The San Francisco call., 1907-01-18
GANGSTERS CALLED
AS WITNESSES
Ruef's Friends Make a Bad
Showing in Attempts to.
Remember Their Lines
SUPPLYIS EXHAUSTED

Freshly shaven and painfully
groomed for the ordeal. five friends OF
Abraham Ruef took the stand in Judge
Dunne's courtroom yesterday 10 give
their testimony concerning the bias and
prejudice entertained by Grand Jurors
Morris Levingston and Jeremiah Deasy
against the grafters. on direct exam
iUation they gave their employments
Rs painters, tailors and iron molders.
but probing deeper into the matter II
appeared that one was on the pay roll
OF the Board OF Health a second on
the salary list Of the School Board,
another was well-tried Ruef gang
ster in the Thirty sixth. and another
forgot what he had been expected 20
swear and so his occupation was not
further investigated.
with this impressive array OF char
actcr witnesses the hearing on the mo-
tion TO set aside Indictment 3O3 closes
from sheer exhaustion. There is no
more The codefendant Schmitz was
requested to appear today and the
question why these months Of testi-
mony-talxinF on the alleged bias OF the
Grand Jury shall not apply TO all the
indictments on file viii be settled.
Laurence c. Gull who had managed
the fight OF Lynch against Dick Welch
for the state Senatorship in his dis
trict was the most interesting OF the
had said to him three years ago: Don't
YOU know that that gang is rotten
and should be in San Quentin instead
OF giving out political jobs2' Culfs
memory was Of the farsi GIFTED order.
He remembered exactly what Deasy
had said three years ago. although he
had never spoken TO any one Of tho
matter since that day. but few mo-
ments afterward he failed TO recall the
sentence as he had repeated il TO sam
uel Shortridge. and gave Hiram Johns
son a different version.
QUESTIONED BY JUDGE
II was a newspaper editorial that
fired Gull with the idea that the time
had come 10 speak. he said And so il
happened that when Shortridge called
his name he was there in court to
answer. tt appeared that the attorney
for the grafters had been under the
spell OF the same editorial II looked
bad for Gull and he turned TO the judge
with timid sUpplication.
Il have no interest in this" he pro
tested. and I trust your Honor viii
help me out in this thing.
Judge Dunno took him In hand AMI
gently guided him to paths OF veracity,
whereupon il was discovered that the
editorial had not been the only sum-
mons he had received, and that he had
talked much with Shortridge and others
concerning Llle llEnl ne was 70 SLtu
upon the character Of Deasy.
Edward Baumeister. who followed
Gull. had heard Levingston say things
about the grafters which he had care
fully concealed I'm his bosom until that
minute. That was his testimony on d.
rect examination, but Hiram Johnson
quickly led him into the same adrnis-
siOns Of conversations with Shortridge
and visits TO Ruefs Office. stephen
Gum = janitor in the employ Of the
School Board. and Thomas Kane Of the
Health Board followed, and then the
name Of William Cans was called. Bat
IL appeared that Cans was in Sacra-
mento. where he is enjoying the bounty
Of a place on the patronage list Short
ridge said he was called to testify that
'.he was not IA certain-that is OF 2
low calling.
You mean he viii say that he is
IT a tout and q poolroom booster"
plained Henry Ach. and Shortridge
with an expression Of pain admitted
that those We're the words.
To show our high appreciation of
william Cans we are willing to ad-
init that he viii testify as counsel has
intimated,' interrupted Hiram John
son.
No MORE WITNESSES