The San Francisco call., 1909-12-12
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c.AAA*44...~* The emoent influence of the
swaowtai coat is powerful and persuading
A bottle OF champagne is your best peace maker
Served with liberal doses of tafy, laid on thick, it
works to admiration.
POLITICAL STRATEGY
Mark Hanna understood this principle better
than anybody and he invented the National civic
federation by way of machinery to put it in opera
ton 1t was an infallible plan for bringing labor
leaders into camp.
One recalls with certain amusement how they
worked the game with Schmitz After steady
course OF banquets Schmitz developed an acute
case OF social ambitions. After thai i was no
trouble to do business Downey Harvey got
from him the most valuable railroad franchise
granted in San Francisco without paying penny
for his thoughts. If Schmitz had not blown up
in that untimely fashion he would have been
member of the most exclusive clubs before
The old fogies might not like it. but they would
have had to come to it.
Schmitz had strong fancy for club life and
he could play stiff game of poker l well recall
the lamentations that ensued all night session
at one of the clubs where Schmtz, invited
guest, had cleaned out the crowd.
Ruef was different You could not do business
with him that way. Ruef cared nothing for society
and nothing at all for club life He was very
regular in his habits and every day from o'clock
until or o'clock in the evening he held quite
remarkable levee in his offices on the corner of
California and Kearny streets During those hours
Il was standing room only in his reception room.
There you would find strange, incongruous gath
ering of bankers, merchants, ward politicians.
saloon keepers. anybody and everybody who wanted
to see Ruef" 1t the municipal clearing
house. Ruef was always very accessible and
everybody that came along. The newspapermen
liked him because he always told them the truth
when he could tell them anything and if he could
not he said so
After he had seen all his callers it was Ruef's
habit to go to the Pup for dinner and most of the
newspapermen in town always knew just where
to find him when needed. At first he usually dined
in the public room on the ground floor, but later
after the pursuit grew strenuous he would have
his dinner in solitary state in room upstairs
SCHMITZ AND RUFF
In the later period OF the Schmitz administration
/ imagine that William J Dingee was closer to
the mayor than Ruef, whose relations with Schmtz
were not then altogether cordial. In fact, Schmtz
limited after his indictment that Ruef much
too grasping. When Schmitz told in New
York on his return from the famous European tour
that he indicted for taking bribes through
Ruef he broke out:
My God, you don't know Ruef I've known
him for twenty-six years and | never knew him
let go of anything he had once laid hands on
TENDERLOIN OPINION
But if Ruef and Schmitz not quite cordial
in their relations toward the end neither could
do business without the other. Ruef held the
board of supervisors absolutely under his thumb.
They trusted him dog trusts his master and
were convinced he was so smart that he would
see them safe from all scath
That the popular conception OF Ruef even
after the graft prosecution had started on his trail
/ remember dining at the Pup one night when
Ruef was seated at adjoining table My waiter
leaned over conhdentially and pointing with his
thumb over his shoulder remarked with evident
pride:
"Mr Ruef; he don't care for troubles He's
too smart for them"