the innocent. They are all things to all
men, and their game is anything from a
gold brick to half interest swindle; they
VIII 90 the employment agency act and
Will sell houses and lots and country
lands they operate in an obscure lodging
house to-day and by tomorrow they have
moved and there is no trace of their
whereabouts. Altogether they have given
me ponce a great deal of trouble, and
nnalIy captain Whitman detailed
Policemen Chappelle and Cullinan to
round them up and bring them in. The
TWO policemen have spent several days
on the trail, and they finally secured
enough evidence to warrant the arrest of
the ten on charges of VagranCy. The idea
was TO corral as many as possible and
When the watch was assembled after the
drill yesterday morning to parade the
prisoners so the men OF the watch would
know them and be able to warn any un-
Suspecung looking person in whose COM
pany they were seen.
The men We're arrested and the plan
gave every evidence of being successfully
carried out. The watch was present and
the prisoners were sent for, but the an
sWer came back that they had all been
released. The records show that two were
released by Judge Graham, each on cash
pau PAL OF 500; three more We're released by
Judge Groezinger on cash bail of $50 and
1--WE were released by Groezinger on their
own recogniZance
When Whitman heard of the release
OF the prisoners he vowed he would make
trouble. He went into Groezinger's court
and from the bar demanded the reason
d a2 me a release Of the men. Groezinger
Mack, had told him the men were limo
%he ana an ., that w they had bgs rFoeed
mic. Then Whitman demanded the r plc-
ognlzance which they had given. and il
turned out that the learned Judge had
not even their signature. For a man to
be released on his own recognizance
means that he has given a bond with
himself as surety that he will appear in
S9urt when called upon. But Judge
Groezlnger had been told the men were
innocent, and had been told by their own
attorney. too, so he dispensed even with
the forma1ty Of securing their sigma
order of court.
of course they were going to the
Pbote cIt; picnic, said Whitman, when
ne emptied the Walls of his wrath on the
learned Judge: and what do you sun
pose they We're going to do over at the
Dutchers picnic? l heard some of them
t Went over anyway, and I have reports
mat two OF them were working on Mar
kel street not two hours after they had
pee oeen released; And what recognizance
decent people and charge them with vag-
ldncy. Inc charge itself should have
SHOWN they ought to have been heidi
one OF the men who was released on his
own recognizance had 1923 in his pockets.
Which ne was not asked to leave as Sc
curlty for his return. He was one Of those
VINO mad the luck to strike the Judge af-
ter he had decided to be liberal. Why this
money was not held for bail is what the
police are asking. Why was it that Groe-
Finger asked first only half as much bail
as Judge Graham asked, and after letting
three OF the men go for $50 apiece sud-
denly come down to a basis of honor
with men who were charged with being
all out of that interesting commodity9
He didn't know the police wanted
them" and Mack told him they were
innocent" were the two pleas in extenua-
ton, and they were all the Judge could
offer: Nearly as sound a basis as that
which gave to the world that wonderful
decision by the same learned Judge de-
claring unconstitutional a valid ordinance
The prayer of the police is that the good
Lord will take Groezinger back to his own
courtroom and away from the Police
Courts.
The men arrested gave these names:
James Gillespie. ]. Evans, John Handy,
James Fragley, ]. w. Simpson, B. Frank
lin, William Golden, John Hall, John Rev
nolds and B. Golden. The occupations
they gave were as numerous as their
names.
Late last evening the prison-keeper was
pleased to see two of his former prisoners
come in again. The officers had captured
Il. Golden and Simpson again and had
arrested them on bench warrants which
the learned Judge Groezinger had hur-
riedly issued on the demand Of the police
Probably the happiest man in the
world is the one who has just invested
in his first wedding ring