The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1909-08-10
PLAT IS AMONG
THE INT[RVIfW[RS
Fred G. Halves Tells How He
Was Interrogated as to Poli-
cies by Gumshoe Man
Candidate for Supervisor Turned
Down by Businessmen's
Committee, But Will Run

You can telephone to Hellman and
find out who / am"
That according to Fred C. Halves,
candidate for republican nomination
for supervisor, was the way in which
%. A. Plat of the United Railroads
gumshoe brigade vouched for himself
when he went to interview Halves on
the principal issues of the campaign.
Halves expected to receive the in
dorsement of the businessmen com
mite OF Is, and when Plat came to
him, saying that he was the represen-
tative of that committee, Halves says
he spoke freely of his views. He told
the gumshoe man that he favored the
Hetch Hetchy project and the Geary
street road project that he thought
the controversy over the tracks in
lower Market street could be quickly
settled, and that he was in favor of
stopping the graft prosecution.
When Halves was turned down by
the disbursements committee he says
he sought for the reason and found it,
partly in the antagonism of district
politician allied with John c. Lynch
and partly in the answers which he
had returned to Plat.
INTERVIEWED BY THREE
Like other candidates for supervis-
ors, Halves was visited by three inter-
viewers; whether one of them was
CASTOR Ashe, who has been active in
this branch of politics, he could not
say.
About week before the indorse-
n1ents were made by the businessmen
committee" said Halves yesterday,
two men called to see me at my office.
mt
at the same time.
"One of these men called me aside
and began questioning me. He asked
me how I stood on Hetch Hetchy. the
Geary street road, the lower Market
street franchise and the graft prose-
cution. l asked him who he repre-
scented.
He told me: I represent the busi-
nessmen's committee; you can tele-
phone to Hellman and find out who 1
am
x told him 1 was in favor of the
Hetch. Hetchy project and also in favor
of acquiring the Spring Valley distrib-
uting plant at a fair price. / said 1
had voted for the Geary street bonds
because l thought it would be a good
experiment in municipal ownership. I
said I thought the lower Market street
franchise matter could be settled like
one, two, three by the United Railroads
and the supervisors after the election
Most important of all, l told him 1 was
in favor of stopping the graft prose
cution, as / considered that 1t had
been a failure.
He said, You'll be satisfactory to
my people which l understood to
mean the businessmen's committee.
Then he signed my petition and / found
out for the first time that his name
was Plat.
TWO FOLLOW PLATT II
When Plat left the other. fellow
who was waiting to interview me said:
I know that fellow. His name is
Plat. He used to be with Burns and
Heney and got some of that good
Spreckels money. 1 don't think he is
with them now. In fact, l know he
isn't. He betrayed Burns and now
he's with the Hellman end of it
This second fellow gave me his
name. but / forget it. He had been in
the steamship business between here
and the north. he said. He asked me
the same questions as Plat. l asked
him who he came from, but he said:
L don't wish to state who the people
are that l represent, but you'll know
later on. I'll give good report of
you and you'll be all right
Finally / was interviewed by an
other fellow just before the indorse-
ments were made by the businessmen
committee. He said he represented the
Disbursements club: not the committee
this time, but the club. He said they
were looking for good material to in
dorse and asked me the same questions.
When he finished. he smiled and said
I'd get favorable report from him.
LEAVES IN A HURRY
He left in a great hurry to catch the
5 o'clock boat to Oakland, and suppose
he must have been anxious to report to
some of the members of the commit
tee who live across the bay. / have been
told that Is out of the % members
i've out of town.
When. l failed to get the indorse-
ment of the committee, l wondered
what had happened. l think one rea-
son was that / had opposed a district
leader in my district, the thirty first,
during the last legislative campaign. I
have it pretty straight that this man
went to Johnny Lynch to knock me,
and suppose Lynch carried the word to
Hellman. who had all the say.
But since then / have been told that
my answers to the questions about
Heach Hetchy may have had something
to do with the matter and l guess I
agree with that view of the matter,
too. Despite the rundown, I'm still
very much in tho fight"