Arizona republican., 1909-04-17
Admission of Supervisor Nich-
 O|aS In Calhoun Trial OF HIS CUT OF sl3,725
Witness Said Most of It Went For Street Car Fare and Things--Of Proceeds of Carnival of Graft He Had Only 5000 Left.

San Francisco. April 16.-Submit- ting with sullen resignation to an ordeal that appears more disagreea- ble with each repetition. Ferdinand P Nicholas, the first of the procession of former supervisors who composed the boodling board of the Schmitz administration. gave to the jury today his account of the transaction in which he is alleged to have accepted Si.000 offered by Patrick Calhoun. president of the United Railroads. as bribe for a permit to erect an over head trolley on certain cable lines owned by the company.
 Throughout a long and tedious day, Nicholas occupied the stand. passing from the interrogations of the pros ecution to the less tender questioning of the defense. with the people again directing the examination, when the trial was adjourned to next Monday. Assistant District Attorney Francis J. Heney conducted the examination disclosing the relations of Nicholas with James l.. Gallagher. who. ac- cording to the testimony. paid him s4.OO0 in two equal installments as a bribe for his vote upon the trolley permit. MT. Heney. departing from the precedent established in former cases. confined his interrogations to the trolley case. but when Nicholas was turned over to Earl Rogers of the Calhoun staff for cross -examina tion, the inquiry was enlarged to in- clude allegations relating to the pay ment of bribes by the gas company the prize fight trust, the Home and Pacific States Telephone companies and the Parkside Realty company.
 Time and again Rogers forced Nicholas to admit that he knew he was receiving a bribe when he took the money from Gallagher; that he would have voted for the trolley franchise without any underhand con sideration if he had been left to the dictates of his own conscience, and that he confidently expected to es- cape the legal consequences of any of the crimes hd had confessed.
 Rogers drew from the witness the open and definite admission that he was guilty of bribery on two counts and had committed perjury. Rogers went far into the matter of immun- ity granted the former supervisors and Nicholas. After many evasive replies Nicholas stated that his un- derstanding of the agreement was to the effect that Rudolph Spreckels was handling the matter of immun- ity." adding that he had once inter viewed Spreckels after being given Gallagher's assurance that the con- tract would apply to all members of the board who confessed.
 Nicholas was asked to account for the s13,725 he admitted having re- ceived He said he had lent S3,000 on a note: paid an attorney s1230 and still had s1,000.
 How about the rest?" asked Rogers.
 "I cannot recall how it went" re- piled the witness, nervOusly. 'I spent it about town for car fare and things"
 Heney created a stir by addressing the court at the end of the day and declaring that he had been advised by his physician not to engage in the trial. He registered an objection to the prolonged sessions of the court and Judge Lawlor stated that it was not his present intention to sit be- yond the usual hours. Heney was attended during the day by two body guards. and the squad of police on duty was increased by six officers in plain clothes.