The San Francisco call., 1906-11-01
University-Bred Boss Is
Bitterly Arraigned
by ]. D. .Phelan.
Ex- Mayor Excoriates
Buccaneer Ruef and
Administration.

STANFORD UNIVERSITY, Oct. 81
James d. Phelan. ex-Mayor of san
Francisco. appeared before the student
body OF stanford University at a reg
ular university assembly this morning
and though slated to tell the collegians
about the conditions in San Francisco
in the days following the disaster and
how the relief work was carried on. in
dramatic and eloquently terse sem
tences he excoriated the Schmitz ad-
nlinistra5iOn and particularly the '.uEii-
versity-bred boss. as he called Abe
Ruef. Each onslaught of the speaker
was greeted by the cheers Of the stu.
dents.
PheIan fayed every department OF
the "fnfamo1s AID OdfOux" nGmfnfstra-.
tom He made references TO the graft
ing In the city administration Rs far
back es the first term of Mayor Schmitx.
He declared that the audaefty of the
.suniversIty-bred bOss'' of San Fran
cisco was only equaIed by his viliafny.
The assembly was held under the
auspices of the Social Service Club
After the address Phe1an apOlogized
to the assembly for deviating from his
subject but when interviewed he SAT-:
L wish to make no apology or retrae-
tion. What / have said will be felt
only by the guilty in San Francisco
Phelan spoke of. the days of the
''VigiIantes." but did not advocate vio-
1ence a matters now stood IN the me-
trOpclis. san Francisco" he said, 'ts
competent to handle her troubles with
out resorting TO violence" He said he
believed the time was close when the
courts and people of San Francisco
would force the boss and his gang into
the public institutions.
Continuing. Phelan said: The probienl
80
/ TO the people after the disaster was a
great one. The committee of fifty ap4
pointed by the Mayor, you might say
had absolute rule over the city after
the fire The Supervisors had disap-
peared into their holes. They had gone
and we hoped forever They were
gone whittier none could tell. and wa
in our charity hoped TO heaven-there
are enough devils in hell"
This aHusion evoked applause from
those assembled.
Phelan told how. fguratively. the
City Hall flew the red flag when the
Schmitz administration came into Office.
This was not the flag OF anarchy, I
} told my friends: IL was only the flag OF
auction. Under the domination OF those
craven fellows anything was for sale
( and everything had price"
! He went on TO tell OF the graft
which the administration has tried to
make out of the water system and con~
demned their devious methods IN strong
terms. Phelan said that the university
\ from which Ruef took hts degree should
not be held responsible for the after
I deeds of the boss. as Ruef himself has
4 declared he did not enter polf7tcs until
after graduation and until after he was
of age.
''Ruef Is just clever enough ito keep
out of jail said Phelan. He is in
/ the same class as Collins. He knows
the technicalities of the law to a nicety.
/ but he never was a successful lawyer.
know Of no large or prominent case
he ever handled"
Phelan closed the address by stating <
I that the idea of his visit here was not
to dwell upon the political situation In
the city. but that as he mad allowed
himself to become infused with the
spirit he did not believe II was out OF
/ place. as San Francisco needed relief
from graft and corruption as much as
/ from anything else.