The San Francisco call., 1908-10-12
'COOkUSFD
/ OFFICE FOR
ABE RUFF
Made Shameless Attempt to
Prostitute Power for Ben
eft OF Grafters
Attorneys Refused to Try Fa'
NOUS Board of Health
Case Before Him
Assigned Case to Himself and
Other Judges Would Not
Sit With Him
His FavOrs to the Arch Grimm
ais Were Open and No
tOri0as

Carroll Cook, sitting upon
the superior bench of San
Francisco since 1897 and be-
cause of his Office called
"judge," asks the people of
San Francisco to return him
to the Office upon which his
acts have brought public sus
picion and reproach.
Cook talks OF defanatic~ OF his
character as glibly as : or
dered injunctions to protect un-
speakable dens OF infany from
the peoples peace officers in the
performance of their sworn duty.
Cook says he stands upon his
record, apparently counting upon
the forgetfuIness of the public he
has wronged. 1t were well for Cook
and for the self-esteem OF the people OF
San Francisco if all Cooks record could
be forgotten Such records will not
down. Quite regardless OF his bonn
bastic declarations. Carroll Cook. re-
pudiated by the bar association, will be
the last to unfold his record for the
purpose of refreshing the public recol-
lection.
A single chapter in that record In
cludes an effort on the part of Cook TO
prostitute his Office to the service OF
his friend. Abe Ruef. and his other
friend, Eugene Schmitz. then mayor. so
shameless that it drew the strongest
kind OF criticism from the judges
forced into official association with
Cook: the refusal of two OF them to
sit with him in case; the withdrawal
from a cause of two OF the leading at
torneys at the San Francisco bar, and,
finally, the reputation OF Cook by the
attorney general of the state, who re-
fused to permit the good name of Cali
fornia to be compromised in a cause
which a notoriously biased judge in
sisted upon trying. Here is that chap
ter in outline:
RUFF RUNS INTO SNAG
Abe Ruef. Carroll Cooks friend and
political sponsor, who had become the
purveyOr of municipal jobs upon the
accession of Schmitz to his mock may
orally, ran into a snag early in 1902.
when he attempted to peddle four
places on the board OF health. Cooks
effort to prostitute the courts OF San
Francisco to the political purposes OF
Abe Auef was one of the blackest
of the many spots Carroll Cook has
daubed on the judiciary
When Schmitz. at the command OF
his business agent and mentor. Abe
from the board of health Drs. William
son. Baum, Buckley and Levitt. none
of whose terms had expired, Garret
McEnerney and Gavin McNab on be-
half of the board members whom
Schmitz sought to GUST. secured tenn
porary Injunction from Judge Sloss.
Ruef appeared subsequently for Schmitz
and his alleged appointees-
Judge Sloss made the injunction per-
manent, but declined to pass upon the
title Of the fncumbents to the ONCE.
saying that this matter should be de-
termined by quo warranto proceedings.
which could only be brought about with
the consent of Attorney General TREY
L. Ford McEnerney and McNab inter-
posed no objection to a proceeding
which fairly tried. would dispose OF a
question of public Importance.
Attorney General Ford gave his con-
sent TO the quo warranto proceedings.
which were instituted in the name OF
the people by Fabius T. Finch, a clerk
In the Office of Abe Ruef. attorney for
the mayor.
Carroll Cook. as presiding Judge OF
the superior court, assigned the quo
warranto proceedings to himself. The
Office jobbing industry of his friend
Ruef was endangered 1t was far from
Cook to desert a political knave. from
whose knavery he hoped for further
advantages. The court. In the person
of its presiding judge, was at Ruefs
disposal
ATTORNEYS ENTER PROTEST
McEnerney and McNab entered n
in a cause in which his bias was a
matter of common notoriety. Cooks
attitude was so well known and public
feeling ran so high that Cook at
tempted extraordinary measures TO
strengthen his own high hand In the
matter He called a conferences OF an
the judges and attempted to secure
their Endorsement of his assignment OF
Ruefs case to himself Cook was
strongly advised not to try the cause
In the discussion Judge Hebbard told
Cook and the assembled Judges that
fnasmuch as Cook had at different
times discussed the merits of the case
with interested attorneys II was not
proper for him to insist upon sitting
in it. One of the judges moved that