The Spokane press. [volume] (Spokane, Wash.) 1902-1939, 1908-12-16

CONFIDENT OF VICTORY"
SAYS THE FAMOUS GRAFT
o.F'eHrEa.
special 0orrsspoudsnos TO The Press
KENTFIELD, Cal, Dec. 16.--T
knew. of course, that Francis J.
Heney was big man.
II had seen him In court for
months, lighting bravely, often des-
perately. sometimes hopelessly.
against a gang of rich criminals
who had worked San Francisco's
betrayal.
1 had seen him smile, day after
day, while newspapers, bought
with the 'spoils of corporation bribe-
givers, went deliberately about the
business of discrediting the prose-
cution by lies, ridicule and coarse
insult, while the people for whom
Heney was making MS fight stood
by, amused, indolent or insolent.
Back of the smile. to be sure. were
clenched jaws and fighting spirit
that was not quenched even when
an assassin's bullet crashed into
the head of the fighting man.
Heney in his strength. making
his splendid fight in the face of ire
mendous odds, was big man.
Heney, in his weakness, shut
away from the world here at Kent
field, was bigger one.
Perhaps It was that his physical
weakness threw his moral strength
into sharper relief. Whatever the
cause, 1t was born to me time ana
again during a day spent in walk
ing and talking with the graft
fighter that Heney at Kentfield was
q different. a bigger Heney than
the one in the courtroom.
When Heney was able to be re-
moved from the hospital where
they had carried him after he was
shot down while conducting the
trial for bribery OF Abraham Ruef,
they brought him to the home of
William Kent, millionaire philan-
thropist. whose estate covers broad,
rolling acres in Marin county, an
hours journey from San Francisco.
I arrived here on cold, cherries
morning. / had walked the half
mile from the little electric railway
station to the house. through
dense. penetrating sea fog.
found Heney In a big, easy
chair, before cracking log fire in
the morning room. He was busy
with the morning papers.
This is great" was his greeting.
''Draw up chair"
AS he glanced over the papers
the firelight fell on the right side of
his face. A round. well healed scar
told where the bullet entered. The
blue powder marks beneath the
skin stood out wildly.
Heney glanced up quickly from
his paper.
Not so bad as you thought. Ell?
Here's where they took 1t out" And
he showed me the mark of an in
cision just below his left jaw bone.
THE doctors tell me that there
Is just one way for bullet to pass
between those two scars without
killing. They say bullet will go
that way one time In a million. The
one time fell to me. It's good
thing to leave your mouth open
now and then" he added with a
smile. my jaws were apart when
was shot, or | would have been
dead now"
For moment he sat looking into
The fire.
IL have never been very mucn
on religion" he said slowly, but
such things as this make a man
think. When | look back on the
escape of our witness, Gallagher,
from death by dynamite, and when
I realize how close death was to
Newell doesn't 1t look as though
there was something more than
chance there? can't help but be-
1ieve that Gallagher's escape and
mine were providential. The work
Is not finished. There are still big
ger things for me to do"
1t was then that I received my
first impression of the different,
bigger Heney. I glanced out of the
window. On the. road outside the
house sa wan armed guard, John
Foley. pacing up and down.
Somebody might try to sneak
up and finish the job" Heney ex-
planned. "Of course, II they set out
TO get me, they will succeed in the
end. We are taking all the pre-
cautions we can"
Then Heney changed the subject
abruptly.
"We must stop legalized internal
warfare In this country. mean
strikes. When man has hired
thugs to do violence, to take human
life for no other cause than to
Drofit nv violence and murder that