The San Francisco call., 1908-11-15
MAYOR EXPRESSES
ABHORR[NCE OF ACT
BY Mayor Edward K. Taylor

What words can be commanded suf-
f1cient to express the adherence of
such a crime? We have here a man
struck down in the full prime of his
great powers, without premonition,
without reason to suspect that any
harm would come to him from a mur
derous hand, at least while within the
sacred precincts of courtroom; a man
who had consecrated himself, without
fee or reward, to the cause of the peo-
pie in the prosecution of those who
had in an almost unexampled manner
debauched the public service; a man
who in that cause has never halted or
paused, but who has reso1utely pushed
forward no matter what the difficulties
in his way
Under such circumstances 1t is no
wonder that the community is wrought
up, and in fact the whole state as
seldom before; and the people would
not be the good citizens they ought to
be unless they were so wrought up.
To commit the crimes against the
public service which have been com
mitted in San Francisco was bad
enough; but we now have to add the
horror of raising a murderous hand
against sworn officer of the law
while engaged in prosecuting the prin-
cipal criminal-a combination of crime
that must give our city a bad pre-
eminence seldom equaled.
Of course, the whole community, with
but few exceptions, will now be behind
the prosecution. All must see that it
is fatal to condone crime; that we can
never be safely Indifferent in the mat
ter of public morals any more than in
the matter of private morals-that the
one, in fact. includes the other, and
that the only right course is relent-
lessly to pursue every one. no matter
how high or how low, who has taken
part in the debauchery of the public
service. All this for the time being
may not conduce to our ease or to our
comfort, but it will in the end conduce
toward making San Francisco a city in
which self-respecting men and women
will delight to live
We must beware of permitting our
selves at this time to become unduly
excited; we must keep within the law
at all hazards. Let San. FRANCISCO show
herself resolute and determined, but at
the same time self restrained.
EDWARD ROBESON TAYLOR.
us out there, and then we'll get to
the bottom of this matter. II neces-
sary, I'll prefer them against you, too.
and then these police commissioners
must do their duty
Cutler and Keil family responded
tnat tney would lnVeSt1gdte any charges
that were made. The next few minutes
were devoted to a summing up by
Langdon and Burns in turn of their
personal opinions of Biggy The opin-
and when they were concluded Buggy
was In no doubt OF his own estimate in
their affections AS a final shot, Lang
don asked Biggy why he had Issued his
statement declaring that Haas was in
sane and that he was not connected
with plot. He pointed out that this
statement had been disproved by him
self and Burns in an hour.
II don't believe 1t is so,' was Biggy's
only answer. Il don't believe anybody
ever urged Haas TO do that shooting"
Already steps have been taken to
bring Biggy to book for his conduct
Formal charges are to be filed and as
quickly as conditions settle back to
the normal Langdon and Burns have
declared that they will insist upon a
securing Biggy's removal from the head
81 ths police department.