The San Francisco call., 1907-03-19

city were still hot ana WINE N-~AAS
clad citizens were dependent on the
bread line for their iprecarious nour-
ishment. the Board OF Supervisors met
in Mowry Hall on Laguna street ana
voted away from the city two valua-
BILE franchises. For one-the permit
to the United Railroads TO transform
its cable lines into trolley systems,
the city received not cent Each Su-
pervisor got $4,000 and Abe Ruef, the
indicted. imprisoned boss, and Mayor
Sohmitz are said to have received the
remainder Of the 100000.
The Home Telephone Company paid
for its franchise-paid the vast sum OF
SIS. 900 TO the city, where II had paid
$4,000 70 the city OF Oakland Tor a
similar privilege OF Infinitely less
worth. Now 1t develops, as was sus-
pecfed. that the Home Telephone
Company bribed Ruef and Schmitz to
secure it's franchise and the Super
visors gave the double cross" 20 the
Pacific States Telephone Company,
which had already bought up" the
board.
Ever since those two rights TO pub
lie utilities were given. for nothing By
the Supervisors the citizens aoquaint-
ed with the work OF Ruef and the
character OF the men he had put in
, office. from Mayor Schmitz down TO
the least grssping Supervisor, felt that
there was crooked work behind the
corporate benefactions.
PLENTY OF PETTY CRAFT
IN addition TO these big deals the
city was full OF evidences OF pettier
( grafting-of corruption and extortion
1 and bribery which has dourished ever
since the obediently criminal Mayor
Schmitz first took Office and IN q pub
lie letter gave Abe Ruef, his boasted
master, carte blanche to prey upon
the city which he has so oastardly mis-
governed Saloon keepers gave trib-
ute 20 Ruef that the Board OF POLICE
Commissioners might grant them legal
rights and law1ess privileges French
restaurant keepers were forced TO pay
fees 10 Ruef and Sohmitz, and now
Ruef and Schmitz are under indict-
ment and trial for the specific offense
of extorting those fees
The fight trust" Is said TO have
paid enormously for the privilege Of
conducting the boxing game.
After the fire the operations of the
Ruefiings continued, and the Super
visors who had been poor men before
they went into Office blossomed out
prosperously, and all on 500 a month
Schmitz went TO Europe In expensive
style
Last fall Rudolph Spreckels, feeling
the corruption of the city, insured q
fund OF 100000 for the prosecution Of
the grafters. District Attorney Lang
don announced on October 20 that he
had appointed Francis J. Heney As
sistant District Attorney to carry on
the work OF g graft investigation. and
that Heney was to be aided by william
} J. Burns, the famous special agent Of
The ITnfTad States C1CuaruDnanf Than
the sapient Immediately saw approach
ing an expose OF the trolley" the
Home Telephone and the other CRAFTS.
Ruef saw It, too. Mayor Schmitz was
then IN Europe and Supervisor James
i Gallagher, the man who passed the
money among his associates. was act
ing MayoH
It was a great opportunity for Ruef
and Gallagher. They had q shred
more Of position in those days, not FIVE
months ago, for Ruef was not then In
dicted and fncarcerated, and Gallagher
had not then confessed to the crime Of
prostituting his official position for
United Railroads and telephone com
panies gold and silver and small cop
pers- So Gallagher. taking Ruers or
ders as implicitly as he had taken the
purse from his master in the previous
spring, issued a manifesto Of some sort
80 removing" Langdon and Heney Ruef
grew oratorical and denounced the vile
conspiracy" But no Judge would pay
the least attention TO Ruef or his faith
ful Gallagher. and Heney kept on be-
ing Assistant District Attorney, and on
October rs said:
With the fullest sense of the re-
sponsibility resting in me name
among such corrupt and criminal off,
cials (against whom evidence is to be
brought before the Grand jury Mayor
N-alrr
each and every one of the eighteen
members OF the Board Of Supervisors
II is TO prevent such exposure of their
3nfamy that Ruef, Gallagher and the
Supervisors. IN their panic fear Of the
felon's cell. have taken this utterly a.
legal step TO remove Langdon and me-"
HONEST GRAND JURY SECURED
During that time the impeachment Of
the Grand jury was proceeding before
Judge Graham Ruef, pretending to
be District Attorney, tried to insinuate
himself into its formation, but the
court ruled Langdon de facto District
Attorney and Heney promptly weeded
out OF that body such men as Ruef
would wish to have in the investigation
An honest, impartial jury was impan-
ieled, and on Wednesday, November H.
1T began its sitting, Immediately start
Ing an Investigation into the French
restaurant graft, which has resulted IN
the Indictment of Mayor Schmftz and
Ruef on five charges of extortion.
The public clamOred for excitement
though. and when the smaller gratis
were uncovered il cried for a sterner
diet-it wanted the trolley and tele-
phone scandals exposed. But the time
was not ripe for that Heney and
Burns knew what they were doing and
they did not include the public IN their
condolences, but worked on silently
For a while all the excitement fur
nished IN the graft cases was the
product OF Ruef's panic and Henry
Ach's technical ingenuity. On manifold
appeals Ruef tried to get out of the