The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1907-07-12
BOXTON ADMITS
HE WAS BRIBED
Tells Jury in Glass Case of AC-
Gepting SIS, 900 in Large
Bills for His Vote.
WOULDN'T STAY BOUGHT
DAMAGING TESTIMONY AT YES
TERDAY'S HEARING.

San Francisco, July 11.-Dr. Charles
Boxton, the temporary mayor of San
Francisco, on the witness stand in the
Glass trial this afternoon. told the
story of his debauchment by Theodore
V. HaIsey, the indicted agent OF the
Pacific States Telephone company,
who, as testified, paid him $4,000
mostly in 800 bills" for having voted
and used his influence as "A supervisor
against the granting of rival fran
chise to the Home Telephone company.
The cross examination of Mayor Box
ton was scarcely under way when Dis
trict Attorney Langdon interrupted at
4:30 .. m. TO ask an adjournment TO
permit BOXtOn to attend "a very i'm
pOTtant meeting of the board of su-
pervisors called for 3 o'clock" Judge
Lawlor consented after it appeared
that President Henry T. Scott of the
Pacific States company, the witness on
the prosecution list, was not in at
tendance, though he had been specially
summoned.
Il wish it distinctly understood" the
judge said, that any witnesses who
are absent when court opens at II
o'clock tomorrow, will be brought here
by process. No witness will be ex-
cused from attendance, no matter who
he is or what are his business engage
ments. without the special consent of
the court"
Didn't Stay Bought.
The first and only important ques-
ton asked of DIR. Boxton in cross ex-
animation before he was excused,
brought out the answer that the super
visorial caucus at which a majority of
the eighteen supervisors decided to
ha he
company-by whom, according to their
confessions TO the grand jury, they
had been bribed-and vote a franchise
TO the Home company, was held in
the office of Mayor Schmitz, on the
Sunday evening preceding Feb. &c.
1905. Bottoms cross examination by
Delmas will be resumed tomorrow
morning.
Attorney William Thomas, of the law
firm of Thomas. GerstIe. Frick &
Beedy, was the first witness called by
Mr.. Heney.
Mr. Thomas said that as attorney for
the Home Telephone company of San
Francisco, he drew up that corpora
TONS application for a telephone fran
chise competitive with the Pacific
States COmpany's. The original of this
application was filed with the clerk of
the board Of supervisors. and a CODY
said, were destroyed in the April fire.
but he could give the jury the full sub
stance Of the matter contained He
proceeded to do this by reading an ap-
plicatiOn made to the Berkeley city
government, which, he said, was a
copy of the San Francisco document
One of the vital allegations in the fndict-
ment is that this application was pending
in tho board of supervisors when the al
legged bride of $500 was paid to BoxtOn
to vote against II. To prove this tendency,
Heney asked Thomas If he appeared be-
fore the board in support OF the applica-
ton between certain dates prior to the
time Of the alleged bribery. To this ques-
ton Delmas objected at length, desiring
as he does, to establish the contention
that at the time the money was paid To
BoxtOn the application was not legally
pending-hence that no vote relative to ii
could have been influenced, therefore no
bribery was committed.
The element of bribery" ruled Judge
LawlOT, lis the influencing cOrruptly of
a public official in the performance of his
public duty. Therefore the testimony is
admissible as tending to show the circum-
stances involved in the corruption"