The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1910-03-22
Confessions Of Convicted
Councilman and Others
Cause Stir In City
GRAND JURY IND|CTs
MEN OF ALL DEGREE
Wholesale Bribery Appears to Havs
Been Followed BY City COunciImeu
aud Hundreds of Persons Are
Mixed Up in the Deals

Pittsburg, March 21.--Forty present
and former members of select and conI-
mon council under indictments on
charge of bribery and 10 more with
suspended sentences and held in $500
bonds upon their own confession OF
sharing in a pool of 100000 to influence
the votes of the municipal bodies, is
the result of the first days probe OF
the grand jury following the sensa-
tional confession of Capt. John Klein,
| former member of councils
All day long Judge r. S. Frazer sat
as committing magistrate in the
criminal court room and his desk be-
came "a throne of grace to the many
councilmen under suspicion who
swarmed before the judge to be wash
ed of their SINS
On one floor of the court building
the grand jury would hear the con-
science-stricken councilmen, who would
then go before Judge Frazer and take
the immunity bath offered by the dis
trict attorney last week, and while
these proceedings were going on the
corridors of the courthouse were
thronged, and as each councilman put
In an appearance there was a clamor
onesT"
| Once during the late afternoon a
Northside councilman rushed into the
| court room and wanted to confess. but
he was told--to come back tomorrow:
We're too may" which brought a roar
of Taught eadrom the crowd on the
| benches. = ~
| Up to the adjournment of court for
the day 10 had confessed their guilt.
In most instances the amount of rnoney
artf r1r,Jtffsr- -ga-ut,. sor put
s81.10.
| Ordered to Resign
| As fast as present councilmen ap-
peared after they ha1 relieved their
consciences they We're ordered imme-
| diately to r~>agn from the city govern
ment, and in every instance the letter
of resignation was written In the dis
trict attorneys office and mailed to
Mayor w. A. MCGEE before the guilty
ones left the building.
| The greatest surprise of the day came
| late in the afternoon when DR.. w. II.
| Weber, member of select council, ap-
peared before Judge Frazer and made
| confession almost as startling as that OF
| Klein. Dr. Weber told of receiving $l0,-
| 700 in a shoe box. This he said, he
gave to Klein for members of common
council. while he kept $4,000 to fix menu
| bers of the upper branch
Later according to Weber, it was found
| necessary to secure more votes and moro
money was raised and when this was dis
| tributed II was found that the additional
| councilmens share was $S1 10.
The men indicted are followers Of va
| rious professions. Some are professional
politicians, market men. tailors, and real
estate men, saloon keepers a private de-
| festive and physicians. One man, c. G.
| Schad who is market man, is also =
member of the legislature from Allegheny
| county.
DIR. Weber's Story
While before the grand jury DR.. Weber
was unable to remember all the men to
| whom he paid money but he checked
them up by having list OF councilmen
read to him from city manual The
ways In which the money was delivered
TO them were many as described by the
confessing councilmen Some had IL
thrust into their hands while standing In
public places, some received 1t in the mall,
while others had envelopes adroitly
slipped into their pockets while they ad-
mired adjacent buildings.
District Attorney Blakely this afternoon
extended the limit by "a hours within
which the others may come within his im-
munity proposition. After that time war;
rants will be issued for all who have
failed to appear, ana THESE Will De ViSor-
oUsy prosecuted.
When court adjourned for the day the
grand Jury had decided to hold a night
session to consider the evidence that had
been placed before them during the day.
AT $3.50 o'clock Judge Frazer wae
called into court and presentment
containing Al names, those implicated
IN the conspiracy by DR.. Weber. was
handed to the court, who approved the
presentment and then the indictments
were returned with the exception OF
, one case, in which the councilman had
notified tic district attorney that he
would ann in the morning and tell
his story rhe jury was then dis
missed. bu rdered to report and con-
tinue the investigation tomorrow
morning.
why Money Was Paid
While many of the indictments were
made in connection with the passage of
an ordinance naming banks as city de-
positaries fully many more accepts
, cd bribes in connection with the or
dlnance in, which this city vacated
Southside street for the use of a man-
: ufacturing concern.
=, Dnrine the day District Attorney
Blakely made a statement to the pub.
: lie explaining that he had Klein's full
lconfesson and that 1t had been cor
roborated by other councilmen to it,
minutest detail.
..props out" was to have gone to the
1 nenitentiary today to begin his six
4 years sentence When asked If Klein
e was going District Attorney Blake
1 ly said:
1--WE need Klein around here yet
q while"
, Klein is still guarded by two detec-
tives. He said today:
you know, there is supposed to be
honor among thieves, but | stood 1t as
I long as I could. When the highest
court in the state refuses to hear your
anpeal they (referring to his attor-
| neys) can't help you much.
, II followed the advice of my attor-
$ neys and serve 80 days in jail for
2 contempt for following the advice. !
e also present advice which they gave
5 me landing me in jail. Now be-
: llieve that when your attorneys can't
Z lhalr, ,to1i further a man had hef tar fYY