The Bon Homme County independent. [volume] (Tabor, S.D.) 1904-1913, 1909-06-24
JURY FAILS
TO REACH AGREEMENT
Famous Case Against President
of United Railroads at
San Francisco.

San Francisco, June discriminating
IN a disagreement of the jury with 10
men determined on acouittal and two
a steadfastly resolved upon conviction,
the trial OF President Patrick Calhoun,
Of the United railroads, ended at noon
N yesterday.
Five months and a week had
t~ranspired inc the wealthy street car
"A magnate, a descendant OF Patrick
Henry, made his first appearance in
court to answer to the charge of offer
ing n bribe of $4,000 TO a supervisor to
obtain a privilege for his corporation.
Not until each juror had pronounced
as hopeless the prospect Of a verdict
\ was the order for their liberation made
BY Judge Lawlor, the prosecution and
defense giving assent to the discharge.
History Of Case.
Patrick Calhoun was one of a score
fof wealthy corporation officials indicted
Has an outcome of the. municipal up
heaval of 1907, when the administration
N dominated by Mayor Eugene r. Schmitz
and Abraham Ruef was overthrow.
In November, 1906, Francis j. Heney,
already well known as a public prose-
cutor, charged in a public address that
y Ruef and Schlmitz were guilty of cor-
ruption, and with W.. J. Burns, for
merly q government secret service
. agent, undertook an Investigation of
"A privileges awarded several public serv-
Ice corporations.
The olivet grand jury. empaneled un-
der the direction of Heney in October,
1906, in 48 hours. returned more than
n 300 indictments against various persons
n charged with completely in the brib-
81 cries.
Calhoun, together with Abraham Ruei
and three subordinate officials of the
"a United Railroads, was indicted on II
counts, three of which were returned
by a later grand jury. 1t was charged
that the corporation had secured from
the supervisors on May 81, 1906, a per-
NIT authorizing substitution of fthe
II overland trolley system for the cable
lines partially destroyed by the earth
quake n fire of April 10, 1906.
Calhoun and the other defend
ants were accused Of having paid
Ruef, Schmitx and the supervisors
100000 for their services in Sc
curing the permit for the company,
and each indictment was based up-
on the money received by u Of
the supervisors.
The prosecution, during the several
trolley trials, has attempted to prove
that Calhoun, on the day following the
final passage OF the permit, sent from
New York 10 The mint here 5000, 900,
which he previously authorized the
mint officials to pay to TREY L. Ford,
attorney for the United Railroads. The
money, as is admitted, was withdrawn
in three installments by Ford, who pre-
sented orders signed by Calhoun. 1t
was alleged by tho prosecution that
NJ within a few days after each of Ford's
visits to the mint, he received a call
from Ruef. Following this assertion,
James l.. Gallagher, chairman of the
supervisors, testified that Ruef had
n paid hfYo, nxyar eAO n00 IN sT1IItyr nd on
Il equal amount in the following month.
Gallagher said he had retained S15, 900
for himself, had paid $4,000 to Andrew
NJ, Wilson, of his l~ieutenants, and
had given $4,000 to each Of the other
supervisors. 1t vas affirmed by the
prosecution that Ruef and Schmitz di-
vided the balance of the fund, about
$l15, 900 L +, .
The specific Indictment upon which
Calhoun was tried was the offer of a
bride OF 1000 to Supervisor Fred p.
Nicholas, to influence his action upon
the trolley permit. Nicholas admitted
acceptance of the money for that pur-
pose. <
Warrants for Arrests,
In March, when the trial was nearly
two months old, warrants were issued
for the arrest of William J. Burns,
special agent of the district attorneys
office. The list of defendants, headed
by M. M. Abbott and Luther G. Brown,
included Rex Hamlin, secretary to
Burns, and three other Of Burns as
sistants, who confessed that they had
given private reports, letters and tele-
grams to John H. Helms n the
agents of the United Railroads.
a.. -:
; On Saturday, March 26 and ~, I:
the Offices of Abbott, Brown, Cal ;
houn and Mullaly were raided by :
the police upon a search war :
rant secured by Burns, who pro- J
fessed to have information that {;
the men named were in posses 4:
sion Of his stolen papers. Safes 1:
and desks were forcibly opened 1:
in the presence of protesting at :
: Ctorneys and officials, and 1000 /:
documents were seized and deliv- 1;
cred into the custody of the po- /;
lice judge who granted the war 1: