The Marion daily mirror. (Marion, Ohio) 1892-1912, 1907-05-16

Again the tears and the choking
and the long look out Of the window
last night, gathered my family
about me in this prison house of
mine and prepared them for the act
| had determined upon That would
mean one day Of sorrow. To go on
would have meant months OF agony
end death.
81 don't know what my sentence
will be. For myself, I don't greatly
care ] say to you now, and you can
Judge il / boast, that no man pos
sesses physical nerve more than
ldo. could face9 "a tdr0wd OF 1--WE
Thousand men, of ten thousand men.
every one with a rope in his hand,
land calling for my life .I could face
I'them calmly and meet my end with
out finching. But the suffering OF
those love I could endure no longer.
! say, ! d0 not know what my sent
ence will be. If it be FIVE years across
the bay, I can meet that when II
comes. believe that with my per
sonality, and leaving out Of consider
lation the feelings of those who love
me. and have stood by me. could
spend five years in San Quentin al
most as comfortably as in a hotel at
Napa Springs. But If the step I
took this morning had meant FIVE
years or fourteen years or fourteen
hundred years, the fear Of that
would not have deferred me.
81 have made no confession.
know much Some things I shall
tell, some things shall not tell .
, Whenever an innocent man has been
7 forced into corruption against his
} will, that man l shall protect. When
! ever man, be he high or low, las
| entered into corruption with his eyes
: open, that man | shall expose.
| ~ will not say at the present mo-
ment that Mayor Schmitz Is guilty o.
the charges that have been brough!
against him or that he is innocent
= VI will say this: | wanted to break
l away from Schmitz before his re-
election, n year ago last November
[ and said to him: I am sick of the
whole thing, and want to get out.
! I can't stand for all these labor union
| buns you have gathered around you
| land will appoint. They would eat
| the paint off a house. In answer the
5 mayor begged me to stay with him
: and put up the argument that these
fellows must be allowed their share
or we could never hold the machine
together There was all too much
/ truth in that.
> 81 stayed with Schmitz and stayed
with the machine that | at great labor
and pains had built up and as
, Isembled. ] found them that / had
taken a step away from the high and
: clean ideals with which | honestly
3 assure you ] originally entered the
political field. | found, in short. that
TO hold this machine together, I hat
, to permit and connive at corruption
In the state of affairs existing It. was
9 necessary. But / myself never asked
dollar of any man; never took G
I'''a'Na'N7' 'ciiAl iiOll Llt DuDllC, I0t
things that I did were things thai
hurt no one"
San Francisco, May 1G. Will,
Abe Ruef, who pleaded guilty {,
eXtortion, yesterday, will not adm
making a direct confession he ha
z furnished information that will en-
} able the state to make importan
moves to punish the grafters. 1t i
| believed Ruef's story will e
! far to convict Mayor Schmitz.
/ Judge Dunn has indicated tha
RucP will be sent to prison. Rue
, a an interview today pleads tha
he was forced into corruption
against his will. To hold machin,
together he had 70 permit ant
, connive at corruption. Himself. he
says, never took a dishonest dollar
from the public.