The San Francisco call., 1908-11-16
BLAME FHIRFDPRFSS
FOR H[N[Y'S
Rev. Bradford Leavitt and
Charles S. Wheeler Urge Citi-
zens to Demand Justice
Attorney Asks People to Enter
Heart and Soul Into Fight
for Civic Decency

1--WE have dreamed that we were liv-
ing under the government of laws,
whereas we were living under the gov
ernment of newspapers hired by cor
rupt corporations and the enemies. of
civic decency.'.Rev. Bradford Leavitt,
pastor of the First Unitarian church.
"fhe lawyers who are paid to thwart
with deliberate plan to destroy the ef-
iectiveness of the prosecution by with
drawing the support of the people. In
this scheme they have reached the home
OF every Individual. They have brought
cunningly into the home their hireling
periodicals, and a press, misguided or
worse, has been largely instrumental In
aiding their rdesires.-.Charles s Wheel
er at the First Unitarian church.
An earnest clergyman, experienced in
the cure of souls, and a prominent at
torney, skilled in tracing crime to its
fountainhead, drove the responsibility
for the shooting of Francis j. Heney
squarely home to the Examiner. the
Chronicles the Oakland Tribune and the
local periodical press In addresses de-
'ivered at the First Unitarian church
yesterday.
To a crowded mass meeting held in
that sacred edifce Charles s. Wheeler
made a rousing appeal. urging his hear
ers to shake off their lethargy and to
enter heart and soul into the fight for
civic decency
PASTOR DESCRIBES CRISIS
Previous to Wheeler's address Rev.
George f. Boke of the University of
California outlined the conditions ere
ated by the attempted assassination of
francis j. Heney and of the personality
OIL the brave prosecutor who was shot
down lighting the cause of the peopie
Leavitt said that San Francisco had
been the laughingstock of the world
on account of the methods of obstruc-
ton and attention to trivial technicali-
ties in the courts OF Justice. and the
finger of scorn had been pointed at us
In accusation of low moral and in
tellectual condition; that this condition
was one of lethargy, and that it took
the tragic incident of the shooting of
the fearless man who was striving he
rolcaIiy and without pecuniary reward
10 bring back honesty and cleanness.
to arouse the people to a realization of
the condition to which the city had
sunk.
The speaker said the great moral
crisis had come. when it was a question
OF law, justice and righteousness. that
the lear OF God had come into the peo-
PIES nearts that the answer was ready
ana that 1t was no uncertain one.
We have dreamed said the clerev
man, that we We're living under the
government of laws, whereas we were
living under the government of news
papers hireds by corrupt corporations
and the enemies of civic decency."
WHEELER SCORES CORRUPT PRESS
When Charles S. Wheeler spoke his
eloquence burned into the hearts of his
auditors. He spoke with vehemence of
the deEenerating influence of degraded
newspapers, daily and weekly. and
urged his hearers to rid themselves of
the influence which up to, this time
had been only too potent, and referred
to the evils of the civic government as
exemplifed in this city
Assume the case of a man who all
his life has from Z in the morning to
8 at night, perhaps, worked for a wage
of SO month, with a wife and FAM
lily to SUPPORT man untitled by at
tainments for public office. and sud
denly put into a legislative office-on
the board of supervisors.
Great questions arise between the
public service corporations and the
public and he has to determine the
course of action. There comes to him
a man from the corporation, who of.
fers him $4,000 for his vote He has.
perhaps, saved by great economy say
$500 year, and the bribe represents
a fortune to him. The temptation is
awful. and he yields and is guilty of
a crime But the man who gives him
the money-who has everything that
money can buy and lives in luxury
is more guilty than the other The
real guilt is with the more intelligent
rich man. But the poor man perhaps
goes to jail for IA years.
WANTS GUILTY SENT TO JAIL
I'VE know that enormous sums,
amounting to hundreds of thousands
of dollars, were paid in this city in
bribery to the supervisors and to Ruef
and Schmitz. Somebody paid them,
and whoever did is criminal in morals.
in conscience and in law, and should
not be allowed to go unpunished.
The grand jury has said that GER
tain men in high positions are guilty
These men have not been tried. but
IL they are guilty they should go to
Jail and nothing that has occurred
since the commission of the crime can
excuse, palliate or mitigate their
crime.
Much less excuse is there that an
individual should criticise the personal
demeanor or conduct of. the prosecu-
tors. Those officers of the government
represent the people and the people
should be behind them. The counsel
for various defendants have tried every
one but the real criminals. We have
allowed lawyers to place on trial the
grand jurors, the district attorney. the
judges of the bench. The condition is
a disgrace to law and 1t is time we
tried the real criminals.
1T is not a question of personal dis
likes-no prosecution, even of con-
fessed criminals, is possible If the peo-
pie do not stand behind the law. All
the laws on the statute book would be
dead letter If the people did not wish
them to be enforced.
HIRED PRESS BLINDS PEOPLE
These circumstances have not been
overlooked by the able counsel acting
for the men charged with crime, the
lawyers who are paid to thwart this
graft prosecution. They have proceed
ed with deliberate plan to destroy the
effectiveness of the prosecution by
Withdrawing the support of the people,
In this scheme they have reached the