Los Angeles herald., 1907-10-05
ROGERS PLEA
IS THRILLING
ATTORNEY FOR FORD NEARLY
EXHAUSTED
FORCED TO REST AFTER TiRINo
EFFORT
Heney Replies, Declaring He Did Not
Call Ruef Because He Could
Not Trust
Him
(Continued from Page one.)

(Contfnued from Page One.)
less he told "the story of the board Of
supervisors skullduggery."
O'Gara interrupted Rogers at this point
with the declaration that the newspaper
incident did not happen until after Loner-
gan had been before the grand jury, and
that tne insinuation that Lonergan had
revamped his testimony at the behest of
Spreckels was deliberately and unquali-
fiedly false"
The two lawyers thundered at each
other for several minutes in kind, O'Gara
finally shouting that If Lonergan's con-
fession was made under threats and CO.
ercion the story itself should be viewed
by honest men as lie. Rogers snapped
this up by replying that under that rea-
soning the jury must view the testimony
of all the supervisors in this case as a
web of lies, for every one of them testi-
fled under the weight of notorious coer-
cion imposed by Spreckels. Burns and
Heney.
At l2:l5 Rogers requested an adjourn
ment, as he was obviously exhausted by
the vehemence of his pleading.
Rogers, resuming at the afternoon ses-
sion, impressed upon the jury the exac-
tions of the law that the burden of proof
Is upon the prosecution and that the de-
the testified circumstances are consistent
with his guilt and exclude beyond rea-
sonable doubt his innocence.
He laid powerful stress on the failure
and refusal of the prosecution to make a
witness of Ruef after promising in their
opening statement to prove by the testi-
mony Of Ruef that Ford paid the 5000 900
of bribe money to him.
Rogers demanded to know why, If Pat
IL (Nol1 I,
visors, he did not transport the 100000
here secretly and so hide his tracks, in j.
stead of passing 1t publicly through the
mint In broad daylight and through the
relief of corporations, 'at the time the
most public place in San Francisco, &c
not in the country" He queried the Jury
why Heney did not fulfill his boasted
promise" to show that this 100000 was
never entered in the United Railroads
books.
Says Heney Sidestepped
When we brought our books here"
said Rogers. "Heney sidesteppedAhe
evaded his promise-he made no attempt
to make good.
IF Mr.. Heney is going to get convlc-
tion on paper money. If he's going to
send man to the penitentiary on the
dominations OF currency, perhaps he will
be adroit enough to harmonize for you
the testimony of his own mint officials
tnat the largest bills they gave Gen.
Ford were gold certificates of the de-
nomination Of 800. and the testimony Of
his own immunity-batheds supervisors that
they got $500 bills said Rogers.
He closed finally with strong though
not bitter arralgnment of Rudolph
Spreckels. Heney, Burns and District At
torney Langdon Heney he accused as a,
private prosecutor, of coming his pro-
fession for the blood OF TREY L. Ford
and his weeping wife,
Mr.. Rogers finished at BIT o'clock and
Judge Lawlor ordered a brief recess.
Heney Uses PIacard
1t was 1925 when Heney began his ar
gument. AS in the Glass case he had
erected on huge easel in front of the
jury box a letter placard bearing tab
ulated figures OF the United Railroads
bank deposits and Withdrawals of funds
and the amounts allegedly expended In
bribes. He said the very fact that the
supervisors on the witness stand varied
in their recitals of circumstances was
the very highest proof that they were
telling the truth, absolutely uninhuenced
by the prosecution. because human minds
almost never see the same thing In ex-
actly the same way.
1T is urged by Mr. Rogers, said
Heney, that am a private prosecutor.