Los Angeles herald., 1909-08-07
OSWALD DETAILS
LAST EFFORT TO
REOPEN DISTRICT
SAYS FELLOW C0NSPIRATORS
LOST COURAGE
cRoSS-EXAMlNATloN OF FORMER
REDLIGHT KING BEGUN
Relates with Bitterness Eagerness of
Secret Associates to Secure Money,
Though They Are Unable to
Give Protection

" ERY tamely, after the tensity and
Y struggle of the past three days in
the bribery trial of Thomas IL.
Broadhead, the examination of
Nicholas oswald, former chief of the
redlight district, was begun at o'clock
yesterday afternoon.
With the closing question in the di-
rect examination, And all these things
you have testified to happened in the
city and county of Los AngeleS?" eV
eryone in the court room seemed to
relax a little, with the exception of the
witness, and after the answer had been
given there was quiet in the room for
more than a minute before Attorney
Horace Appel arose to begin the cross
examination.
For nearly three full days the direct
examination had been carried on, in
the face of a running fire of objections
and interference, to the end fought for
by the prosecution, the complete un-
folding of the story, in chronological
order, of the protected redlight districts
of Los Angeles from the beginning of
Mayor Harper's administration up to
the last attempt to reopen the district
just before the recall petition, which
ended the administration, was present
ed to the people.
Defense Wins Point
Only once was Joseph Ford, deputy
district attorney, compelled to depart
IN any marked degree from his definite
plan of examination, and that was at
the morning session yesterday, when
Judge Davis sustained a lengthy OBJ
lection made by the defense to the in
PRODUCTION of testimony regarding pay
ments of money to Chief of Police Ed
Kern after the payment of the $1,000 to
Thomas Broadhead, acting chief, in
May and June, 190s the act which is
made the basis of the indictment.
By other questions, calculated to lay
q foundation for such testimony, by
testimony that the redlight district had
remained open after that time with the
full cognizance of police officers re-
sponsible to Captain Broadhead for
their acts, the way was opened for car
rying on the narrative to its logical
close.
More than two hours were expended
in this surmounting of the final barrier
reared by the defense, and then Mr..
Ford once more asked the question
which before had been objected to:
Did you pay any money to Harper
or Kern after the payment of the $1,000
to Broadhead in May and JuneT'
Oswald Answers Question
The question was objected to as
strenuously as before, but this time
without avail and Oswald went on to
tell of the payment of $500 to Kern I'M
mediately after the latter's return from
the police chiefs convention in the
east A very interesting side light on
the ways of the alleged conspirators
was revealed i'm this bit of testimony.
81 told Kern the $500 was Harper's
share, and asked him to give it to the
mayor. He said he would A few days
later I met Harper on the street and
asked him if he got the money. He
told me no. that Kern had given him
only $3.50 of it. I told him l had told
Kern TO give 1t all to him.
early in August | had a conversa-
ton with Harper, and told him of
talk I'd had with Kern, when Kern
told me to find out when Woolwine was
coming back. I said that didn't look
good to me, and that | thought Kern
was getting scared. Harper told me
not to worry about that and that eV-
erything would be all right, and the
newspaper talk didn't amount TO any
thing I paid him $500 in gold"
The next meeting of which Oswald
testified was with Harper, Kern and
Broadhead. september 1. Harper told
me I would have to keep closed while
the grand Jury was in session, but by
and by, when things had Quieted down,
| could open, up again. | told them
was willing to leave the crib houses
closed. but I wanted to open up the
cottages. I told them 1t was very haro
to prove that a cottage with just one
or Two women in it was a house of Ill
fame. Kern told me to go ahead"
Plotters Break Faith
Even this expedient failed, it seemed.
as the darkening clouds of the gather
ing political storm which was to end
the Harper administration frightened
the plotters into breaking faith with
the redlight chief.
With some bitterness the witness,
who in general had been quite dispas-
Ii q answered
the questions put to him, spoke of the
constant eagerness of his secret assoct-
ates in crime to get money from him
for protection of his redlight district,
while allowing it to be closed up at
the slightest alarm.
The witness told at length of his
last partially successful effort to gain
the protection he declares he paid for.
This was at a meeting held in Feb
ruary 1909 in a private box on the
second floor of Levy's cafe.
'I explained to the mayor and Broad
head who were present, that l was in
bad financial shape through the
trouble I'd had. 1 told Broadhead I
thought ought not to be closed up the
way / was without notice, after all I'd
done, and that some of his officers had
broken into the cottages and mutilated
them. said it wasn't right. and that
| ought to have a fair chance to run
the district, and make a little money
to goc along on. Harper said, We'll, |
Tom, I guess we can let him open up
and run little on the quiet Broad
head said All right I opened up
four or five of the cottages, and kept
t+em open five or six days in March, |
1909 Then I got a message that had
Ieen left for me at Greenwald's cigar
ST nd, telling me to call up the chief IS
office. Broadhead was chief then. T.
rang up, and asked Broadhead if he
wanted to see me. He said no, that
could say what he had to over the
phone Then he told me that the man
on the hill had sent word that the dis
trict would have to be closed, and that
was all there was to 1t.
Oswald Loses $500
"Once after that, in March, I talked
with Harper asking him if there was
any chance for me to open up. He
said he was afraid not, with the recall
CContInued on Page Three)