The San Francisco call., 1908-09-24
Jury FIXERS WORK
IN COURT HOUSE
Inscriptions Believed to Be
Cipher Messages for Ruef
Are Found
Judge LawIOr Orders a Close
Guard Thrown Around
All Jurors

have been attempting TO work within
the very building where Abe Ruef Is
on trial for bribery created sensa-
ton among the officials in Judge Law
lor's courtroom yesterday. signihcant
messages newly inscribed on the walls
Of one OF the Ruef jury retiring rooms
were reported TO the court
Judge Lawlor was surprised and
shocked at the discovery. He imme-
dIately gave orders for close guard
10 be thrown around all the jurors and
quickly changed the retiring room as
signed TO the men on the panel
The writings appeared 10 Indicate a
plan 10 reach and influence Jurymen
from the outside. Some of the mes
sages were open attacks on Assistant
District Attorney Heney, but those
which interested the court Investigators
most were notes of two or three words
with cipher signatures One or these
read:
For Ruef. and Calhoun. This
was underscored with distinctive ar
row and q character which resembled
an inverted letter O.
Another. written in an obscure crew
fee. contained the following:
"Ruef, my boy, you are the candy
kid" This was also followed by
queer combination Of dots and dashes.
In large letters were such messages
Il -
a fool" Curl Paper Burns" "Heney.
CRATER. $4,000"
PLACE WATCH IN JURY ROOM
Immediately after the discovery of
the work of the jury tamperers watch
was placed on the room and If the men
responsible for the markings return to
their work they will be quickly hailed
before the court and made TO explain
their actions.
Assistant District Attorney Heney
flung another bomb into the camp of
the Jurors who have been scheming to
get on the Ruef jury at any cost when
he charged, Giuseppe Bacigalupi of 42S
Point Lobos avenue. who had been
temporarily accepted, with attempting
10 serve under false pretenses- From
Bacigalupis own lips he then proved
that he was serving under subpoena
which had been issued for his uncle.
The juror was quickly weeded from
the panel
Bacigalupi, who is only q years Of
age, fought hard 10 retain his place,
aided by Attorney Henry Ach for
Ruef. Heney's case was so plain.
however that the court sustained the
challenge at once. During the course
of his exposure of Bacigalupi, Heney
asked him the following:
Didn't you tell your brothers last
night that you were afraid to keep up
the deception of serving under your
uncle's name any longerT
NO, sir. I did not" said the tales
man. "One OF them spoke to me and
said he thought ii was my uncle that
the subpoena had been issued for,
though" he admitted.
Well. then" said Heney, rising to
his feet in dramatic denunciation OF
the thoroughly frightened yopng man.
didn't you say TO a bar keeper near
your home, within a very short while,
that you wished Schmitz would run
again for mayor, and that you would
vote for him7"
feet, but he managed to deny the
charge again.
JUROR Is PUT ASIDE
we submit q challenge, then. that
he Is not on the assessment roll" said
Heney. The court then took a hand
In the examination of the juror and
questioned him closely. A contention
by the youth that he was a partner in
his fathers business was quickly
shattered and as quickly thereafter
the challenge was allowed.
Two new jurors were secured during
the day, but with the ousting of Baci-
galupi this kept the jury down to 10.
The new jurors were T. c. Butler a
real estate man Of 1893 O'Farrell street
and c. NJ. Elliott, a lumber dealer of
344s Clay street. Others examined and
excused were William J. Forrest of 921
Dolores street. Oliver Everett of 1910
Webster street, Antoine Hermann Of 405
Falcon avenue, Adolph Melletz of l5s
Carl street. Joseph D. Abrams of the
Hotel York, George NJ. Hickman of 26s
Twenty third street. John R. Cleese OF
~ Second avenue and H. ]. Lazansky
Of 1917 Steiner street
Nearly 500 veniremen have been
called so far in the Ruef case and a
new venire of 100 was issued yesterday
This leaves 100 names yet in the big
jury box and ii is certain that this
Venire also Will be exhausted long be-
fore a complete jury is secured. AS
soon as all of the names in the bic
jury box have been used up new re-
turns of veniremen will have to be
made by the sheriff. The former venire
has proved to be literally the scum OF
the city snd il is believed that with a
new. venire drawn by the sheriff a,
large the prosecution will have a much
better chance to secure an unprecedented
jury.
During the afternoon session yester-
day Heney and Ach clashed bitterl,
when Heney, after hearing Ach harr
on the presumption of innocence" un.
I'll IL had become threadbare, asked q
talesman:
Would you also give the district at
. torney the presumption of innocence?'
This brought Ach to his feet with q
torrent Of objections and his common
Characterization of misconduct .
Heney resented this and there was q
warm exchange before the attorneys
subsided.