Vernon County censor. [volume] (Viroqua, Wis.) 1865-1955, 1907-04-10

tect themselves and other members
of the Doodle ring from indictment.
Thus, the initial step in the procedure
provided for bringing felonies to trial
have been controlled by a political
boss and his official puppets who have
been footing san Francisco by politi-
cal methods.
By an oversight of Ruef it happened
that an honest man was elected to the
Office of district attorney. This Was
William H. Langdon.
BY his efforts. supported by the
best 1 ewspapers of San Francisco and
by a few philosophical citizens
among them Rudolph Spreckels. a
grand jury was chosen with extra, :
binary precautions against fraudu
lent jury packing.
Before this grand jury the district
attorney laid the evidence obtainel
for MIN by his special assistants.
Francis J. Heney, Hiram johnson and
William ]. Burns. Ruef and Schmitz
were indicted on charges of Grimm Il
conspiracy ana eAlOFuO0.
Has Langdon Removed.
What happened? Having been dis
lodged from the grand jury room
Ruef fell back on his second line of
defense. In the absence of Mayor
Schmitz. Acting Mayor Gallagher is.
sued an order summarily removing
Langdon from Office and appointing
Ruef to be district attorney in his
stead.
But here Ruef discovered for the
first time that there was a weak spot
in his otherwise perfect organization
He was absolut master of the execu-
tive, the administrative and of the
legislative branches of the municipal
government. The mayor. acting
mayor, sheriff, coroner, all of the su-
pervisors, the commissioners, and in
fact every elective officer except he
district attorney and the auditor were
Ruef's servants, but the boss had
failed TO acquire complete power over
all the II superior judges.
This was nc fault of omission on his
part, but a mere slip-up in San Fran
cisco's last municipal election.
Judge Proves Honest.
To RUef's discontinue it befell that
Presiding Judge Graham was one Of
the better sort of judges.
Acting on the rightful assumption
that huef had only had himself ap-
pointed acting district attorney in or
der to quash the indictments against
himself and Mayor Schmitz, Judge
Graham swept aside the illegal APP
pointment, recognized Langdon as
district attorney. and assigned rhe
cases against Ruef and Schmitz to the
department of Judge Dunno, one of
the clean men among the twelve.
Ruef and Schmitz, while pretending
to demand speedy trial, with the help
Of some of the ablest lawyers in san
Francisco, among them the attorney
for the Southern Pacific railroad. re-
sorted to such dilatory tactics thar it
took nearly a hundred days before the
here plea of mot guilty" was entered
Goes UNLIMITED.
Meanwhile, Mayor Schmitz, though
unlimited by President Roosevelt man
aged to attach himself to the party
of San Francisco school men who
were summoned to Washington at the
time that the Japanese exclusion
measure on the part of the San Fran
cisco school board called for immedi-
ate settlement in Washington.
On the day that Mayor Schmitz re-
turned to San Francisco his friend
and legal adviser, Abe Ruef, was def
nitely summoned to face trial When
the time for pleading came Ruef gave
way to terror. He ran from judge TO
Judge with petitions for change Of
venue, for writs of errors and for
writs of habeas corpus. urging all
manner of legal technicalities.
At the same time the California
Legislature, composed of subservient
tools to the boss and to Hartman, at
tempted to pass a bill. framed by
Ruef's secretary and fac totunl, George
Keene, providing that any criminal in
California who might la * confidence
in the judge trying his case, should
be entitled to a change If venue.
There was such an cutlery against
SO Ubiquitous a measure in the public
press of California that the bill Failed
of passage.
Thereupon Ruef and his legal advis-
ers went before Judge Hebbard OF
the superior court. This judge grant
ed to Ruef a writ of error to the SUI
preme court of the United States.
Forgets Heney.
Bit Ruef had not reckoned with
Heney who has a reputation for bull
dog tactics as lawyer and prosecut-
or. When Judge Hebbard granted
Ruef's petition. Mr. Heney and mis-
assistants boldly walked out Of the
court room, publicly denouncing the
judge as a disgrace to the bench.
The bar association of San Francis
co held a meeting over Judge Hell
bards case, and proceedings for his
disbarment and impeachment before
the legislature We're brought against
him
Judge Dunno refused to consider the
actions of this judge as valid. The
prisoner at the bar chose this moment
to disappear His bond of $4,000 was
declared forfeited. The sheriff was
~ L.. T.