The Chanute times. [volume] (Chanute, Kan.) 1897-1913, 1907-03-29
RUFF WASBICBO BOSS
Now the Grand Jury Finds 6s
Indictments Against Him
Charging Bribery.
CORRUPTED SUPERVISORS
Conditions In San Francisco Were
Worse Than Those in st. Louis
When Folk Cleaned
That City.

San Francisco, March 22.-The
long-looked for indictments in the
municipal graft cases were returned
Wednesday night. Shortly after o.
clock the grand jury filed with the
presiding Judge Coffey of the SUI
perior court rs indictments charging
bribery which were found on evil
dence presented to the grand jury af-
ter six months probing into the mu-
nicipal affairs of this city by Assist
ant District Attorney Francis ]. Heney
and Secret Service Agent VIM. j.
Burns and which reveal an amazing
story of alleged graft and corruption
that surpasses the Doodle cases OF st.
Louis, ranks with the Minneapolis ex-
pose and is only eclipsed in the
amount of money passed but not in
its ramifications and organization by
the famous Tweed ring Of New York.
OF the indictments returned 65 are
against Abraham Ruef, for years the
political boss of San Francisco,
charging him with bribing the board
of supervisors to grant franchises to
the United Railroads, the Home Tele-
phone company, the San Francisco
Gas G Electric company and the So
called "prizefighting trust. Ten
are against T. V. Halsey, former gen
eral agent of the Pacific States Tele-
phone & Telegraph company, who is
charged with having bribed the super
visors not to grant franchise to the
rival company. One Indictment
against Ruef and four more against
Halsey, which it is understood, were
also returned Wednesday, were not
filed in open court. Several more in
ditcments, the exact number and
against what person Heney and Burns
refuse to divulge until the accused
parties have been arrested, were re-
turned by the grand jury but not filed.
The indictments against Halsey
charge the agent of the Pacific States
Telephone & Telegraph company with
having bribed IA members Of the
board of supervisors to refuse the
rival company a franchise.
Judge Coffey fixed the bail at $4,000
on each indictments or total of $780,
900 for Ruef and 100000 for Halsey.
In the overhead trolley deal, Ruef,
according to Burns, was given $780,
600 by the United Railroads of which
the political boss is alleged to have
divided $4,000.
Assistant Attorney Heney stated
that Wednesdays indictments "was
the beginning of the end of Ruef" but
merely the beginning of the work OF
exposing the municipal corruption in
San Francisco and the prosecution OF
those "high up, who are responsible
for such conditions in this city"
Heney and Burns not even trusting
the secret file.
OF the 65 counts of bribery against
Ruef, fourteen are in connection with
the granting of the overhead trolley
franchise to the United Railroad COM
pany Immediately after the disaster
of last April. Seventeen are based
upon the money alleged to have been
spent by the gas company to secure
an IS cent gas rate as against rs per
cent rate; thirteen refer to the pass
ing of money by the Home Telephone
company to obtain a franchise for
bid of $4,000, and which it has been
declared was worth at least $1,000
900 and eighteen indictments are
based upon the alleged bribing of the
supervisors by Ruef to grant fight per-
mits only to the so-called fight trust
of this city, which is composed of
Eddie Graney, Morris Levy, James
Coffroth and Willis Britt.
The money in all these case 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
board of supervisors and a sort of gen.
eral distributing agent for all who de-
sired the privilege from the supervis-
Ors