The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1907-03-21
He Is Charged in Many Counts
With Having Been Gull
ty of Bribery.
HALSEY ALSO INDICTED.
BOND OF RUFF is PLACED AT
500, 900 AND FOR HALSEN AT
S1oo, ooo-HALSEY IN THE PHIL
IPPINES.

San Francisco. Cal, March 21.-The
| long-looked-for indictments in the mu-
nicipal graft cases were returned last
night. Shortly after O'Clock the
grand jury filed with Presiding Judge
| five indictments charging bribery.
These were found on evidence pre-
scented to the grand jury after six
months probing into the municipal af
fairs of this city by Assistant District
Attorney Francis J. Heney and Secret
Service Agent William ]. Burns.
Of the indictments returned sixty
five are against Abraham Ruef, charg-
ing him with bribing the board of SUI
pervisors to grant franchises TO the
United Railroads, the Home telephone
company, the San Francisco Gas and
Electric company and the so-called
prize fight trust. Ten are against T.
V. Halsey, former general agent of
the Pacific States Telephone and Tel
egraph company, who is charged with
having bribed the supervisors not to
grant franchise to a rival company.
One indictment against Ruef and four
more against Halsey which, it is un-
derstood, were also returned were not
filed in open court. Several more
indictments, the exact number and
against whom Heney and Burns re-
fuse to divulge until the accused per-
sons have been arrested, were re-
turned by the grand jury, but not fill
ed. Heney and Burns not even trust
ing the secret file.
Trolley Franchise Graft.
OF the sixty-five counts of bribery
against Ruef, fourteen are in connec-
ton with the granting of the over
head trolley franchise to the United
Railway company Immediately after
the disaster of last April. Seventeen
are based upon the money alleged to
have been spent by the Gas company
to secure an 50 cent gas rate as
against a seventy five cent rate; thir-
teen refer to the passing of money
by the Home Telephone company to
obtain a franchise for a bid of $685.
900 and which it has been declared
was worth at least $1.O00,000 and
eighteen are based upon the alleged
bribery of the supervisors by Ruef to
grant fight permits only to the social
ed fight trust of this city, which is
composed of Eddie Graney, Morris
Levy, James Coffroth and Willis |
Britt.
The money in all these cases is al |
legged to have been handled by Ruef |
who, according to Heney and Burns, |
was the agent and broker between /
the public service corporations and |
the board of supervisors and sort of |
general distributing agent for all the
desired privileges from the supervi- |
sors.
The indictments against Halsey |
charge the agent of the Pacific States |
and Telegraph company |
with having bribed fourteen members /
of the board of supervisors to refuse |
the rival company franchise
Judge Coffey fixed the bail at $10.-
900 on each indictment. or a total of /
s64O, 900 for Ruef and 500, 900 for Hal /
sey. The latter is brother-in-law
of the late John l.. Sabin, former pres
ident of the Pacific States Telephone
and Telegraph company at the head I
of the telephone system of Chicago,
and a brother-in-law of Louis Glass,
president of the Philippine Telephone
Halsey has been in Manila
a telephone system. He has
been under surveillance for several
days, and papers for his extradition
are being taken out and orders for his
arrest have been cabled