The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1907-03-21
Biggest Municipal Steal OF
Modern Times Unearthed
After Six Months Work of San
Francisco Grand Jury.
LIKE OLD TWEED RING
Sixty.five Indictments Filed
Against Abraham sReuf.
All the Doodle Alleged TO Have
Come Through Him.

| San Francisco, March 21.-The grand
| jury probing the municipal graft cases
| has filed with the presiding Judge
| Coffey of the superior court seventy-five
| indictments charging bribery, which
were found on evidence presented to the
grand jury after six months investigat-
| ing the municipal affairs of this city by
Assistant District Attorney Francis J..
Heney and Secret Service Agent VIII
| liam J. Burns, and which reveal an
amazing story of alleged graft and cor
| ruption that surpasses the Doodle cases
| of st. Louis, ranks with the Minneap-
oils expose, 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 sixty-f1ve
are against Abraham Ruef, for yea. s
/ 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
| and Electric company, and the so-called
prize fight trust"
Ten are against T. " HaIsey. former
general agent of the Pacific States Tel
ephone and 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 under
stood, were also returned, were not filed
ments, the exact number and against
what person, Heney and Burns
refuse to divulge until the accused par
| ties have been arrested, were returned
| by the grand jury but not filed, Heney
and Burns not even trusting the secret
| file.
OF the sixty-five counts of bribery
against Ruef fourteen are in connec-
ton with the granting of the over
head trolley franchise to the United
talx a for
the disaster of last April. Seventeen
are based upon the money alleged to
have been spent by the gas company
to secure an S5-cent gas rate as against
a. 75-cent rate; thirteen refer to the
passing of money by the Home Tele-
phone company to obtain franchise
for a bid of $4,000 and which it has
been declared was worth at least ST.
100000: 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 Ed
die Graney, Morris Levy, James Cof-
froth and Willis Britt.
The money in all these cases 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 sort of gen.
eraI distributing agent for all who de-
sired the privilege from the supervis-
ors.
The indictments against Halsey
charge the agent OF the Pacific States
Telephone and Telegraph company
with having bribed fourteen members
of the board of supervisors to refuse
the rival company a franchise.
Judge Coffey fixed the bail at
$4,000 on each indictment, or a total
Of $40 900 for Ruef and 500, 900 for
Halsey. The latter is brother-in-law
of the late John I. Sabin. formerly
president of the Pacific states Tele-
phone and Telegraph company, the lat
ter at the head of the telephone sys-
tenn in Chicago, and a brother-in-law
of Louis Glass, president of the Philip
pine Telephone company. Halsey has
been in Manila installing telephone
system. He has been under surveil-
lance for several days, and papers for
extradition are being taken out and
orders for his arrest have been cabled
In the overhead trolley deal Ruef,
according to Burns, was given $4S5,0OO
by the United railroads, of which the
political boss is alleged to have divided
$4,000. OF this amount $4,000 is said
to have been given to each OF fourteen
Supervisors; two received 1000 each
and one $4,000. In the restricting of
boxing permits to the big four of the
fight trust the indictments charge that
$500 was given to each of eighteen SUI
pervisors, or a total of $4,000. al
though a fund of 100000 was said to
have been collected for Ruef
In the alleged deal by which the gas
company was given an S5-cent rate,
$4,000. it is charged, vas divided
among sixteen of the supervisors in
sums of $3.50 each, but the amount
supposed to have been received by
Gallagher is not known. Besides the
$4,000 bid for its franchise. Ruef is
charged with having divided among
thirteen of the city fathers the sum of
$4,000 received from the Home Tele-
phone company for the granting of a
franchise to install their system in this
city.
In this connection it is noteworthy
that fourteen of these supervisors are
alleged to have also taken 5000 each
from Halsey to prevent the granting
of the franchise to the Home com
pany, and 1t is understood on these
counts that fourteen indictments were
returned against Halsey, only ten of
which were filed today.
Assistant District Attorney Heney
made the following statement to the
Associated Press:
"Of the sixty-six indictments charg-
ing Abra ham Ruef with bribery. eigh-
teen are for the alleged bribing of the
board of supervisors in connection
with the granting of fight permits TO
the so-called fight trust. Ruef Is
charged with having paid each one of
the eighteen supervisors $500, and one
indictment was returned for each SUI
pervisor alleged to have been bribed.
Eighteen indictments against Ruer
are for bribing the eighteen supervis-
ors to vote for S5-cent gas. instead of
75-cent rate, it being charged that
each one of the supervisors was paid
$3.50 by Ruef. Thirteen indictm ents
against him are for the alleged brib-
ing of thirteen supervisors in connec-
ton with the granting of a franchise
to the Home Telephone company. The
telephone company bid and paid to
the city $25. 200 for the franchise. In
4 r. f0F
fourteen indictments were returned
against T V. Halsey. formerly gener-