The San Francisco call., 1908-08-18
ANNOUNCES CLOSE
OF RUFF. HEARING
Judge Clasps in UnconceaIed JOY
When Attorney Newburgh
Says End Is Near
Three Important Events Mark
Last Days of Long Drawn
Police Court Case

Three things combined yesterday to
make the next TO the last day of the
police court examination of Abe Ruef
on the charge of bribing former Super
visor J. J. Furey notable one.
In the first place, Attorney Newburgh,
laboring in the throes of a burst of
oratorical technicality that had to get
out of his system, called to the stand
and examined nearly the whole district
attorneys office, including District At
torney Langdon and Assistant District
Attorney Francis ]. Heney. under the
painful hallucination that they might
testify for the defense.
Secondly, Newburgh caused commo-
ton for several minutes when he
"swiped'-far be it from saying inten-
tionally-James l.. Gallagher's immun-
ity contract and set the court and the
bailiffs by the heels trying to find it
until finally it was revealed under a big
pile of papers on the desk of the attor-
ney for the defense.
And third, Newburgh announced that
he would conclude his case today, after
sc DAYS of weary effort, in which near
ly 10000 words have been copied
into the record by Court Stenographer
Howard Vernon. That would be enough
to fill eight books the size of the Stand
ard dictionary.
Judge Cabaniss was visibly startled
when Newburgh said he would conclude
today.
"Wh-what did you say, Mr.. New
burgh?" anxiously inquired the court.
Il will conclude" returned Ruef's
man.
Il shall consider that binding" re-
torted Judge Cabaniss with great
| sigh of relief.
Newburgh placed District Attorney
! Langdon on the stand and handed him
Gallagher's immunity contract to iden-
tify. Langdon did so, and acknowl-
edged his own signature and that of
Heney and Gallagher Then in what
he said was an effort to impeach Gal
lagher. Newburgh wanted to know if
the date, July 80. 1906. was correct.
Langdon said he was satisfied that it
was.
The examination of Francis j. Heney,
which Newburgh undertook some two
weeks ago, was then resumed Ruef S
| lawyer as before, confined his Ques-
tions to irrelevant inquiries concern
| ing legal fees, saying that he intended
to make Heney an expert to show that
Ruefs fee of $4,000 from the Parkside
people with which he bribed the super
visors was not exorbitant.
After Heney, too, had identified the
immunity contract and said that to the
best of his recollection the date was
! correct, Newburgh asked him If at any
time he had received $4,000 as fee
| from the Contra Costa water company.
| His attempt to insult the witness was
iso apparent that Judge Cabaniss over
ruled all questions this line on the
ground that they were plainly irrele-
want and immaterial TO the case in
point.
We'll, l asked him the question in
every way l could think Of" the lawyer
was heard to boast to representative
CT a newspaper friendly to Ruef and
the other grafters after court had ad-
journed
Heney once fired it back at New
burgh, however. in a way that Abe
Ruef did not appreciate. Informed by
Newburgh that he intended to compare
Heney's services to those of Ruef
Heney objected:
Mr.. Newburgh is overlooking the
fact that have never been a political
boss
With no further excitement Heney
was dismissed and Supervisor Furey
was recalled. The most notable part
in Furey's testimony was his siren
uous objection to Judge Cabaniss after
several questions had been asked by
NeWpuTBH, ludl lHe idWyer was Trying
to place him in a wrong light by un-
fairly referring to portions of his
! former testimony without letting him
explain their connection.
II Newburgh then announced that ht
|; hoped to call former Supervisor Kelly
as witness this morning. Assistant
District Attorney Ward said Kelly was
in Nevada. 1t was then decided that /,
: Kelly can not be subpenaed the case
will nevertheless end this morning
without argument.