The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1907-05-20
SAN FRANCISCO
IN AWFUL SHAPE
Judge w. H. King Says 1t Is in
a Condition Bordering
on Anarchy.
ALL WALKS OF LIFE
ARE DEM0RALIZED
Utah Men Present i'm Court
When Abe Ruef Entered His
Plea of Guilty.

Conditions of complete demoraliza-
tion, bordering upon anarchy, prevail
in every walk Of life in San Francis.
CO." said Judge William II, King Sat
urday night Judge King has Just re-
TUNED from the California CITY. after
! farlng spent several days ihcre on
legal business, He was present in court
when Boss Ruef pleaded guilty to the
indictment charging MIN with extor-
tion.
. 1t will take the city at least fifteen
years to recover from the present aw-
full conditions which prevail there, /"
CONTINUED Judge King. eff, indeed, 1T
ever RECEIVERS at all. There is demorali~
zatlon In business; the civic and politi
cal hfe of the community has been de
hauched, and corruption has run riot.
Town Is Not Prosperous.
Whistling to keep up their cour-
age, San Franciscans will say to you,
See what we've done since the FIRE
AS matter of fact, one is surprised
ward rebuilding the city. One is al
most shocked at the 'To Let signs to
be seen all over the city on buildings
which have been erecgeu since the FIRE
IL is apparent to me that the popula-
ton of the city Is az least 100000 less
than 1t was before the disaster.
In many, instances new, buildings
which have been projected have been
abandoned. In other instances work
has been stopped on buildings in the
course of erection. This fact is due
largely TO the arbitrary, tyrannica and
high handed tactics OF labor unionism
as unionism is conducted in San Fran
cisco. The greed. tyranny and graft OF
the union bosses has been a material
factor in retarding the rebuilding of
the town. This must not be construed
as a condemnation of labor unions gen
orally, but il is true Of San Francisco
labor unions.
Violence During the Strike.
'Lawless conditions during the
present street car strike have been aw-
full. While ] was there many Mystic
Shriners were coming to the city and
they would attempt to ride op the
street cars. | saw crowds Of strike
sympathizers following decent women
as they boarded street cars and apply
ing all kinds of vile epithets to them
This sort Of thing was permitted to 90
on practically unchecked.
90 At the st. Francis hotel, where
stopped, n party of one hundred tour
lists from Los Angeles came in. They
had intended TO stay in the city several
days. When they found what cond-
next train. Tourists are giving the
city the go-hy.
"It is impossible TO describe the
scene of devastation left by the disas-
ter. 1t is this scene which impresses
one with the fact that little has been
done toward rebuilding the city since
the disaster Consider the disaster,
hn Lob nd hn eI l.
revelations of political corruption, San
Francisco has received terrible blow.
Los Angeles, Seattle and Portland have
been gaming in prestige while San
Francisco has been losing prestige,
trade and business generally.
Heard Ruef Plead Guilty.
"I was standing on the edge Of the
crowd in the courtroom when Abe
Ruef pleaded guilty. [ heard his
speech and saw his back and profile
There was nothing eloquent in the ad-
dress which he made to the court It
was rather a whine. He is a little, |
pressed me, as we'll as others, as a
man driven into corner and making
last desperate play to save himself |
from the penitentiary. He is generally |
regarded as having yellow streak in
him.
In my judgment, huel WAS prom
ised practical immunity by Assistant |
District Attorney Heney. who is in
charge Of the graft prosecutions. 1t |
should be borne in mind that Heney is |
really special counsel for the State en-
gagged and paid by, Rudolph Spreckles |
and other citizens who have private |
axes to grind. Heney, in my opinion,
is anxious to convict those whom |
Spreckles wishes convicted and cares
nothing for those who are not in |
Sprcckles' 8 bad books. ] look to see
Mayor Schmitz sent TO the peniten-
tiary. His bubble has burst.
Hope of San Francisco,
"The hope of San Francisco con-
cluded Judge King, "is in the Harri-
man railroads and the United States
government. These two factors, on ac-
count of the great harbor there, may
co operate to build up the city. But
the old San Francisco which we Of the
West knew and loved has gone for
ever, and the new San Francisco is
sorely distraught."
Judge King will leave this morning
for st. Paul to argue the case Of
Godfrey eft al VS.. the Utah Consolidated
Mining company ct al. He appears for
the plaintiffs, who secured an injunc-
tion from Judge Marshall in the Fed
eral court against the alleged smelter
nuisance. The case is set for argu-
ment in the United States Circuit
court Of appeals at ST. Paul on May
%. Judge w. II, Dickson, representing
the smelter interests, left Saturday for
ST. Paul.