The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1907-03-19
GRAND JURY NET
BEING SPREAD
More Eminent Citizens of San
Francisco Have Reason
to Be Alarmed.
DIGGING INTO CORRUPTION
EVIDENCE OF GRAFT IN HIGH
PLACES.

San Francisco. March 1S.-The action
of the grand jury in bringing before it
today the members of the board of su-
pervisors aroused the greatest interest
in the proceedings of that body, which
has been forced to suspend its sessions
on account of the doubts thrown upon
its legality of existence by the attor-
neys of Mayor Schmitz and Abraham
Ruef, indicted for alleged extortion.
When it was announced tonight that
the grand jury would probably remain
in session all night, it was conceded
that extraordinary results might be-
looked for. To add to the public excite
ment the Bulletin tonight published an
extra declaring that further exposures
of municipal corruption had been made
and that many indictments would soon
be made. In certain circles the state
ments We're given credence because of
the knowledge that the Bulletin people
have been openly securing evidence TO
aid Assistant District Attorney Heney
in his prosecution of public officials.
Street Franchise Graft.
The Bulletin says that plot involv-
ing the granting of valuable street rail-
way PRIV iit1tS WIS ldlu btIt NDudE
1t is charged that the sum of $3.50, 900
vas paid to high officials to permit of
the conversion of street railway sys-
TENS into electric lines, and that the
bulk of this money was retained by "a
mysterious man." and that small sums
of money were Darcelled out to minor
city officials to secure enough votes to
permit of the granting of the required
franchises. Another story is that rival
telephone companies each paid large
sums of money. one to shut off com
petition and the other to secure the
right of competing for public patron
age.
Corruption Fund.
Another charge is that a corruption
fund of $4,000 was raised by prize
fight promoters to secure a monopoly
of fight permits. The railway fran
chises and the telephone franchise were
passed by the supervisors in the days
of the confusion Immediately following
the earthquake of April IS. The super
visors were directly concerned with all
of these legislative acts. 1t has been
believed by persons closely associated
with the district attorneys office that
some confessions nave been obtained
which have direct bearing on charges
privately ana publicly made. Assist
y
days ago when asked for a candid per-
sonal opinion of his evidence against
officials indicted and about to be in
djcted. said: Il have stronger evidence
against these people than I had in the
land fraud cases in Oregon, and where
the iuTies convicted"
All Night Session.
The inquisitorial body was called to-
gether at II o'clock this morning, and
by this evening practically ali the
members of the board of supervisors
had entered the grand jury room. With
the exception of IA very brief recess at
! o'clock, the grand jury was in session
all day, and shortly after District At
torney LangdOn announced to the
newspaper men that it would not COM
plete its work of examining the city IA
theirs until midnight or even later.
Beyond stating that all the supervis-
ors had been subpOenaed to appear be-
fore the grand jury and would be in
terrogated, Mr.. L5ngdon refused to
talk or give any inkling as to the in
vestigatiOn that the inquisitorial body
was pursuing.
Assistant District Attorney Heney
and Detective Burns were much in evil
dence around the grand jury headquar-
ters-
Commissioner Wilson, an ex-super-
visor; II. NJ. Owens. an attorney; Ru-
dOlph Spreckels and a young woman
whose name was given by Burns as
Miss Smith. and who is said to have
been employed by the board of SUPER
visOrs as stenOgrapher, We're also be-
i I.