The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1908-11-14

he was removed about O'Clock to the
Lane hospital.
The report of the attempted
assassination spread throughout the
city like wildfire and caused intense
excitement and indignation. An inn
mense crowd gathered around the
court room. Several hundred people
followed the ambulance from the
hall to the Central Emergency hos
pital and down town thousands
gathered around the bulletin boards
Within few minutes after the shoot
ing, Chief w. J. Biggy, with W. j.
Burns, former q. S. secret agent, who
is at the head of special detectives
employed by the prosecution in the
bribery graft cases, Rudolph
Spreckles, the prominent capitalist
who financed the prosecution, Cap
tains of Police Gleson, Duke and
Wright and large force of police was
on the scene. There was no hostile
demonstration in the big crowd in
front of the building but some
threatening murmurs began to be
heard. Ruef was surrounded by
large number of people and quietly
slipped away, going with DR.. Tuchter
to the lawyers Office for little while.
This led to a report that the former
political boss had disappeared and
Special Agent Burns censured some
of his men for allowing him to get
away and the chief Immediately sent
men to hunt for him Ruef, how
ing a little later and sent in word
that the officer at the door would not
let him in. He was Immediately
brought into the court room. In the
meantime several acts of the tragedy
were being played in different parts
of the court room. While Heney was
lying. on the floor the newspaper men
approached the assassin who up to that
time had not yet been identified and
asked him for his name. At first he
refused to give it, then he said:
Haas Makes Statement.
ct am Morris Haas. Heney ruined
me. 1 don't care what becomes of
me now
Ruefs attorney denounced the.
shooting as "a dastardly outrage"
Ruef was taken into custody after
the shooting to insure his personal
safety.
Haas has a wife and four chill
dren. In statement made to Police
Captain Duke, he said;
"Heney denounced me in public
which ruined my life and branded
rage. 1 am the wronged man. 1 do
not care what becomes of me now.
have sacrificed myself, not for my
own honor. but for those who are
situated like myself. I would not
have brought my children into the
world to bear such a brand if L had
known that the fact that 1 was an ex-
convict would become known. Heney
Francis ]. Heney has had re-
markable career in Arizona, Cali
fornia and Oregon. After leaving the
University of California he studied law
and later worked as a, cowboy and
miner in various parts of the west.
He chung out his shingle'' in Tucson,
Ariz., where he became known for his
DR.. Handy of that city
sight any lawyer who took up the case
of his wife, who was suing for divorce
Heney took the case and was attacked
by Handy. whom he shot dead.
After his return to San Francisco \
Heney was appointed special prosecu-
tor for the government in the Oregon
land fraud cases Through his efforts
United States Senator Mitchell Con-
gresham Williamson and other prom
inent men were convicted.
Heney was called to San Francisco
some months after the fire of 1906 to
prosecute Mayor Schmitz. Abram Ruef
and other men charged with graft and
bribery. He was appointed assistant
to District Attorney Langdon. Ruef
caused. the Doodle board of super
visors to remove 5Heney and appoint
him to the post. This move was
blocked by the courts. With the finan-
cial backing of Rudolph Spreckles and
the able assistance of w. J. Burns. |
formerly in the United States secret
service, Heney soon obtained confess
sions of grating from the entire board
of supervisors. Ruef was brought to
trial on the charge that he had ex-
torted money from French restaurant
He broke down in court
and pleaded guilty. Next Schmitz was
tried on the same charge and convict
ed. Schmitz appealed and the appel
late court freed him on the ground
that the indictment was faulty. This
decision freed Ruef also. Ruef was
tried later on another charge. The
jury disagreed and a new trial was
This was the case on trial
when the tragedy occurred. Since the
trial of Ruef began a man named
Blake was convicted of tampering with
the jury. Blake confessed in court
afterward that he had been promised
$4,000 by counsel for Ruef if he
would serve his term and not testify