Los Angeles herald., 1907-03-21

| y v I1dlSGy, lOllllSl SGilGl oil el5CllI VI
!. the Pacific States Telephone COM i
J. pany.
!. Halsey is now in Manila INSTALL !
i ing a telephone service. i
i ! !. !. J. \ \ i ! ! i J. i + i i i
By Associated Press.
SAN FRANCIS 90, March 20.-The
long looked for indictments N the mu-
nicipal graft cases were returned to-
night.
Shortly before o'clock the grand
| jury filed with Presiding Judge Coffey
of the superior court seventy-five in
dictments charging bribery, which were
found on evidence presented to the
grand jury after six months probing
into the municipal affairs of this city
by Assistant District Attorney Francis
j. Heney and Secret Service Agent Will
liam j. Burns, and which reveal an
amazing story of alleged graft and cor
ruption that surpasses the Doodle cases
of st. Louis, ranks with the Minneapo-
lis expose and is only eclipsed / the
it's ramifications and organization, by
the famous Tweed ring of New York.
OF the indictments returned today,
sixty-five are against Abraham Ruef,
for years the political boss of San
Francisco, charging him with bribing
the board of supervisors to grant fran
chises 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 Telegraph company,
who is charged with having bribed the
supervisors not to grant a franchise to
| the rival company.
Five Not Filled
One indictment against Ruef and four
more against Halsey, which it is un-
derstood were also returned today, were
not filed in open court. Several more
| indictments, the exact number and
against what persons Heney and Burns
refuse to divulge until the accused
parties have been arrested, were re-
turned by the grand jury but not filed,
Heney and Burns not even trusting the
secret file.
On the sixty-five counts of bribery
against Ruef, seventeen are in connec-
tion with the granting of the over
head trolley franchise to the United
Railroads Immediately after the disas-
| ter of last April; seventeen are based
upon the money alleged to have been
spent by the Gas company to secure
an S5-cent gas rate as against a 10
cent rate; thirteen refer to the passage
of money by the Home Telephone COM
pany to obtain franchise for bid of
1000, and which it has been declared
was worth at least $1,000,000, and eigh-
teen indictments are based upon the
| alleged bribing of the supervisors by
Ruef to grant fight permits only to the
so-called fight trust of this city, which
is composed of Eddie Graney, Norris
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
beard of supervisors, and sort of gen.
eral distributing agent for all who de-
sired privileges from the supervisors.
Where HaIsey Stepped In
The indictments against Halsey
charge the agent of the Pacific States
Telephone and Telegraph company with
having bribed fourteen members of the
board of supervisors to refuse the rival
company a franchice.
Judge Coffey fixed the bail at $4,000
on each indictment, or total of $780,
900 for Ruef and $100, 900 for Halsey.
The latter is a brother-in-law of the
late John l. Sabin, formerly president
of the Pacific States Telephone and
Telegraph company, later at the head
of the telephone system in Chicago,
and a brother-in-law Of Louis Glass,
president of the Philippine Telephone
company.
Halsey has for some time been In
Manila installing the system in the
islands. He has been under surveil-
lence for several days and extradition
papers win be applied for as soon as
he has been taken into custody,
orders have been cabled for his ar
rest.
In the overhead trolley deal Ruef.
according to Burns. was given $4S5, 900
by the United Railroads, Of which the
political boss is alleged to have divided
$91 900.
OF this amount $4,000 is said to have
been given to each OF fourteen super
vlsors. two received $4,000 each and
one $4,000.
Prize Fight Trust
In the restricting OF boxing permits
to the big four OF the fight trust, the
Indictments charge that $500 was given
TO each OF eighteen supervisors, or a