The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1908-10-30

only persons Implicated or IrlenQly u
the defendants who interviewed Blake
during the time since he was convicted
Every few days he would be waited
upon at the county jail or in the court
room by members of the grafters' out
fit and told that Special Agent Burns
would give him immunity il he would
confess. This talk was made to test
Blake's attitude and TO embarrass the
prosecution by putting it in false
light. Influence was brought on the
Examiner to have reporters go TO Blake
and repeat that Burns was TO give i'm
munity for his confession. But Blake
kept his own council. Murphy, Ruef
and Attorneys Schooler and Carl Lind
say talked to Blake. He was called up
over the telephone and advised to keep
silent. to save his friends and to earn
the salary of sin-$1 900 for three
years and seven months of punishment.
SENSE OF REPULSION
The terrible anxiety of the allied
crooks aroused in Blake a sense of
repulsion, their acute cowardice opened
his eyes to their enormous guilt and he
saw then the mass of his own guilt.
Feeling himself a small factor in the
tester of civic corruption, he began to
compute the degradation of the men he
was bound to and then decided TO
break with them finally.
Ten days ago he went to Attorney
Matt 1. Sullivan. He knew that his own
attorneys were in some way involved
with the grafters. He realized that Sui
Ivan was an attorney with a clean
record.
When Blake made known to Sullivan
the purport of his visit Sullivan de-
clared to him that no promise Of i'm
munity or relief would be made The
confession had to be voluntary and Sc
cured without promise or coercion.
In Sullivan's office in the Humboldt
bank building the full story of Murphy
and Newburgh's criminal intrigue was
told 10 days ago. Then District Attor-
ney Langdon was informed of the new
stand taken by Blake. and Assistant
District Attorney Heney and Special
Agent Burns learned of it.
SENSATIONAL TRIANGLE
AS the superior courts sat yesterday
Judge DUNES was the apex of a SEN
sational triangle. Across the hall in
Judge Lawlor's department of the SUI
perior court Abe Ruef was on trial on
the same matter on which John Martin
Kelly, the venireman, had been sum-
moned TO serve as a juror. In the Grant
building, two blocks away. Murphy and
Newburgh were lighting the validity of
the indictments charging them with the
them to be guilty
Word of the stirring disclosures in
Judge DUNES courtroom reached the
Ruef trial and Ruef detached Thomas
B. Dozier, one of his attorneys, to see
what the trouble was At the noon re-
cess Dozier returned to Ruef and Henry
Ach and the three discussed the matter
at length.
Ach and Dozfer were in a predica-
ment When the first inkling of the
Newburgh-M Murphy scandal was in the
air Ach assumed a virtuous attitude.
If learn that any attempt is being
made to tamper with a jury in any case
in which l am engaged l will imme-
diately withdraw" he declared emphat-
ically.
DoZIER ALSO VIRTUOUS
Dozier at the time he became asso-
ciated with Ruef's counsel was equally
delicate in his aversion to any scandals.
In substance he declared that If any
nasty developments involving Ruef oc-
CURED he would straightway withdraw
from the case.
Yesterday seemed the appointed time.
But Ruef had a 20 minute conference
with his counsel. He assured them
that he was in no wise involved in the
Newburgh Murphy mixup.
With studied credulity quite worthy
of the reputation the two ATTORNEYS
have for astuteness, both Ach and Do
zier announced that they believed Ruef
and would remain in his defense. Dur
ing the noon hour rumor was about
town that Dozier would not stay longer
with Ruef after the exposure of his
clients methods of meeting Justice. but
Dozier denied the rumor with an in
genuous statement of his belief in
Ruef's innocence.
Ruef was pale and quivering He re-
fused TO discuss the Blake matter yes
terday afternoon. He had more direct
troubles in Judge Lawlor's court where
Assistant District Attorney Heney was
uncoyering a long buried tale of extor-
ton committed by Ruef to secure the
petty sum of $500 for LIQUOR license
Il know nothing of what happened in
Judge DUNES courtroom" he said, and
will not until / have seen the trans
script"
MURPHY DEFICIENT
Frank Murphy was more than reti-
cent: ne was invisible. He locked him
self in the inner room of his offices in
the Macdonough building in Kearny
street and absolutely refused to be in
terviewed. He had less assurance even
than his codefendant, A S. Newburgh.
Newburgh was discovered in the Of
ices of his attorney, Bert Schlesinger.
His eyes were red with terror. there
were red blotches high on his cheeks.
He paced the floor nervously, contra
dieting with reckless energy the state
ments which Blake did not make.
why, I've never seen Blake since he
was convicted, so how can his story
be true?" insisted the terror stricken
Newburgh.
He did not say you, he just spoke
of Murphy" the reporter Informed
Newburgh.
why. see his story is rot" New
burgh stated again. "It is entirely diff
ferent from the affidavit he made and
from his testimony in court"
1t was not necessary to point out to
Newburgh that in his AFFIDAVIT and
when in court Blake was protesting
his innocence.