The San Francisco call., 1908-05-01
Ruef Case Testimony Begins
CROCK[R TESTIFlFS
OF DEAL WITH RUFF
Prosecution Lays Foundations
of Case Against Curly Boss
Corruptionist

The foundations of the case against
Abraham .Ruef for offering a bribe to
Supervisor jennings Phillips in the
matter of the Parkside transit com
pany's application for street railway
franchise were durably begun yester-
day. when Assistant District Attorney
Heney called to the witness stand and
questioned. William H. Crocker, presi-
dent of the Crocker national bank, and
one Of the heaviest stock holders in
the Parkside realty company, and
Douglas Watson, who drew the two
checks OF $500 which formed the
basis OF the fund
Fighting every inch with the des-
peration born of fear, Ruefs attor-
ueys. are piling up objections that bid
fair. to- occupy larger place in the
record than the testimony of the wit
n9sses. Every conceivable method of
obstruction is being employed to save
Ruef. Few questions fail to bring out
"a series of vociferated objections as
long as a string of Chinese fire
crackers.
Judge Maurice Dooling is doing his
best TO move the, case along.
DOoIaNG HURRIEs ACH
Mark you he said yesterday to At
torney .Ach; "all these constant inter
ruptions and chickering's of counsel are
just so much time taken from you. If
you keep on we will not adjourn until
midnights We. must get along rapidly"
William H Crocker's testimony yes
terday was not as clear as that which
he gave before the grand jury. He was
unable to recall the dates of his con-
ferencess with Schmitz or of his two
meetings with Ruef He stated. in re
ply to questions by .Heney, that it was
he who financed the Parkside realty
company, Of which the street railroad
was an auxiliary. He told how he had
become interested in the railway pro-
ject and how he had been promised by
Ruef and Schmitz that it would have
their support.
RUFF PROMISES AID
Ruef told him, the witness said. that
he would not charge him anything for
helping the transit scheme along, but
would do anything he could for the wit
ness. just to be pleasant. The witness
described his relations with .Schmitz as
merely social. On redirect examina-
ton the assistant district attorney
brought out the fact that the witness
had gone over his grand jury testimony
with his attorneys. Morrison & Bro
beck. before taking the stand in the
Ruef case.
heplH10B TO. ACn s 1nSfnOaIlOn Ilat
the prosecution was having trouble
with its own witnesses, Heney cried:
The people have no witnesses-no
volunteer witnesses; we merely pro-
duce them
1t took private. conference during
an intermission and the use of what the
witness described as "forceful Ian
guage," for Heney to rouse the memory
of Douglas Watson, former secretary
of the Parkside realty company, to de-
tails which: the prosecution wanted to
get into the record and which Watson
had testified to before the grand jury
wATsoN's MEMORY WAKES
After this private session with
Heney, Watson explained the fictitious
real estate transaction by which the
money was taken out of the Parkside
treasury in manner to conceal the
transaction. Watson and H. B. Umb-
sen a brother of Gus UInbsen, owned a
piece of property in the Parkside dis
trict worth about $4,000, the exact
amount of money at first demanded by
Ruef In order that the Parkside COM
pany could pay out the money and
keep it's books straight a unique deal
was put through.
In explaining this deal Watson tes-
titled that he and Umbsen sold their
real estate to the Parkside company
As member Of the Parkside company
Watson made out two checks of $15,-
GOO each, one to himself and the other
to H. B. Unlbsen. 1t was understood
by the parties concerned that the sale
was fictitious. Accordingly, after the
bogus sale had been made Watson
cashed the two checks at the Crocker
national bank and turned the money
over to Gus Umbsen. This was the
-r1a0 cxr oh 70
Ruef for the franchise. The title to
the real estate remained with Watson
and II. B. .Utmbsen.
ACH FAILS TO SHAKE HIM
On cross examination Ach tried to
shake Watson's testimony by declar-
ing that he held a record which showed
that the conveyance was made February
10 instead of in March. as Watson
testified. On redirect examination
Heney brought out the statement from
Watson that C. E. Green had advised
him that as young man who wanted
to get. along he should not know too
much.
All of the morning session was taken
up in an examination of the journals
OF the minutes of the board of SUPER
visors relative to the application of the
Parkside franchise, Ach attacked the
authenticity of the records from every
possible angle, even to the dotting of
an and the crossing of t. He made
long and redundant inquiries into the
psychology of memory and independent
recollection, but John E. Behan, the
clerk of the supervisors. then on the
stand went through the ordeal with
composure and unshaken as to his ac-
count of the transaction under exami-
nation.
The trial wiz go on this morning
Notice name and signature NJ r,r s,evsrt ,vto,