The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1909-06-18

what would have happened Ihat
would have purified the city? That
would have cleaned up the situation
That would have put the corrupt ad-
ministration entirely off the boards,
And was Abe Ruef-by the way, Mr..
Moore says that perhaps it was against
ethics for Mr.. Abbott, than whom a
milder hammered villain ne'er cut
throat or scuttled a ship-a fit Sunday
school teacher in appearance-that 1t
may have been contrary to ethics for
Mr.. Abbott 10 have employed somebody
TO rob Mr.. Burns desk or safe. Crime
can be committed even against Gum
shoe Burns. Even he has some rights
which ethics will respect, If the law
will not. Even Burns ought not to be
robbed officially Of his correspondence
with a gentleman like Mr.. Leach, d.
rector of the mint of the United States
and formerly a director of the mint at
San Francisco. But having been robbed
of a letter from Mr.. Leach 10 Burns,
why you might as well be hanged for
sheep as a lamb, and having violated
the ethics to that extent, there is no
harm in Offering an additional SO TO
steal Burns reply TO him.
What have We come to? What have
we come to in san Francisco, when
man of the standing of Mr. A A Moore
doctrine TO jury of 10 honest citizens
What have we come tor And right
there let me say something that want
TO impress upon your minds. / Will say
here that this graft prosecution is com
posed of scoundrels. and perhaps the
deepest dyed scoundrel OF them, IL there
is any choice, is William ]. Burns. And
I want to show you the evidence upon
which they base that statement.
AS early as September, 1909 at the
time Of the first Ford trial, they brlDed
man who was close to MIR. Burns In
his confidence TO steal from Burns OF
fee every scrap of writing and every
bit of oral information that there was
there; to repeat it to the brave soldier,
they called him then, John Helms' 10
be repeated by him to the ethical, or
nonethical Mr.. Abbott, and with that
intimate knowledge of everything that
Burns correspondence and papers
shows his most private papers In re-
gard to this graft prosecution, and
what il was doing, what nave they
brought to you here and shown you IN
the way of single act OF AE. but ne
that was not absolutely praiseworthy?
Could you ask for any stronger PROOF
of the fact that this graft prosecution
has been conducted honestly and for
the benefit of the public than that?
PIATT REFUSES TO ANSWER
They had the traitor Platt, who, when
he came on this witness stand and de-
clined to answer, walked dlreetiy
through that gate over there anu sat
down with that aggregation, where he
belongs You saw him do ii. lou saw
how they shrank with disgust from
contact with him themselves. The look
upon him as leper, but they dloh I
dare show their feelings, because even
Platt might be induced to open MS
mouth and become a witness against
them. and then Platt would have been
denounced as another one OF the SOL
ethics are somewhat like those OF MI.
Abbott, has escaped vilification by
Mr. Moore.
Stanley Moore interrupted Heney
with reminder that Plat had not been
called as a witness, but had only been
called forward as far as the gate OF
the courtroom bar for identificatioD.
Heney acknowledged the correction
and continued:
Yes. we didn't give him a certificate
of character by calling him to the
stand. We called him to the gate. We
called him there to let you look at him.
We called him there that you might see
the character of the man who attended
upon Mr.. John O'Gara to give him in
formation on jurors during the third
Ford trial Is it any wonder that Mr..
Ford was promptly acquitted?"
The argument closed for the day at
this point. the regular hour of adjourn
ment having been reached. Heney will
resume his argument at $3.50 O'Clock
this morning.
NOORE,S LAST WORD
A A Moore said the last words in
behalf of the defendant yesterday MORN
ing. concluding his argument to the
jury in final speech which occupied a
little over an hour in its delivery He
reviewed certain portions of the testi-
mony which he did not touch upon
Wednesday, yet found several occasions
upon which to digress from actual con-
sideration Of the case to add to the
heap of abuse and utilization in which
he INDUCED so freely during the first
part of his speech.
Reviewing the testimony concerning
the efforts made to secure an overhead
trolley franchise before the fire. the
speaker argued that the evidence proved
that Calhoun had given up all idea of
abolishing the cable roads until such
time as the public could be educated
and enlightened" and that he was in
fact preparing to install more modern
cable system to replace the worn out
road in Suffer street. He deplored the
fact that San Francisco hao been put
back and kept back indefinitely through
having the unanimity OF feeling of its
citizens disturbed by warning factions.
aroused by men who under the guiee OF