The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1907-03-22
STORY OF CRAFT.
Full Confession of a San Fran
cisco Boodler.
Offers an Excuse That He
Needed the Money.
WERE NOT HELD UP.
Corporation Agents Always
Came Forward With Cash,
All Supervisors Were to Share
and Share Alike.

| San Francisco, March 22@This is the
confession of boodler. 1t is the story
in his own words of Thomas Lonergan' S
election as one of the IS supervisors OF
| San Francisco and the insidious influ-
ence which turned wagon driver, pre-
sumably honest. into a CRATER. The
| Pacific States Telephone and Telegraph
company wanted to block prospective
| charter to a rival company. Lonergan
| accepted $4,000 to vote against the new
| charter. His story told to the grand
! jury is the most valuable evidence The
jury has received in its effort to trace
| graft to Abe Ruef. Mayor Schmftz
and the agents of the Pacific company
How 1t All Came About.
| The confession follows:
Never since 1 have been in public
| office have I asked a man seeking "a
public favor for a dollar. 1 have never
| held UP an individual or a corporation
| in my life. But I have accepted bribes
volu1 teered by many of the public SER
vice corporations of this city and coul.-
~. But the money 1 received from the
bribe givers connected with these instI-
tutions did me little good. For when
the fire came most of my fortune was
burned up. In nearly every instance
the bribe money paid me was in cur
rency.
God knows have paid dearly for ac-
cepting those briDes and now, when I
look over the happening of the last few
of nay heart-broken wife and remained
on the seat of Foley's bakery wagon.
Horergan formerly drove bakery
wagon.)
A great many people have an idea
that the supervisors got together and
planned the looting of the public SER
vice corporations. Such is not the case.
In every instance the bribes were car
ried TO the supervisors
There is also an impression that the
board, at every Sunday night caucus.
planned a scheme of hold-ups for the
next week. That, also, is untrue. Dur
ing the gatherings on Sunday night the
question of extorting bribes from the
big monopolies or accepting bribes was
never once mentioned. Who arranged
the schemes for corrupting the mem
bers OF the board El~A net-or defnite-
ly known. OF course, L nave my sus-
picions just the same as everyone else.
But so far as I know every job put
through was personally manipulated by
Supervisor Jim Gallagher, who al
ways handled the bribes.
In saying always, 1 made a slight err
ror He did not handle the money in
the case of the Pacific States Telephone
company bribe. In that instance the
money was handed over to the members
of the board by Mr.. Halsey. The trans
action took place in his private office.
Gallagher, the "Big Fellow
1 do not think that Ruef spoke to me
about money matters. While we were
all of the impression that he in gen
eral way planned the holdups, when it
came down to the actual passing of the
money, none of US knew any one save
Supervisor Gallagher, who was always
referred to as the big fellow"
Shortly after we went into office. it
became generally known that we con-
stituted a happy family of eighteen
members In the old days and in the
board preceding us, we understood that
the holding up of corporations was left
to the various committees. For IN
stance, the light committee would not
hold up the gas trust and divide the loot
equally among the members of the
committee Naturally, the remaining
members of the board would stand in
when it came to a final vote, it being
understood that each separate commit
tee would take care of itself. But with
us it was to be a case of one-eighteenth
of the revenue for each supervisor.
While the matter was never discussed |
in detail there was a sort of an un- |
derstanding that we were to play fair |
and square with one another. In the |
light of what has passed, however, 1 |
know that many of US were double |
crossed in the passing Of the bribe |
money and some who got large sums |
for doing certain things were not en- |
titled to any more than those who re- |
ceived comparatively small amounts |
for selling their votes
One day we all seemed to understand |
the life of me 1 |
couldn't tell you who told me about it
that the light trust wanted a permit !
The matter finally came up before the |
board and it was unanimously passed.
A couple of days later Big Jim" Cal
Iagher came to me and handed me $500.
Then Came the Downfall.
That was my downfall. 1t looked
like a lot of money to me at the time.
and there seemed to be a mutual un-
among all concerned that
a rich harvest was to be reaped dur
ing our term of Office. Now mind you,
[ never seriously thought of going and
demanding money from anyone, for 1
was early convinced that the corpora
ions had been hired for the purpose
Of bribing supervisors.
Shortly afterward the question of
fixing the gas rates came along. We
all knew that the gas company had
been held up in the past, and that in
Ill proba bility it was to be held up
again The agents of the company
,ame before the board and told of
heir great loss due to the destruction
If the big power house by fire. They
explained to us that their losses had
been very great and that it would be
necessary for them to have a fair rate
ixed by the board.
Myself and others who had pledged
ourselves before election to vote for
scent gas rate decided to stand by
,ur pledges. But the legitimate argu-
nent of the agents of the company
we're so plausible and the damage and
oss caused by the fire so far-reacf1ins
hat we decided to grant the company
IN S5-cent rate.
During all this time there never was
word said about holdup or bribe or
fund, or anything of the
ort But a few weeks afterward Jim"
Gallagher handed me $3.50. I took the I
money and on my way home pom
Lered over my second bribe. But