The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1907-04-13
FEAR STALKS
THREE ACCUSED
MILLIONA|RES
Shadow of Indictment Is
Over Men of Home
Phone Company
KNIGHT is RETAINED
He Admits Having Told
Torrance and Adams
Not to Testify
SHOW THEIR WORRY
Los Angeles Capitalists Lose
Their Confident Air of
First Days

AS fCSull OF lncH TWO IeCcnl NlSltS
to San Francisco three Los Angeles
millionaires are badly scared citizens.
A. B. Cass. president of the Home
] Telephone Company of Los Angeles;
J. S. Torrance. financial backer of the
corporation. and ]. H. Adams of the
Adams-Phillips Company. have been
forced to lcok the inevitable in the face
and admit to themselves that despite
anything they or their money can do
they are TO be indicted by the San
Francisco Grand Jury.
AS was stated yesterday in The Call.
the refusal OF Adams and Torrance to
testify before the Grand Jury Thursday.
when they were called to the witness
stand for second time, was due to the
advice Of counsel, secured after their
first appearance before the local in
quisitorial board Attorney George A.
Knight Of the San Francisco firm of
Knight & Heggerty admitted yesterday
that he has been retained to represent
the Home Telephone Company officials
OF Los Angeles and that their refusal to
testify was due to his advice.
When Torrance and Adams were
called before the Grand Jury Thursday
they realized that they were face TO
face with a dilemma from which no
amount OF craftiIy constructed testi-
nony would serve 10 free them. To go
further with the testimony, of which
they had already given part. meant
that they would surely incriminate
themselves; to do otherwise meant that
they would invite an Indictment on
charges Of perjury. The result was the
refusal of both to give further testi-
rnony and the accompanying admission
that to do so might incriminate them
selves.
STRAIN SHOWS ON THEM
There was a great change in the
manner Of both Adams and Torrance
Thursday as contrasted to their exhi-
bition of confidence at the time of their
previous appearance before the Grand
Jury. Both showed that the strain Of
the last few days had told on them;
both were nervous; both had lost that
complete self-possession which marked
them after their former ordeal They
were anxious only TO follow out legal
Instructions and get away from the
presence OF. the grand jurors as quick
ly as possible.
cass, too, has shared the unrest of
his fellow magnates. He was not
called to the witness stand Thursday
merely because IT was realized after
Adams and Torrance had made their
statements that Cass was prepared to
make similar move. and the Grand
Jury desired. before hearing this re-
fusaI to testify. to collect certain links
of evidence through other channels.
cass was notified that his presence
before the Grand Jury would be re-
quired today, and has remained in San
Francisco. Adams and Torrance also
remained in the city yesterday but
without as good a reason for doing so,
and it is believed that their prolonged
stay was actuated by the same mo-
lives which induced President Patrick
calhoun Of the United Railroads 10
come here from New York-that they
might be on the scene of action to ar
range for bail bonds and avoid the pos
sibility of undergoing the ignominy of
an arrest at a distance.
KNIGHT ISSUES STATEMENT
Attorney George A Knight admitted
Yesterday that he has already been re-
tafned to defend Cass. Torrance and
Adams. and that he made a trip TO Los
Angeles a few days ago to discuss mat
ters with them and arrange the
method which they were to adopt when
contInued on Page 2, bottom Column ?